Tag Archive for "Reading" - Beaufort Books

Posts Tagged ‘Reading’

How to Make Reading Part of a Busy Lifestyle

Thursday, September 21st, 2023

Hi everyone, Beauba Fett back for another blog post.

Are you someone that has a nightstand stacked high with books that you’ve been meaning to get to, but just haven’t found the time? Is your schedule booked from dawn to dusk? Do you have some time in the day to pick up that book, but just aren’t able to get yourself to start? Do not fear, here are 3 tips that will help you maximize your time so that you can move titles from “Want to Read” to “Read.”

Schedule Reading Time

We all have 24 hours everyday, and it’s up to us how to spend that time. Getting ready for work, commuting, working, commuting again, making dinner, family obligations, etc. take up a large chunk of said time, so much so that it can feel like we have no time for anything else before it’s time for bed to start the process over again tomorrow. This is where the power of scheduling can be your best friend. If you’re someone who doesn’t write down their schedules everyday, I can’t recommend it enough. I noticed such a boost in my productivity, focus, and prioritization once I started blocking out specific times in the day for my obligations and goals. If you already plan out your days, I challenge you to go through your schedule and analyze each block of time you have so that you can find time to pencil in even just thirty minutes of reading time. By setting a time each day to read, you’ll create a new habit and start to look forward to it.

Double Up

“What if I went through my schedule and genuinely found no time to spare?” “I have other hobbies and interests that take up my free time, but I still want to read.” No worries, that’s where my second tip comes in. Reading is the best form of entertainment because you are able to pick up a book anywhere you want. No WiFi? No problem. Books don’t need to be charged, and they take up a relatively small amount of space. What’s stopping you from reading on your subway commutes instead of scrolling through Instagram? What about your hour lunch break? You might even be able to steal a couple pages in between assignments at work. If you drive to work, why not listen to the audio book of that title you’ve been wanting to read for years? How about when you’re taking the dog for a walk? Plain and simply, by poking holes into your obligations, you can find the time to double up and create more reading time.

Pick Books That Interest You

This one might sound obvious, but I think this is the single most important factor that will differentiate you from finding the time or not. Why read something if it doesn’t make you want to turn the pages? I think a lot of people get caught up in what they feel like they “should” be reading, or just grab popular titles without considering whether it’s about something that will interest them. Forget about top charts and conventional picks, think about topics and/or themes that interest you and go find a book that will deliver that for you! Reading is supposed to be fun, never forget that!

Best of luck on your reading journey!

-Beauba Fett

Book Villians Beware, the New Intern is Here

Friday, September 8th, 2023

Call me, beep me, if you want to reach me, it’s Kim Beaussible reporting for duty as one of your new Beaufort Books Interns for Fall of 2023 (somehow it’s that year). Allow me to introduce myself.

I’m a freelance editor from Oregon with a Master’s degree in Book Publishing from Portland State University and a former member of Ooligan Press. Before then, I graduated from the University of Denver Publishing Institute and completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon where I majored in English with a minor in Writing, Public Speaking, and Critical Reasoning. Books and great writing have always been my passion, but growing up somewhere that cable TV can’t reach may have influenced that (I didn’t actually get to watch Kim Possible unless I was at a friend’s house or until we got satellite when I was in high school). Now that I’m here at Beaufort, I’m excited to continue to learn and share my knowledge with authors and audiences who love the world of books just as much as I do.

Personally, I read far and wide across the bookstore from literary fiction, fantasy, general/contemporary fiction, thrillers, mythological retellings, and many more. Much like the rest of the Beaufort staff, I mainly just enjoy a well-written book, but the genre varies. Now that we know each other a little better, let’s talk about BOOKS because I don’t know about you but I’ve read some interesting ones in the past few years that I can’t stop thinking about and I have to tell someone else about this one.

As a reader and editor, I’ve been thinking about expectations lately. Years ago when I had creative writing classes, the issue I ran into was that my plots always felt somewhat predictable or lacked the creativity other writers had. However, being an editor is rather different. You’re presented with someone else’s story, fact or fiction, and are asked to help package it. Packaging can mean different things (editing, cover design, etc.) but it’s largely about meeting the audience’s expectations, whether that’s for genre, form, or other book-loving criteria. And there’s nothing worse than reading a book that doesn’t meet them, and I expect a lot from my authors. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is one book I went into with somewhat high expectations. As a story about a platonic male-female, two-decade friendship I expected to be moved by the ups and downs of having friends for that long, especially one of the other sex and who you work with. Sam, the male protagonist, had characterizations and mannerisms as a shy, too-smart-for-his-own-good nerd that reminded me of my older brother. He has a unique worldview, finding comfort in the world of video game development, and Zevin’s writing allowed me to connect him with someone in my own life. That’s all to say, she had already started to meet my expectations. What I hadn’t anticipated was the gut wrenching chapter entitled NPC: The Nonplayable Character. If you’ve read the book, you’ll remember it as the one where you’re sobbing so hard you actually have to put the book down. That chapter exceeded any expectations I had. It was one of those moments as an editor that I knew this was the reason the book had made it out of the slush pile, I had never read anything like it. Zevin had shifted her writing style entirely for the chapter, giving us an unexpected perspective and changing the entire dynamic of the book. The defiance of my expectations is why I still talk about this book more than a year after completing it.

In writing, much like in life, things don’t always turn out the way we expect, which can be the best part of reading. The mark of a good writer or editor is to know what expectations to uphold and when to deliver the unexpected, managing and balancing them in perfect harmony.

You can expect (wink) to hear more from me in the coming months with my thoughts on books and maybe even a spooky treat for Spooky Season.

Signing off, your basic average girl, here to save the world of books,

Kim Beaussible

Beaufort Titles I Will Read in 2023

Tuesday, January 31st, 2023

Hello, readers! My name is Beau Henry, and I am one of Beafort’s newest interns. As a new intern, I’m very excited to dig a bit deeper into Beaufort’s incredible list. Aside from the bestsellers like If I Did it and I Shall Live, I’m hoping to explore some frontlist titles in genres I’m not as familiar with. As someone who has mostly been interested in literary fiction, I’m hoping to get a better grasp on genres such as romance, mystery, and science fiction and to expand my reading habits. The following books are a few that I’m very excited to explore.

The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way by Raymond Benson

On top of an excellent title, the plot’s labyrinthine twists and turns look fascinating, and the sardonic humor in the narrative voice is endearing. The layers to the relationships within the novel and the warped Americana at the center of the novel are very much in line with my interests.

Hidden Falls by Kevin Myers

The tragedy of the plot is deeply layered, and the criminal conspiracy that pushes the narrative forward is appealing. I love when books have the capability to draw you in with carefully crafted narrative turns, and Hidden Falls certainly does that. The austerity of the main character’s voice adds additional weight to the themes in the novel.

A Few Words About Words by Joe Diorio

As a huge grammar nerd, I am always on the lookout for new books about grammar and language. Grammar is fascinating because it allows you to view language as equations where there are right answers and wrong answers. While art is subjective, grammar is not, and I find that to be very reassuring.

Whereabouts Unknown by Richard Probert

As someone who finds expansive, maximalist novels to be very exciting, this historical fiction novel is intriguing. The parallels between family connections and lives marred by tragedy across decades is incredible, and I’m hoping to find out how Probert pulls off a narrative with such a vast scope.

While these four are at the top of my list, I’m looking forward to seeing the new titles that Beaufort has in store for this year!

Until next time,

Beau Henry

What Makes Author Events So Appealing?

Thursday, October 6th, 2022

Dear Readers,

One of my favorite pastimes is to attend author events. I have gone to more events this year than ever before. The last time I attended a bookish event was when I attended the Boston Book Festival back in 2019. It was the first time I ever covered an event for my university’s newspaper and my first experience with journalism.

When COVID hit, bookstores had to figure something out. If these events could not continue in-person, what were the alternatives? I am sure that many of the questions asked were in line with how to bring together many people in one setting in order to hear an author speak. Then, online events came in full swing. It allowed for people with busy schedules or long commute times to be able to see an author from the comfort of wherever they were.

At the beginning of 2022, author events began to return to in-person, with an added bonus of hybrid events. Being able to meet authors face-to-face again and hear them discuss their works that they have spent time on, often in the hopes of giving an audience something to love or learn from, is utterly inspiring to me.

It has made me wonder what makes author events so appealing? On the one hand, author events are like celebrity meet-and-greets for readers. If one loves an author’s book, one may hope that they can meet the author in-person and pick their brains. On the other hand, readers just love to hear about books, but this is a step above a simple recommendation.

Another thing that I personally love about author discussions is that they are super inspiring and motivating. I never leave an author event without immediately yearning for my laptop to continue writing my own manuscript.

For introverts, author events can either be a completely solo experience or it can be a great opportunity to make bookish friends that may be hard to come by in a different environment.

For go-getters, these events are great ways to branch out and connect with people in various industries related to books. Sometimes author’s friends, publicists, editors, and/or agents tag along. If you can find a way to put yourself out there, author events are a great avenue for your career.

I love the excitement that author discussions bring. It feels so amazing to know that an author is just a regular person who found the time to put their imagination on a page and sought out the right people in order to give people a story to love. Since the majority of events I go to feature Young Adult writers, it reminds me that no matter how old I get, I was a teenager once who fell in love with reading, and I want nothing more than to share that same feeling with teens in the future.

What do you love about author events?

Sincerely,

Kaliisha of Woods BEAUyond

ROBERT’S RULES News!

Wednesday, May 15th, 2019

Robert’s Rules Gets Read on the Radio

Starting July 22, Wisconsin Public Radio will be reading a chapter a day from Robert’s Rules. Mark your calendars, readers!

“Chapter A Day” can be heard weekdays on the Ideas Network at 12:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Jim Fleming, Norman Gilliland, Susan Sweeney, and Michele Good read a chapter from a book for a half hour each weekday.

For more information on Wisconsin Public Radio and “Chapter A Day,” click here.

Manuscripts

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016

Reading an unpublished work is kind of like going backstage after a show. Backstage lacks the polish of the finished product. You can see the mechanics of the magic, and yet somehow it doesn’t take any of the magic away. The ropes and pulleys, the props and cast-off costumes betray the hours of hard work that the show concealed so well.

Manuscripts have the same essence as what lies behind the stage door. They are not perfect, but with a little work they have the potential to be just as beautiful and heart-wrenchingly good as any Broadway production.

About a week into my internship, I was asked to read some of the manuscripts in our submissions portal. I was thrilled. This, I thought, is what publishing is all about. My excitement died down a little bit as I began sifting through the entries and didn’t immediately find the next Harry Potter. Nonetheless, I was reading unpublished material, and it fulfilled every dream I’d had of interning at a publishing company in New York City.

I’ve been honored to be able to work with a few manuscripts over the course of the summer. As an intern, I’m not making big changes or drastically shaping the future of the American novel à la Maxwell Perkins—don’t worry. Most of the time I’m just an extra pair of eyes to look over the edits and make sure they were made correctly. But even in such a small capacity, I’m still incredibly excited every time I’m asked to help with one of the books. For one thing, I love reading more than anything, so it could never be boring. For another, even though I’m providing only the smallest help I still feel important. I’m saving the world one Oxford comma at a time. Most of all, it is a privilege to see an artistic process take shape as the manuscript becomes a book. I imagine a stage manager or a producer feels the same way, watching their play go from script to stage. For publishers, it all begins with a manuscript.

–Caroline, Intern

*This is a joint post between Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill

The Golden Ticket

Friday, January 17th, 2014

January 17, 2014

Hello there! I’m Frankie, a new editorial intern at Beaufort Books, or as I shall be known here, Violet Beauregarde, not because I resemble a giant blueberry, but simply because Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was one of my favorite books as a child (and secretly still is). Despite the fact that I am, of course, also a fan of more mature works of literature, I have recently reread some of the books that captivated me as a child in order to ease up from some of the more serious works that I have been required to read, and to examine the elements which caused these books to leave such an impression. The fantastical descriptions of candy have obvious appeal to a child; however, I think the dark aspects of the story are what made it stand out from some of the more wholesome children’s classics. Some of my other favorite books as a child were James and the Giant Peach, also by Roald Dahl, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll. Clearly, I have had a bit of an off-beat imagination from an early age. My mother passed on her love of books to me, as she reads at least one a week, never leaves the house without her Kindle, and has written a few books of her own. When I was first learning to read, we would read these books together, and only after finishing the books would I be allowed to watch the film versions. I now find myself a Comparative Literature major and a publishing intern, so upon reflection, I’m grateful for this ritual that my mother shared with me, as it has clearly had an influence. Not to mention, I still have a soft spot for English literature with somewhat macabre content (A Tale of Two Cities makes me cry hysterically every time). That being said, I’m eager to explore new books and learn more about the twists and turns of publishing as an intern. Hopefully my time at Beaufort will end more positively than the original Violet’s did at the Wonka Factory. We’ll see.

-Violet Beauregarde tumblr_lqwf1z3ekV1qi2mrio1_500 (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Paramount Pictures)

Gone Girl, Lost Jacket

Friday, October 11th, 2013

The saga of reading the dusty books on my shelf continues! This time I picked up Gone Girl Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

I came across this book in sort of a strange way (ok, maybe not that strange). I hadn’t heard about it at all, despite the rush of posts about the upcoming movie, until my father gave me a copy. He had happened across it somehow and had no use for it, so he gave it to me, the Daughter Who Reads A Lot. It’s a hardcover copy which is missing a dust jacket, so I couldn’t check out the synopsis. Instead of looking up the book on Amazon I decided to start reading without any information.

This brings me to the topic of today’s blog post: the novelty of reading a book with no prior knowledge, and no assumptions. I can’t remember the last time I started reading a book without knowing the author’s work, or reading the synopsis, or finding some reviews online, or going off the recommendation of a friend. I don’t buy books without at least looking at the back cover to check out the synopsis, and I don’t think I’m alone in this habit. Even if I ignored the synopsis, it’s difficult to avoid the multitude of media entries that cover new books. It’s a wonder I managed to avoid the articles gushing about the casting for the Gone Girl movie, expected to come out in 2014.

Happily, your local library might be able to help you out. You might have heard of the blind date with a book, the trend that’s sweeping the nation!

The idea is, if you haven’t yet heard of it, to give brief details about the subject matter (e.g. thriller, non-fiction, history) and maybe a few quick facts. This won’t help you out with recognizing the book once you’ve ripped the packaging, but it might help you in your ambling search through the aisles.

As far as my opinion of Gone Girl, I read it in about three days. I started out hating the two main characters- which I believe is intentional, having now finished the book and looked up reviews- and certainly had no idea that the wife would suddenly disappear, something I would have known if I’d read the synopsis. There’s a huge plot twist which I won’t spoil, so if I were you I would check this book out! I’m also excited to see the movie when it comes out. The casting seems great so far. I’m especially excited about Niel Patrick Harris- of course, he’s always the right choice (well documented fact based on my highly esteemed opinion), and this role seems especially perfect.

I am now reading a crime thriller, as I seem to be on a thriller kick. This one is by Marcia Muller, who shares my last name. Did I buy it because we have the same last name? Yes. Yes I did. After I finish this, however, I think I will have to start digging into the top shelf on my bookcase. I affectionately call it the I Have a BA In English, I Should Be Reading These shelf. It’s not my favorite shelf.

-A Little Beau Told Me

Free to a good home: book, gently used

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

In my quest to read the poor abandoned books on my shelf I was bound to pick up a dud at some point, and I did. I then continued to read it for about five days or so before finally abandoning it. When passersby asked me how the book was going (family members, coworkers, confused strangers), I responded with my complaints about the book thus far. Most accepted my frustrations. One finally asked, “So why are you putting up with it?” It’s a good question. If I hated it so much, why didn’t I just stop reading it? The answer is that I felt, in some ways, that I owed something to the author. As if abandoning the book a quarter of the way through would insult the author (who happens to be deceased), or insult the book itself. So that got me thinking- are there rules about when you can abandon a book? What is the threshold one must pass before deeming a book unworthy? Does it depend on the book, on the general esteem of the author, or something else?

This brings me to this article by goodreads.com:

According to goodreads, most readers will finish the book regardless of their frustrations. It surprised me to find that so many people will finish a book despite disliking it, but I suppose there could be contributing factors- bragging rights for something like Ulysses, staying current in pop culture for something like Twilight. Coming in second is ditching the book after 50-100 pages. This is the method I seem to hold with most often, as I think I finished around 60 pages or so. It’s enough time to allow the book to pick up the pace if it has been slow thus far, and enough time to establish whether or not I think it will be worth my while in the near future.

But am I being unfair to the book, or to the author? I think this article makes my case for me. Says the author, “Stop reading a book if [you] don’t enjoy it…I’ve put down several books over the last few weeks–and it is such a relief. More time for reading good books! Less time reading books out of a sense of obligation.” Personally, I agree. I read books while traveling, more often than not- on the train, on a break at work, while walking down the street. I don’t want to be unhappy and frustrated while doing those things. I’d rather read a book that makes me happy…like the 30 pound Game of Thrones book in my bag which I tote around everywhere.

-A Little Beau Told Me

Breaking Beau: Reading on the Subway

Friday, September 21st, 2012

Hi, my name is Ryan, and –with Rachel- I’m a new intern at Beaufort Books. I just moved here from a tiny rural town in South Carolina, so I guess you could say I’m “transitioning” at the current moment. However, coming from rural South Carolina and moving to the Big Apple, in addition to joining the Beaufort team, has me definitely excited for what the next few months will hold.

By “transitioning”, what I mean is that I feel like a bit of an outsider here in NYC (as happens when moving to any new place). Whether you’re in the Big Apple or not, at some point in your life, you have felt this sensation – this outsiderly feeling of being a person out of place with your environment. When I first came to NYC about a month ago, everything was new to me. For example, riding on the subway during rush hour was like being on a Disney ride – All the people grasping onto the metal rides over their heads and nonchalantly holding on while I worked as hard as possible to plant my knees firmly and dig my feet into the subway floor, to ensure I didn’t get flung into another person at the next platform stop.

Yet, with riding the subway – there was something about the whole experience that really stuck with me more than anything else, beyond just the whole phenomenon of being blasted through underground tunnels, and that was the deathly quietness of the people riding the subway.

I don’t know – call me what you will, but I for some reason had it in my head that the subways would be bustling with noise, like mini over-packed sports bars. People engaged in constant conversation: “How about the elections?” “What did you think of Breaking Bad last night?” I foresaw exotic street performers spinning on their heads while the Q train came to a halt at the Union Square stop. This is what you think of when you have lived in a rural town down South your entire life. I mean, NEW YORK IS CRAZY – LIKE…..IT’S THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS!

Instead, there I was in the subway, finding myself trying to “fit in with the crowd” as much as possible and I found myself, doing what?

Reading a book?

Yes, reading. Everyone seems to be reading – everyone might be an exaggeration, but a lot more people than I was expecting had their little e-readers or newspapers or cell phones, reading away.

And I was taken aback a little bit – to be completely honest. Okay…sure, the silence of the subway happens mainly because not a single person knows another person (Another image I had in my head before I came to the city was that people…friends and family…travel together. I don’t know why I had this image, but I did).

There was a Clint Eastwood-looking man, with unkempt hair and an unshaven face holding a warped copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame…and a younger lady with bright red hair, leaning against the subway doors, devouring a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey. And there I was: reading a book and fitting right into this whole reading frenzy – like a mobile coffee shop, sans the pleasant aromas.

And that doesn’t include the people I’ve seen reading while walking down the streets, crossing the streets…crossing the streets when the big red hand says STAY WHERE YOU ARE and a herd of a yellow taxis are zooming towards the reader like a swarm of angry yellow jackets…there they are, calmly, leafing through a fashion magazine or a copy of Steve Jobs…it’s like watching a man try to balance plates on his head. I just turn my head away, afraid to look.

All is fine, though. It’s New York City. It’s the rhythm of the city, the way it moves, and breathes, and let me just say: I’m happy about that. I’m happy that I can be standing in a moving metal object with a whole lot of people and just read. Yes, all of us subway-riders are very different in who we are, where we came from, how we perceive the future, etcetera. But, at the same time, a lot of us in New York are joined by the act of reading, and for someone like myself – someone who sold everything to move to NYC with the bright-eyed dream of joining publishing- that’s what makes an intern like myself see the glimmer of the future publishing industry.

le BEAU mot: Currently Reading, Books about Books

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Readers are a unique species. They are a strange mixture of recluse and social butterfly. At times, they spend hours in seeming solitude, accompanied only by a sheaf of glued together pages. But simply ask about the reader’s latest literary adventure and you will unlock a torrent of thoughts and ideas that is often difficult, if not impossible, to stop. Beware gathering a group of this curious species together and introduce the topic of say, contemporary literature, or (heaven forbid) ebooks. The ensuing flood of conversation will be almost overwhelming.

At some point, some reader somewhere had the brilliant idea to set down all of these thoughts (or as many could fit into a 100,000 word manuscript) down onto paper for other readers to, well, read. And thus was born a new art form: the book about books. Reading these books is often like going to your favorite “secret” spot and discovering the remnants of dozens of people just like you who love this spot as well: initials carved into trees, tiny treasures buried in the ground, pictures tumbling in the wind. It can be disturbing—a sanctuary invaded—or it can be an epiphany: you are not alone.

These books often remind me that reading is not just a solitary activity. Each book you read ties you to a dozen, one hundred, a thousand, a million people who have all read the same words. These books celebrate the love of reading, through personal accounts of readers, recommendations for new books (that currency of the reading community), or new tidbits of information you never knew about classic or famous books.

A book that does the latter in rare form is Once Again to Zelda, which tells the stories behind the dedications for many well known books including The Brothers Karamazov, Valley of the Dolls, Atlas Shrugged, The Bell Jar, and The Great Gatsby to name a few. Most people probably don’t give much thought to a dedication, often skipping over it entirely to get to the “good parts”. But as the book’s author, Marlene Wagman-Geller tells us, the dedication may be the most revealing part. And in her book, she plays “dedication detective” to uncover the personal stories behind what is often the most enigmatic page of a book.

In the category of book recommendations, every year brings out a new tome purporting to tell you exactly what books you should read to be cultured, become a writer, be as smart as a professor, and a dozen other claims. But perhaps the most prolific is the Book Lust series by librarian Nancy Pearl. The original book was organize in a fun, somewhat haphazard way partially by genre and partly by categories such as First Novels, countries, and authors named Alice. The series has expanded to include a journal, Book Crush for kids and teens, and Book Lust to Go for travel reading.

But perhaps my favorite recent release in the books about books category is Bound to Last, a collection edited by Sean Manning. The book is partially in answer to the ever-present ebook debate; celebrating the physical act of reading as much as the mental. The collection contains stories from thirty authors writing about their “most cherished book”. For Anthony Swofford, it was the copy of Albert Camus’ The Stranger that traveled with him during his tour of duty in the Persian Gulf, which led to his bestselling memoir, Jarhead. For Joyce Maynard, it was her father’s bible that he read every day. And for Shahriar Mandanipour, it was the copy of Das Kapital that was a crime to possess. Each of these books as a physical object have meaning to their owners beyond the words printed on the page; they are totems of memory.

These books and others are important reminders that books will never “die” as long as there are writers willing to put their words on paper and publishers willing to bring those words to stores. Because whether they enjoy print or digital, readers are not an endangered species.

From Our Beau House To Yours – Little Deaths of Summer

Friday, August 28th, 2009

As the summer draws to a close anxiety about your summer reading list is normal. While some of us suffered through the heat of August in an unairconditioned apartment in Brooklyn, others were victims of the city heat in various shared experiences: cab driver roadrage, red-faced tourists, physical altercations with MTA staff and/or MTA property, sweaty gallery openings in the lower east side and so on.

Naturally throughout all of this chaos your reading list can be neglected. So I didn’t get to that new translation of Ovid? Nor did I read Jonathan Safran-Foer’s only follow-up to Everything is Illuminated, the one nobody remembers the title of. And no, I’ll admit it, I didn’t read David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest (because the joke’s on you, mate). Procrastination is a common side effect in the last days of August, the little deaths of summer; instances where books aren’t read, emails unsent, not even a french film makes the leisure list. One find’s oneself watching Law & Order episodes set in winter.

But not to worry, September is around the metaphorical corner, next week we have a new month. Fall is here, school starts (refamiliarize yourself with required reading), the city’s refugees from the heat return to their offices, your work messsages are checked, and there’s no more vacation voicemails that almost always seem to say “Hi, we’re on the Almafi Coast right now. Enjoy August, suckers.” Rejoice, there is always next summer for the now extended reading list. On September 1st, instead of thinking bad thoughts about MTA on the subway platform, you will indeed start pulling out that small, friendly volume in your bag and keep reading.

-Nikki-Lee