<p>Simple Idea, just everyone post their suggestions for a summer reading list! What books are must reads? Classics, Mystery, Comedy, whatever it might be!</p>
<p>I am planning on reading
* Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
* Leaves of Grass (Mark Z. Daneilewski)
* Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)</p>
<p>I suggest
* The Fountainhead
* We The Living
* Anthem
(All by Ann Rand)
* The Illiad (Homer)
* The Sun Also Rises ( Hemmingway)</p>
<p>Nice idea, OP, as an avid reader I hope I can work on my constantly changing list this summer too =)</p>
<p>Anyway I want to .. I guess "countersuggest" the three Rand books OP mentioned. Short version: I think Rand is a terrible author. Long version: </p>
<p>Well first of all I found Anthem tolerable because it's mercifully short and the underlying message is clear, simple to understand, and easy to accept. The entire repressive dystopian society schtick has been done many times before but Rand doesn't write it badly, although things begin to get stilted and preachy by time we're through and Prometheus has his shack on the mountain up and running and his gf by his side. Anyway, recently I started Fountainhead and We the Living and .. what a pair of train wrecks those books are. Especially the Fountainhead novel, I can't recommend it at all. The characters of Howard Roark and his sidekick lover, his friend/archenemy Keating are all completely inhuman and Rand's attempts at writing fitting dialogue fall far short, perhaps because English was not her native language. These characters don't talk to each other as much as they fire speeches at one another, pulling out pithy lines about the state of humankind and the value of the human ego and selfishness, one after the other in a seemingly repetitive unendless stream. Fountainhead is not so much literature as it is a thousand page (or longer? i swear this book never ends) diatribe against the communist society from which Rand escaped as a young woman and blind homage to the ideology of Objectivism which she has exalted all her life. The portrayal of all involved in Fountainhead is so one dimensional and flat.. the villains so unredeemable and so evil and the heroes so unnaturally pristine and unyieding, almost like blocks of granite themselves if we take the architecture analogy a step further.. I don't understand why so many people enjoy Rand and find her works 'deep'! It doesn't help that all of Rand's books have exactly the same message. I mean, I understand that she was a firm believer in Objectivism, but good writers show versatility and range of idea/thought, and Rand hasn't really got much of a range to speak of. All I admire of Rand is her skill at narration and description. She can describe the crap out of a building, at least that's for sure. Well what do you think?</p>
<p>I would have to agree with amb3r about Ayn Rand, even though I've only read Anthem. Now, I don't necessarily think a writer has to write about different subjects all the time, but I think they need to incorporate various themes. Then again, some of the greatest writers were one-hit wonders. I think Anthem is a book with a lot of substance given its size, but along with the fact that I don't agree much with objectivism (although it is interesting), it seemed almost dull in a way. I can't even describe exactly what was wrong with the book - the book just didn't give me that "feeling." Of course, this is strictly my opinion and others may be inspired differently by Ayn Rand's writing.</p>
<p>By the way, interesting selection you have there, reachyourgoals. The Kite Runner was excellent, IMO. Very gripping - I think I read it in two sittings, which is good for me, since most things I read in a whole lot more than two sittings. I'm not an avid follower of the news like some people are, but The Kite Runner encouraged me to follow more of what's going on in the Middle East, even if it feels like far away.</p>
<p>As for Oliver Twist, that's an interesting book too. However, it's a very Dickens novel, and whether or not you like it depends on whether you like Dickens. I won't spoil it for you by telling exactly what I liked/disliked about it. However, I'd personally recommend Great Expectations if anyone actually plans on reading Dickens this summer or is forced to. Of course, if you hate Pip, the main character of GE, you might not be able to stand it, but I have to admit to all the Dickens haters that I LOVED Great Expectations.</p>
<p>Without further ado, here's some books I'll definitely be looking into:
- Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen
- Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger
- Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Ann Burns</p>
<p>I'll have to figure something out for summer reading assignments too. My list's pretty light this summer. I'm not expecting to accomplish any reading feats, considering I'll be vacationing! =)</p>
<p>By the way, if you all haven't read it already (given you're on CC), I'd suggest To Kill a Mockingbird. You have to read that book at least once in your life hehe.</p>
<p>By the way</p>
<p>I can't stand Rand. We had to read Anthem freshman year and we have to read Fountainhead next year. =( </p>
<p>anyway,
The Illiad
The Odyssey
The Aeneid (all three Fagles translations)
Pride and Prejudice (Finally finish it!)
NEW HARRY POTTER BOOK!!!
The Wasteland (T.S. Eliot)
Emma
....a lot more too. These are just the ones I want to read no matter what. I have a ton of other things to occupy myself with too.</p>
<p>I guess that I am alone in liking Aun Rand :) and i do like Dickens i am Reading "Great Expectations" right now. I hope people like this idea :)!</p>
<p>hopefully, I'll have time to read these + required summer english and history reading</p>
<p>The tipping point
the god delusion
him her him again the end of him
some philosophy for my college course
various others..........</p>
<p>Reachyourgoals, you are so boring. And insane. You're SUGGESTING kids read the freakin' fountainhead???</p>
<p>I mean... it's not BAD but... for cripes sake... it's too freakin' long. It's not enjoyable to read because its so long and you're like "Would you just finish already?" I mean seriously, you do not need 100,000 pages to make your point about egoism and whatever!</p>
<p>Also, the sun also rises isn't that great. I have to admit, it is one of the only books I read front to cover in highschool but that was because I had to write an essay over it by myself and it was very short so I figured "Why the hell not?"</p>
<p>My essay sucked by the way. I don't get it at all. I don't get the importance of it. I don't get the themes. I don't see what's so great about this book or Ernest Hemingway besides the fact that he made boring writing acceptable.</p>
<p>However you are wise to wanna read The Kite Runner. That book was good!!</p>
<p>Haha sorry everyone hates the fountainhead, i loved it!</p>
<p>What did you like about it, reachyourgoals? Just curious =)</p>
<p>reachyourgoals- I read The Kite Runner this year, it was excellent. Coincidentally, it is also my summer reading book for college. I am glad that it is being embraced by schools. Happy Reading</p>
<p>A Hope in the Unseen
-Cedric Jennings is a intercity student in DC, he attends MITES (how fitting for this board) and goes on to Brown against great odds. A very good story by Ron Suskind who is a great writer and captures Cedric's essence.</p>
<p>We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families
-Stories from Rwandan genocide, amazing book</p>
<p>Fast Food Nation
-All time favorite</p>
<p>I'd suggest "The Golden Gate" by Vikram Seth, (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Gate-Vikram-Seth/dp/0679734570/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-2190423-0700648?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178781669&sr=8-2%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Gate-Vikram-Seth/dp/0679734570/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-2190423-0700648?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178781669&sr=8-2</a>)</p>
<p>Simply brilliant, both for the unique style of writing and for the simple elegance of the story. :) Worth a read!</p>
<p>The usual suspects if you haven't read them already:</p>
<p>Catch 22, 1984 Fahrenheit 451, Dune, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy :D, PG Wodehouse, that sort of thing.</p>
<p>I love The Kite Runner. It's so amazing. </p>
<p>I don't have anything planned really. Maybe On the Road by Kerouac and the new Harry Potter. I'll probably just go into Borders one day and pick up whatever looks good. I'm also looking through the suggestions on here.</p>
<p>Ooohhh. Just found out that Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns is coming out on the 22nd. That's exciting.</p>
<p>I suggest:</p>
<p>The new Harry Potter
The Book Thief
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Interpreter of Maladies
Slaughterhouse Five
The House on Mango Street
The Hundred Secret Senses
The Joy Luck Club
The Great Gatsby
Sophie's World
The Secret Life of Bees</p>
<p>...To name a few.</p>
<p>i suggest anything by salman rushdie, though especially the satanic verses</p>
<p>Oh yes Harry Potter!! A must read!</p>
<p>Nice, choices purpoise.</p>
<p>I'm trying to delve into the 'good stuff' that my school thinks is too hard for us. i.e, kafka's metamorphasis, goethe's tales of young werther, the alchemist, slaughterhouse five and some other vonnegut stuff, and things fall apart. </p>
<p>Any thing else around that caliber that is a must-read? I'm trying to prepare for tasp and college, but mostly I want to fill my head with good things so I can forget about the crap we've read this year (p and p, lord of the flies, julius freakin caesar= five year old crud). Oh, and I'll def. be reading hp and some chick picks when I get tired of the other stuff :)</p>
<p>Things Fall Apart is AMAZING!!!! We had to read it for summer reading for 9th grade, and it's one of the best books I've read for school ever! And we get pretty good summer reading books, usually! :) I highly recommend that! </p>
<p>Your school thinks it's too hard for you?! Metamorphosis is really good, but I'm deathly afraid of roaches so as you can imagine, it wasn't one of the best books for me to read. Congratulations on getting into tasp! (did you? you said you were preparing for it, so I was just wondering... I was going to apply, but I ended up applying to a creative writing program, and I'm going to that, instead)</p>
<p>Um, looking around my desk (for good must-reads)... I see:
The Namesake (it's newish, but it's good)
Ariel (poetry by Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar, while I'ms still on Plath
Ulysses (by James Joyce)
Wicked (if you haven't read it yet- it's really good!)
A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears (it's not a classic by any means, but it's entertaining, especially if you've ever liked or read fairy tales- I got this book when I was in first or second grade- my dad got it for me- and it's one of those books I've taken with me and read over and over and etc.)
A Streetcar Named Desire (Tenessee Williams)
Brave New World
Persepolis (It's a graphic novel and not a classic, but I liked it)
Maus (also a graphic novel- it's about the holocaust- I loved it though- we read it in school)
The Solitaire Mystery (if you read nothing else on this list, read at least this book! It's incredible! It's not a classic/hard book, but it's beyond amazing!!! It's by Jostein Gaarder, btw)</p>
<p>Oh, god. I have so many more I want to tell you about! This should be enough to last you a while, though. haha</p>
<p>vonnegut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love love love love love vonnegut. i most recently read gal</p>