Saturday, May 23, 2009

My Summer Reading List

Books I want to read this summer, in no particular order:

Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (read w/Marley)
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (No sparkly vampires for me)
Wrestling with God by Simone Weil (an introductory text)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (I put it on my Amazon.com shopping list but can't remember why.)
Creating Robust Vocabulary by a bunch of Ph.Ds (I just came across this book in a professional journal and am curious about their instructional strategies. Vocabulary development is HUGE for college developmental readers.)
The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer (for Book Club 2 this Thursday)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (for Book Club 1 next week; haven't read an Irving in AGES)

I don't know that I'll get all that read. I have a lot of cuddling with Marley to do... and laundry... and grocery shopping... and housecleaning... and exercising... and more to do. AND, in June I am writing my Master's project. I will have more reading to do for that, although quite a bit of it is re-reading.

Any other recommendations?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do any of these involve a non-violent, gore-free murder that is being investigated by an amateur detective? Do any of the covers feature half naked men, clutching fair maidens to their strong, hairless chests? What? No. Well in that case I will not be reading these titles. But you go. I'll be over here in the corner watching my brain atrophy.

Unknown said...

I have been thinking about adding some classic mysteries to my list. At least eventually. I know when I ask for those recs I'll have LOTS of recommends.

edj said...

I love "Owen Meany." That'll be a fun one. And I started "Gilead" last summer but didn't finish it. I liked it but the sentences that went on for pages were hard to read in the car. I need to retry now that I'm more settled.
Someone sent me "Finding Nouf" which I actually really enjoyed. It's a mystery, set amongst Saudi Arabia's rich families, and it's well written. A good beach read--not too taxing, but meaty enough to enjoy. I also recently read "Bel Canto" which I liked. It was an unusual setting but I found the characters both believable and likeable. Spellcheck says it should be likable, but that doesn't seem right, does it?

Anonymous said...

I picked up "owen meany" as a freebie in the lobby at the library. I'll read it next.

I've been enjoying the first two books by John Twelve Hawks.

Janet said...

I really liked A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Anne of Green Gables is on my list, too. I have read it but want to re-read with my big kids before we drive out to PEI this summer.

Allysha said...

Jonathan Strange = !!!!
It is such a good book. Really well written.

dianne said...

Looks like a good list. Surprised by Hope or something else by Norman Wright is on my yet-to-be-finalized summer reading list.

gretchen from lifenut said...

Benjamin Button will take about 20 minutes for you to read. I read it last winter in anticipation of the film.

I wondered if the screenwriter and I read the same short story...

All Rileyed Up said...

I enjoyed Ten Year Nap. I've been meaning to read The Historian forever. Maybe if I start now, we can have a virtual discussion about it. I like reading books at the same time someone else does.