Ah, summer, sweet summer. Swimming. Sunning. Sailing. Water skiing. Wakeboarding. Pontooning. Grilling. Reading.

Yes, reading. Long before the concept of “beach reads,” folks have lost themselves in a good book for many pleasant hours during a summer afternoon or evening. Here at the lake, we tend to do this not on the beach but instead on the deck, in the hammock, on a swing, or on the floating patio (a.k.a. pontoon). As kids, many of us remember the good books that filled idle hours and triumphed boredom. Some of us fostered lifelong habits, thanks to our summer reading as youths. Some of these became leisure pleasures. Others developed into vocations.

Steve and Barb Neureither, retired public school teachers from Holt High School (he taught math and drafting; she taught science) recently moved into a home on Bills Lake full time. They had purchased a cottage in the Apache zone in 1987, eventually tore it down, and rebuilt the dwelling that they currently live in.

But this is a smaller home than the one back in Leslie, Michigan, “small” being defined as not enough room for their books. Discussions among friends elicited similar situations. Everybody liked to read and wished to share what they have. Therefore Steve and a crew (Tery Schuiteman, Jim Tower, Roger Emert, Steve Moneybrake, Russ Blake, and Keith Meinema) erected a new building near the road last fall and winter. The result is a dwelling that houses approximately 2,000 books. The donation list is extensive.

The library hours are 1-3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays or anytime you can get together with Steve or Barb (652-7829). There are no due dates or fines. You fill out an information card the first time and then after that, you simply enter your name and the name of the book into a journal located in the building. The library is located at 8865 Lake.

Also --given the cutting edge of our 21st century technology here at Bills Lake -- if you see a title from the lists below that you want to borrow, simply e-mail Barb Neureither . She will pull the book from the shelves and e-mail you back as to when it would be convenient to pick it up.

Donations are still welcome. In addition, a DVD and tape collection has been started.

For your reading pleasure, the following is available. Double-click on the category.