Whatcha Thinking Thursday (2)

It's week two of Whatcha Thinking Thursday, hosted by me! Here's how it works. Each Thursday I'll simply blog about something book related that's weighing on my mind. Feel free to comment away if you agree or disagree (just keep it clean, okay?), or if you want to post to your site either on the same topic or about whatever it is you're thinking about go right ahead. I just ask that you link back to here. Also, make sure you add your blog to the list so we can find you!

This week I'm thinking about Summer Reads.

I was working on my review of Sydney Salter's Swoon at Your Own Risk and I was about to say "It's a great little summer read" when I got to thinking, what the heck does that even mean? What exactly is a summer read and is it the same for everyone? For me a summer read is something lighter, that I can pick up on my way to the beach or pool and zip through in a day. It's not that it lacks message or depth neccessarily, it's just that it doesn't make me work to get through it and understand it. In my opinion a summer read is all about fun. I read other stuff in the summer and I'm sure I pick up light and happy books during the dark days of winter, but to be classified as a summer read in my book you've got to be a quick, easy read, that is uplifting and darn good time.

I started looking at other summer reads lists, Oprah has one, so does the Huffington post and I found that their summer reads lists are exactly the opposite of what I look for in a summer read. Huffington post has The Passage on theirs, while a great book, it is also 769 pages long- not exactly light reading in the sun.

So which us it? Is summer a time for heavy duty reading, or for light and fun reading? Is it different for different people? Maybe it's because some people use summer as downtime, with time reserved to get into these great (long, heavy) books, where as someone like me tries to cram as much activity as possible into the few sunny months that we have here in Upstate NY? I spend much more time reading during the months and months of cold and snow that we have and I save those "make you think" books for then.

If it's different for everyone, does that take away from the accuracy of using the term "Summer Read"? How about you- where do you stand- what's your definition of a "summer read"?

Event: Ban This & Banned Book Week

This blog will be taking part in Bites - Ban This.
Ban This a month long spin off of ALA's Banned Books Week (9/25 -10/2).

About BBW: Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States. (more here)

As last years BBW was about to begin, I was just beginning to blog. One of my very first posts was about BBW. A year later and my blog is still going strong, and unfortunately books are still being banned and challenged. Authors are being dis-invited to events for writing books that are "innapropriate" to the age group (Hey there Ellen Hopkins!) and people are trying to decide what we can read for us. This year I've got some stuff in the works- during BBW I'll be featuring a book a day and a giveaway a day. It'll be fast and furious as I share some of my personal favorite banned and challenged books.

Over at Bites they've turned BBW into Ban This- a month long celebration of these great works that set people off. So join in and share your favorites with all of us too!

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine- head to her site to see what everyone else is eagerly awaiting. I've done two of these so far- first I was itching to get my hands on Matched by Ally Condie, then I was all about reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Well I've read both of those books (I love both of them too) so now what am I waiting for??

The first book that jumps to mind is one that isn't out for quite some time, Lisa McMann's Cryer's Cross. It's not out until February 2011, but it looks so good and I've loved all McMann's other books, so I impatiently waiting for this one!

The small town of Cryer's Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

When a second student goes missing - someone close to Kendall’s heart - the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school - messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there - Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

Something’s not right in Cryer’s Cross - and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

How about you? What book are you looking forward to?