At CLiF, we love to read. That’s probably why we spend our time helping kids discover that love for themselves and embark on a lifelong journey of enjoying literature. Summer offers some much-needed time to dig into your To Be Read pile and relax with a good book (or 3. Or 4.). Here’s what the CLiF team and their families have been reading.

Meredith (Program Director):

This summer, my 13-year-old daughter and I will hit the road to visit friends and family we missed seeing last year, which means lots of audio books. The overlap in our reading taste now seems to be young adult magical realism – we listened to The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. Also on our shared reading list, Salt To the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, recommended by my aunt who was a high school English teacher (not magical realism, but a moving and unforgettable book about WWII) and A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1) by Naomi Novik, also recommended by my daughter’s aunt. Busy summer of reading when we sprinkle in our own picks, too!

Jana (Program Manager):

Finn (8) and I are about to start reading The Book of Three, which was and is one of my all-time favorite book series for children.  Highly recommend this to any young readers who enjoy stories of quests, friendships, and danger.

Finn is working his way through every available Dav Pilkey book and is working on “Dog Man Mothering Heights.”  Many of the Dog Man titles are comic takes on the titles of classic novels.

I’m reading The Maidens by Alex Michaelides.  It is a crime thriller set in Cambridge, England.  An entertaining book to read by the beach or lake.

Duncan (Executive Director):

Jesse (20) is reading The Narnia series again. We both reread City of Ember recently.

My most recent books have been autobiographies — Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, and My Beloved World by Sonja Sotomayor. Both were windows to different cultures, and sources of inspiration as I was able to follow the challenging life paths of these two stellar individuals.

Erika (Communications Manager):

I haven’t had a lot of time to read for pleasure lately (I’m a writer and writing teacher/coach, so I read a lot of works-in-progress, books I’m teaching or recommending to my students, literary journals, etc.), so short stories and poetry have been perfect. I’m enjoying Argentinian author Samanta Schweblin’s wonderfully weird short story collection, Mouthful of Birds. I’m also reading my friend/VT poet Lizzy Fox’s poetry collection, Red List Blue (slowly, but surely, Lizzy, I’ll get there.). I’m excited to dig into my friend Melissa Scholes Young’s new novel, The Hive. Incidentally, all of those books have some of the most gorgeous book covers I’ve ever seen (top). I’m also feverishly revising my own essay collection (forthcoming April 2022), which is due to my publisher at the end of this month, so reading time has been far and few between, but I’m engaged in literacy all day long.

Kat (Data/Office Manager:

The Lane family is thrilled that their local library, the Centennial Library in Morrisville, is open again for browsing.  It’s SO much more fun to pick out your own books.

Miles, age 12, has already read lots of fun books.  He is currently making his way through the “Track Series” by Jason Reynolds, which is a 4-book series about 4 different kids (with very different backgrounds) on a middle school track team. 

Evie, age 12, is a huge fan of graphic novels and recently read Claudia and The New Girl, from the Baby-Sitters Club books by Gabriela Epstein.  Evie also keeps a Summer Journal, which she likes to do because “it helps me keep up with some writing, plus it helps me save my memories from the summer, without forgetting all the fun times!”

As a fan of historical fiction, Kat is reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.  It’s a fascinating novel that raises important issues around race, racial identity, motherhood, and honesty. 

We’d love to hear what you’re reading!