A Summer Reading Adventure! Let’s Do It!

I’m going to post updates here all summer, including resources, additional details, and links to the subscribers-only posts. Let’s get reading!

I am probably going to regret this, because who has the time? I have freelance work to do, and a thesis to research, and reviews to write, and this newsletter to keep up. Do I really think I want to invite all of you to join me in doing the National Book Foundation’s Summer Reading Adventure? Do I really think I have time to post here at least once a week all summer long about which boxes I’ve ticked (and which I have not) on the NBF form?

Yeah, I think I do want to do all of these things. And I really want you all to do it with me. All are welcome, from literary snobs to dragon porn fans. We’ll talk about what we’re reading, which activities from the NBF list we’ve completed, and how our summer is going. Is it summery? Reading-full? Adventurous, even in small ways?

To keep it friendly, I’m going to make this a perk for free and paid subscribers to the Wingback. That way we’re all a little invested in the project and each other. A little.

And to encourage new folks to join us, I’ll make it a contest. An easy one. A free one. Anyone who is a Wingback subscriber of any kind on Labor Day, Monday September 2, 2024, the unofficial end of summer in the United States, will be eligible to win one paperback copy of both Memoirs of a French Courtesan Volumes 1 and 2! The winner will get a set of Rebellion and the brand-new Spectacle, which comes out September 10. I know it’s not a personal pan pizza, but it’s what I’ve got. I’ll email you using whatever email address you used to subscribe to get a mailing address from you after the contest closes.

Here again is the link to the NBF Summer Reading Adventure:

https://www.nationalbook.org/adventure

And here’s a printable PDF in English so you can keep track of your activities (Spanish and Mandarin are also available at the above link):

The NBF has prizes too! You can win a trip to New York for the National Book Awards ceremony in November. (The ceremony takes place on my birthday, so I feel like they should just let me win.) They’re also giving away discounts to anyone who enters to use at Bookshop.org and Libro.fm.

I have nothing to do with the NBF other than being a fan, and I have nothing to gain from sharing the Summer Reading Adventure—besides the potential for new bookish friends here on the Wingback.

Hope to see you all here soon! I’ll write up my first post next week, after I’ve done at least one of the things on the list.

Image courtesy of the National Book Foundation.

Posts:

• Summer Reading Adventure Week 1