As I write this, I’m with my wife and two daughters in a minivan going about sixty-five down Route 1 in Delaware. We’re headed to Nags Head, North Carolina, to a family reunion at the beach. Though I’m usually the one driving, I’m now taking a break in the backseat, thinking about kicking back on the beach with a good book. When at the beach, which we don’t go to very often, I look forward to simply settling down in a comfortable chair, feeling the ocean breeze, hearing the crash of the waves, and reading a book. Just reading. Read, read, read. I take pride that we’re a family of readers.
I’m bit of a theological egghead, so on this trip I have the latest issue of Books and Culture magazine, and a spiritual memoir by Joan Ball called Flirting with Faith. Then maybe at the house where we’re staying for the week, there’ll be a few loaner books sitting around. Ever stay somewhere new and pick up a book you never intended to read, and end up simply devouring it? I love when that happens.
My daughters are different than me; they come very prepared with nice little—sometimes big!—novels. My youngest brought Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Lemony Snicket’s The Bad Beginning, and Elvira Woodruff’s The Orphan of Ellis Island, which my daughter was inspired to read after her recent class trip to Ellis Island. My 14-year-old is reading more serious young adult fiction, including Mats Wahl’s The Invisible and Kristin Cashore’s Fire.
My wife, who after caring for the kids and household, working part time, volunteering around town, and pursuing becoming an elementary school music teacher, still makes time for reading! On this trip, she has a book about how to work with special needs children.
What are you reading this summer? I hope you’ve found something good to dig into. If not, there’s always the library or shopguideposts.com to explore. Or maybe there’s a great book, long-forgotten, tucked away nearby waiting to be discovered.
—David Morris
Senior Editor
Read David’s personal Guideposts blog Deeper Well.
