Reading for fun

A former student recently asked me what I like to read for fun, and I was astonished just a bit by the realization that I really don't know anymore! I mean, for years now, nearly all the reading I have done has been geared toward my dissertation, and there has been very little time for "pleasure reading." Since finishing my graduate work, I have been rather deliberate in the decision not to worry about academic work too much. For one, the summers are always difficult for me to get work done because Marshell is teaching everyday in Huntsville. Second, I get stressed and short with the kids when I'm trying to work but they won't really let me. So I decided what I really wanted to do for the month of July is just enjoy my kids in ways I hadn't in many months while I was desperately wrapping up my dissertation....And do some reading for fun. I've read a few romance novels since I finished summer teaching, and I have always enjoyed them when I'm in the mood for something entirely frivolous (and believe me, something mindless is sometimes all I can handle after a long day with the kids). But I've wanted something more, too, and I've discovered quite an interest in fantasy literature.

I started my summer reading with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for the recently developed Children's Lit Book Club. I had read that one as a kid, along with a couple others in the series, but I'm almost shamefaced to admit that I never read the entire series. I'm down to the last two books of the series, and I love them. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been my favorite so far, and what particularly appeals to me (not really surprisingly) are the subtle forms of temptations that each of the characters faces at various times on their journey: Lucy's desire to be more beautiful than Susan, Edmund and Caspian arguing over the water that turns everything to gold, Eustace becoming a dragon because of his dragonish thoughts. Truly fantastic stuff as they face the darkness of their own desires and Aslan reminds them of what they already know or what they need to learn.

I'm in the middle of The Silver Chair and I still have The Final Battle to read. (Sorry to all you Lewis fans: I'm reading them in the chronological order rather than the original publication order simply because I didn't realize there was a difference when I started the series.) Then, I'm on to Lord of the Rings. Yes, I'm again ashamed to admit that I've never read it, either! And last on my immediate list of things to read for fun is a YA fantasy novel: The Lightning Thief. That one in particular I can further justify because I think I might teach it eventually, but I would probably read it regardless, as I've been told it's a really terrific series.

So that's my reading program for the summer--some fantasy fun that is yet intellectual and/or spiritual.