Summer Reading List

[studentaffairsgrad]

Hey Friends!

 

Does anyone have suggestions for good summer reads? Any type - fiction, non-fiction, auto-biography, etc. I just graduated from my program, and my new job doesn't start until July 1, so I've got some time to kill.

 

I'll throw out one book suggestion - World War Z. I wasn't too excited about the whole zombie craze, but it was an amazing book!

[pears]

top of my list is a tie between the book for the class i'm TAing ( ) and a river runs through it, since i'm moving to missoula, and i'm a total sucker for all things modern american lit.

[wildviolet]

The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michale Pollan are the top two on my list (I'm joining a community garden this summer and hoping to grow some vegetables and herbs).

 

Other books on my list include, in no particular order:

 

Drinking Water: A History by James Salzman

In a Queer Voice by Michael Sadowski

The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

The One World Schoolhouse by Salman Khan

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch

Critical Discourse Analysis by Norman Fairclough

An Introduction to Discourse Analysis by James Paul Gee

[jmu]

Pedagogy of the Oppressed is fantastic.

I'm reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being right now. Next is History of the Guyanese Working People then another fiction book. Probably Equality by Edward Bellamy.

[rising_star]

I'm currently reading "Death at SeaWorld," partly for fun and partly for academic reasons. I'm also planning to re-read "Good Omens" this summer. As far as recommendations, I can make many. Any Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, "Water for Elephants", "A Visit from the Goon Squad," and "Molokai" are the first things that come to mind. Oh, Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man".

[studentaffairsgrad]

Wow - these are great suggestions! My Goodreads to-read list is growing quickly

[Monochrome Spring]

I second any Michael Pollan book. I also love love loved The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins.

 

If you're looking at more philosophical books and haven't read Sophie's World yet, I highly recommend it. It's like an introductory philosophy text, but written as a story.

 

Frankenstein is really good fiction, as is Crime and Punishment, if you're looking for classics.

[studentaffairsgrad]

I saw this on Buzzfeed yesterday, and wanted to share http://www.buzzfeed.com/doree/books-you-need-to-read-in-your-20s

[FestivusMiracle]

I normally read non-fiction, but two fiction books that I really love and rarely see mentioned are Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh and The Giver by Lois Lowry. Trainspotting is not for the faint of heart, but I think it's brilliant. The Giver is a young adult kind of book, but I think anyone could enjoy it. Both are fairly quick reads.

[dazoneman]

Fiction:

 

And The Mountains echoed- Khalid Husseni

 

Non Fiction:

 

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Katherine Boo

[nokingofengland]

I feel like every time I have the chance to read for pleasure, I get so excited by the number of possibilities that I begin about 20 books and finish none. Ugh. (This, by the way, is why I tossed aside my Kindle after trying it for a week. It's way too easy to switch between books; I never got anything done!)

 

I second Crime and Punishment, and add The Brothers Karamazov. And keeping with the Russian theme, I highly recommend Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Murakami is fun, too, if you haven't tried him. I recommend The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Finally, Death of the Heart by Bowen.

 

For non-fiction, I recommend Freedom Just Around the Corner, by Walter A. McDougall, as well as A Lexicon of Terror by Marguerite Feitlowitz, who is a beautiful person and an even more beautiful writer. Also, Nick Flynn's memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City is magnificent.

 

Speaking of Nick Flynn, can we add some poetry to the mix? Any of Flynn's work. Carl Phillips's From the Devotions is wonderful, too.

[juilletmercredi]

I'm reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series (the series that the popular television show Game of Thrones is based upon).  I finished the first book and am into the second, and am actively avoiding spoilers.

 

I also really loved A Dog's Purpose and the sequel A Dog's Journey, both by W. Bruce Cameron.  Both are fun, light summer reads.

 

I'm also planning to read Khaled Hosseini's new book And the Mountains Echoed, which is being released on Tuesday.  I preordered it to be delivered to my Kindle the day it comes out - I loved Hosseini's other two novels.  I also plan to re-read Night by Elie Wiesel and perhaps the other two books in the trilogy, Dawn and Day.

 

Books I started and plan to finish:

My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayor (I haven't finished it yet but I love it so far)

The Price of Inequality by Joseph E. Stiglitz

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

 

Other books that I liked:

 

Life on the Tenure Track, by James M. Lang

The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much? by Leslie Bennetts (about why women should work)

Mommy Wars by Leslie Morgan Steiner (^similar to the above)

Mama, PhD: Women Write about Motherhood and Academic Life, edited by Elrena Evans

Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home by Pamela Stone

Ask Me Why I Hurt: The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them by Randy Christensen.  It's about a doctor who runs a mobile clinic for homeless teenagers.

 

Being able to begin about 20 books is the reason I love my Kindle app on my iPad.  I do eventually finish everything, but I can easily switch between books and read what's on my mood.

[FestivusMiracle]

I'm reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series (the series that the popular television show Game of Thrones is based upon).  I finished the first book and am into the second, and am actively avoiding spoilers.

 

I also really loved A Dog's Purpose and the sequel A Dog's Journey, both by W. Bruce Cameron.  Both are fun, light summer reads.

 

I'm also planning to read Khaled Hosseini's new book And the Mountains Echoed, which is being released on Tuesday.  I preordered it to be delivered to my Kindle the day it comes out - I loved Hosseini's other two novels.  I also plan to re-read Night by Elie Wiesel and perhaps the other two books in the trilogy, Dawn and Day.

 

Books I started and plan to finish:

My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayor (I haven't finished it yet but I love it so far)

The Price of Inequality by Joseph E. Stiglitz

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

 

Other books that I liked:

 

Life on the Tenure Track, by James M. Lang

The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much? by Leslie Bennetts (about why women should work)

Mommy Wars by Leslie Morgan Steiner (^similar to the above)

Mama, PhD: Women Write about Motherhood and Academic Life, edited by Elrena Evans

Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home by Pamela Stone

Ask Me Why I Hurt: The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them by Randy Christensen.  It's about a doctor who runs a mobile clinic for homeless teenagers.

 

Being able to begin about 20 books is the reason I love my Kindle app on my iPad.  I do eventually finish everything, but I can easily switch between books and read what's on my mood.

 

I'm curious to read Sonia Sotomayor's book, because I've seen a quote where she basically infers that she didn't even know what the supreme court was until either late in high school or college, which is amazing to me.  Also, I don't know how you put Freakonomics down, I love it!  It changed the way I look at a lot of things in the world.  Definitely a must-read IMO.

[Monochrome Spring]

I forgot t add Ender's Game. It's probably my favorite fiction, so a must read.