At the height of San Diego’s recent heatwave, The San Diego Sun ventured outside to see what San Diegans were reading this summer.
Finding readers out in the wild was tougher than anticipated. After scouring Balboa Park and finding very few bookworms, we moved inside to the San Diego Central Library.
The majority of library patrons were scrolling on their phones or buried in computers, but we did find people displaying a love for book reading.
Sisters Bri and Ana Silvas live in Tijuana and enjoy coming to the downtown library to check out books.
Bri is currently reading Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin. The novel is a queer, coming-of-age story set in 1980s Taipei. It’s her second time reading the book. She originally borrowed it from the library, but loved it so much that she bought her own copy to annotate.
Ana is reading Manual De Magia Moderna by Keylah Missen. She’s a fan of metaphysics, tarot and all things astrology. She gravitated toward the subject of magic during a low point in her life, and uses it as a tool to aid herself mentally.
“I was able to pair my psychological journey with therapy,” Ana said.
On the fiction floor of the library, born-and-raised San Diegan Natalie Bossard is reading Uncompromising Honor by David Weber. The book is the 14th installment in the Honor Harrington series. Bossard described it as a political naval story with parallels to real world history.
She likes to read inside, and finds that the central library is a quiet, and air-conditioned, place to do so.
On the library’s outdoor patio, Sir William Cofield was reading Eventology: The Science Behind Nonprofit Fundraising by Darren Diess and Michelle Gilmore.
Cofield works in community outreach, helping youth and adults de-stress and learn about meditation. He reads to improve his craft, pulling from all areas of self-discipline.
“I love the little gold nuggets and gems that I find in these books,” Cofield said.
The library staff is also staying literate this summer. Jessica Ingram is the operations manager at the library shop, and has lived downtown for three-and-a-half years.
Her current read is fitting, a novel titled The Library Book by Susan Orlean. It’s a nonfiction story that gives insight into how different library branches are connected.
Ingram enjoys nonfiction stories but tries to take advantage of her proximity to a variety of genres.
“I like to balance my reading between something that’s fluffy versus something a little more grounding and educational,” Ingram said.
At the East Village independent bookstore Hey Books!, The Sun found co-owner Anika Omark reading the popular series Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman.
She planned on only reading the first installment to understand the hype, but fell in love with the characters.
“I’m very excited to spend time in this world. It’s like candy, it’s so fun,” Omark said.
Hey Books! hosts a book club on the first Tuesday of each month from 7-8 p.m. It’s free to attend, and the book of the month pick is 10% off in store.
From sci-fi to nonfiction, we found San Diegans reading a variety of genres this summer. While temperatures hover, most are curled up with a good book – inside. SDSun
