Summer Reading

On Lists and on Reading

I like lists.  It's a blessing and a curse.  I like to-do lists, playlists, lists of my favourite places, lists of things that inspire me, top-ten lists, you name it. I like to check things off once I have done them, to see the progress I have made on sometimes completely trivial but still totally satisfying projects.

I also like reading. A lot. When I was six years old I discovered a treasure-trove of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books in my Oma's basement.  It was all downhill from there.  In many ways books and the ways I interacted with them defined my childhood - a good book was and will always be the ultimate refuge.  At the same time, though,  I think books are the connection to the world, to the lives and emotions and thoughts of everyone we share this world with.  As C.S Lewis said : "We read to know we are not alone." So, yeah.  I like reading.

That's why every summer I put together a massive summer reading list and do everything in my power to get through it.  There's no real rhyme or reason to my summer reading lists. Each year it's generally just a compilation of books that have sparked my interest throughout the year but which, for whatever reason, I just haven't gotten to.  There will definitely be some schlock, and there will also be some academia.  Perhaps some capital-C Classics.

This year, rather than simply ticking off my list in the back of my day planner, I'ma take things a step further.  As any truly narcissistic bookworm would do, I'm going to blog about it.  I promise reviews. I do not however promise any form of neutrality or academic detachment.  You have been warned!

This year's list is a work in progress; it's still being compiled and I would LOVE to take recommendations! Have a book you loved and want to share? How about a book you LOATHED ENTIRELY and just need someone to share your pain?  I'm wide open to suggestions!

In no particular order, here are my book selections for the summer thus far:

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:: Cleopatra: A Life - Stacy Schiff

A rave-reviewed, in-depth bio of my childhood hero? One that focuses less on her being all Sexy & Mysterious, and more on her politics, her brains, her epically messed-up family? Yes. Please.


:: Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa - Joan Jacobs Brumberg

Brumberg takes a seemingly "modern" medical issue - anorexia - and tries to find its sociological roots throughout history.  From female martyrs who starved themselves to the Victorian phenomenon of the "fasting girl," I'm not sure what her argument is going to be, but I'm willing to bet it's going to be interesting!

:: London: A Life in Maps - Peter Whitfield

Mostly, I am in it for the Pretty. Maps! Maps! Old maps, new maps, how we understand & imagine our urban spaces!

:: The Final Testament Of The Holy Bible - James Frey

Ok, look.  I don't think James Frey is a genius.  I don't.  But I do find him immensely readable and have a weird fascination with irreverent biblical fiction.  Christopher Moore, I'm lookin' at you.


:: Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans: Visual Representation and Non-Elite Viewers, 100 B.C to A.D 315 - John R Clarke

Promises to discuss not only Roman representations of the working class, slaves, etc, but more interestingly how art was created and experienced by these non-elite viewers.  Rude graffiti, art in brothels and pubs, public architecture... excuse me, I need to go make snuffly little nerd-noises.


:: 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created - Charles C. Mann

I read his other ultrapopular book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, and was thoroughly, whip-out-the-sticky-notes-and-highlighter, impressed.  This new one isn't even out until August but you can bet it's on my calendar!


:: Herculaneum Past and Future - Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

Volcanoes, disaster, tragedy, preserved ancient cities, archaeology, art history, architecture, colour photos??


:: Empire Of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army - Stephan Talty

Ok, so I picked this one up in the bargain section of Chapters.  I do have kind of a nerd-on for the history of maritime piracy, and also I am quite fond of rum.  I've cheated a little on this one; I already skimmed through the introduction.  While not exactly scholarly, Empire of Blue Water promises to be nothing if not delicious as a summer read!


:: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer - Siddhartha Mukherjee

Honestly? This one's only on my list tentatively. Because while it looks incredibly fascinating, thought-provoking, and painfully relevant... in reading it I would be seriously running the risk of hurling myself into the depths of hypochondriacal anxiety.  Hmm.


:: Curious Men - Frank Buckland

Accounts of Victorian oddities by a fellow considered to be somewhat of, well, a Victorian oddity.


:: Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham - FINISHED!

To be honest, I know almost nothing about this book.  All I know is that W. Somerset Maugham famously said: "To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all of the miseries of life."  That's all I need to know.


:: Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 B.C - AD. 250 - John R. Clarke

Sex, art, archaeology, history... same place, same time.  I'm down.


:: Dead Reckoning: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel - Charlaine Harris - FINISHED!

Are the Southern Vampire Mysteries great art? Hells to the no.  You know what they are? A total blast to read.  Think Twilight, but with vampires and werewolves that are actually dangerous and a heroine that actually has sex with 'em.  All of 'em!
(P.S, after about the second book, they are different enough from the TV series True Blood that you're probably safe for spoilers!)

:: Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov) - FINISHED!

Because frankly, for someone with such strong opinions on this book, I should probably read it myself instead of just screaming "TITILLATION IS NOT THE POINT!" at people with no proof to back it up.

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So now it's your turn.  Got any recommendations? Anything to avoid? What books are you going to cuddle up with on a sunny patch of grass?