Everyone loves summer -- going to the beach, sitting by the pool and opening a good book to read. As kids, it was a chore. Each year, after finally leaving the school year behind, we still had the student responsibility of student reading. I had it easy: three months to read any book, any length. Just one book. Whatever I wanted.
And I hated it. It was the worst part of my summer. I just spent nine months in school reading every day, and now my summer has to involve reading too??? How dare they! Of course, looking back now, I realize how much I overreacted to summer reading. So much so that now I actually chose to do it myself. And not just one book, several. Back in elementary school, even all the way up to high school, I was never a reader. I loved to write, but when it came to reading, I dreaded it. But today with all the e-books and social media, I began to miss the simplicity of opening up a book, reading words on the page, using a bookmark to mark my place, all the simple things we took for granted before the Internet age.
Now, the idea of finding a physical book and reading it really motivates me. I get a huge smile on my face whenever I walk into a book store, and see a sea of book covers as far as the eye can see. Any book, any genre, mine for the choosing. My most dreaded summer pastime has since become one of my favorites.
Currently, I'm going back and forth between a lot of summer reads that have caught the eye of many literary critics. The kind of books that everyone has vaguely heard of and would recognize the cover if they saw a fellow beach-goer casually reading it on a sunny day. But one book in particular has grabbed my attention, so much so that I've given in to the cliche of "I just couldn't put it down."
My current summer read is called "Lily and the Octopus." I bought it on a whim while I was in a bookstore because it had a picture of a weiner dog on the cover, and I couldn't resist. As it turns out, the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" was dead wrong. This book with the adorable cover was just the book I had been looking for, and is now my current summer reading addiction.
Written by first time novelist Steven Rowley, "Lily and the Octopus" follows the true story of Rowley and his beloved dog, Lily. One day, Steven finds something on Lily's head that he has never seen before. It's big and has what appears to be tentacles, which causes him to refer to it as simply "the Octopus." Eventually, Steven realizes that his best friend of 12 years, Lily, is starting to slow down. He begins to think about his life with Lily, and realizes he must face the possibility of living life without his furry friend. This novel is heartwarming and fun, humorous and true, everything a reader would want in a book. It has its sad moments, but focuses on the great joy that animals bring into our lives. Simply put, if you liked "Marley and Me" in any way, you'll love "Lily and the Octopus." If you're looking for that one perfect summer read, make sure it's one that will get you gearing up for what you'll be reading next summer.
