When Airports Get You Down...

...bring a book!

I recently found myself getting some personal time with gray walls and runways at my local airport, due to an unfortunate series of cancellations. And as I waited, watching my flight get delayed, then delayed again, then ultimately canceled, I finally had some chance to get some quality reading done. While I wasn't flying into DC, I at least had 1940s South Africa and a family's demise in front of my eyes.

It's harder than I would like to admit, to find time to read. But last Wednesday night, and then on the plane Thursday and Friday, I had nothing to do but pour over that book, and finally, finally, get to read. I shot through the first two sections and made good progress on the third.

It's easy to forget how great reading can be. While I was frustrated and tired, I could just escape into a book, where my problems seemed trivial, and worry about characters whose lives had become very important to me. They took me away from the black vinyl chair I was sprawled in, from the gray walls and shut-down shops, and let me pretend that it wasn't an airport I was trapped in, but Johannesburg.

Books let you do that. They take you away from your problems, your issues, and give you someone else's (someone whose problems are almost always way worse than yours) and let you see how they deal with them. If the author is a great one, then you might even learn a thing or two about yourself and your own problems along the way.

I did, fortunately, get to spend a day in DC. And even though the time around that one day was spent waiting (and waiting, and waiting), I was also spending time with my book, in the world of paper and ink.

And that, ladies and gents, is not such a bad place to be.

My To-Read Books of the Summer

Over the school year, I slowly collect any and all books I want to read on my Goodreads "to-read" shelf, waiting for their time to be moved to "currently reading." I start the summer with a mile-long list of books I'm thrilled to read and the excitement of getting to read books I actually want to read. By the time the end of August comes around, however, most of them are left on that "to-read" page for the next year. And I just feel sad.

So: I've decided to make a solid list of the books I can conceivably read this summer, in the hopes that I can not only stay on track for my 50 books in 2014 goal, but not feel so defeated when it's time for school again and many books remain unread. If I can check off at least one list of books, I'll feel a lot better about the countless others left waiting for another year, another time in my life. Hooray for short-term goals!

So, without further ado- the list:

• Boy, Snow, Bird, Helen Oyeyemi. I saw a lot of great reviews for this book, and with a cover that beautiful how could I resist? (My friend Danielle will tell you, I'm a huge judge of book covers). But the plot sounds pretty intriguing too and it's a long book- perfect for the summer when I can continuously read a book for a long period of time.
• A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines. My mom has recommended a lot of books to me lately, both from her collection and my sister's really great school summer reading list. I loved Gaines' novella "A Long Day in November," so I really want to read one of his novels. I recently purchased A Lesson Before Dying at the resale bookstore in my city, so it's definitely getting picked up this summer.
• The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver. Another author I read last semester is Kingsolver, who as a writer really fascinates me. I've only read her essays so far, and I want to get into her fiction. I thought I would start with a shorter novel than The Posionwood Bible before getting too committed, but if this goes well you might see next summer's list start with another Kingsolver novel.
• Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf. I want to like Virginia Woolf sooo bad. But after my struggle with and ultimate defeat by To the Lighthouse, I just wasn't so sure if Woolf was the author for me. But she's so important in the female writer world, I'm going to give her as many chances as it takes! My mom recommended Mrs. Dalloway as a good take two, in conjunction with Michael Cunningham's The Hours. We'll see how this one goes, but I'm determined to actually finish it- I hate leaving books behind, half-read.
• We Were Liars, E. Lockhart. Basically, I'm just really intrigued about this one. It's gotten a lot of hype, but I'm always nervous about young adult novels (they can swing in all sorts of directions, as far as quality of the novel goes). Is it good, is it bad? Is it really that mysterious? I'm curious enough to figure it out for myself.

So there you have it, the five books I want to be sure to read this summer. I'm currently reading Cry, the Beloved Country (um, AMAZING so far, by the way) and once that is complete I will start my mission to read all of these books. What books are you trying to read this summer?

The Reading Rainbow Comeback

I grew up on PBS. While my fellow 90's kids remember Nickelodeon show after Nickelodeon show, I watched Arthur, Zoom, Cyberchase, Barney, Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and yes, Reading Rainbow. I loved each and every program, but I remember my mom making sure I sat down for the occasional Reading Rainbow episode. I learned all about new books and was exposed to different kinds of reading. I loved it as a kid, but as I grew up I typically only turned PBS on for the occasional Arthur and, or course, British television shows.

But now, Reading Rainbow is coming back and in a new, 2010s format. LaVar Burton, the face I'm used to seeing with a book, wants to bring back the program to help increase literacy and give millions of children access to the wonderful world of reading. He explains it way better than I ever could on the Kickstarter site, including a nifty graphic :) It's pretty cool what Burton and his team are doing, and how they've invited all of America to be a part of it.

I can't imagine my childhood without stacks of books all around my house, and I can't imagine not having the love of reading I do now (yes, even when I'm face with 100 pages of reading assignments at college. Even though it doesn't seem like love at the time ;)). I'm really glad to see Reading Rainbow return, and the response Burton's project has gotten so far!

What I Read: Gone Girl

4/5 pineapples

After all the rave reviews, I assumed this was going to be the best. Book. Ever. But you know what they say when you assume...

Okay, so this wasn't the best book ever but it was still pretty great and maybe my expectations are just too high (I'm a picky book person). Gillian Flynn is an amazing writer and I enjoyed how much she twisted my mind as I read Gone Girl. There's no clear "bad" and "good" involved, and that's just what I like about it. Flynn has created a very unconventional novel, one where you never know where to place your alliances and who to trust (spoiler: no one). I liked how she kept me on my toes, especially after the first section.

The characters are also fantastic. You can tell Flynn knows Nick and Amy very, very well, and she used them to create some of the richest characters I've seen in a recent novel. I'm a huge fan of characters, and they often make or break a book for me. I think it's the people Flynn has imagined that made reading this go so smoothly, and I felt invested in their lives. Nick and Amy, while dramatized, are completely realistic; just like real humans, they have flaws.

But of course, Gone Girl also had a few flaws itself for my reading preferences. The drama could be a bit much, and sometimes I rolled my eyes at a scene. There were also a few "twists" I saw coming from a mile away (but others that shocked me very much). Most importantly, it's not a book that's changed my world in any way. To get five pineapples, I'm expecting a book to make me think about my own life or the real world differently; something that inspires thought. Something that goes deeper than an entertaining read. This is not one of those books.

Long Story Short: Gone Girl is worth a read. If you have a weekend or some travel time to sit down with a book, this is an excellent choice. Flynn knows how to draw you in and create really developed, intense characters that keep you turning pages. It's more than a beach read, but not quite literary canon status. Most importantly, Flynn is an extremely talented writer and for that I would read her again.

You can find more reviews and details for Gone Girl on Goodreads, Amazon, Allison Anderson's post, or Catch the Lune's review.

What do you think of Gone Girl? Any good books I should look into this summer?