7/10/06
Summer Reading
It's still hard to shake the weight of those words, "Summer Reading." For most students, especially in honors English programs around here is a list of books that MUST be read over the summer. There will be a test on the first day of school. Although I LOVE to read, I hated being told what I HAD to read and always put it off to the last second. I can remember the feelings I had when I HAD to read The Grapes of Wrath in the height of summer. I hated the book. Sure it may have stemmed from thr fact that it was a mandatory book pulling me away from the books I actually wanted to read, but more importantly it was a Steinbeck (I loathe him...I hate him)...depressing and hopeless...and it mirrored the sweltering heat of San Antonio summers. Ugh.
But...that was ten years ago...and now only I choose what I read. Recently reading has fallen to the wayside as I have increasingly been obsessed with knitting, however you can not knit at the beach. But reading...ah for someone that refused to sunbathe...reading is perfectly acceptable. The second day at Myrtle Beach I got stocked up in books from the discount bookstore. Funny enough...most of the books I got were non-fiction biographies. (The others were greek and roman classics) And all of them are great...I readily recommend them.
I started with Lipstick Jihad, by Azadeh Moaveni. A fantastic book about an Iranian that grew up in California, then moved as an adult to Iran. She was an Iranian in America and an American in Iran...never at home in either country. Very very good story...also very insightful to the plight of every day Iranians under an harsh, repressive regime. Hint hint they are NOT all terrorists. My mom could do well by reading this book. A distasteful muslim bigotry has bloomed in full flower in my mother now that she lives in D.C.
Next came A Random Act, by Cindi Broaddus. It tells her story of forgiveness and survival after a horrific act of random hatred. It can be a harrowing read, especially for someone who has a fear of being burned alive.
Next came Boy, by Roald Dahl...his autobiography of his boyhood. He is one of my favourite writers...and it also makes me glad to know I won't be sending Micci to an English boarding school of the early 20th century.
I am in the midst of reading, The Sweet Hell Inside, by Edward Ball. It tells the story of an elite black family of South Carolina in the turn of the century. It's a great read, but it also makes me sick to know that not even a hundred years ago (and it only formerly ended only 50 years ago) our society lived in apartheid and thought it was the best thing all around. I can't even begin to understand this mindset...it's deporable and sickening.
And next on the list to read is, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, by Gordon S. Wood. Supposedly telling us the tale of the great American leader with the obscuring myths peeled away.
It's good to be back to the reading.
11:48:00 AM -- Email --
Link --
1 Comments
Main Page
Those books sound really good....lately, I have been feeding on pulp fiction, purely because it's mind candy! Have you read Creation by Gore Vidal? Very interesting book.
