I hope your summer is already brimming with lazy days in a hammock, time spent with friends, exploration, discovery and wonder — all fantastic things in their own right, and (for my purposes) potentially a handful of squares claimed on your HCN summer reading card.
If you can peel back your heat-induced amnesia to July, you might recall that I wrote to you about starting an HCN summer reading program: a card full of prompts written by myself and Melissa Chadburn, our new contributing editor for books, culture and commentary. Read a book that matches a prompt and claim that square. Fill a row or a column, send us a photo of your card (to dearfriends@hcn.org or use #HCNSummerReading on Twitter or Instagram) and we’ll send you HCN prizes!
Your lazy day in the hammock can become “Mark how long you’ve been reading by the shadows.” Stuff a few books in your tote, and time spent with friends is easily “Lend your 3 favorite books to 3 different people.” The card is also a jumping-off point for some HCN-y reading about power, nonhuman viewpoints, place and wonder.
We also want to know what you’re reading. Bookmark reading.hcn.org, where you can tell us what your best picks are for any of the prompts on the card. What I hope emerges is a compendium of HCNers’ favorite book selections for the range of interests we share. I’m also curious about how each prompt is interpreted by the cross-section of Westerners and West-obsessed readers we represent. What does it mean to you to challenge power? What brings you joy? What sparks wonder in you? What are the places you know and love?
So please visit reading.hcn.org as you continue to read this summer, and share with the group your favorite picks. We’ll all get some interesting book recommendations, and maybe a new look at the intentions and interests we share.
— Michael Schrantz, marketing communications manager
Submit your book picks
Visit reading.hcn.org to let us know what you’re reading as part of the #HCNSummerReading program.
How to play
• Find the card in your July issue or download a copy at reading.hcn.org
• Keep track of the squares you claim by fulfilling the prompt.
• When you fill a whole row or column, send a photo of your card (or whatever you’re using to keep track) to dearfriends@hcn.org or post it on Twitter or Instagram using #HCNSummerReading.
• We’ll reach out and mail you an HCN summer reading prize pack!
Remember: Submit your picks as you go along at reading.hcn.org and check back for what other HCNers are reading.
Michael Schrantz is the marketing communications manager for High Country News based in Santa Fe. Email him at michael.schrantz@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline What are you reading?.
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