Summer Reading, and the Summer "Reading" Club

When I was a kid, it was very important to join the Summer Reading Club at the library.  Every year there was some sort of Summer Reading Club theme, and the library would be festooned with decorations based on that theme, as well as some sort of visual aid to indicate how many books each kid had read.  It was always very obvious which kids were doing the most reading.  And then each time you reached some sort of reading milestone, like 5 books or 10 books or whatever, you would get some kind of lame prize like a pencil or a plastic bag to carry your library books in.  At the end of the summer the culmination of the Summer Reading Club was a magic show for all participants.  It didn't matter what the theme was that year, there was always a magic show.  Then in the fall the librarians would come to your school and acknowledge the students who had participated in the Summer Reading Club.  I felt sorry for the kids who hadn't participated. 

When Nathan was two, which I saw as the first age where he had any clue what was going on at the library, I proudly signed him up for his first summer reading club.  Now, our library does the prize system a little bit differently than the libraries did it when I was a kid.  At our library you write down the names of the books you read on a sheet, which has lines for 5 books.  Once you've read your 5 books you turn in your sheet and get 5 reading dollars.  The reading dollars are redeemable for various prizes, mainly Oriental Trading Company stuff and candy.  Nathan always picks the candy.  I probably should encourage him to get something else, but whatever.  We're reading together. 

Another thing that's cool about my library is, they do a Summer Reading Club for adults.  The format for the adult one has varied a bit through the years, but it's always raffle-based.  You read books, earn raffle tickets, drop them in the bucket, and hope to win a gift card to one of various local stores/attractions.  Well, you used to have to read books.  This year they've kind of dumbed it down a bit, and all you have to do is check out something each week in order to enter that week's raffle.  Note that you don't have to check out a book.  You could check out a DVD, CD, or magazine, and that would count. 

Now, I really don't think I'm a snob.  I have enjoyed many library DVDs and CDs.  I have plenty of low-brow, trashy interests.  But for crying out loud, is it too much to ask that an incentive program at the library require you to read a book?  Also, I read plenty of library books, but I also read plenty of books on my Kindle, so why are you requiring me to check out materials each week?  Now I feel as though I have to check out some token item every week. 

I'm not even sure if they're checking to see if you check something out before you enter that week's raffle.  I asked the librarian at the check-out desk if she needed to stamp my ticket or something to prove that I checked something out, and she said no, but that I would get my Australia sticker for my "passport" because I came in during Australia week.  The sticker was a little Australian flag. 

Okay, I don't see the point of collecting those stickers.  But I admit it, I like stickers, and I thought the Australian flag one was cute.  I liked sticking it on my passport.  I felt accomplished.  See, I have low-brow interests. 

My favorite part of the passport is the part that says: "Personalize your passport.  You may use this space to draw or paste a picture of yourself."  Now remember, this is a passport designed specifically for grown adults.  I could see including this activity in the kids' version, but do I really need to draw a picture of myself?  But I like to follow directions, so:

As you can see, my artistic talents extend solely to the craft of words.

So, even though you don't have to read a book to enter the raffle at the summer reading club, I have decided that I will not enter the raffle that week if I haven't read a book.  

Last week's book was the YA book Moonglass.  It's different from a lot of YA books in that it isn't a fantasy.  There are vague references to fantastical elements, but those are in dreams and/or used as metaphors.  It's filled with great beach imagery, the characters are really multi-dimensional, and there was something about the ending that just had my brain humming on some whole other plane.  

That book was actually from the library, thank you very much.  And this week I checked out The Peach Keeper, which I have not made adequate progress on, and so far I am only sort of meh about. 

I have two books on my Kindle that I haven't read: Night Road and Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen. 

Plus I have a bunch of other books I want to read, YA and actual A.  And I welcome your book recommendations.  

I'll have plenty of time to read because I plan to put that passport to use and take a tropical vacation soon where all I do is read.  Unfortunately that plan is about as realistic as the passport.