Spring is in the air

Well, it would be, if it would just quit snowing in Calgary.

This is not Calgary.

 This is the view at Barnacle Bill's Beach Bungalows, Belize. 
(Photo by Bill Taylor)

But that’s ok, I’m virtually on the cusp of hitting warm, sunny, snowless beaches way far south, meaning that it is imperative that I scoop up plenty of reading material.  So, with holidays pending, I’ve been frantically collecting books this week. Yes, lots and lots of books – mostly for my e-reader.  I had to break down and get one, as I just couldn’t justify packing a bag of books and paying extra for it at the airport.  It’s been an interesting experience for a semi-luddite such as me.  But enough of that, here’s what I’ve stashed both electronically and in hard copy:

Good thing I’m headed for ‘paradise’, as the many fantasy novels I’ve gathered seem to be about dystopian societies.  A little worrisome, maybe.  Included are Gone by Michael Grant , Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve, Shift by Charlotte Agell, The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, Winter’s End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher.

If I’m not heading toward the future, I’m lingering in the past with Riot by Walter Dean Myers, A Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz and Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang,

Contemporary stories include Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park and for something a little lighter, The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler.

I love mysteries, so will bring along Calling a Dead Man by Gillian Cross and  What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn

A few graphic novels that I’ve been meaning to read are Foiled by Jane Yolen, The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa, Hereville by Barry Deutsch and Grease Monkey by Tim Eldred.

I don’t really ‘do’ short stories but have set myself the task to read Shelf Life edited by Gary Paulsen, This Family is Driving Me Crazy edited by Jerry and Helen Weiss and Best Shorts selected by Avi and Carolyn Shute.

And finally, just for fun, silliness and pure fancy, I’ve got The Doom Machine by Mark Teague and Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston.

It’s not likely I’ll get to all of these in the next few weeks. But with summer (almost) around corner, I’ll have more time to get caught up with my assortment of reading, one-way-or-another.

Ahh, summer…

What will you be reading over the summer?