Summer is a time to relax, but here at UDPL, it’s actually our busiest time of year! I love the extra hustle and bustle around the library during these warmer months, but I have to admit that the abundance of humid, sticky summer days leave me doing less bustling when I’m at home.

In the spirit of that, I’ve been a lazy reader the past couple of weeks and my “to read” stack/list is rapidly becoming a monstrous thing.

I just read Edith Wharton’s lesser-known, short novel “Summer” while riding trains to and from DC to attend a weekend wedding. I’ve been “stealing” “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson from my husband and actually laughing at loud (which, honestly, is not my norm—how have I not read Bryson before?!) The rest of my reading has consisted of favorite blogs/online sites that I’ve been spoon-fed through my Twitter feed.

So, I’m really not making much of a dent in my gigantic, neglected reading stack/list.  

Basically, I’ve got Reader’s Guilt, which I define as when you have lots of books you legitimately want to read or feel you should read and you just aren’t reading any of them. Library Reader’s Guilt is an even more painful condition, being the same malady, but you have the added trauma of having checked out the book, toted it home, stared at the cover for a few weeks and then returned the book because it’s due (or overdue) and you didn’t even actually read it.

I’m on a mission to alleviate my case of Library Reader’s Guilt and I’ll be starting with crossing some of the following off the list or getting them off the stack, one way or another!

*Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (Thanks, Mr. Jack, for the recommendation!)
*All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Because I have to join the rest of the world and read it.)
*The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Yes, I know I’m late on this one, too…reading it for the Bookworms book group…actually, I need to probably abandon the rest of my list and just keep reading this one or I’ll never finish by our September meeting.)
*An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (This fantasy book must have had an excellent review, because I can’t remember why I requested it! Probably will be dropped off the list since I can’t remember and it’s taking up physical space.)
*Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Because it’s one of my favorites and I want to re-read it.)
*The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Anderson Brower (Because I’m curious…or nosy.)
*Luckiest Girl Alive by Jess Knoll (Because it’s getting lots of buzz about being an heir to “Gone Girl.”)
*River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: (Because I need to come up with ideas for how to eat all the summer vegetables, even if my husband is then the one to actually cook them.)
*Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. (I have mixed feelings on this one, but I view it as a requirement.)
*The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. (Because I have to re-read it for a non-work related, ladies book group that I’m a member of—who am I kidding…this will be heavy skimming. Shhh. Don’t tell.)
*Delicious Foods by James Hannaham. (Thanks, India, for the recommendation!)

I believe my recovery is imminent, although, after typing this list, I suddenly find myself a bit tired…

Here’s hoping you’re having better luck with your lists and stacks of books this summer!