Summer Reading

It's been a busy summer. So busy that I'd forgotten about the required summer reading my kids needed to do for next year. Since there is only 2 1/2 weeks until school starts, I've put them on a schedule to read 1 hour per day to get their reading done. Well, I've put 3 of them on a schedule. My oldest daugher had her required summer reading books done before school got out last year. She's my reader and if I haven't heard her in the house for a while, I know she has her nose in a book.

This got me thinking about my own reading habits. There was a time when I wasn't so busy that I used to read a book a week. I'm a slow reader and after taking a professional reading test I've discovered that I'm one of those readers who reads every word on the page. I know a lot of other people who read books very fast because they skim through the pages and skip over things. I'm not one of those people.

What I have found, though, is that as my life gets busier, I don't read nearly as much as I used to. At the end of the day, there is always something that needs cleaning, another load of laundry that needs to be done and an endless amount of clean clothes to fold. I find myself doing these tasks when the kids go to bed. I'm fortunate that my kids do help out a lot. But even with that help, in a family of 6 there is always work to be done.

I always look forward to when the Rita contest rolls around because it gives me a definite excuse to read. I can let the dishes sit in the sink for a few hours if I know I have to read my Rita books by a certain date. On my recent trips in July, I really enjoyed reading on the plane. No dishes or laundry to pull me away there. I ended up reading two books on vacation, which had me thinking that like my kids, I should schedule in time to read!

I love the book that keeps me up until 2:00 AM and then has me searching for another one because I enjoyed the story so much. I love continuity books and series. Recently I told a friend about a Harlequin Intrigue series I'd read years ago by Gayle Wilson. I'd stockpiled the Men of Mystery books until I had all 3 and then read them in a row. I finished book 2 at 3:00AM and then immediately picked up book 3 because I just couldn't wait to read what happened next.
It's no wonder that I've chosen to make my first Steeple Hill books into a series. I hope that in reading my books, a reader will have that same excitement that I always get when I finish a good book and will look for more.

For now, it's back to work on Her Only Protector, the follow up book to Cradle of Secrets, which will be published 11/07. Until next time, many blessings! Lisa