Summer Reading and Commitment Issues

I often have commitment issues in the summer. It's too hot to go outside. It's too hot to do anything inside. And I never can find anything to read! Or I can find too much to read. Whichever.

So I'm having some reading commitment issues. I have about four things going on right now and I'm not making major headway in any of them. I'm editing a book for my uncle (I'll be shamelessly plugging it here later so I can make some money off of it) and that is the only thing I have focused on for longer than five minutes this week.

Have I mentioned it is HAWT? Like, over 100 degrees hot. Welcome to the South! This is what summer is all about. And since I can't go outside, I'll just juggle my editing assignment and my three summer reading books.

The first of my summer reading books is
the well-known, best-selling Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. I've read this book before. In fact, I've read all of the books before. But the movie comes out at the end of the month. I struggle to remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, much less what I read two years ago. Ergo, I'm rereading.

Now, I must say, the whole teenage angst thing gets old. It is more about the creatures for me than it is about Edward and Bella. In this one, he won't even let her out of his sight for heaven's sakes. Is that really the type of relationship we want our teenage girls to think is okay? It's quite sickening to me, but I love my personal freedoms more than life itself. I enjoy being able to go and do and be and whatnot. (Sidebar--I'm looking for somewhere to be in the water tomorrow, so...any suggestions?)

But I am enjoying my reread of Eclipse. I sometimes read things so quickly that I skip parts. When I reread, things are like new again to me and I love that part! Now I'll be ready when it's movie time. I'll know exactly where the teenage angst will be overwhelming...and I'll escape for a popcorn refill.

I'm also reader Jen Lancaster's newest memoir, My Fair Lazy. I am a huge Jen Lancaster fan (check out her blog at www.jennsylvania.com). I read two of her other memoirs last summer and I've passed them on multiple times to share with other people. She has a great voice that is laugh-out-loud funny.

This newest memoir is especially meaningful to me as a reality show junkie. Yes, I admit, I have a problem. My name is Dianne and I love trashy reality TV. In fact, as I type this, Tyra is interviewing teenage girls who beat up their mothers. Trashiness! I still love all the VH1 dating shows and "Real World." What can I say? They make me feel good about myself!

It seems Jen and I have this in common. She, too, is a self-confessed reality show junkie. But in her newest memoir, she makes an honest effort to get out there and change how people see her by becoming more refined and knowledgeable about current events, politics, and the arts. So she embarks on a Jenassiance, to remake herself. This book is F-U-N-N-Y! She has a voice that is going to pull you in from the start and totally entertain you. Check it out. It's worth it.

Finally, I'm reading You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning by Celia Rivenbark. Buy it for the title if nothing else! Seriously, though, Rivenbark, a columnist for The Sun Times out of Myrtle Beach also has a light-hearted voice that is entertaining and easy to read. Her books are more like a collection of her columns, just slightly longer. And this one includes recipes! The chapters examine things like over-zealous moms that try to make slacker-moms feel bad. I'm not a mom, but I imagine I would fall into the latter category.

So I technically have four books going on at once. It's like summer reading ADD. The editing job gets the most attention--the quicker I'm done, the quicker it's released, and the quicker I get paid! The others get picked up here and there. I have a few others that are currently laying around the house dog-eared or open and face-down on an arm chair. Hopefully, I'll wind down soon and get settled into some long-term reading. I have a lot of books to knock out this summer and it will be over before I know it!

A month later...

I'm still alive. I finally made it to summer vacation and today is a MAJOR day. Our state's primaries are today and the polls are rapidly reporting results.

I did something today for the first time--I voted in the Republican primary. A fellow educator is running for state superintendent of education on the Republican ticket and I cast my vote for him. I also cast my vote against Nikki Haley. She seems to be the Republican forerunner and also the strongest candidate. Since I'm crossing my fingers for a Dem governor in this Red State, I would prefer a weaker candidate.

Elections are interesting times. I try not to talk politics at home--one set of grandparents is hard core Republicans; the other set is hard core Democrats (almost yellow dog, if you know what i mean). My dad never talks politics and my mom is slightly, or maybe largely, more right than I am. I don't like Sarah Palin, so anyone who gets her vote is not for me. A la Nikki Haley.

Elections also tell you who knows you and how definitely does not. I am constantly getting invitations to join groups for Andre Bauer and other right-wing folks. There is no way I, a public school teacher, is going to support the same people who are proponents of school vouchers and privatization and so forth.

Elections are an interesting time. They bring out the best and the worst in people. And some days, it is hard to be a public school teacher in a Red state.