Summer Reading: My List

In ‘reading’ about the summer reading issues as defined by the public school system in Montgomery County Maryland, I thought about my long, lazy summers and the books I read then.

Here are a few that I remember:

Nancy Drew. Need I say more?

The Bobbsey Twins. These are probably not even available anymore! Small adventures for little children.

Betsy and Tacy series. This series written by Maud Hart Lovelace, follows three girls at the turn of the 19th-20th century. I loved these books.


Lazy Liza Lizard. I read this book at the Detroit Public Library, where I grew up. I remember sitting in a corner on a padded bench reading these books. Again, I don’t even think these books are in the library anymore! Probably not in print, but if you see one, grab it!

The Secret Garden (well, here I guess you can tell I am such a girl!) I really fell for this book, by Francis Hodgson Burnett. I actually went on to read one of her other books, Little Lord Fauntleroy, but didn’t like it as much. As I recall, I didn’t like it much at all.

Nellie Bly. This was one of those scholastic books, as I recall, about real people, this time the famous investigative reporter, Elizabeth Jane Cochran Seaman, who worked for the New York World. Among her famous stories was an investigation of the horrific Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island, where she became an inmate to report from the inside; and her travels ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ in an attempt to beat the title of Jules Vernes’ book. She did, traveling around the world in 72 days. I don’t remember the author or the actual title of this book but assume there are plenty of biographies about her now.

A Child’s History of the World, and A Child’s Geography of the World. For some reason both of these books were enchanting to me. Again, probably out of print but look for it at a used book store, at the Library, or through Inter-library loan. Both by V.M. Hillyer.

Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn. The world of the pre- and post-Civil War Midwest. Ernest Hemngway's famous quote, of course: "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn."

At this time I also was reading a lot about the 19th century. I think some of these books may have been best-sellers or something, but I do remember reading about the infamous Andersonville Prison, located in Georgia, which held Union prisoners, and other books on the Civil War and the post-Civil War west. Well, this could date me so I will stop there.

Moby Dick (read this in college in my spare time). I was fascinated by the thick descriptions of the whalers and whaling that ran alongside the fictional plot. Herman Melville. ‘Call me Ishmael.’ Wow!

Emma Goldman, Living My Life. An autobiography of this fascinating anarchist. Again, read this one in college.

In college I also read books by B. Traven about Mexico. These are fascinating stories and the author is a mysterious man that no one knows much about. That was a fun part of reading these books. Who is B. Traven?

I will stop there. What are your children reading this summer? What would you recommend?

L.W. recommends A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. Here are links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time
http://www.amazon.com/Wrinkle-Time-Madeleine-LEngle/dp/0440498058


If anyone would like to contribute please comment and we can certainly post to the blog. Or send an email to : summertime.reading@yahoo.com