Summer Reading

July 26, 2006

Summer Reading

One of the best parts about summer is more hours for reading, but it's almost gone. If you want to fit another book or two into the last few weeks before the new school year starts up, I suggest you consider this list from selections I have read this year. I'd be delighted to learn what you have enjoyed and recommend as well:

Waiting for the Barbarians, by J.M. Coetzee. This slim volume is an allegorical story that is beautifully written and especially relevant to world events today. I promise the story, by a Nobel and Booker Prize winning author, will stay with you for years. It is a great book for reading groups or discussions, too.

Snow, by Orhan Pamuk. A series of events in an isolated village in Turkey, snowed in by a heavy storm and filled with political turmoil, is the focus of this novel. It is slow going at times but fascinating for what it makes the reader consider, specifically how a secular society can become a conservative theocracy.

The Big Sky, by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Yes, it took me until now to read this classic. It could be subtitled, the making of the Marlboro man and the American icon, but I don't think the author knew it at the time. In fact, I don't know if he created or reflected the American frontiersman stereotype but he captured it forever in this well written book.

War is a Force that Gives us Meaning, by Chris Hedges. Don't be put off by the title. This little book will deliver a big punch to your stomach. It is the personal reflection of a war reporter who tells what no one else has about wars around the world. You'll want a marshmallow book after this one, but you'll probably look at news broadcasting and a lot of other things in a different manner as well.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory McGuire. Speaking of a marshmallow, this is a clever fantasy that tells the story of Oz and the childhood years of the Wicked Witch of the West (who isn't really wicked) and the Good Witch of the East (who really is wicked). It's a wonderful allegory that speaks to everything from animal rights to strip mining. I can't wait to see it on stage!

Happy reading. I'll pick up with A Human Sciences Minute again in August!

Cheryl Achterberg