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Back to basics

I hate not having anything good to read. I went through all of my sappy, corny summer reading books and in desperation, I dusted off a crappy mystery novel that I had tried reading once and put down. I'm now reading it but I'm not necessarily enjoying it. I know that might sound crazy but to me reading something even if it stinks is better than not reading at all. It's like those little Easter egg shaped horrible gray colored chocolates -even though they are horrible, its still chocolate. I have read just about every single book in my house with the exception of one ridiculously long nutrition book and "Moby Dick" and I'm just not up to that challenge yet. So I have decided to go back to my original plan and start chipping away at the classics. I looked at my book list and bought several old one cent copies on Amazon and am now awaiting their arrival. I realize that one of the books on my reading list if one I already own - the aforementioned "Moby Dick," but I can't spend the whole summer trying to drag myself through that monstrosity. I just can't. Sorry Melville, maybe someday I will conquer your white whale.
There is something about the summer that brings out the need to read serious literature. I know that I said I only wanted to read goofy beach books but there is a nostalgia about reading good writing over the summer that is tugging on me. It must be having a summer reading list for school. I was one of the nerdy kids that actually read the books and didn't wait until the last week of vacation to go into a panic and skim through looking for the important details. I love thinking about summers as a kid where my only obligations were to read, work on my tan and swim in the ocean. Now with so many adult responsibilities, reading something old and timeless makes me feel comforted and safe. I've been reflecting a lot about my childhood these days because I am teaching 6 kids fitness classes a week and I'm amazed at how much the kids hate it. When I was their age, I was always moving - I played outside with the neighborhood kids all summer - we rode bikes, played games and just had a great time.  Kids now after 10 minutes of exercise, ask for a break. We are living in the video game era and it is depressing me. I feel like an old cranky lady sometimes but I really get sad thinking about how these kids are missing out on the simple joys of summer that made being a kid so special. I won't even get started on how most of them hate to read....but if I start thinking about all of this too much, it will send me into a tailspin of despair. I'm trying to have only happy thoughts this summer despite my extreme aggravation at the parents of these children who are depriving them of a healthy lifestyle. I want to only think about going to the beach this weekend, spending the weekend with my sister in NYC in a few weeks and running  in the beautiful park near my house. Oh and of course reading my new books - I am excited to see which book arrives in the mail first. I will keep you posted!

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