first, i want to say happy birthday to my brand new birthday-mate ella sofia gordon, born yesterday. her daddy is sure having one hell of a year.
and to everyone else: happy first day of summer!
one thing i always associate with summer, along with popsicles and swimming and flip flops, is reading. i think it goes back to the days of the summer reading list. i love summer reading lists; where else on this planet are you going to find something that allows you to spend your time lazing around in the backyard or on the beach or by the pool and end up feeling a huge sense of accomplishment?! and perhaps even earn a reward for your efforts?
so i think we should have a life off balance summer reading list! below is a list of ten books. your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to read as many of these ten books as you can (in any order). on labor day, whoever has read the most will win a gift certificate to powells.com!!
then, if you all feel like it we can have a virtual book club discussion on the books we have read. doesn’t that sound fun?! tell your friends!
life off balance summer reading list:
– the road, cormac mccarthy
– mother night, kurt vonnegut
– american gods, neil gaiman
– midnight’s children, salman rushdie
– middlemarch, george eliot
– little house on the prairie, laura ingalls wilder
– wickett’s remedy, myla goldberg
– the grapes of wrath, john steinbeck
– lady oracle, margaret atwood
– on the road, jack kerouac
don’t be intimidated thinking there’s no way you are going to read ten books this summer! i doubt anyone will even read half the books. i just wanted to give enough of a selection to spark people’s interest. i basically picked ten novels that i want to read, but most of them are widely recommended.
(i did try to keep the total number of pages down, out of guilt for including the hefty middlemarch. really, it should count as two books… ok, that’s what i’ll do, middlemarch will count as two books.)
UPDATE: a couple of people have asked “what i’ve already read some of these books?” here’s the scoop:
* any book that you finish reading during the time period counts, even if you have already started it before today.
* if you’ve already read a book on this list and want to substitute another, email me with the name of your proposed substitute title (e.g. another book by the same author or of the same genre) and if it’s a fair equivalent it will count toward your total. however, no substitutions for books you haven’t read. (which sucks for zee, who was the one who made me want to read middlemarch but started reading daniel deronda herself. sorry zee!)
if it makes anyone feel better, i’m in the middle of reading a book (the heart is a lonely hunter, by carson mccullers) that i have to finish before i get started on this list, too.
I’m reading Midnight’s Children right now - about half-way through it. Not a page turner, but I’m really enjoying the story. Salman Rushdie just took a professorship at my alma mater and I often wish I could go back just to take advantage of cool opportunities like that, that I was completely oblivious to at the time. Great reading list. Thanks!
Hey, what a great idea! I love the idea of a virtual discussion group.
So here’s the kicker for me: I just read Little House on the Prairie two weeks ago (do I still get credit?
) and am about 200 pages into (the equally hefty tome) Daniel Deronda - George Eliot’s final novel… I’ve been wanting to read On the Road for some time, though, so maybe I’ll start there after I polish off DD. (I’m hooked in now so no chance of leaving off at this point…)
Maybe Travis could figure out a way to add a forum to your site or something… Or maybe we create a special, dedicated multi-blogger blog for it with a meter/measurement bar for each participant!
(Oh lord, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Just ignore me.
)
sounds like fun & I’ve just finished a book so I’m in need of a new one (have lots of “crap” books I’ve gotten for free at boot sales, but this would give me an excuse to go shopping at Waterstones - yeah!!
Did you know George Eliot was a woman? Useless trivia–probably well known, too… Middlemarch ruined my summer going into high school. Took me forever to read and I never got to the other 36 books on the list.
I don’t think I can bring myself to re-read American Gods. I want to like Neil Gaiman, I really do, but his novels just don’t do it for me. I liked Coraline, and some of his short stories. Does that count?
By the way, I think this is an inspired idea, and I might steal it.
man sometimes I can’t believe how dumb I am - I read On The Road a few weeks back - I wasn’t super impressed, it’s an easy read, but I’m gonna look for On the Road, Little House, and Lady Oracle tomorrow - thanks for the inspiration!
i have always wanted to read grapes of wrath and never got past the first few chapters. i like steinbeck, so what’s my deal?
anyway, i’ll read that one. and maybe middlemarch, finally!
Great list!
I think I’ll do it! I read On the Road a couple summers ago, and Kerouac is not my favorite, but American Gods has been on my list for a bit, and I’m not opposed to the others (at least not in theory). Excellent idea!
your summer list is so long! maybe i will try to read a book or two… but it seems like i can only get through 2 pages before passing out. it takes me forever to read a whole book. *sigh*
also, i tagged you. check out my latest post for the meme rules.
Have you read the Heart is a Lonely Hunter before? I’m blown away that Carson McCullers was only 16 when she wrote it.
I hit up the library Sunday. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that most of the titles on your list were unavailable. I did manage to procure Middlemarch (which I started last night) and The Grapes of Wrath, neither of which surprised me, really. I hope the order matters less than the actual reading! I’ll put in requests for the others and get them when I return these two.
I read about 40 pages of Grapes of Wrath — a start! So Belle, are you with me?? How bout you, Jen, which are you reading?