What does your Summer Reading List look like?

[dragonfly411]

So I thought it'd be fun to share these again. This summer I've got some pretty daunting reads to take on.
Paradise Lost
Dante's Divine Comedy
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Lord Jim
King Lear
Gulliver's Traels
The Canterbury Tales and other works of Chaucer (in Middle English)
New Options in Alternative Medicine
Two different Herbals
A Light on Yoga
The Swerve (and possibly a few others by Greblatt)
On the Nature of Things
The Age of Shakespeare
Chaucer in His Time
Autobiography of a Yogi
I'm nearly done with Life of Pi
3/4 of the way through the Bible
Fierce Medicine
The Wisdom of Yoga
Living Your Yoga
Yoga: The Spirit and Practive of Moving into Silence

The yoga and alternative medicine will probably carry over into the fall. But... YIKES

 

[April20]

Wow. I feel like a complete neanderthal compared to you! My list, if I had one, wouldn't look anything like that! I'm rather impressed.

I'm gonna be honest over here. I read trash. Mental junk food. Specifically mysteries and thrillers for the most part. I have really limited time to read these days and I like to be entertained!

 

[LibbyLA]

Whatever's free on my Kindle. Usually mysteries, thrillers, and romance novels. I'm not a romance fan, but I'll download just about anything that's free that isn't too graphic and doesn't involve the supernatural, werewolves, or the apocalyptic future.

 

[zoebartlett]

I read fluff, for the most part. Jodi Picoult, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella, those types of authors. I need to branch out. I also need to get a list together of what I want to read this summer. Other than Jodi Picoult's newest book, The Storyteller, I don't have any ideas.

 

[LittleRiver]

Great idea for a thread! I read mostly nonfiction or romance. Right now I have Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and the first three books in Robyn Carr's new Thunder Point series (only the first book is out) on my list for the summer.

 

[princesss]

Okay, this is what I've got on my list so far:

The Orphan Master's Son
Homeward Bound
Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Parable of the Talents
Public Apology
Forty-One False Starts
Forever, Interrupted
How to Create the Perfect Wife: Britain's Most Inelligible Bachelor and his Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Mate

Plus rereading:
Oryx & Crake and The Year of the Flood (last book in the trilogy, MaddAddam, comes out Sept 3)
The Outlander Series (book 8 to come out in December. Probably. So this will bleed into the fall)

Plus: Researching my new professors and reading some of their work so I know what I'm getting myself into (starting my masters in creative writing this fall)

 

[zoebartlett]

Princesss, I'm thrilled for you! When are you moving? Will you and your BF move in together or will he stay in England?

 

[JaneSmith]

So I thought it'd be fun to share these again. This summer I've got some pretty daunting reads to take on.
Paradise Lost
Dante's Divine Comedy
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Lord Jim
King Lear

Gulliver's Travels
I love this book.

The Canterbury Tales and other works of Chaucer (in Middle English)
You can read this? Impressive.

New Options in Alternative Medicine
Two different Herbals
A Light on Yoga
The Swerve (and possibly a few others by Greblatt)
On the Nature of Things
The Age of Shakespeare
Chaucer in His Time
Autobiography of a Yogi
I'm nearly done with Life of Pi

3/4 of the way through the Bible
Which one?

Fierce Medicine
The Wisdom of Yoga
Living Your Yoga
Yoga: The Spirit and Practive of Moving into Silence

The yoga and alternative medicine will probably carry over into the fall. But... YIKES

 

[marymm]

I will intersperse other fiction in-between, but I am about to start re-reading the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly (marvelous dark writing).

Otherwise, at the top of my stack, I have Kate Morton's The Garden at Riverton -
I am next in line at my library to receive Kate Atkinson's new book, Life After Life -
I am working my way through Jojo Moyes' books and also Joanne Trollope's books.

And, I've got Jo Nesbo's The Bat waiting for me - I broke down and ordered it I think through Amazon.uk - I've read all his later books (other than The Cockroach).

I love seeing what other people are reading because I get good reccies to replenish my "to read" stack!

 

[JewelFreak]

I don't make lists, but right now I'm reading a book about the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam & how they lost it to the English. Really interesting stuff about the Dutch culture & character & how they affected relations with native Indians & contributed to New York City's being a melting pot from its very beginning, extremely unusual in the 1600s.

Next I have a book by a neurosurgeon about his own near-death experience & how it turned his opinion of them upside down.

Right now, that's all she wrote.

--- Laurie

 

[missy]

I don't make lists, but right now I'm reading a book about the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam & how they lost it to the English. Really interesting stuff about the Dutch culture & character & how they affected relations with native Indians & contributed to New York City's being a melting pot from its very beginning, extremely unusual in the 1600s.

Next I have a book by a neurosurgeon about his own near-death experience & how it turned his opinion of them upside down.

Right now, that's all she wrote.

--- Laurie

Laurie, Could you tell me the title of this book- I am very interested. Sounds fascinating. Thanks.

I also don't usually make lists. Just read what seems good at the moment. My dh and I like to read books together and then discuss them. A book club of 2.

 

[manderz]

Sadly, not much fun summer reading for me. I'll be finishing my last semester at my current college, so I'll be reading text books for Counseling Children, Interventions with Families, and Stress and Coping Through Meditation.

15 more weeks! That's all!!

 

[princesss]

Princesss, I'm thrilled for you! When are you moving? Will you and your BF move in together or will he stay in England?

Thank you! I'm moving the first week of September (assuming all goes well with my visa), and BF will be staying in England. We'd talked about me moving in with him and commuting to school, but if I want a chance at an internship I really need to be in Edinburgh. I'm getting so excited!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I don't make lists, but right now I'm reading a book about the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam & how they lost it to the English. Really interesting stuff about the Dutch culture & character & how they affected relations with native Indians & contributed to New York City's being a melting pot from its very beginning, extremely unusual in the 1600s.

That sounds very interesting! Could you share the title, please?

I am taking my parents to the US next month and I put together a books and movies list for them, covering the areas we are going to visit. I doubt they will cram in one more book but I will!

 

[TooPatient]

I don't really keep reading lists. Whatever sounds good at the moment is what I read. During the school year, that is mostly mysteries. Finished all of the Sue Grafton alphabet books (that are out so far!). Now working on the Diane Mott Davidson series with the caterer.


My "I ought to get around to...." for this summer includes:

Gulliver's Travels
To Kill a Mockingbird (read 15 years ago so need a refresh as "A" will be doing it in school next year)
Around the World in 80 Days
A Wrinkle in Time (all 3 of these, I read the first one at least but it has been a bit)
David McCullough books (bunch of them)
Robert Alter's translation/commentary of Psalms
Mark Twain books (got a stack waiting)
Civil War articles collection (massive books x3)


Of course I'm busy as is with wedding planning, getting "A" up to grade level on everything, and trying to practice enough to be conversational in Hebrew and Spanish. (got a good vocabulary of both and can stumble through conversation but would like to be comfortably conversational before moving on to learn French)

 

[distracts]

Whatever's free on my Kindle. Usually mysteries, thrillers, and romance novels. I'm not a romance fan, but I'll download just about anything that's free that isn't too graphic and doesn't involve the supernatural, werewolves, or the apocalyptic future.

But you're missing all the fun stuff if you're excluding the apocalypse!

 

[distracts]

On the airplane on the way back from Scotland, I began reading "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer. I hate Twilight and find her a horrible author, but it looked intriguing and I couldn't stop myself. And the next thing on my list is those Patrick Rothfuss books but I didn't think they'd be super awesome airplane reads.

On my vacation, I read "War for the Oaks" by Emma Bull and "Bookworm" by Christopher Nuttall. Enjoyed both.

Also on the list:
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Libriomancer by Jim Hines
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
Sex at Dawn by the name on the cover is too small to make out on my kindle preview picture
Nurture Shock by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
And a whole bunch of political campaign books.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Whatever's free on my Kindle. Usually mysteries, thrillers, and romance novels. I'm not a romance fan, but I'll download just about anything that's free that isn't too graphic and doesn't involve the supernatural, werewolves, or the apocalyptic future.

But you're missing all the fun stuff if you're excluding the apocalypse!

Yes, and you learn SO MUCH about how to survive after the apocalypse or a zombie invasion. It's important to know this stuff.

 

[dragonfly411]

Okay, this is what I've got on my list so far:

The Orphan Master's Son
Homeward Bound
Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Parable of the Talents
Public Apology
Forty-One False Starts
Forever, Interrupted
How to Create the Perfect Wife: Britain's Most Inelligible Bachelor and his Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Mate

Plus rereading:
Oryx & Crake and The Year of the Flood (last book in the trilogy, MaddAddam, comes out Sept 3)
The Outlander Series (book 8 to come out in December. Probably. So this will bleed into the fall)

Plus: Researching my new professors and reading some of their work so I know what I'm getting myself into (starting my masters in creative writing this fall)

Great list Princess!

 

[dragonfly411]

So I thought it'd be fun to share these again. This summer I've got some pretty daunting reads to take on.
Paradise Lost
Dante's Divine Comedy
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Lord Jim
King Lear

Gulliver's Travels
I love this book.

The Canterbury Tales and other works of Chaucer (in Middle English)
You can read this? Impressive.

New Options in Alternative Medicine
Two different Herbals
A Light on Yoga
The Swerve (and possibly a few others by Greblatt)
On the Nature of Things
The Age of Shakespeare
Chaucer in His Time
Autobiography of a Yogi
I'm nearly done with Life of Pi

3/4 of the way through the Bible
Which one?

Fierce Medicine
The Wisdom of Yoga
Living Your Yoga
Yoga: The Spirit and Practive of Moving into Silence

The yoga and alternative medicine will probably carry over into the fall. But... YIKES

I've never read Gulliver's travels

Yes I can read Middle English, though slowly. It's also a requirement for my fall class so my professor will be there to help

http://www.amazon.com/Zondervan-Study-Bible-Personal-Size/dp/0310939178/ref=sr_1_76?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368022841&sr=1-76&keywords=NIV+Study - my version of the bible, a very very extensive study bible.

 

[dragonfly411]

I will intersperse other fiction in-between, but I am about to start re-reading the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly (marvelous dark writing).

Otherwise, at the top of my stack, I have Kate Morton's The Garden at Riverton -
I am next in line at my library to receive Kate Atkinson's new book, Life After Life -
I am working my way through Jojo Moyes' books and also Joanne Trollope's books.

And, I've got Jo Nesbo's The Bat waiting for me - I broke down and ordered it I think through Amazon.uk - I've read all his later books (other than The Cockroach).

I love seeing what other people are reading because I get good reccies to replenish my "to read" stack!

What is THAT?

 

[dragonfly411]

I don't make lists, but right now I'm reading a book about the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam & how they lost it to the English. Really interesting stuff about the Dutch culture & character & how they affected relations with native Indians & contributed to New York City's being a melting pot from its very beginning, extremely unusual in the 1600s.

Next I have a book by a neurosurgeon about his own near-death experience & how it turned his opinion of them upside down.

Right now, that's all she wrote.

--- Laurie

Both of these sound fascinating. Titles?

 

[dragonfly411]

On the airplane on the way back from Scotland, I began reading "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer. I hate Twilight and find her a horrible author, but it looked intriguing and I couldn't stop myself. And the next thing on my list is those Patrick Rothfuss books but I didn't think they'd be super awesome airplane reads.

On my vacation, I read "War for the Oaks" by Emma Bull and "Bookworm" by Christopher Nuttall. Enjoyed both.

Also on the list:
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Libriomancer by Jim Hines
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
Sex at Dawn by the name on the cover is too small to make out on my kindle preview picture
Nurture Shock by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
And a whole bunch of political campaign books.

You HAVE to tell me more about these. Esp The first five

 

[Gypsy]

I really have to recommend, that if you can, see if anyone near you is planning on doing a summer Shakespeare production of King Lear.

I was an English Major so I've read well... a lot of the items on your list and here are my thoughts.

1. Canterbury tales. Honestly, if you can get this on tape and have someone read it to you follow along visually, you'll absorb the most. It is very hard to just read story after story. But having someone read to you while you follow along helps a lot with focus. When I read this in school we would do that in class. People would take turns reading and we'd all follow along. Especially in the middle english. Because hearing it helps with the understanding.

2. King Lear... or any Shakespeare. SEE IT, don't read it. A good production is worth its weight in gold. These stories were written to be seen, and that's really how you should experience them. I adore going up to Ashland Oregon and seeing productions, it is just so much better to see it live than read it.


Dante is DENSE, DENSE, DENSE. My husband, who can read just about anything, didn't finish this. And I was in a class for a whole semester on it and OMG. I would rather be shot that have to read it again. Make sure you have realistic goals with this one. The footnotes alone will kill you. HONESTLY this one, by itself, is a summer reading list. It's just that dense.


I love Paradise Lost. Read it out loud to yourself. Makes it better.

Vindication of the rights of women. Get a version with real "S" s.. .and not one with "F"s in place of S's. It's very distracting to read the word "suck" when the S looks like an F. I can't stress that enough. Causes the most inappropriate giggles and distraction.

FWIW, reading ANYTHING is good.

And my summer list, like my fall, winter, and spring list is full of romance, fantasy, and mysteries. Nothing 'serious' or literature-like in the bunch.

I HATED the Great Gatsby, the Grapes of Wrath, and Heart of Darkness. So if you ever what a list of books NOT to read... those are on mine.

I highly recommend Uncle 's Cabin by Mark Twain. Or any book that was on "Ban" lists in the south. I took a class made up almost entirely of previously banned books. And I found that most fun!

 

[packrat]

Probably re reading a lot of faves.

John Sanford, James Patterson, Lee Child and Sue Grafton all have new books out/coming out, so those for sure.

I've got a bunch of Stephen King that I've read but mom brought in for JD to take to the police academy this past winter, that I didn't give back to her b/c I want to read them again.

Robert R. McCammon-Swan Song. Probably already read it about 20 times but it's an all time favorite, so needs to be read about once a year or so.

Trying to get London more into reading w/out being forced to or bribed, so will be reading fun stuff w/her like Little House, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew etc...she's probably close to being able to read the old Sweet Valley books too. The abridged versions of classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-I have 20 or of those little Moby Dick brand Classics.

I don't read anything heavy/deep/thought provoking. I've got a couple serial killer books I borrowed from a friend and need to get back so I gotta get them read.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Probably re reading a lot of faves.


Robert R. McCammon-Swan Song. Probably already read it about 20 times but it's an all time favorite, so needs to be read about once a year or so.

.

Oh, Swan Song...I forgot about that. A friend recommended it to me the other day after we talked about loving The Stand...I remembered you talking about it before. Yay, now I have a book. I'll start that one up. I've been reading a lot of books lately, but the last was a chore to get through.

For kid books, have you seen the Gregor series? I read all five books in one month. Not sure if London is ready for those and they do have some violence. Some of the characters pass away. My 4th grader LOVED the series and I did too, but I was also really sad about some not making it. Only the books 1-3 are read outloud in class. I don't know if other kids would consider them scary. Maybe those books would be something your son would like when he's around 4-5th grade?

 

[packrat]

Dangit, MC that reminds me we talked about the Piers Anthony Adept series too and I wanted to read those over again...for the umpteenth time..

I've not heard of the Gregor series but I'll check at the library, thanks!

 

[dragonfly411]

Gypsy - So funny, your hates are my favorites!

I will probably watch King Lear as well as read it. I've read Ivanhoe in Middle English so am pretty prepared for how Chaucer is going to be. I had a hard time with Ivanhoe but I got through... somehow. As for Dante, I read The Inferno in school and loved it, so I hope I'll love the whole thing just as much.

I'm a sucker for old writings as it is. LOL!

As for recommendations, Watership Down. I read it once a year.

 

[SB621]

For those that have kindles the majority of classics are free.

Alice in Wonderland
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Scarlet letter
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Secert Garden
The Art of War
White Fang
List goes on and on

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_9?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=free+classic+books+for+kindle&sprefix=free+clas%2Cdigital-text%2C163

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Dangit, MC that reminds me we talked about the Piers Anthony Adept series too and I wanted to read those over again...for the umpteenth time..

I've not heard of the Gregor series but I'll check at the library, thanks!

I started Swan Song last night (got it on my Kindle)...I was so tired when I started but am liking it so far...will keep you posted.

The Gregor books are kids/Suzanne Collins. They are cute. The characters ride on big bats, so if you like bats, you'll like the book. I always think of bats as kitty cats with wings. (But, you have to like reading kid books...my son did a couple of AR tests on them...they're 4-5th grade level. They are nice though b/c you can read 100 pages in a sitting if you have an open evening.)