Twenty Years of Summer Reading!

When people ask me what I have been doing all summer, I sometimes answer, “reading!” Although that response is not complete, it is truthful. Summer reading is one of my favorite parts of the break. In June 1995, the Deerfield High School English resource center (the WERCS) had a summer reading program that asked students and staff to provide a description, response, and some basic information about the books we read over the summer. Then we got a t-shirt. I still have the T-shirt!

The writing I did for that program was the beginning of my reading journal. Although the summer reading program did not reappear the next year, I continued to write about the books I read. I have written several hundred entries in my journal over the past twenty years.

The second book I wrote about is one that has stuck with me: Microserfs by Douglas Coupland in which I finally learned the difference between a geek and a nerd. After I read Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher, I felt like I had to share it with my students. As the father of a very young daughter, it was a particularly personal for me.

Since I started my reading journal in 1995, many of my entries are rereads. Some I read when I was young, some I reread and wrote multiple entries. A few times I read different versions of the same book, as I did with one of my favorites, A Stranger in A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

I did a considerable amount of teacher reading too. I found Alfie Kohn’s Punished by Rewards to be challenging. It made me reflect on many of my grading and evaluation practices. Vivian Paley’s You Can’t Say You Can’t Play affected me both as a parent and a teacher. I never thought grammar would be an interesting read, but Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, was so engaging that I shared it with my students.

My book journal chronicles my research into vegetarianism. Although it was the famous Animal Liberation by Peter Singer that launched my change of eating, I read everything from John Robbins’ Diet for A New America to collections from the editors of Vegetarian Times to books exploring what it mean to raise children in a meatless household.  

Many books in my journal were recommended by students. One young woman insisted I read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn and another assigned me Jane Yolen’s version of Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose.  One student gave me a great gift and introduced me to Neil Gaiman! 

I read travel books preparing to go overseas. I read plays, anthologies of short stories, and historical fiction. I discovered an interest in the Civil War thanks to Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels.  I read best sellers and obscure titles, biography, graphic novels, and collections of essays.  Shakespeare, avant-garde works, religious texts, and instructional works also make regular appearances in my journal. I have already written lists of my favorites, so I will not repeat that here.

Recently, I have been reading books with my outstanding science fiction book club. Each summer, I read books nominated for the Hugo awards. All of the Harry Potter books are in my reading journal, too, thanks to my son who insisted I read them right after he did. As a teacher, I have read plenty of young adult novels.

This summer, I read several Hugo nominees, books about college and teaching, a fascinating book on race, and some travel books! Although I read all year round, summer reading continues to be a very special literary vacation! 

Escaping the Noise!

This summer, I could not escape from the blaring sounds of leaf blowers, garden tools, construction vehicles, and jackhammers! I was trapped in an anti-symphony! Closing the window only turned down the volume – and not enough.

My street was under construction. They were tearing out most of the curbs and replacing them. The school behind me was under construction. They were renovating the student cafeteria that faces the back of my house. My neighbors’ landscapers seemed to live at their homes and one was replacing their roof. I wished I owned earplugs!

I wonder how people who live in very noisy places can focus. When even one of the construction sounds stops, even briefly, the relief is enormous.  My days have been punctuated by the beep-beep-beep of vehicles backing up – into my house and my head.

Sometimes it is hard to focus on the important things because of the noise. It may be the latest television show or the most popular game app on the phone. It maybe the spin from politicians that is purposely designed to make me angry, indignant, or divert me from the real issues.

The noise distracts me and makes me unable to hear clearly. It makes it more difficult to think logically and focus on what is really important. For the past few weeks, I have cherished the few moments when quiet and clarity prevailed.

As we head back into election season, I fear that we all will be living in a construction zone. It will be challenging to cut through the noise and hear the real issues and ideas. It will be all too tempting to stick our heads into the ground, put in earplugs, or escape into the banal world of triviality and escape. Noise hurts, and when it surrounds us, we are not our best selves.

Have you ever been in one of those uncomfortable and noisy conversations where you fear you might say anything to change the subject or turn off the loud rhetoric? It is the conversational equivalent of a truck beeping in reverse for a very long time. How do we handle this? What do we say? Do we look at our laps and wish for silence? Do we add to the noise by raising our voices above the rest or simply talk about the weather or the local sports team?

I have been seeking silent focus. It has been difficult to find. I fear that will be the case for a while. However, I am teaching myself to tune out the noise by writing like this, and by becoming more involved in important and meaningful activities. I don’t notice the noise when I am with my family or working with my students. I notice it in those moments in-between.

Noise keeps us from being who we really are. Noise prevents us from thinking fully and deeply. Sometimes, those who do not want us to take advantage of our higher intellects use noise to prevent significant conversation. Sometimes noise is the accumulation of all the trivialities and distractions that are far more salient and attractive than the important matters that count.

There is a place for small talk and idle conversation. However, it should not replace big talk and substantive thought. Easy answers, quick platitudes, and flashy distractions are the cotton candy of our social diet. Living in the noise is not healthy. We must create spaces and times when we can slowly, thoughtfully, and quietly think.