Summer reading anyone?
#184605 - 06/08/05 09:07 AM
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For those of you who are avid readers or just readers in general, what's on your reading list for this summer? Or what are you reading now, or what have you just finished?
I just finished Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (which was nominated for the booker last year I think). It was really good - 6 different stories all nested into each other and overlapping each other, and all about how time is really fluid and cyclical and random. ("What wouldn't I give for a never-changing map of the ever-constant ineffible? To possess, as it were, an atlas of clouds."). Really well written too.
On my summer reading list is (gasp) Salman Rusdhie's Satanic Verses - yes, I know not very light summer reading! See, I tend to collect these piles of books during the school year when I have no time to read anything for fun and say to myself, ok I'll read this in the summer when I have more time. And since this book is a huge paperweight (or doorstop!) of a book, it's going to take a little time. I'm not sure if that one will be next though.
There are others on my list too but I'll post those a little later. For now, what are you guys reading/planning to read? Any recommendations?
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These are not novels but books my Christian authors that I have wanted to read but not had time too. Thank goodness for pool time!
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Have a blessed day!...Rachel
stable and sooooooo thankful!
I have IBS but it doesn't have me!
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My goal is to have all of these read by the end of the summer, but since I haven't even started ONE yet, I suppose that's a pretty lofty goal. But I *do* read really fast once I get started, and none of these are terribly long or involved, so I guess you never know.
Anyway, here's the stack of "unreads" on my bookshelf...
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel
A Telling of Stars - Caitlin Sweet
Riding with the Queen - Jennie Shortridge
7 Tattoos - Peter Trachtenberg
The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros
I Heard the Owl Call my Name - Margaret Craven
Naughty Fairy Tales from A to Z (heh)
The 1st 2 Harry Potter books
As you can see, I'm all about lightweights for summer reading. 
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I really enjoyed Like Water for Chocolate and the House on Mango Street. Naughty Fairy Tales definitely sounds like something I'll have to check out! 
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I'm reading "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown right now.
Next on my list are:
Breathe, Eyes, Memory
Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister
The Secret Life of Bees
Where the Red Fern Grows
And anything else that comes up that I might like to read.
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I just finished reading Continental Op a collection of connected detective stories by Dashiell Hammett (author of The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon).
My pile of unread books for summer reading include:
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club)
Bell, Book, and Candle (I placed a hold on this at the library and I'm hoping it's the book the movie's based on.)
The Golden Compass(children's book) by Philip Pullman
El Capitan Calzoncillos (  Captain Underpants in Spanish)
I'd also like to reread some short story collections by my current favorite authors Aimee Bender and Haruki Murakami (if you like magical realism check them out!).
Palomar, a graphic novel collection by Gilbert Hernandez, is another book I'd like to read again. Beautiful character development, amazing plots, touches of magical realism, and rich illustrations blew me away on my first reading.
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I'm afraid that I have too much academic reading to do this summer, so I probably won't be getting to much fiction. However, I did hear a panel discuss 'summer books' on a CBC radio show this morning. They said that they would put up the titles and authors on the website sometime today:
http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/
- Vincent
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I'm reading Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherford. I love his novels.
I may re-read the Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub, too.
Heh. One thick novel at a time.
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Anything by Harukai Murakami would be my recommendation - especially the Wind Up Bird Chronicles.
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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is one of my favorite books!
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Memoirs of a Geisha is GREAT! The movie is coming out soon too....really addictive story!
Christianne
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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about???
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I just finished reading REBECCA by Daphne du Marier and LOVED it. Definitely a classic. Haunting and romantic and so rich in description. I highly recommend it.
Kristine
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I was reading The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loanna, Umberto Eco's newest, and planning on reading Jonathon Strange and Mr. Sorrell after that... but then French class hit. That's my list though. That and Heather Nathan's book about performance during the revolutionary war...
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is a good, quirky book. It's really interesting, and a laughed a lot. It's kind of hard to get into at first, but don't be discouraged.
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I'm finishing a sci-fi series that I won't even embarrass myself by naming (I adore series, and those fantasy writers crank them out and I can't help it!), about to read French Women Don't Get Fat, since Amanda found it worthwhile. Also just finishing "It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys: The seven step path to becoming truly organized". It's been pretty eye-opening so far. Not necessarily a guide to organizing your closet, but more about figuring out why you are disorganized, and how to fight it. (I really needed it.)
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Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Casey- this is a fantastic book, once you start into it you won't be able to put it down
BUT I read about 150 pages of the WindUp Bird Chronicle and admitted defeat..I just stopped "getting it"
My current reading list is bridal magazines, Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring and The Irish Bride's Survival Guide (a birthday present from my brother)
I finished Empress Orchid relatively recently and loved it.
I have unfinished Shantaram, about a convict living in slums in India (I can't even remember which city  )
I just found The Time Traveler's Wife which is meant to be a great read, I bought it on an offer and it was hidden in the bedroom until the weekend so I am looking forward to starting into it.
Great thread!
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S.
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Thanks for starting this thread. I am off to the library this week to get some books and I got a ton of great suggestions! I am going to read Angels and Demons and the Memoirs of a Geisha Girl.
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Tender is the Night and Like Water for Chocolate are wonderful, particularly the latter. I read Memoirs of a Geisha a while back and to be honest was a tad disappointed with it... maybe it's just because everyone was telling me it was such an amazing book before I read it my expectations were too high? (So maybe I should give it another try.)
LOL - Naughty Fairy Tales. Everyone needs one of those in the summer. (Someone gave me The Bride Stripped Bear for xmas - erotica about a bored housewife who leads a secret life, lol, sounds corny but it's actually pretty good. It was published anonymously which really intrigued me, but turns out the author was 'outed' not long after publishing... she's a previously unpublished housewife... hmmm  lol)
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I enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees last summer... What do you think of Dan Brown?
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You've got a nice list going Maria
Oh I've been wanting to read Palahniuk (how do you pronounce that anyway) for ages now. Have you read Fight Club? I've heard it's very very similar to the movie (which I also loved).
And I love Murakami - big magic realism fan every since dipping into it with Midnight's Children (more Rushdie!). Never read any Aimee Bender though. Will have to look that one up.
I've also been really tempted to get into some graphic novels this summer too. So maybe now I have a place to start
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Yeah my list is about half and half academic and pleasure 
Thanks for posting that link... however I couldn't seem to find what you were talking about (maybe they haven't posted it yet.) I *love* CBC, by the way. I need to get my CD player/radio/alarm clock thingy fixed so I can wake up to it again!
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I think Dan Brown is pretty good actually. His writing is kind of "edge of your seat" which I like but I'm finding that "Angels and Demons" is very similar to "The Davinci Code". I'm still really enjoying it but probably won't read any more of his books because they seem to be pretty much the same.
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Quote:
You've got a nice list going Maria Thank you!
Oh I've been wanting to read Palahniuk (how do you pronounce that anyway I think it's, Paula-nick.  ) for ages now. Have you read Fight Club? I've heard it's very very similar to the movie (which I also loved). I loved the movie too, but I couldn't get into the book. I've read his other novels, except this one and Survivor (which I hear is his best). Maybe I'll try reading these this summer...or fall.
And I love Murakami - big magic realism fan every since dipping into it with Midnight's Children (more Rushdie!). I haven't read any Rushdie! What would you recommend for a first time reader? Maybe I should start with Midnight's Children too. Never read any Aimee Bender though. Will have to look that one up. She's AWESOME. Here's a link to an online story of hers, which isn't really magical realism, but is still fantastic: Call My Name
I've also been really tempted to get into some graphic novels this summer too. So maybe now I have a place to start I'd also recommend the Sandman series. Fortunately, our library has a large selection of graphic novels; however, Palomar was so good I had to buy my own copy!
Nice talking books with you, Laurel!
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The Courage to Heal by Laura Bass and Ellen Davis
The Wounded Heart by Dr. Dan B. Allender
These are books on Healing from sexual abuse. I recommend them to anyone who suffers from these hurts.
I am also reading Gardening for Dummies and Vegetable Gardening for Dummies!
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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I am dying for the new Janet Evonvich book due out this weekend! YHAAA!!
I am planing on finshing Laurell K Hamilton's Merry series, I have a couple Nora roberts books to read, I have a Tim Lahaye book to read, I am sure I will have more!! LOL
Good Thread!
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Heather7476
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I haven't had the chance to read a book for pleasure in AGES. The last one I read (for fun) was The Curious Incident of the Dog... I actually found out about that one through these boards! I liked it ok, nice quick book.
Right now I started reading Wasted, it is a memoir on Anorexia and Bulimia. My friend lent it to me, she has an eating disorder. it seems interesting so far.
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-Sheri
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I started the Time Travelers Wife last night- I LOVE it read almost halfway through already!
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S.
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Hey Laurel,
I went back and checked, and it turns out that it was a kid's book panel that was talking -- I guess that's what I get for only half-listening to what was going on. If you are still interested in checking them out, because I believe they were more 'young adult' focused, you can find the list here: http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/features1.html
I love CBC too -- listen to it every morning when I can, and if I'm up late enough, I like catching CBC Overnight to hear the programming from around the world.
Although I am pretty busy getting ready for the master's degree (if the banks will give me money to do it!), I try to at least keep one fiction book on the go. I just finished Catch-22, and before that it was Another Roadside Attraction. I'm sort of bookless right now though, so this thread has given me some good ideas.
- Vincent
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I'd start with Haroun and the sea of stories (think thats what it's called). It's sort of a childrens book, but brilliant with it. I'd also highly recomend Alexander Barricho's books Silk and Ocean Sea
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fiction...
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (check)
Slowness by Milan Kundera (just started)
Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Stranger Music (poems) by Leonard Cohen
The Cinnamon Peeler (poems) by Michael Ondaatje
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
Ficciones (short stories) by Jorge Luis Borges
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangaremba (one of my 'unfinisheds')
Magic Seeds by V.S. Naipaul
Bel Canto by Ann Patchet
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
non-fiction/academic...
Poetry, Language, Thought by Martin Heidegger
The Politics of the Governed by Partha Chatterjee
Queer Theory by Annamarie Jagose
History of Sexuality v.1 by Michel Foucault
Race and the Education of Desire by Ann Laura Stoler
Phew! I'd better get reading!
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Maria
#185444 - 06/10/05 10:16 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
You've got a nice list going Maria Thank you!
Oh I've been wanting to read Palahniuk (how do you pronounce that anyway I think it's, Paula-nick. haha... well I thought it was something like 'pa-lan-ee-uk', so there ya go! lol) for ages now. Have you read Fight Club? I've heard it's very very similar to the movie (which I also loved). I loved the movie too, but I couldn't get into the book. I've read his other novels, except this one and Survivor (which I hear is his best). Maybe I'll try reading these this summer...or fall. Have you ever read any Douglas Coupland? I haven't but my partner is really into him right now. Very similar to Palahniuk I think (Andrew, my partner, was reading 'Generation X' and said he couldn't believe how much that book must have influenced Palahniuk in writing Fight club)
And I love Murakami - big magic realism fan every since dipping into it with Midnight's Children (more Rushdie!). I haven't read any Rushdie! What would you recommend for a first time reader? Maybe I should start with Midnight's Children too. Oh I love Rushdie; his writing is so beautiful. I actually haven't read too much of his fiction (lots of his essays and such on postcolonialism) but I did love Midnight's Children - it would probably be a good place to start. Never read any Aimee Bender though. Will have to look that one up. She's AWESOME. Here's a link to an online story of hers, which isn't really magical realism, but is still fantastic: Call My Name Oooh! Sounds good - I'll have to check her out!
I've also been really tempted to get into some graphic novels this summer too. So maybe now I have a place to start I'd also recommend the Sandman series. Fortunately, our library has a large selection of graphic novels; however, Palomar was so good I had to buy my own copy!
Nice talking books with you, Laurel!
Indeed, you too, ms. librarian!
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That's what I've heard too... that his books are kind of formulaic. But hey, if the formula is good, why not run with it I guess right? And everyone needs a good 'edge of your seat' novel now and again. Thanks for the info!
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CBC
#185447 - 06/10/05 10:22 AM
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Thanks Vincent, I'll check it out anyway
I used to listen to The Current and most of Sounds Like Canada everyday during school (since I was lucky enough to have just afternoon classes ) but now I'm working nights during the summer so I pretty much miss Annamaria in the mornings... oh well. I *do* get to listen to Radio Overnight though, which can be soo interesting sometimes!
What are you doing your masters in (I think music, is that right?) Are you at Dal? Hehe, 'bookless' - I love that. I always need to have at least one book on the go or I feel lost somehow... something that I can just pick up and read a few pages of here and there at any time.
Anyway, nice talking CBC with ya, and I hope the banks are good to you!
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