Reading by the Campfire

When we go camping, my favorite thing is to read by the campfire. (This means, of course, that your fire is going before dark.) Luckily for me, in the Wyoming mountains even over the 4th of July weekend, it's not too hot for a fire.

My book club has a quarterly challenge. There are 35 categories, with topics like black cover or set in a major city or a one word title. We've been doing them for a year and a half. Despite reading enough books to finish a challenge, I still haven't done so.

This time I am gunning for it though! I've planned out about half of the books and put them in a pile next to the bed. I am trying to do it with only books I already own.

I brought two books along: Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen (book about girlfriends) and Vision in White by Nora Roberts (romance.)

I've read seven Sarah Dessen books. While they aren't my favorite books ever, I do really enjoy them. I liked Someone Like You, but it wasn't my favorite Dessen book. I liked Lock and Key, Just Listen, and Along for the Ride better.

Someone Like You is about two friends, one of whom gets pregnant. It sounds like it might be really cheesy, but Dessen's books aren't cheesy at all. If you haven't read any young adult, pick one up. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Speaking of cheesy: romance novels. I used to love romance novels, but somewhere along the way I got sick of their cheese. I know that fiction of all kinds can require a suspension of disbelief, but I didn't like how neat and easy everything was, as well as how formulaic: Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Misunderstanding separates boy and girl. Understanding leads to happily ever after. The end.

I'd picked up Roberts's Vision in White at a library book sale somewhere along the way. In the months I've had it, I hadn't looked at it. But, the romance category is in the challenge. I enjoyed it, but am not feeling like I need to pick up another romance novel any time soon. That's part of the challenge though, to pick up books you might not otherwise.