Someone wise once told me that summer is like spring with no clothes on, that she’s bare and beautiful with a saucy whisper in her breezes.
My soul stirs every time this season saunters into my existence. Within summer’s heated grip I begin to remember how life used to be, imagine how it could have been or could be, and everything–every little thing–seems new and exciting. I can actually taste once again a rich hunger for life on the back of my tongue.
That’s what summer does to me. It’s how a good book makes me feel, too.
My best memories are of great books I’ve read during the summers of my life. These richly-textured reads traveled with me from school or office to beach, to bed…and a very special few journeyed with me into those wee hours couched between midnight and dawn when a sane soul should be sleeping. Each one teemed with full-bodied and well-mined characters, the lives, loves, losses and triumphs of each played out against a backdrop that intrigued me and a complex plot that captivated me. These books made me think and feel, and sometimes even heal.
Good books, like summer, have a scent all their own, one that skitters up my nostrils, leaving an indelible imprint. Once devoured they’re never totally forgotten. Scenes and characters linger at the fringes of my mind for days, weeks, even years. They become a piece of me; a part that no matter how deeply tucked over time is never far from the surface.
A terrific story draws me in and swallows me whole. Without even intending to do so, I’m suddenly falling, sometimes just back against my hammock or my pillow, but most often I’m falling in love…with life, with an idea, with the possibilities of “what if?” A great book stirs me up inside, urging me to do and to be and to dare. Wherever its journey takes me, no matter if it drenches me in danger, mixes me up in mystery, or simply leads me along a light-hearted avenue, when I get to the last page I’m changed and recharged. Summer does the same. By the end of August, I’ve often been to some space wild and while glad to be home again, I’m even happier to have been elsewhere if only for a little while.
When I was younger, I tended to lose things during the summer–my head, my heart, my virginity…and years later, my mother. I remember those summers most, and the books I was reading during those pivotal points are like a familiar friend to me. I found comfort in their pages, kinship in their characters. They helped me through. Lifted me up.
Great books–like summertime–stay in my head and in my heart. They’re bare, beautiful, heartbreaking at times, yet full of hope and always steeped in the wondrous, wild emotions of life fully lived.
Have any books captivated you during the summers of your life? If so, I’d love to hear about them. What stirred you? What scene, even years later, lingers with you most? And if you had to name your favorite summer and the book you were reading at that time, what would be your answer?
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Ohhhhh, Lindsay, have you ever surfaced the summer memories in my mind, heart and soul! As a child I remember well the summers when my Mom would hike me and my four brothers down a path to the library. I don’t know what was more adventurous–the books I knew that were waiting for me, or the stories my mother would tell along that path. Stories about how it was paved by the Indians in a century past. I almost hated to arrive at the library because the stories would end. But no…I realized behind those big wooden double doors, the stories were just beginning. Some of the titles that enthralled me were The Five Little Pepper series, The Little House on the Prairie books, Nancy Drew and Little Women.
As I grew and matured, so did the summer reads. Gone With The Wind, Lord of the Flies, and…those books I wasn’t supposed to know about–they were the most warming to my heart and soul.
My favorite summer was the summer of 2001 when I felt my hormones kicked in to retroactive mode. I discovered the FEELING of love–right through the center of my existence. And through that love I discovered myself, my passion for writing, my dreams coming true. Every summer since has been just a little better than the one before. This summer, here in Central Florida (hurricane capital of the world) I didn’t get to read my usual one book per week. I was busy writing books. My first, Tropical Warnings, is due for release November 2006. My second, The Dolphin Triangle, has just been contracted by Triskelion. I have no words to describe the feeling I have when I think about someone in the future sitting down on a warm summer night and picking up MY book to read! It’s an absolutely overwhelming and awesome feeling.
Thank you for bringing forth so many wonderful memories and hopes for dreams yet to come true.
April, what a beautiful post!!! (I must read your work. I’ll make a note for your 2 upcoming titles. Congrats! Revision 14, a Web site I help with, would be glad to post info about the books. Let us know!)
Those trips to the library with your mom sound wonderful. Our mom would take my brother and me to the library with her and I remember that same giddy feeling when I walked in the door. ONE OF FRED’S GIRLS was the first book I ever read on my own, and it took me a looong time. (All summer, in fact.:wink:) I hauled that book everywhere.
Thanks much for sharing – the words you weave are truly inspiring! – Lindsay
Good Morning, Lindsay and thank YOU. I’m off to check out “Revision 14″ I love the name:razz:
Lindsay, as I read your lovely take on summer, I was instantly dropped into one of your earlier titles, TOO HEARTS TOO WILD, and remembered again how much–and why–I loved that book. Like your article, it was full of sensual detail and lots of tone and texture. The summer books I’ve read that take me back to a special time and place are too many to mention here, but oh, my, they certainly do that, don’t they? Actually, I might just have to pull TOO HEARTS TOO WILD off my shelf and visit again with your wonderful, richly drawn characters!
Best,
Edie Hanes
Like April, some of my favorite memories of summer from when I was a kid were trips to libraries, the books I read and even trips to famous author’s houses – Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house in Desmet, SD, and Louisa May Alcott’s in Massachusetts. I would add one series to April’s list – Anne of Green Gables.
But, my favorite summer book – one I reread every summer for years and years – was Pride and Prejudice. The scene I’ve reread the most in it is the proposal scene halfway through the book. LOVE IT!
-Michelle
Edie, thanks so much for the kind words!
Michelle, I’m a fan of P&P (and Mr. Darcy!) too.