As a child, I was the one with my nose always in a book. “Junie B. Jones,” “The Babysitter’s Club,” “Percy Jackson” — whatever literary treasures I could find amongst the dusty shelves of my local library, I read.

Adults who met me would comment to my parents, “Your kid is so well-read!” I brought a book with me and read everywhere: after I rushed through finishing the classwork at school, on long car rides until I got dizzy, in the corner at grown-up parties my parents dragged me to attend.

Later, I would fall in love with traveling as well, but reading became my first avenue for adventure and exploration. Escaping into my books to battle monsters from Greek mythology, frolic in the fields at a summer cottage in Arundel or venture into fantastical fairytale worlds — these all became some of my favorite childhood memories.

Unfortunately, as I entered high school and my workload increased, I had little free time or energy to devote to reading, and my once-cherished hobby fell to the wayside. Of course, I missed it and would periodically try to pick it back up, but to no avail.

It wasn’t until I started college and made some dedicated bookworm friends that I was able to get back into my beloved pastime. Together, we sporadically scheduled time to read together in my cramped dorm room, and I labeled our hangouts the adorable rhyming name “Books in a Nook.”

I started checking out books from the library and listening to audiobooks, carving out spare time between classes, extracurriculars and homework to immerse myself in the stories. My reading tastes hadn’t changed much since I was a kid; I still enjoyed a good mix of fantasy, historical and contemporary fiction, with an occasional interesting nonfiction book sprinkled in.

I even set a 15-book reading challenge for myself last year on Goodreads — and surpassed it. I could finally reclaim my title as an avid reader.

 

Summer reading bingo

This summer, I’ve been inspired by many libraries’ adult summer reading challenges to create my own summer reading bingo box. It’s similar to the summer reading homework we had during grade school, but this time, I’ve designed and assigned it for myself.

On my box, I’ve included categories that will push me outside of my reading comfort zones, like “A genre I don’t usually read” and “A book on my ‘To-Be-Read’ list I’ve been avoiding.” I also picked some fun categories to randomize my reading choices, like “The main character’s name is in the title” and “Set in a dream travel destination.”

Out of the four books I’ve read so far, an unexpected favorite was longtime broadcast news anchor Connie Chung’s autobiography, titled “Connie: A Memoir.” I listened to it as an audiobook, which was narrated by Chung herself. I don’t often read biographies, so this was me trying a new genre.

She weaved together the story of her journey through journalism in the late 20th century, facing racism and sexism in the workplace and reporting on significant historical moments like the Watergate scandal and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. I found myself enraptured by her fascinating storytelling.

In addition to Chung’s book, the other three books I’ve read this summer thus far are “Emma” by Jane Austen, “Roll for Love” by M.K. England and “The Henna Wars” by Adiba Jaigirdar, all of which I’ve enjoyed. I don’t expect to complete the entire bingo box, but I am hoping to get two or three bingos before my summer ends.

Rediscovering my favorite childhood hobby has been a wonderful experience, and I am thoroughly enjoying broadening my reading horizons this summer. Perhaps my bingo box and reading journey can inspire you to create your own reading challenge — or even just to pick up a good beach read this summer.

Meryl Li is the 2025 features intern at LNP|LancasterOnline. “Unscripted” is a weekly entertainment column produced by a rotating team of writers.

TRY IT YOURSELF

Here are some of the categories I included in my own summer reading bingo board. Hopefully they will provide inspiration for you to try yourself.

1. Random selection (pick a book at the library/bookstore without knowing anything about the plot)

2. First book in a series

3. Set in the summertime

4. An author’s first book

5. Recommended by a friend

6. The main character’s name is in the title

7. A book with a movie adaptation I haven’t watched