Reader Participation, Please.
It doesn't make any sense that in the midst of such intense and tiresome reading, I'm thinking about reading this summer. But, I'm getting really tired of all the books about the sociology of family, religion, and comparative history that I've been reading this semester. So I'm thinking a lot about reading things other than sociology this summer - especially novels! Last summer, I voraciously consumed Love in the Time of Cholera and it was so good that I didn't find anything else that interested me after that. Plus, last summer, I was busy reading every Caldecott award winning children's book since 1938.
So, as I anxiously await the freedom of summer, I'm compiling in my head my summer reading list. I already have a few ideas. My goal is to read things that I enjoy, while also hitting on the 'must reads' for any educated person. What I'm looking for from you, my friends, are some suggestions. Here's what I don't want to read: 1) science fiction (sorry, RedHurt); 2) Victorian England novels (not all that interested in Jane Austin types); 3) Anything with statistical charts, long methodology sections, and/or appendices.
Have at it.
12 comments:
Mair,
If you've never read "This Present Darkness", or "Piercing The Darkness", both by Frank Perretti you might try them.
You know that I am not much of a recreational reader, however I could not put these books down. And I came away from them knowing that these two novels should have been turned into an epic movie or at least a mini-series.
"The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana"- it's nowhere near as gay as it sounds. It's really freaking awesome, and Umberto Eco is probably my favorite author ever.
Oh, and damn! because I was going to suggest "Jules Verne: The Beginnings of Statistical Methodology and Victorian Era Science Fiction w/ New Appendices."
Flash Gordon and the defense of Zargon 8 was an excellent read.
The Bell Curve!
COME ON!!!
(Said in my best Uhle impression voice).
Something that is very helpful is the Modern Language Library’s list of 100 best Nonfiction books and the list of 100 best Novels of the Twentieth Century. From the list of nonfiction, I might suggest some of the following:
“The Education of Henry Adams”
“The Age of Jackson”
“The Autobiography of Mark Twain”
“The Right Stuff”
“Darkness Visible”
“The Liberal Imagination”
“Out of Africa”
“In the American Grain”
“A Preface to Morals”
“The City in History”
“This Boy’s Life”
“Shadow and Act”
“In Cold Blood”
From the list of novels, I might suggest some of these:
“Lolita”
“Sons and Lovers”
“The Grapes of Wrath” or any Steinbeck
“Henderson the Rain King”
“A Passage to India” or “Howards End”
“As I Lay Dying”
“All the King’s Men”
“The Sun Also Rises” or any Hemingway
“On the Road”
anything by Walker Percy
“Death Comes for the Archbishop”
“The Catcher in the Rye”
“A Bend in the River”
“The Adventures of Augie March” or any Bellow
“Under the Net”
“Sophie’s Choice”
J Morgan,
You didn't warn Mair that if she reads The Catcher In The Rye, she may be pursued by the FBI, CIA, and some subversive scientists. (watch Conspiracy Theory staring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts to get the details cleared up)
I just want to go on record here and say that "The Catcher in the Rye" is arguably the most terrible piece of literature ever. Placing this book in the top 100 novels is like placing "Soul Plane" in a list of the top 100 movies.
Although, if you're going to read it, I suggest you fill your iPod up with Dashboard Confessional, and then start telling people how you didn't fit in high school because "no one got you" since you were "an individual."
thanks, all, for your suggestions. I will take them under consideration.
Jack - I didn't fit in in high school because I didn't go. hehehe.
I recommend some A.S. Byatt -- probably not "Possession," since it in large part concerns Victorian England (although is a postmodern reworking, quite brilliant, though there are admittedly huge sections I skipped over on first reading) -- but her short story collections are fantastic, very focused on myth, story, fairy tale and art, and their present-day place in human life. "The Matisse Stories," "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye," and "Little Black Book of Stories" are some of her best.
And I very much second "As I Lay Dying," and Walker Percy, particularly "The Second Coming."
Oo, and Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin" is probably one of the all-time best novels I have ever read. First sentence: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove her car off a bridge."
Hey Mair ... Garrett here. Haven't been around the internet for ages and am just checking in ...
I've been on this kick, lately, where I want everyone to read A Confederacy of Dunces. And I am not wrong in this kick.
The funniest and most amazing book you'll ever read. Amazing dialog and characterization.
Also, if you head over to my blog (http://capnganch.blogspot.com) there's a chance you might win it. Or something like it.
It's worth a try.
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