It’s summer and most people are planning at least some time off to relax. And most book dragons (or worms) will agree that having a good book helps to relax. Instead of coming with yet another ‘best summer reads’ post, I wanted to change things up and talk about the books that are part of my summer memories.
Harry Potter
I know, I know. Let’s not talk about the author, but the joy the books brought. I have them now and won’t spend more money on her either. But I really enjoyed the anticipation of a new book in the series. So much that I asked my father to drive me to a midnight release so I could take the new book with me on vacation the next day. My mom made me promise to not finish the book that same night. It was hard to do, but I managed. I still finished the 700+ book only three days later.
It’s hard for me to imagine my teen summers without this series and this is mostly nostalgia speaking. I’ve reread them multiple times since then and the first books especially aren’t really that good.
Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones
I read the Dutch translations of most of Diana Wynne Jones’s books and borrowed them from the library. But the Chrestomanci series in particular was a series I always looked for. They were bright pink with glitter and foil on the cover, and for nine-year-old me; it was glorious. The stories itself, too. I wanted to go to Venice and experience carnival. I wanted to go to an enchanted mansion and uncover its secrets. It was like having mini holidays as you read, escaping to a faraway place that you could only dream.
These were the books that kept me up late at night, and if the sun woke me at 6 in the morning, I’d continue reading again. If my parents ever found out I spend so much time reading and so little time sleeping, I never knew. They never said anything about it or punished me. No, my mom always made sure I had plenty of books to devour. She would take me to the library once a week or once every two weeks since we could borrow more during the summer break. I’d get home with a stack of ten books. And still, this series stood out the most.
The Martian by Andy Weir
Ok, technically, I didn’t read this during summer, but it was during my sun vacation early in the year. It was 31 degrees Celsius which feels like plenty of summer to me. It was the first vacation with my now-husband and we were both excited for the movie. I read the book in two days’ time and he read some pages with me when he looked away from his own book. I definitely liked the book more than the movie. Another viewer mentioned that the movie looks like a promo film for NASA, which I agree with. The added parts which weren’t in the book and only pressed the importance of the organisation. I think it’s great and amazing work they do, but they shouldn’t use this as a way to promote their own name. That kind of defeats the purpose, in my opinion.
It’s not a typical summer read, but it’s exciting and keeps you wondering. I’m glad I had the time to finish it so quickly.
Honorable mention: Donald Duck
We (me and my siblings) all read Donald Duck and every family holiday we would get a Donald Duck pocket book. All of us got different books so we could trade after we finished reading them. I read so much Donald Duck when I was younger, but this tradition in particular was one that I have fond memories of. (Not the fighting over who actually owned which book or who could read the weekly magazine first.)
Which books are connected to your summer memories? Please share your memories in the comments!
