My long summer read is a book club selection, James Michener’s The Source. Although we gave ourselves two full months, it seems a very long way to page 800-something, as I am barely at page 200, and we meet the day after Labor Day.

The story involves the archaeological excavation of a fictitious site in Israel, a site that is the source of thousands of years of civilization up to the present and the source of religious and political conflict in that area of the Middle East.

What a fascinating and detailed read.

The school year begins anew, and I have discovered several good nighttime reads for kids and their parents, especially Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs – who knew? The Interrupting Chicken “is what it is,” as my daughter would say, and Field Trip Day is much the same. My favorites, though, are Homer, the delightful and contented dog who has everything he needs in you, the reader, and Flower in the Snow, an Inuit tale of a girl and a polar bear who share a loving friendship.

Ease the transition from summer into fall with a good read every night, and ask for these books at your libraries.