So, the summer break is coming up (for some, it's already here; for others, like myself, it's pretty close) and I usually relish in the four-month break because it means I can read particularly long/difficult novels without much interruption. So, I present to you, my recommended reads for this summer:
- Sula--If you haven't read any Toni Morrison, this would be a good book to pick up. Very interesting account of what it means to be a liminal character, even within a liminal society.
- A Tale of Two Cities--This is one of those long novels that most people spend months reading (seriously; there are people that read Dickens novels in the increments in which they were published, in accordance with how often they were published). However, if you have some time to spare, you definitely won't regret reading this one.
- The Book of Negroes--I feel like sort of a hack for recommending this one, but I really loved it. You will laugh, you will cry, you will hate me for ever recommending this book to you, but you will secretly be ever grateful that I did.
- Of Mice and Men/The Grapes of Wrath--Spoiler alert: both of these have pretty depressing endings. But still good. There is something very comforting in the way Steinbeck writes.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four/Animal Farm--I had meant to write a blog on Animal Farm, but I decided against it. However, I would recommend to anyone to read some Orwell at least once. I feel like his work will always be relevant to anyone, anywhere, and at anytime.
- The Idiot/Notes from Underground--Check out Notes from Underground if you're looking to read some Dostoyevsky, and pressed for time. If you have the time, I'd recommend the Idiot, which takes a while to get into the plot, but is totally worth it.
- How Much Land Does a Man Need?--I confess, this is the only thing I've read by Tolstoy, and it's a short story. But such a good short story.
- Jane Eyre--I think lots of people say they want to read more classics, but don't know where to start. Jane Eyre is a great novel, in a sort of interdisciplinary way. Most people consider it a great romance, but in a pretty subtle way, it's an interesting commentary on transgressing social hierarchies.
- The Little Prince--Cute, short, and inspirational. A book that reminds you not to grow up too fast.
- A Spot of Bother--Mark Haddon's lesser-known novel. A strange chronicle of an aging man's dilemma with his possible tumour and his neurotic family.
- The Color Purple--Another story that will probably tear you up on the inside. Some people have said that the content in this book is graphic, but I don't think that takes away from the fact that it is an incredible story.
- The Handmaid's Tale--I think Better Book Titles had renamed this one "Sarah Palin's America." This book creeped me out for two reasons: one is that it is genuinely a pretty disturbing dystopic novel. Secondly because of the way that North America becomes a totalitarian/theocratic state: a terrorist attack blamed on Islamic terrorists forces the U.S. to take some liberties with security measures and eventually goes into a sort of ethnic cleansing process which ultimately results in the theocratic state of Gilead. This book was written in the eighties. Are you some sort of psychic, Margaret Atwood? Still, creepy.
- The Outsider/The Stranger--L'etranger translates into more than one English title. A novella which, now that I think about it, is one big ad hominem, takes into consideration what it means when you don't fit in with society, and addresses a whole lot of real questions, like, is hatred a natural part of the psyche? Is lack of compassion considered inhuman? To what extent does character play into our conscious decisions?
- The Rules of Attraction--Why not add some smut to your summer reads?
