Summer is upon us. We all know that.The big question is… What will we read?
While on the beach; in the car heading towards a vacation destination; on a plane; sitting on that park bench; or in bed at night, when the cicadas are singing and the breeze is warm…
What will you be reading?
Me? Oh. Well, thanks for asking:
Jamaica Kincaid’s At the Bottom of the River
Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet
Legson Kayira’s I Will Try
Kenzaburo Oe’s Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age!
Richard Wright’s Native Son
Norman Mailer’s An American Dream
Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama
A collection of poetry by Walt Whitman
Naguib Mahfouz’s Midaq Alley
Probably something as racy and beach-worthy as Janet Evanovich’s Smokin’ Seventeen
And my favorite to-be-read-aloud-to-friends-at-a-picnic book: Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Summer, to me, opens worlds. When in winter all I can think to do is read contemporary American literature and avoid any outdoor activities, summer lets me adventure. Lets me meander through grassy meadows, imagine faraway places, lay in the sunlight and daydream about my future, my present, and my past. That’s what books are for, aren’t they? To bring us to new worlds?
Some of these books here have helped me to do that. Some have helped me travel this world while staying right at home. Some have helped me see home in a whole new way. Some are new to the list this year, and I pray they bring me to new heights of summer exploration.
The arthur c. clarke is a good start - but there's not nearly enough sci-fi on there for my summer reading habits.
ReplyDeleteCheck out 'Earth' by David Brin - and 'Lies, Inc.' by Phillip Dick!
On my list:
ReplyDeleteJane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion by Ron Hansen
The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
plus the latest by John Sanford
I'll be starting with The A Circuit by Georgina Bloomberg (the mayor's daughter).
ReplyDeleteHow about a graphic novel--American Born Chinese.
ReplyDeleteAmong the others I want to tackle are Good Squad, Wolf Hall, and (finally) Gravity's Rainbow.
ReplyDeleteThe lists grow ever longer!
Abigail, will you give us an update at the end of the summer which ones you got to and which of those were worthwhile?
Some of the books I´m planning to read.
ReplyDelete(There are very good translations into English of these books.)
Rayuela (Hopscotch) by Julio Córtazar
El túnel (The Tunnel) by Julio Córtazar
Sobre héroes y tumbas (On Heroes and Tumbs)by Jorge Sábato