My Summer Reading List
So for the last several months I’ve been trying to curate for myself a summer reading list (because I’m a huge book nerd who will willingly make themselves a reading list) and I’ve been kind of flip-flopping between what I want to read. On the one hand, I love reading classics during the summer. I love reading classics anyway, but more often than not I love reading them during the summer. However—and this is a major point for my dilemma—I love engaging in horror-themed content in the summer. Maybe its because its when all the good horror movies come out, but I love playing spooky games and watching spooky movies and reading spooky books during this time of year.
In the spirit of never being able to decide on anything, I ended up making a list that was a mixture of the two: some horror novels, and some classics!
What better way to tame the ADHD (not officially diagnosed, but I’m getting an ADHD test done tomorrow!) monster than to
Something Wicked This Way Comes tells of two young boys battling with an evil carnival performer named Mr. Dark. Mr. Dark tempts the townspeople by offering to fulfill their desires; the kids want to get older quickly and the adults wish to return to childhood.
I was actually going to read this for Halloween last year but I got it mixed up with another book, and I had to put that one down because at the time I had a ton of reading to do for whatever classes I was taking at the time. Honestly? I think it worked out for the best. What better season to read about an evil carnival than summertime, when most carnivals are out and its warm enough to enjoy them? Also, I’m a Bradbury fangirl and this one looks like the perfect read.
A young girl named Chiyo moves from her small town in Yoroido to the big city to become a geisha. However, Chiyo misses her family, and an older geisha is determined to destroy her.
I’ve read Memoirs of a Geisha about a hundred times, and many of those times were during the summer and for some reason it’s become a natural association for me. Memoirs of a Geisha is my favorite novel of all time and is the perfect example of what I hope to someday achieve with my writing: its a Cinderella retelling, but unless you understand the nuances of what makes something a Cinderella story you won’t see it that way. I’d read the book maybe fifty times before I went “hey, wait a second, this is basically Cinderella.”
That’s what I want to do with my own fairytale retellings. I want them to be so subtle in their telling that it takes someone a few readings to realize that’s what it is, and then once they do it opens up a whole new level of love for the piece. Because I’m getting close to the start of my thesis classes, I want to re-read this one again and prepare myself to do that with A Land of Shadow and Thorn.
This Side of Paradise follows Amory Blaine's coming of age during prep school and four years at Princeton. Over time, Amory loses his romantic outlook on life and matures into a man who views the world through a lens of disappointment and disillusionment.
This one might be me being a little bit pretentious here, but I love F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books! I can almost quote the final line by heart, and am considering getting it tattooed). We got to pick a short story to read in one of my Bachelor’s degree literature classes and I chose Babylon Revisited, and will talk about it at the slightest provocation. I’m eager to read This Side of Paradise and expand my knowledge of Fitzgerald’s novels!
Author Ben Mears returns to 'Salem's Lot to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead.
It’s vampires, its Stephen King, what can I say?
Bestselling author Mike Noonan retreats to his lakeside cabin in Maine after his wife's death.
This one actually has some thought behind why I picked it. Bag of Bones is my favorite summer read because it literally takes place during the summer, and at a lake, and the way King writes this particular one gives off summer vibes that really only hits with me when its hot out. Also, who doesn’t love a good ghost story as a metaphor for letting go of the past?
Certainly not I.
-Sweats and glances over at my own work-in-progress novel about ghosts as a metaphor for letting go of the past-
A young woman marries a wealthy widower, only to find herself haunted by the memory of his first wife, Rebecca
This one is on here simply as honorable mention, because I’d like to read it all the way through but I’m not sure I can. Also, again, I see it as supplementary reading for a project I want to work on. I’m hoping that now that I see it through a different lens (I thought it was a literal ghost story, only to find out via my sister-in-law who studied it that it’s actually about metaphorical ghosts rather than literal) I might like it better. I’ll try it, but I can’t promise I’ll stick to it.
As you can tell by reading, several of these I’ve read before. A lot of people probably don’t like re-reading old favorites again and again until the covers are torn and the spines are worn thin. I certainly do—especially if I find one I love just that much. You can almost tell just by looking which books were the most influential for me as a writer by how well-loved they are, despite my best efforts to keep them pristine.
I’m excited to get started on my reading list for this summer, and feel pretty good about my curation!
Do you have anything you’re excited to read for the summer?
