In keeping with the August theme of vacation and relaxation, my recommended reading for this month is to take time for something light and non-work, non-health related.

Pick something easy that is already on your bookshelf and you have been “meaning to” get to for awhile!  This is an opportunity to take a break from the heavier tomes of the rest of the year and allow yourself to enjoy the ones you keep putting off because you have “more important” things to read.  Taking time to read something purely for pleasure will help you to be refreshed and relaxed when you choose to return to more focused reading at a later date.

For me, this generally means heading to my local library and losing myself in the fiction section for a few hours and coming out with a few new gems in my bag.  Right now I am eagerly awaiting “The Book of Speculation” by Erika Swyler.  When I am enjoying a non-academic book, I love to lose myself in a story of magical realism like this – one that has a bit of fantasy that touches on real-world themes in the context of an imaginary world.

What is on your summer reading list?