When I think of summer, I think of picnics and patios, badminton and the beach, and, maybe above all else, watermelon. The quintessential summer fruit, nothing beats biting into a big triangle slice of watermelon after a day spent outdoors.
A picnic with simple food, shared with good people, is one of the best ways to spend a day. If you’re looking for some inspiration for summer days spent outside, a fresh slice of watermelon in hand, we’ve got you covered!
Summer is a favorite season for many, although I do not include myself in this statement. I am an autumn soul (so much so that I have a maple leaf tattooed on my arm and an orange cat named Pumpkin Waffles) but I do appreciate every season and enjoy what each one has to offer. For me, summer is holiday picnics enjoying my mom’s famous macaroni and potato salads, mango rose sunsets shimmering like spilled paint across Lake Erie, golden lightening bugs bejeweling blades of grass, and evening ice cream excursions. It’s taking day trips to parks and gardens, toasting marshmallows over a blazing campfire, watching fireworks erupt in explosions of vibrancy and of course, reading beneath the dappled shade of an oak tree while sipping a mason jar of lavender lemonade. In literature, important events often play out in these golden months, especially in coming-of-age novels where summer is the setting for growth, change, and new beginnings. It is the season for romance in many a story. Couples finding love beneath the infinite empyrean paradise that is a summer sky. Summer magic can be found in the foaming bubbles of ocean waves kissing the sand, in the kaleidoscopic colors of a carnival or in the glittering stars bursting from a sparkler. It is easy to see why this is the season that receives so many accolades from authors and is perhaps the most popular seasonal setting in stories of all genres. Here are some literary quotes about summertime!
“Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
– Henry James
“Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.” – Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird
“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.” – Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
– John Lubbock, The Use of Life
“In the summer, the days were long, stretching into each other. Out of school, everything was on pause and yet happening at the same time, this collection of weeks when anything was possible.” ―Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride
“The castle grounds were gleaming in the sunlight as though freshly painted; the cloudless sky smiled at itself in the smoothly sparkling lake, the satin-green lawns rippled occasionally in a gentle breeze: June had arrived.”
―J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
“All in all, it was a never to be forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which,
in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.” —L.M. Montgomery, Anne’s House of Dreams
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date”-William Shakespeare Sonnet 18
“In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes, and every sunset is different.” ― John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent
“One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by.”-Jeanette Walls The Glass Castle
Just because the weather’s cooling down and turning to autumn doesn’t mean that we can’t still read beach reads! We know that a lot of you are still on the holds list for 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, so we thought we’d recommend some similar authors and titles for you while you wait.
Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the beach read, as her books are always set on the island of Nantucket, and her newest novel is no different. 28 Summers presents a tale inspired by the film, Same Time Next Year, that follows a man’s discovery of his mother’s long-term relationship with the husband of a Presidential frontrunner.
Click any of the readalike book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. You can find 28 Summers on Overdrive here.
Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs
Accompanying her aging father on a trip to his native France, a widowed photographer is led by his memories of World War II to unexpected revelations about their family’s history at the same time she bonds with a handsome American historian.
Two childhood friends reunite at a summer retreat, each harboring a horrible secret that would test the bounds of their longtime relationship if revealed.
Spending her days at the library and her nights stargazing and contemplating a new relationship, Darcy is unexpectedly drawn into the summertime dramas of three families including those of her recently married ex, a situation that compels Darcy to consider what she truly wants.
Reconnecting on one of Charleston’s most beautiful barrier islands, a pair of former sweethearts rediscover their feelings for one another while their jealous spouses pursue an unexpected attraction of their own over more than 20 years also marked by financial catastrophes, family tragedies and devastating heartbreaks.
Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six-year-old television producer living her dream in New York City. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door…only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had locked away forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s meticulously constructed world will be shaken to its core, resurrecting memories of a passionate young love affair that threatens everything that has come to define her.
As much as I have enjoyed spending time at home with my cats, husband, and favorite yoga pants, I am so stoked about spending some time back in the library beginning next week! Library staff is slowly returning to the library to bring our amazing community some great programming, materials, and more to enjoy this summer! In particular, I am brimming with excitement for RiverCon! That is why there are so many exclamation points already in this post.
If you are into pop culture, comics books, graphic novels, and manga you don’t want to miss this celebration of nerdom. You can take a look at the goodness coming your way on our RiverCon webpage!
We’ve got something for everyone and it all kicks off Saturday, June 6th. What might that day look like for you if you were to participate in this at home mini-con? Let me paint the picture for you!
9 am- 1 pm: Patrons who pre-registered for a RiverCon@Home activity kit (if you didn’t claim your kit yet click here!) can pick-up their kits by stopping at the front entrance of the library to grab your kit from one of the librarians. You can also sign-up early for one of our super fun summer reading programs! Pre-registration for kits will end June 5th, but fear not- we will have unclaimed RiverCon@Home kits on hand to pass out to anyone who stops by on a while supplies last basis!
What will my RiverCon@Home kit include? A RiverCon magnet, materials to make your own upcycled comic book bookmark, blank panel pages to draw your own comics, a librarian curated graphic novel reading list with discussion questions to explore at home, superhero stickers, and more!
2-3 pm: Teens and adults can learn all about the interesting history of comics and graphic novels in Cleveland from CSU literature professor Jeff Karem at our Graphic Novelists in Cleveland webinar.
The fun continues all month with our first ever Community Cosplay Contest running from June 6th- June 29th! Find all the necessary information for participation here. We want to see your creativity! All ages are invited to bring to life your favorite characters for a chance to win a sweet prize bag. Two lucky winners will win a selection of graphic novels and gift cards to Carol & John’s Comic Shop, Immortals Inc., and Mitchell’s Ice Cream!
Keep checking back here every Thursday, June 11- July 2 to read interviews with talented local comic artists and writers! We will be talking to Karly West, creator of The Scholarly Banana, comics designer and artist Clare Kolat, and Tony Isabella, creator of Black Lightning, to name a few.
I’ll be posting some sneak peeks of our RiverCon@Home kits next Thursday, highlighting some more of the great comic book content we have curated for you, and reminding you all of the awesomeness ahead one more time before the big kick-off day! It’s so nice to have something to look forward to these days, don’t you think?
How is everyone doing at home? Though it can seem like the days blur into one another and spring weather might not actually ever arrive, something that I have been focusing on to put me in good spirits is thinking about what I can look forward to in the coming months, rather than focusing on what I can’t do. For example, I’m looking forward to decorating my new home, celebrating my one-year wedding anniversary with my husband, and reading all of the awesome books that will be published!
I’m a huge fan of the graphic novel and comic format, and am particularly excited about some forthcoming titles that I was able to get a sneak peak of earlier this week in a fun Library Journal webinar. Despite being at home, my friend and fellow comic loving librarian Megan and I were able to chat during the webinar and share our excitement in real time! Thanks technology.
Take a look below to see some of the new graphic novels I’m stoked to read!
Don’t forget that while you can’t put items on hold at the moment, you can still add titles to your wishlist, and you can still read plenty of comics and graphic novels on Hoopla (including some stellar bonus borrows that won’t affect your monthly borrow limit!).
What are you looking forward to? Have you read any amazing comics or graphic novels this past month? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Read it or Weep 