Where Did Summer Go??

Did summer totally fly by for anybody else?

Today, I head off on my new adventure -- if I were Nancy Drew, I'd give it a snappy title, but The Case of the American Grad Student in North West England just doesn't hold much allure. Anyhow, I'm heading to Lancaster University to begin my MA in Digital Humanities, and I'm so excited! But before I depart for the airport for my flight to Edinburgh (yes, Edinburgh is closer to Lancaster than London is), I wanted to reflect on this whirlwind summer.

Here's a play-by-play.

1. I graduated from Bates in May!

2. I worked two very different golf course jobs.

This is the first summer since I started college that I didn't have a museum internship. I needed a brain break! Most of all, I wanted to spend a lot of time outside in beautiful central Massachusetts summer weather before I depart for the land of 55º and rain. I split my time between being a pro shop attendant at a tiny private course, and being an instructor for a PGA Junior Camp. I absolutely loved coaching and working with kids of all ages and abilities, and that tiny course had a very entertaining cast of characters. There was truly never a dull moment at work!

Figure 1: I call this my Coaching Hat.

3. I ventured to Cincinnati for my sister's wedding!

Absolutely the highlight of our summer!

4. I had foot surgery...

So, at the end of my time at Bates, I suspected that I may have broken a toe. Turns out that the toe was not broken, but it had a benign tumor. Even though it was benign, it needed to be removed, so I had surgery in August. Just this week I was released to wearing a regular shoe, which is just in time for my big move.

Figure 2: Had a bit of an adventure getting around coastal Maine on crutches...

5. I read - a lot!

All the down time from my surgery meant I finally got time to read for fun. I have always been a big reader, but it's hard to find time to read for pleasure during a college semester. I logged all my reads for the summer, and, because I am me, I did a wee bit of analysis of my reading habits.

First, here's a list of all the books I read this summer.

A note on series: ND stands for Nancy Drew. NDMS is Nancy Drew Mystery Stories (the main series of Nancy Drew books), and the Nancy Drew Files are a teen-targeted series of Nancy Drew books that were released in the 1980s and 1990s.

If you're a Nancy Drew games fan, you may notice some familiar titles on this list. I'm currently on a mission to read all of the books that inspired the games, in the order of the games. I've gotten through the first six, and of them I'd say that Treasure in the Royal Tower is the best book, but Secrets Can Kill is the most entertaining and the most similar to its game.

Now some stats. I read a total of 14 books and 3425 pages. That makes an average 244.6 pages per book, but that average is getting seriously boosted by the A Court of Thorns and Roses book!

In terms of genre, I read 11 mysteries, and one each of Historical Fiction, Tragicomedy, and Fantasy. Honestly, all three of those could also be counted as romance, but I go by how the publisher describes the genre. 4 of my reads were children's books (all Nancy Drew Mystery Stories), 4 were written for teens (Nancy Drew Files), and the remainder were regular adult fiction (or Young Adult/New Adult in the case of A Court of Mist and Fury).

I'm currently reading the third Court of Thorns and Roses book, A Court of Wings and Ruin. These Sarah J. Maas books feel super nostalgic for me, even though this is my first time reading them, because I was a huge YA fantasy reader in high school. They're fun reads, even if they're quite different from my usual vintage mystery selections.

What's next?

Well, as I write this, it is about noon, and I leave for the airport at 5. My dad and I are flying to Edinburgh, checking out the city for a day, and then taking the train down to Lancaster. I don't start classes until October 7, so I'm looking forward to having some time to get used to a new campus, city, and country!