summer reading list

My bookcase (which is actually only about half of my books...granted I have 1 1/2 shelves of just cookbooks)...but you get the idea...

A friend of mine has recently asked for a list of good books to read, and as I started to leave a comment on her blog (which is what is written below) I figured it would just be best to write it in my blog.

I have been currently re-reading my summer list (which I do EVERY SUMMER...well, since I was 17 or so, however new books get added every year)...these are not the order that I always read them in, but I always read all of these by the time summer is over...Oh, and you know that I read fast, so I generally read a book a day, so I read a lot of series...

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (I was assigned to read this book for my 9th grade honors English class, and it is still one of the best books I have ever read. It is set in the future, and it is about the government trying to breed genius kids to become battle commanders in a war, and it makes me realize that adults are messed up and that children know more than what we give them credit for. The rest of the series is pretty good too, and I would love to have a Speaker for the Dead at my funeral...if you haven't read that book, then you have no idea what I am talking about).

IT by Stephen King (one of my favorites because if you look past the creepy/skin crawling kind of stuff you can get down to the underlying meanings and themes throughout the book, which are definitely something to ponder the socio-economic society plus the semi-political themes. By the way, I am on my third paperback copy of this book...this one definitely needs to be read in paperback curled up in a big comfy lazyboy.)

Cujo by Stephen King (I own dogs, so I don't know why I read this one, but it is well written, and for some reason it always needs to be read while listening to classics like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hendrix, Zepplin, or Skynard...don't know why, but that is how I roll)

The Stand by Stephen King (totally good...not really all that creepy, but very good none-the-less, it's about a chess game between the devil and God and humans are the chess pieces....it's long (like 800+ pages~actually it is 1152 pages, but that is the hardback book, and it is an old edition), but sooooo good when you finish it)

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (a very Dan Brown-sh book, I guess you would classify this as a suspense thriller? but the main character is female, and she works as an analyst for the government decoding encrypted messages looking for terrorist threats.)

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (because isn't summer time about being a kid again?...granted the last books in the series ALWAYS make me cry and very non-kid like, but since the books grew as the generation who first started reading it grew, it makes sense).

I always try to read one Classic, and this summer I am leaning towards Treasure Island. I can never finish any Jane Austen book (I just think they are so dull that I find myself skipping whole paragraphs and whole pages just to say I finished the book...which is not something that I normally do).

I like to read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, it makes me want to dress like Amelia Earhart (or from that era) and drink luke-warm vodka out of a crystal highball glass and lounge around not having a care in the world....

This year I have read:

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis (the movie was based upon this book, however I learned A LOT about football, so since I didn't know a lot about football history, it was kinda a slow read for me, but Leigh Anne Tuohy makes me very proud to be a southern woman, and I would aspire to be like her).

Twilight Series by Stephene Meyer (this series is my guilty pleasure, definitely an easy read because it was written at like a 10th grade reading level, but the emotions that the characters display are very relateable, hence why it is mostly desired/adored by teenage girls. And yes I get made fun of by my significant other because of reading this series, but he is a man, and therefore doesn't get it. I know what it feels like to have my heart ripped out, and to choose between men, and to find the love of my life...so ppppllllllbbbbbbb!!! ~that would be a raspberry in case you were wondering!)

Geisha of Gion: Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki (awesome!! it explains the culture of a true Geisha, and this was what the movie Memoirs of a Geisha was based upon...The language is strange because it was originally written in formal Japanese and translated into British English, but still very insightful).

Dracula by Bram Stoker (this is the original Dracula book, the middle is very slow, but it is a great classic to read) and if you read this book, then you should IMMEDIATELY follow that up with:

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (a blend of the ancient stories about Vlad Dracula, the current folklore, and a mission to find out the 'truth'. This novel is very new, as comparison to Stoker's so its kinda the same, but different ;-) ).

Planning to read:

The Belgariad Series by David Eddings (okay, it is fantasy, but the characters are great and lovable however many of the made-up names are hard to sound out, so in my head I'm sure they are very different than what Eddings had intended. It is about how there were 7 gods on earth and there were once two prophecies in the universe (not really good and bad, but more of US vs. THEM) and it is about the final battles and confrontations in deciding which prophecy will win, because only one prophecy (the future) can be allowed...think about how scientists talk about different parallel universes and stuff like that...read the series before, and I'm gonna read it again).

Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan (my mom gave me this book, it is written by the guy who is known as the Dog Whisperer, so I am kinda looking forward to reading what it is about).

the Truth Series by Dawn Cook (my mom got me the first book at a book signing, so it is signed by the author, who is a SC native; definitely fantasy, but the female character is so stubborn that I have NO problem relating to her).

I have recently picked up a few John Grisham novels, and my favorite so far is The Pelican Brief (very lawyer thriller, so it fits his writing profile/style).

I also plan on re-reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawkings (he explains physics into layman's terms, and makes me question what I believe is true or not true about science now and the future of our universe and the future of science).

I want to read Einstein: the Life and Times by Clark, however the book is HUGE! so we shall see about that one...

I also want to read Great Essays in Science by Martin Gardner, but I think that one might bore me a little too much...

Okay, so I think that since I am re-reading a lot books, that I need to go to the bookstore soon...however, no job=no money=no new books (since I can't get out of a store without spending around $50!)... I think I need to find the library here and get a library card!

PLEASE leave comments or suggestions. As you can tell, I love to read and I will read almost anything (if you can't tell by the many different genres that I have listed here).