Saturday, June 07, 2008

Cakes' Summer Reading List...

I'm a pretty heavy reader. I love books. I love writing. I love fiction. I love non-fiction. I love short stories. I love memoirs. I love poetry. Many people can't seem to believe that I have time to read 4-6 books a month, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. I don't know if people think that having 5+ kids means I am chained to the washing machine or I spend every waking moment tending to a child's need, but the reality is quite different. I would describe my day as several periods of very intense busyness (like dinner time or bath time) and then long stretches of relative calm. Yes, I could be scrubbing my floors on a regular basis, but why? Instead I take the kids to the park or the creek or even the backyard, and then I do a lot of this.



And then I might do some of this.



And when I get tired of that, I might do this.



So, as you can see, I have a lot of time for reading. And I'm good at it, so I read (according to Chowder) pretty quickly.

For my summer reads, I like to get a good mix of meaty classics I should have read already, but the lighter ones not the hefty thick lyricky ones. I like efficiency in my summer reads and not a lot of material that weighs me down like a thick quilt, that's what my winter reading list is for. I want my summer reads to be refreshing yet juicy and clean tasting, like a good peach.

So here is what my list consists of so far. I perused various summer reading lists and came up with what looked good to me. I have already read 3 from the list since Memorial Day (I know, I know, my nerdy friends. It's not Summer, yet.) And have been very happy with my choices. I'm too lazy to add links and reviews of all these books. You'll have to look them up yourself. Nah!

  • Room With a View by EM Forster perfect. light and breezy and romantic.
  • A Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers 163 pages of the best description of the jump from childhood to adolescence.
  • The Street by Ann Petry Harlem in the 40's. A heavier read but absolutely amazing.
  • House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
  • The Twilight Saga books by Stephenie Meyer young adult fiction series that has come highly recommended to me. (4 books)
  • The Lottery by Patricia Wood
  • A Passage to India by EM Forster
  • Dragonwyck by Anya Seton Put down that Phillipa Gregory and go read Katherine by Anya Seton. Yes, I enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl, but Katherine is the original standard. Dragonwyck is an American Gothic tale.
  • Belong to Me by Marisa De Los Santos
  • Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
  • Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
  • In the Heart of the Sea- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathanial Philbrick
  • So Young, Brave and Handsome by Leif Enger so, so excited about this book. His first novel Peace Like a River is in my Top 5 favorite books of all time.
  • Take This Bread-A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles
  • Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje
  • Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
  • Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

So, there you have it. That's what I have lined up so far. I don't know if it will last me through the whole summer, so if you have suggestions (or if you have read any on the list) PLEASE add them to the comments. And to my Muslim readers, could you please suggest a book for me. I have read several (especially the new ones) and everything is so violent and political in them. Islam covers so many beautiful cultures and they must be full of beautiful stories...I'd love to read some.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for some new ones to add to my summer reading list. Actually you have reminded me that I wanted to start keeping a list of ones I have read or want to read so I can keep track. I devour them as well and am always looking for suggestions.

Was it you who recommended The Red Tent by Anita Diamont? If not, its a great book to add to your list. Also the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith are light reads taking place in Africa. He writes other good series' taking place in Scotland too. All good.

wayfarer said...

House of Mirth is one of my favorite books. Loved it.

For Muslim fiction, two that come to mind are "Does my head look big in this? by Randa Abdel-Fatah and "the girl in the tangerine scarf" by mohja kahf. These are two on my summer list. But i haven't read them yet so don't know how good they are...

Anonymous said...

Ok so i am a reader also. I umm, read a lot?!?! Last week i read 3 books the week before i read 4 books. Yes you read that right, a week. But i must bow my head and say, its all FLUFF. I need something light heart to read.I real a lot of fiction/mystery/romance. I think my brain would explode if i got into anything too deep. Between my 3 kids, my job i work 40-48 hours at. Selling my house and packing to move in Mid-july, i need fluf. I have been reading about 150-250 books a yr. I buy a lot of books on ebay where they can be VERY cheap ( especially if bought in lots) BUT since i have loved your parenting style, and how you do things, i am going to try to pick up ONE of these books and try to read it :) I really should read thing that would enlighten me, but well, i like easy reads i do't need to think too much about ( what does that say about ME! ) thanks for the suggustions, and congrats on being a dedidcated reader or things that will better your ming!

Cakes said...

Stick~ I don't know if I'm the one who suggested it to you, but I did enjoy that book a lot.

Wayfarer~Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to go look those up.

Kellylynn~I know exactly what yo mean! I go through periods of that myself depending on what's going on in my life. Go get Katherine by Anya Seton. It is light but still a historic novel and a great story.

Jenny said...

I love "A Room with a View" and "Out of Africa", but I have not read any of the others.
I too read. I read in the bath at the end of the day.
I have just picked up a Nick Hornby book and another Jodi Piccoult (always an enjoyable, easy read), and was planning on starting one today.

Rachel said...

Oh yes i have a suggestion and it's a series!! I could stay up all night reading them!! Karen Kingsbury. Christian author and very good!!