Books acquired: “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” Baroness Orczy; “Treasure Island!!!,” Sara Levine; “Gently Down the Stream,” Bill McClellan.

Books read: “Children of the Streets,” Harlan Ellison; “The Son of Tarzan,” Edgar Rice Burroughs; “Daughter of Fu Manchu,” Sax Rohmer; “Methuselah’s Children” and “Orphans of the Sky,” Robert A. Heinlein.

Choosing my books by title is somewhat childish, admittedly — or playful, to be more upbeat — and this month I made it official by choosing books with titles concerning children.

The Ellison is a collection of circa-1960 fiction about juvenile deliquents; the Tarzan and Fu Manchu books are the fourth entries in their respective series (alas, son and daughter do not cross over and meet); and the two Heinleins are midcentury science fiction novels.

Best of the bunch was “Orphans of the Sky,” a neat religious allegory (with some “Idiocracy” thrown in) about an enormous spaceship that has traveled so long, for so many generations, that its occupants have no memory of Earth and don’t even understand they’re on a spaceship. Heh. The other Heinlein, about a secret society of long-lived people who have bred among themselves to extend life further, was less successful. The Ellison was all right, kind of a time capsule of its era, and the Fu and Tarzan books were good clean fun.

I’ll bring to the attention of commenter McBride that the protagonist of “Orphans” is named Hugh.

I bought all these books in the past, oh, 11 years or so. Tarzan was bought from a vendor at the LA Comics Show in 2001. These five bring me to 47 books read at the halfway point of the year. One hundred will elude me. Ninety may elude me. If I can finish 80 I’ll be happy.

OK, your turn. In the unlikely event that any of you have read any of the above, let us know; otherwise, let us know what you’ve been reading and how you’re doing on any personal reading goals. Do you anticipate a fruitful summer of reading or are you working like dogs?