Summer reading not just for kids

It practically borders on conspiracy the way adults band together to nag children about reading during the summer break.

Teachers put in last-minute pleas to encourage students to rack up reading minutes so their brains get a workout during the weeks of academic downtime.

Libraries arrange summer reading programs to lure children to the printed page. The Florida Department of Education releases a lengthy list of suggested books, grouped by grade level.

Youngsters who crack open "Buffy the Burrowing Owl" or "Sarah, Plain and Tall" should know they aren't alone. Many adults while away the summer engrossed in page-turning thrillers, life-affirming memoirs or nonfiction tomes with intellectual heft.

"Summertime to me means reading," said Joanne Hurley, chairwoman of the Pasco County School Board.

Hurley said she has at least three books on her nightstand, including "Tales of Two Gails" by Gail Shepherd Diederich and Gail Kelly Lester, the story of childhood pals who renew their friendship later in life.

Hurley also hopes to get to "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" by Laura Hillenbrand. That's the story of an Olympic runner who ended up in a Japanese POW camp.

"I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading," Hurley said. "That's just ingrained in me."

She also has some catching up to do. A few months ago, United School Employees of Pasco gave all five school board members a copy of the book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System" by Diane Ravitch.

In the book, Ravitch, a former assistant secretary of education, makes the argument that testing and school choice are undermining education. Hurley started the Ravitch treatise, but has yet to finish. She intends to within the week.

Lynne Webb, president of United School Employees, was happy to hear that.

"A number of people have started reading that," she said.

Webb, meanwhile, is focused on reading as escapist entertainment. She enjoys such genres as mysteries and thrillers, and also is partial to audio books because she spends a lot of time on the road.

Her latest audio delight is "Odd Thomas" by horror writer Dean Koontz. Webb describes the book as "pure gruesome pleasure."

"I had a driveway moment last night," Webb said.

By that she means when she arrived home the story had reached such a crucial point she remained in the car until the chapter ended.

"I have a voracious reading appetite," said Webb, a former English teacher.

In addition to escapist fare, she likes to revisit the classics. Among those she recently re-read are "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "The Great Gatsby."

Brian Corley, the supervisor of elections for Pasco, also is revisiting an old favorite, "The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan, a book he discovered by way of the musical group U2.

Nolan, who attended the same school in Ireland as the band members, inspired the U2 song "Miracle Drug." Corley, a longtime U2 fan, discovered the author when he researched the song's lyrics.

Nolan nearly died at birth from oxygen deprivation. He was left physically helpless and could communicate only by blinking his eyes. At least one doctor predicted his brain would remain infantile, but his parents and sister kept him stimulated by reading, talking and singing to him.

When he was 11, Nolan was given a new drug that relaxed his neck muscles. That allowed him to write with the use of a "unicorn stick" attached to his forehead. He used the device to peck out the letters on a keyboard.

"It's a very inspiring story," Corley said.

Nolan's "The Banyan Tree" isn't the only thing on Corley's summer reading list. Professional duty requires him to plow through a new elections law, which he described as "158 pages of legalese."

"That's not pleasure reading," he said.