Summer Reading

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when I compile an impossible reading list for the summer. I had this inspired idea this year, to put all the books I haven’t read from the past two lists together and try and get them done. WOOT! I will, inevitably, read other books to review, but I’d like to see how many I get done.

From 2010:

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Lorna Doone by Richard Doddridge Blackmore (started, but not finished)
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (We’ll see if I can actually finish it…ugh)
• Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
• The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (We actually own a copy!)
• Tess of the D’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
• Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville (I’m so excited to read this)
• Old School by Tobias Wolff
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (Ugh. I’m attempting Hemingway again)
• A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Muhammed Hanif

I read eight out of eighteen, which surprised me. I hadn’t thought I’d gotten so many done, but it was delightful to read this list. Some I probably won’t read (like the last one), but it’s nice to put it on the list.

From 2011:

• Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist (I can’t wait to finish this book!) (still)
• The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak (This has been on my list and on my shelf for quite some time. I really need to read it) (started, but not finished)
• The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton (I will alternately listen and read it. The audiobook is excellent thus far.)
• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (I’m obsessed with him right now, so why stop? I fully intend to read all of his works.)
• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (still haven’t read it again…)
• Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (I’ve never read it. Which is sad.)
• The Problem with Pain by C.S. Lewis (I read this in high school, but I’m excited to revisit it.)
• 1776 by David McCullough (I still really want to read this.)
• The Iliad by Homer (translated by Alexander Pope, because Pope is the only one who did it right. This is another reread.) (yup)
• Forgotten God by Francis Chan (I hear it’s excellent.)

Time to hit impossible heights!

Every summer I write a book list that I know I won’t actually accomplish. This year, I wrote one I think I might actually get through. WHOO! Last year I had a list of 18 books that I wanted to read in the summer (If you want to see it, it’s here). I ended up reading five and it took me the whole of last year to finish those five from that list. I read a lot of other books, but the ones I write down I seem to forego. It’s strange. This year, I added in books that I have previously read that I know I want to read, which makes it more manageable for me I think. I am constantly re-reading books. Anyway, here’s my list for the summer:

1. Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist (I can’t wait to finish this book!)
2. The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak (This has been on my list and on my shelf for quite some time. I really need to read it)
3. The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
4. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (I’m obsessed with him right now, so why stop? I fully intend to read all of his works.)
5. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Again. But I just bought the series at a yard sale. I’m excited. I stole this idea from my friend Andie at Wayfarings) [FINISHED!]

   

   Here’s the whole series 😀

6. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (I shamelessly stole this one too from my friend Scott.)
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (I’ve only read this once, the day it came out. Since the end is coming for the movies this summer, I thought I ought to read it again.)
8. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (I’ve never read it. Which is sad.)
9. The Problem with Pain by C.S. Lewis (I read this in high school, but I’m excited to revisit it.)
10. 1776 by David McCullough (Um…I’m a history geek. Especially about the Revolutionary War. Get over it. If you like the Revolutionary War and comics you should check out The Dreamer.)
11. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Yes, this was on my list last year. No, I haven’t finished it yet.)
12. The Iliad by Homer (translated by Alexander Pope, because Pope is the only one who did it right. This is another reread.)

    

    I don’t own this, but I wish I did. This is a beautiful copy.

13. Forgotten God by Francis Chan (I hear it’s excellent.)

So, I don’t know, is it too ambitious? I’d really like to reread the whole Harry Potter series and add in the second Kane book by Riordan, but we’ll see how I do with some of these. There are only five classics on the list. I’ve kind of shocked myself with that, because they make up less than half, but I think it’ll be good. I’m also thinking of doing Sense and Sensibility again, seeing as it’s the 200th anniversary this year. 😀

I will leave you with an image of the cutest, most annoying dog on the planet.

seriously, her bark could break glass.