Today marks the official start of summer and the beginning of the season when sun and vacations conspire to make everyone feel a little liberated. Or at the very least, as though they can squeeze in some much needed downtime.

As a devoted book lover lucky enough to make her living amidst the stacks, I’d like to challenge everyone to pick up at least one book this summer and read it through. Why? Because our collective attention span is shrinking and our highly wired world is taking away the art of being lost in a world of words, whether on a screen or a page.

While a number of outlets are issuing their own lists, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair and Publishers Weekly magazines are just a few of those offering up their favorites. Here is what our staff will be reading this summer.

Jessica
My pick is Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.

Flynn’s last book, Gone Girl, was one of 2012’s biggest books for a reason. I devoured it last fall on a vacation, and I’ve been determined to read her previous work ever since. I always seem to have more time to read novels in the summer (probably all that time spent lazing in the grass at Barton Springs), and I can’t wait to dig in!

Kari
And I will be reading Gone Girl! I love mysteries/thrillers.

Kaila
I am currently reading The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. I rarely venture into the fantasy genre, but I made a book trade agreement with my best friend: her favorite book for mine. She is currently reading Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers, which came highly recommended to me by Margaret!

Margaret
Since moving to Texas last year and learning so much about a new state, it has really inspired me to learn more about our country in general. I’ll be reading State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey.

Kim
I’ll be reading The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Disclafani.  “Riding Camp for Girls” is what initially caught my eye; I grew up with horses. But it was the Great Depression backdrop and promise of mystery that made me pick up the book.

Megan
Beyond telling a ruthless and captivating story, Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West plays a critical role in the larger conversation of American literature. How could any self-proclaimed lit nerd resist a novel that’s described as one of the greats alongside Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow and Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying?

Barbara
Having laughed myself sick with David Sedaris’ latest book, I am turning to escapist fiction for summer. On top of my stack lies The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls. I was a devoted fan of her earlier work, The Glass Castle, a memoir, and am interested to read her fiction.

Help us make it the summer of the book!