• Home
  • BOOKS
  • Coming Soon
    • About Roni
    • Press Kit
    • FAQ
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Blog
  • Classes & Coaching
  • Events
  • Contact
Menu

Roni Loren

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

Your Custom Text Here

Roni Loren

  • Home
  • BOOKS
  • Coming Soon
  • About
    • About Roni
    • Press Kit
    • FAQ
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Blog
  • Classes & Coaching
  • Events
  • Contact

Summer Reading: Does Summer Change Your Readerly Life?

May 29, 2017 Roni Loren

The summer season is upon us, and with it, comes one of my favorite bookish traditions: the summer reading lists on all the different books sites. 

But as I've scanned through these lists (and bought WAY too many books, lol), it made me wonder what it is about summer that gets us thinking differently about reading? Yes, the kids are out of school, but I would imagine that most of us (if you're not a teacher) don't get summers off. And if you're a stay at home parent, summers are actually even more intense than the school year because you have to occupy your kids ALL DAY LONG EVERY DAY. 

For me, summer is still just as busy as any other time. I still have deadlines. I also have the Romance Writers of America conference, which requires a decent amount of preparation and takes me away from my writing for a week. I'm lucky in that I send my kidlet to day camp so I still have my work day, but otherwise, I don't have extra time off. 

So why do I still have this idyllic picture in my head that I'm going to be leisurely reading oceanside or something all summer? Lol. I don't know. But for some reason, I still feel the noticeable shift in my head when summer hits. I think I've never fully escaped that mentality of the lazy days of summer from childhood where I could read as much as I wanted (and kill it on those PIzza Hut Book It Read-a-Thon challenges, lol.)

Also, I find it really interesting that there's this whole genre label of "beach reads." I'm still not sure exactly what that means, and sometimes I get annoyed with that label because it's often code for "silly lady's book" which all romance gets lumped into by the non-romance world along with a certain type of women's fiction. (Do dude books ever get labeled beach reads? Dudes go to the beach.) But what does "beach read" mean? If it has a body of water and some sand on the cover, I know they're telling me it's supposed to be a beach read. But does that mean easy read? Fun read? A trashy one? A book that takes place in summer? I don't know.

I think my idea of a perfect summer read includes some or most of the following...

  • Takes place in summer or somewhere warm.
  • Transports me to a vacation-like location.
  • Has a happy ending.
  • Is a page-turner and completely engrossing.

The book I blogged about last week, Every Wild Heart by Meg Donohue, fit these criteria. And right now, I'm reading The Dry by Jane Harper and although it's a dark book and I have no idea what the ending will be like, it takes place during a drought in Australia. So it's warm, transports me to somewhere I haven't been, and is a page-turner. Summer read.

I got both of these off Modern Mrs. Darcy's Summer Reading Guide, which is fantastic list, though sadly, doesn't cover the romance genre. I'm still looking for a great summer reading list for romance. (If you know of one, leave a comment!)

But my question for you is, do you change your reading habits and the types of books you read during summer? What do you seek out to read? How does your reading life change (if it does at all)? What's your idea of the perfect summer read?

 

 

In Books, Reading Tags summer reading, beach reads, reading habits, vacation reads, romance, roni loren, book lists
4 Comments

LATEST RELEASE

The new edition is here! Find out more

Now available! Find out more!

Add to Goodreads


series starters

“Intelligent, sweet, and fun, this romance succeeds on all levels.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED review Find out more

“Intelligent, sweet, and fun, this romance succeeds on all levels.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED review Find out more

An Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus, and Amazon Best Romance of the year Find out more

An Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus, and Amazon Best Romance of the year Find out more

Winner for Best Erotic Romance of the year! Find out more about the Pleasure Principle series

Winner for Best Erotic Romance of the year! Find out more about the Pleasure Principle series

The first in the long-running Loving on the Edge erotic romance series. Find out more

The first in the long-running Loving on the Edge erotic romance series. Find out more


 Subscribe

My Happy For Now Newsletter

Find me Online


free reading  journal!

A reading journal designed for romance readers!

A reading journal designed for romance readers! Free with newsletter sign-up.


Previous Posts
  • March 2025
  • November 2024
  • June 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • July 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
Return Home

Powered by Squarespace

Site and text © 2008-2025 Roni Loren - Photos are either by the author, purchased from stock sites, or (where attributed) Creative Commons. Linkbacks, pins, and shares are always appreciated, but with the exception of promotional material (book covers, official author photo, book summaries), please do not repost material in full without permission.  And though I do not accept sponsored content for this site (all my recommendations are personal recommendations), there are some affiliate links. All Amazon and iBooks links are affiliate links.