The daughter was being snide and sarcastic in the comments below, saying “Like you need an excuse to hang out at a bookstore.” But I DO! I need excuses.
Thing is, excuses are extremely easy for me to come by. For instance, “I NEED New books” is a valid excuse. Or “The new Slither Grimblethorpe book is coming out, and I NEED it!” That’s a valid excuse too. (Not that Slither Grimblethorpe is a real author. I just made that up for an example.)
Of course, there is always the “I’m going to be in the area anyway, so…” excuse. That’s the one that gets me off the island to the Big Bookstores where they actually have more of the books I want. The Hastings bookstore is closing down. It’s still in the process, which means it still has a lot of old books nobody wants to buy, and it’s not shelving any of the new books being released. Then there’s the independent store downtown, which leans Heavily toward lit’rachure and very little commercial, mass-market fiction. Or even commercial, mass-market hardbacks. There’s a used books place semi-downtown. And then there’s Wal-Mart and Target. See, it’s not the “hanging out in the bookstore” excuse I need.
It’s the Driving 30 miles to the Bookstore to get the Books I Want NOW excuse I really need. Because the new L.K. Hamilton book comes out next week. (I know bazillions of you hate what LKH has done with Anita Blake. I don’t care. I need the book. I will read the book. Probably three times before I put it down. Maybe only twice. Deal with it.)
Also, the new Julia Quinn novel comes out next week. And I think there’s also an Edith Layton. And maybe the new Jack Campbell Lost Fleet book. The Quinn and the Layton might be available at Target. But they might not be. I doubt the LKH book will be there–though it might. And I KNOW the Campbell book won’t be stocked. And there may be others I want and crave and NEED like Whoa and Darn. (I know. But I’m old. I can’t curse with impunity.) (Unless it’s necessary for a character in a book. Or I’ve worked my way up from Dagnabbit, because I’m really mad…)
Yes, I know I can order them from Amazon, or Borders or Books-a-Million online. But see, then I would have to WAIT. I am not good at waiting. I used to order the LKH books from the science fiction book club. But they would take a week to 10 days to arrive. Meanwhile, I’d go to the bookstore and sit and read chapter after chapter in the not-so-comfy chairs. I would make myself crazy with the waiting and the wanting. So I don’t order any more. I’m just going to have to come up with a reason to drive into town. Or something. So there it is. Excuses and addictions and books I want to read this summer.
While I live at the beach (sort of–it’s about 2 blocks away), I don’t read there. I sunburn in about 10 minutes flat. Or in an hour or so, if I have good sunscreen. And anyway, if I’m actually on the beach, I’d rather be in the water (which is not good for books) or walking (which usually winds up being in the water, this time of year). And if I’m walking, I need to watch where I’m going, what with the sharp shells and baby jellyfish and stuff on the beach, since I walk barefoot…
If I’m going to be reading, I’ll sit on the glider under the big magnolia in the back yard, or at the table under the covered porch, in the shade. 
What books do you want to read this summer? Where is your favorite summer reading place?
Most readers seem to have an author or two that are like crack, we know they aren’t very good but can’t stay away…LKH is my crack also. Enjoy, I plan to.
I try to make Tuesday my errand day, since most books are released on Tuesdays…that way I can stop by the bookstore while I’m nearby (there is at least one any direction I need to go).
I read just about anywhere, waiting for the kids, walking, even cooking. But my favorite places would be the wicker porch chair or laying sideways across our hammock in the sun…always in the sun! We get so little of it in the Pacific North West.
Got a book for us soon?
I have made a rash decision. I will only buy four books this summer, instead I will be re-reading and culling my book collection. I am pretty nervous, but it will work out fine.
My favorite reading place? Somewhere outside in the sunshine.
I’m eagerly awaiting Wild and Hexy by Vicki Lewis Thompson on June 3rd, the paperback release of The Darkness of the Light by Peter David on July 29th (I’ve been waiting for that since a reading at Dragon*Con 2004), and the paperback release of MZB’s Ravens of Avalon by Diana Paxson and Dave Barry’s History of the Millenium (So Far), both on August 5th. How’s that for variety?