Summer Reading, now in the RWU Lounge

Do you remember the days of summer reading as a kid? For me, it was trips to the library to bring home stacks of books. Long afternoons in the backyard reading in the shade. A giant L.L. Bean tote bag of books to take on vacation. Reading in bed by flashlight. (Okay, I may have done that year round.) And, probably most important of all, the glorious freedom of reading whatever I felt like on any given day.

Somewhere along the way, we started making summer reading more complicated than it needed to be. We turned it into spreadsheets, prompts, goals, and tracking apps. Bingo cards that forced you to look at your TBR and find a book with a blue cover. Assigned reading and deadlines and productivity over pleasure.

This summer, Bonny and Kym and I are proposing something different.

We’re opening the Read With Us Lounge.

In the lounge you are free to . . .

Read whatever delights you.

Read whatever keeps you turning pages.

Read whatever makes you forget to check your phone.

Read whatever makes you stay up too late.

Read whatever makes you happy.

There may be prizes but there’s no competition. No pressure. No homework. Just permission to enjoy reading again. The Lounge will be open all summer long, and we’ll be dropping in every Monday with book talk, recommendations, fun topics, and the occasional prize.

So grab a book, pull up a chair, and join us this summer in the Read With Us Lounge.