Summer Reading

Summer time means summer reading!! And I've got a short, but pretty diverse list of things to work through. If anybody has any suggestions, throw them my way!

Science, adventure, dinosaurs.... this book has it all!! I'm almost done with this one, and it is so thrilling, I'm having a hard time stopping long enough to post this reading list. I loved the movie as a kid, but the book is all that excitement and adventure AND more. Definitely worth the read.

What would the summer be without a book on Nazi Germany? In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson is next on my list. Larson also wrote The Devil in the White City, for those of you who (like me) recognized the name from somewhere. This story is about an American family serving as ambassadors in Germany in 1933 and their experiences with and among the Third Reich.

The oldest book on the list and my Faulkner book for the summer is The Hamlet, the first of his trilogy, followed by The Town and The Mansion. The goal is to have read the entire trilogy by Christmas. I am sad to report that I have only read one Faulkner book since high school, though I read four during high school. Faulkner is a spectacular writer and I've wanted to revisit his writings having actually lived in Oxford. 

Water for Elephants is next on my list. I don't remember exactly why I didn't read this book when it came out, but it seems to be a hole in my contemporary literature collection. Eventually I'd like to see the movie as well, but I'm going to get the book read before then, I think. 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is the last one officially on my list, and is another relatively new book. This one is set in Jackson, MS in the early 1960s and revolves around three women, two of them black, one white, while exploring life in Jackson and how much it relies on "the help". A friend of mine was raving about it on Facebook, so it's on my list.

I love seeing other people's reading lists. I'm often moved to add books from others' reading lists onto my own. I'm also fond of suggestions. So if you have one or the other, dear readers, let me know what they are.