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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hot Reads Try Something New For Summer - Pick Up A Book!

Matthew Weaver Rogers Janie Henning, L.C., And Laurel Evans, M

School’s out - and you can’t wait! You can go bike riding, swimming, camping and fishing. You can sleep in and read all you want to.

Wait! How many of you people don’t have “read” on your list? Face it, some people like to read; others feel to read a book is to pound out erasers - just plain torture. Nick Bassett, who’ll start at North Central this fall, loves to read. He picks sci-fi/ fantasy books with stories that feature wizards, dragons and other adventure characters.

Rhiannon Walther, from Mead Junior High, says reading “inspires psychic abilities and creativity. It’s an escape from reality.”

Dakota Hankin, who’ll start at G-Prep this fall, says she likes to read almost anything.

And then there’s Clint Taxter, 15, who thinks reading is boring. It’s too much work to pick up a book, he says, though he admits he likes S.E. Hilton’s books, “The Outsiders” and “That Was Then, This Is Now.”

Believe it or not, some teens spend their whole summer reading books. They’re part of a program run by Eva Lusk at the North Spokane Library that relies on teens to recommend books for a national reading list called “Quick Picks.” The list tells libraries which books teens liked, which ones they didn’t, and helps kids pick out books they want to read when they go to the library.

Quick Picks is open to anyone in sixth grade or higher.

The readers meet every Monday through the summer at 2 p.m. at the North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne.

Through the program, teens get a look at the latest books. Authors like Gary Paulsen (“Hatchet” and “The Car”), John Fitzgerald (“The Great Brain”) and Bruce Colville (the “My Teacher …” series) are some favorites. Some of the books haven’t even gone into final publishing yet.

If you wish to broaden your horizon and spend part of the summer finding adventure in pages, go by the library and ask about a book list for 1994 or ‘95. You’ll find all sorts of things like “Flour Babies,” “The Mask Returns,” “The Crow” and the Cynthia Voigt thriller “Shadow.”

Or, you can just check out Our Generation through the summer. Some of the Quick Pick readers will be reviewing the books for the newspaper. If you see one that sounds good, head to the nearest library or bookstore.

If you want to know more about Quick Picks, call Mrs. Lusk at the North Spokane Library, 467-5250.

ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Matthew Weaver Rogers Janie Henning, L.C., and Laurel Evans, Mead Junior High, contributed to this story.