Okay, so everyone knows how random I am, really random at that. My summer started out with me being very busy, and I'm welcoming the busy part with open arms. Hence my absence from Jacket Flap and everything else. I don't expect to be online too much during the summer, but I'll pop in when I can.

My entry today is focused on reading, not much of a coincidence since I've been doing a lot of reading here lately and watching the first through third seasons O.C. when I'm not too busy. My main focus on reading is YA novels. Why? Well most YA (Young Adult Novels) I've read recently are easy to follow, short, and tell a great story.

By short I mean at least 200 pages, which really is a pretty good length. Though, I have read some that are 400 plus pages. I've even gone back and have read some YA novels that I've had for awhile. And I've even gone back and have re-read some of the Harry Potter novels because the release of book 7 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) is soon in coming.

I have found that reading YA novels greatly fuels my imagination, so I'm back to reading in that general genre. Sometimes, looking back from adulthood to those teen years, while you're reading a YA novel you can understand yourself a little better during those years. Yup, the adults who write for young adults were once young adults themselves. They were once teenagers too, struggling to fit in, making bad decisions, and trying to find themselves.

So, who better to understand what it's like to be a teenager? I find while reading YA novels that I was like those teenagers in some of the books I've read. I went through some of what those characters are going through, and I get them and their lives, whether the characters are rich or poor, vampires, princesses, werewolves, pirates, or normal everyday teenagers.

So, if you get bored this summer I challenge you to pick up a book and read. Why not? You have nothing to lose, and a whole world of imagination to gain.

Some books I recommend to read are Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Princess Nevermore by Dian Curtis Regan, Cam's Quest (Sequel to Princess Nevermore) by Dian Curtis Regan, The Seance by Joan Lowery Nixon, The Legend of Zoey by Candie Moonshower, The Harry Potter series (books 1-6) by J.K. Rowling, Old Magic by Marianne Curley, Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Belle Teal by Ann M. Martin, and Monster of the Month Club series (books 1-4) By Dian Curtis Regan.