“If one cannot enjoy
reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” –
Oscar Wilde
My semester is limping to an end. I can’t quite see over the
stacks of papers yet to be graded on my office desk, but I know the end will be
here soon, so there is hope. What’s getting me through these last dark days?
Summer.
Lots and lots of thoughts of summer. Long delicious days in
the hot Texas sun will be spent doing very little. I’m so ridiculously happy
that I live just a few houses up the street from my parents for many reasons,
but in the summer, one of those reasons is because they have a pool. One of my
favorite things to do is slip out a book I’ve already read a dozen times, hop
on a pool float, and just…ahhhhhhh.
(sometimes this may also include a delightfully cold adult
beverage)
So these days, when I get overwhelmed with the grading, the
students, the administrative paperwork, etc… I fantasize about my summer
reading list. I dream about the books I can’t wait to pick up and read yet
again. So what’s on my list so far?
1.
Villette
by Charlotte Brontë – I adore this book. It’s wonderfully thick. There’s so much
depth and narration. I read it for the first time in grad school and I fell in
love with it. I read my first copy so much that it broke in half. It was among
the first books I replaced after the fire. Of course, it’s Brontë, so this is
old-school writing. But, man, this is old-school awesome.
2.
The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – Many people don’t
realize this is actually the first book in a series, but the book can also
stand alone itself. I read this one for the first time in high school Spanish
when I was a senior. It had nothing to do with the class; he was done teaching
for the year and we had to fill up our time with something, so I borrowed the
book from someone in the classroom. Seriously, hand to God, I nearly threw up
laughing at a couple of parts in this book. I’ve read it a dozen times since.
3.
Harry
Potter by J.K. Rowling– any of them. All of them. Strangely, though, there’s
a good chance I’ll start with book 7: Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I love it. It’s dark and twisty. And let’s
face it, so am I. But it’s also optimistic and uplifting, and I have my
moments. Once I’ve read that one, I may plow into the series from beginning to
end (yes, I’ll read the last book yet again). Or I’ll read the series in random
order depending on which book I feel like reading. I’ve read them all so many
times that I can practically recite them line by line. Such great themes and
descriptions, such wonderful power in these books. Kid or grown-up, it doesn’t
matter. These are great books if you give yourself over to them.
4.
Sense and
Sensibility by Jane Austen – no one is better with Regency wit and sarcasm
than Jane Austen (she was not a Victorian novelist…many people mistakenly believe
that). Her characters are a delight, and she writes the best book boyfriends
ever. Aside from that, you genuinely root for these characters (well, for most
of them…others, you just wish a piano would fall out of the sky and land on
them).
5.
On the
Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark – this is my favorite Mary
Higgins Clark book. There is just something deliciously dark and prickly about
it, but not so dark and prickly that it will keep me from sleeping. I have so
many of her books, and I become so engrossed in them no matter how many times I
read them. Stillwatch; Weep No More, My
Lady; While My Pretty One Sleeps; and All
around the Town are other favorites that she wrote that I will also probably
read this summer.
6.
The Horse
and His Boy by C.S. Lewis – this is part of the Chronicles of Narnia series and is my favorite book in that series.
I am a huge fan of the entire series, but I always begin with this one. I know The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is
many people’s favorite, and it ranks high in the canon of literature, but The Horse and His Boy will always hold
my heart. It’s endearing. It’s charming.
7.
Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier – This one I was introduced to waayyyy back in the 8th
grade. It’s wistful and haunting and twisted in an old-fashioned way. I knew it
was great the first time I read it, when I was 12, but I didn’t realize how
great. Only as I’ve gotten older and have re-read it so often do I get the wonderfulness
of it.
8.
Divine
Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells – This book is funny, and
sassy, and sad, and spirited, and so full of life and dysfunction and humor and
spite that I can’t help but love it. The idea of friends-to-the-end, no matter
what, is fascinating to me. I love the Ya-Yas, warped and twisted as they are.
Probably because they are warped and
twisted, and have found – and stayed with – each other.
9.
The Hunger
Games series by Suzanne Collins – I’m confused by the classification of
these books as “Young Adult” as the themes that permeate the books speak to
everyone. Perhaps the publishers felt the dystopian setting would turn off
older readers. The books are fantastic: social commentary wrapped up in
entertainment. What could be better? This is a trilogy; there are three books
in the series. What’s so great about this series is that kids and adults can read
and enjoy these books and then have a conversation – together – about them.
They aren’t just “kid” books or “adult” books. Universal problems and engaging
characters, a book that once it sucks you in you can’t put down: there’s
nothing better.
10. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich –
This is the first book in the Stephanie Plum series. They are wonderfully funny
and a little bit spicy and remind me of a cheesy 80s movie even when I’m
reading the book. I love it. Stephanie Plum is down on her luck and goes to
work for her cousin as a bounty hunter. She’s terrible at it and gets in over
her head (of course). It’s just super fluffy reading that is perfect for
summer.
It’s a diverse list, and it’ll keep me going for a while. It’s
by no means complete. I gobble up books the way some people eat pizza: I can
read a whole book in one sitting. There are never enough books, and there is
never enough time to read as much as I want to.