I love this time of the year, because this is when I am usually mulling over many titles and trying to decide if I want to challenge myself a little over the summer, or just feed my brain candy.
As you can see from my piece on Caritas in Veritate, I do like my brain candy!
We’ve been stimulated into staying home this year and acquainting ourselves with our backyard and some local coffee shops, but I still like to know what others are reading on their vacas.
Usually, in summer, I look for a little fiction, a bit of biographical reading; I keep it on the light side, or I should say, since I am no intellectual, the lighter side, but I am always glad to glean suggestions from these symposium lists. I met my friend Flannery O’ Connor through just such a list! Sharing their anticipated reads, this July:
National Review Online’s annual Summer Beach Bag seems like a heavy one that will have to be dragged through the sand, making a little trail to the shore. All the easier to follow.
Greg Mankiw answers a student inquiry with “ten very different books I like that are fun enough that you would not be embarrassed (well, not too embarrassed) reading them at the beach.” A nice list. I think I’ll pick up the O’Rourke and leave the Krugman.
ZenPundit has a list of fascinating titles, and the bio of Ho Chi Minh caught my eye, immediately.
Inside Catholic: The folks over there offer a nice variety of classic and new reading.
America Magazine: As an unapologetic lover of Bertie Wooster, I am very much liking the list Fr. James Martin has posted. Guess why?
Here at First Things, Sally Thomas runs through her family’s very interesting reading list. My own husband just dashed through Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in anticipation of the film.
I like the looks of the Amazon pre-teen summer reading list: Charlotte’s Web, Little Women. For my nieces, I’ve picked up a few books that were my own favorites, back when I was a kid, like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Harriet the Spy and Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth (a wonderful old book with a dreadful new cover!).
NPR: is making lots of lists, and they tell me they’ll have a big summer-reading list up soon.
My own list is pretty bare, as I’m still looking. Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny will finally get the attention I’ve intended since my son’s sweet girlfriend gifted me with it, that’s all the political reading I want in a season that cries out for retreat. I long to revisit Ankh-Morpork, but Terry Pratchett’s Unseen Academicals will not be out until fall, so I’m going with Katherine Howe’s The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, which will land me in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts; folk medicine, misunderstood females, Puritans and “Wise Women” going at it as usual – a fascinating period in our history and a wiccan primer, to boot. Perhaps it will shed some light on our own age, but if it does not, then finishing Richard John Neuhaus’ American Babylon; Notes of a Christian Exile surely will. I’m finally going to get to spend some time with John Quincy Adams, thanks to this biography by Paul C. Nagel, which I received as a very kind gift.
Perhaps because of the prayers of the Mystic Monks, I’m also bringing two Carmelites into the hammock with me via Von Balthasar’s Two Sisters in the Spirit: Therese of Lisieux and Elizabeth of the Trinity and the same Elizabeth’s addictive and enlightening Letters from Carmel, (Vol. 2). And if anyone could recommend a good translation of Story of a Soul, I’m up for that. It’s been years since I read it, but I recall that older edition striking me as just a bit twee, in some respects.
Instapundit: links to a list of big sellers
Diane Sherlock is Ambitious!
Blue-dot-Blues: Put together a list of goodies
Care to share your lists?
July 8th, 2009 | 2:39 pm | #1
Wow…where to start?
I guess I have my work cur out for me this summer.
Mr. H
http://www.allhands-ondeck.blogspot.com/
July 8th, 2009 | 2:55 pm | #2
Have read so far –
Old Testament
New Testament (took me a month to read both)
Amy Welborn, “Mary and the Christian Life”
Mary Healy, “The Gospel of Mark”
J. Ratzinger, “Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life”
Currently reading –
Augustine, “Confessions” (started it three years ago and haven’t yet finished)
To be read –
Augustine, “City of God”
Caryll Houselander, “The Reed of God”
Raniero Cantalamessa, “Mary Mirror of the Church”
perhaps some C.S. Lewis
July 8th, 2009 | 3:08 pm | #3
As usual, I have dozens of titles on deck, but rigtht now am working on Larsen’s A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800; Amir Taheri’s The Persian Night; Grayston Lynch’s history of the Bay of Pigs, Decision for Disaster and two novels by Richard Marius, a biographer of both Luther and Thomas More that are set in Marius’ native East Tennessee: After the War and An Affair of Honor. I just finished The Black Swan:The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Taleb.
July 8th, 2009 | 3:18 pm | #4
Being an old Long Islander myself, the one indispensible book for summer is “The Great Gatsby”, especially since I grew up in East Egg. I am 1500 miles away now, but I can read that book, close my eyes and see lights dancing on the surface of Manhasset Bay on a hot, still night.
July 8th, 2009 | 3:20 pm | #5
“Excellent Women,” Barbara Pym.
Trust me.
July 8th, 2009 | 3:22 pm | #6
I read 2 books a week. Mainly factual: at this exact moment in time I am going through the works of Robert Service, a historian who does biographies of Lenin, Satlin, Trotsky etc. I love bographies!
I find it hard to re-read books for some reason. But the ones I do go back to are those by Aldous Huxley, all of whose works I own, and Richard Dawkins, whom I admire even if it won’t make me any friends here!
I like books along the lines of “Does God Hate Women” by Ophelia Benson/Jeremy Stangroom and “Bad Science” by Ben Goldacre every now and then. I think too many left-wingers are irrational and it’s good to see people challenge their woolly thinking from a rational leftist perspective.
It is mainly history that I read. I like just about anything but my mind is more wired towards fact than fiction, which I suppose is a shame as I am not acquainted with “the classics”.
I did, however, take the trouble to acquaint myself with the Old and New Testaments. I think that they should be widely read because of their cultural and literary importance, though I am personally without belief.
Because I’m a bit worried about the future, I am building up as much this-worldly wealth as I possibly can in savings accounts, so after this Robert Service I reckon I’ll not bother buying any for a bit and concentrate on the Huxley.
July 8th, 2009 | 3:24 pm | #7
Thinking about it one of the biggest gaps in my general knowledge etc. which I should read more about is about foreign affairs. I have tended to be Anglocentric, which isn’t helped by the fact that I am monoglot (I am ashamed of this but not enough to learn another language).
July 8th, 2009 | 3:29 pm | #8
Let’s see.
I just finished “Wuthering Heights” and Cathy and Heathcliff seriously need to calm down. I’d never read it before and now that I have, I realize I’m more of a “Jane Eyre” girl than a “Wuthering Heights” girl. Those two exhausted me.
I’m now reading “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro. He wrote “Remains of the Day,” so I’m hoping for good things here.
I’m re-reading Philip Yancey — my favorite modern Christian author. “Disappointment with God,” a brilliant book, a life-saver, and “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” another favorite of mine.
I also recently read Salman Rushdie’s “The Enchantress of Florence” and loved loved LOVED it. I’d never read him before and, honestly, his humor, his wit, were a total surprise to me. A whimsical book about weighty things. Can’t say enough good things about it.
That’s all I can think of for now.
July 8th, 2009 | 3:40 pm | #9
I’m down to the last chapter of American Babylon, and have Catholic Matters (also by RJN) on deck. After that I fully intend to finish Frank Meyer’s In Defense of Freedom, which I started as airport reading back in March but set down for a bit. Then maybe I’ll get to something lighter, but I’m not sure what yet. I guess I’ve been saving Hemingway’s The Garden of Eden (published posthumously) for a special occasion, but I worry 1) that once I finish it I will have nothing left of his to read, and 2) that it won’t be very good.
July 8th, 2009 | 3:46 pm | #10
Here are a few I just finished reading:
-A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich
This book might be a little tedious for some, but it does cover virtually every emperor from Constantine to the fall of Constantinople. There is a handy list of emperors, sultans, and popes in the back. There are some interesting tidbits in the text such as on page 13 “Within this [the 100 foot column in Constantinople at the center of the new forum] had been depostied a number of remarkable relics, including the hatchet with which Noah had built the ark, the baskets and remains of the loaves with which Christ had fed the multitude, St mary magdalen’s jar of ointment…”
-Becoming Charlemagne by Jeff Sypeck
This is a biography on Charlemagne. Much of the book is also devoted to history of the surrounding region and the general political climate in which Charlemagne lived. And there is a whole chapter devoted to the elephant given to Charlemagne as a gift by the sultan. I will probably read another book on Charlemagne for more detail on his life, but this was a fun read.
-Heretics, GK Chesterton
I’m about halfway through Heretics right now. Every so often it’s good to take a dose of Mr. Chesterton.
Today I also read a little bit on St. Birgitta of Sweden from Prayers of the Women Mystics by Ronda De Sola Chervan. Each chapter has commentary on a particular mystics life and selected prayers.
July 8th, 2009 | 4:07 pm | #11
Yes to Barbara Pym — I read Excellent Women last summer, and also Elizabeth Goudge’s Pilgrims Inn, which my daughter and I both loved.
July 8th, 2009 | 4:24 pm | #12
I have discovered the thrillers of Brad Thor – well written and paced and very enjoyable. I’m also reading a Guide to Returned Catholics which is on my bedside table. The problem is that with my sleep apnea still untreated – I tend to fall asleep the minute I’m in a relaxed position! Maybe when the CPAC machine arrives, there will be some improvement! Getting older is unpleasant in some respects.
July 8th, 2009 | 4:31 pm | #13
Gayle, CPAP works great. You will love it.
July 8th, 2009 | 4:48 pm | #14
Mine is here: I’m reading 1776 for the first time and really enjoying it.
[Edited to insert link - admin]
July 8th, 2009 | 4:57 pm | #15
The recent turmoil in Iran led me to start reading Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden. Very good through the first 100 pages.
I am about 1/3 of the way through Chesterson’s St. Thomas Aquinas.
Now that our presence in Iraq is starting to be scaled back, I think it is a good time to read The Strongest Tribe by Bing West, which looks at how victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat there.
I also have Michael Burleigh’s first two books of his trilogy on the interaction between politics and religion in Europe over the past 200 years, Earthly Powers and Sacred Causes, ready to go.
Finally, this weekend I am going to pick up the Pope’s book on St. Paul.
July 8th, 2009 | 5:41 pm | #16
I’m a third of the way into “Paradise Lost” by John Milton and intend on reading “Paradise Regained” and “Samson Agonistes”. I picked up the book at a “junk” store for $1.00–for some reason the book just wouldn’t leave my hand.
I also have started Mark Levin’s “Liberty and Tyranny” and hope to get back to it. (BTW, we bought it at Costco–we were not distracted by strawberries or “poinopple.”
I gave my mother a copy of Julia Child’s “My Life in France” for her birthday back in December and she has now lent it to me, highly praising it. I can’t wait to read it–and maybe share it with DD#2 who is taking French 3 next year in high school.
And, just for fun, there is my monthly “Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine,” full of short stories and novellas from some of the best writers (new & established) in the genre.
July 8th, 2009 | 5:43 pm | #17
I just happened to come across an interview with Lois McMaster Bujold, a long-time favorite of mine, and whose Paladin of Souls is highly recommended. As is its forerunner, The Curse of Chalion. The interview is here: http://womenwriters.net/june09/paladin_interview.html
Both are extremely good stories with good character development and a theological twist. Strikes me as very much your flavor.
July 8th, 2009 | 5:49 pm | #18
You found “The Story of a Soul” a bit twee because it is, especially the first half in which she describes her early childhood. I have the Beevers translation and he is pretty adamant that this is the unvarnished Therese. I have little French, so I take him at his word. I just kept reminding myself that I have to receive the Kingdom as a little child.
July 8th, 2009 | 6:13 pm | #19
Elizabeth, I’m in the middle of St. Therese’s Story of A Soul — a translation that came highly recommended, by John Clarke, O.C.D., ICS Publications, 1996.
July 8th, 2009 | 8:55 pm | #20
I am on a Chesterton kick this summer. I have finished Heretics and Everlasting Man and I am about halfway through GK’s Autobiography, which I am enjoying.
On Deck are Liberty and Tyranny and The Man Who Thought His Wife Was a Hat.
July 8th, 2009 | 9:26 pm | #21
I recently read the definitive edition of her story, published in 1926, including all kinds of information about her canonization. I enjoyed that.
Brian, I’ve had Guests of the Ayatollah for a couple of years and went to a discussion that featured the author as well as one of the guests. It was fascinating.
I’m reading a book of saints that I found at a thrift store as well as Mother Teresa: Come be my Light. I have Teresa of Avila waiting for me to read her and have just finished Bishop Fulton Sheen’s Life is worth Living, which is a transcript of a season of his tv show. It’s quite timely, though it doesn’t seem like it should be.
July 8th, 2009 | 11:14 pm | #22
Gracias for the shout out! Great list of all lists!
So far I have finished Wired for War, two non-list books The War of Art (Steven Pressfield), This is for the Mara Salvatrucha ( Samuel Logan) and I’m reading Emergence and The Anabasis of Cyrus right now ( the former is timely, the latter is timeless)
Next up On the Road and The Accidental Guerilla ( Kilcullen).
July 8th, 2009 | 11:55 pm | #23
Just finished a biography on Leo Tolstoy by Henri Troyat. Good heavens, I feel like I have been living with the guy. Troyat is a brilliant biographer and Tolstoy was fascinating, exasperating, narcissistic in an almost modern sense, and a genius. His poor wife. And those “Tolstoyans.” To me they seemed like harbingers of the revolution to come, in all their control-freakiness.
Now I’m reading an old coffee table book from the 1970’s on The Kremlin.
Next up, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Vol 3) and Salvation is from the Jews.
July 9th, 2009 | 4:25 am | #24
I m reading
July 9th, 2009 | 7:18 am | #25
I’m reading The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. It’s a hard boiled crime story but the characters in it are from nursery rhymes (Inspector Jack Sprat and Sgt Mary Mary solve the Humpty Dumpty murder). I just finished The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly who is to my mind the best mystery writer around now.
I’m also re-reading Liberal Facism by Jonah Goldberg and getting very scared.
July 9th, 2009 | 10:11 am | #26
[...] any event, I think I’m going to go immerse myself in the summer-reading- list links over at The Anchoress. If I’ve got to get dumber by the minute, at least I can be well-read while I’m doing [...]
July 9th, 2009 | 1:35 pm | #27
O’Brian’s “The Island of the World” changed my
life. Now I can’t find anything so stirring as that
novel was. Any suggestions?
July 9th, 2009 | 2:45 pm | #28
[...] and since we were discussing Summer Reading Lists yesterday, it’s worth noting that Amazon has the Kindle on Sale! See you tomorrow! [...]
July 9th, 2009 | 2:55 pm | #29
[...] also linked to a heartbreaking amount of negative-leaning economic analysis, found a bunch of Great Summer Reading Lists, watched Boston Red Sox fans (!) help a handicapped kid sing the National Anthem and used a cartoon [...]
July 9th, 2009 | 4:07 pm | #30
I highly recommend the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The book is a stunning work that is funny, heartrending, and informative all at the same time. I read it in one sitting. Check out the reviews on Amazon. They’ll confirm that this is a very special read well worth your time.
July 9th, 2009 | 10:52 pm | #31
A marvelous list of lists. You have inspired me to create my own list, which I placed on my blog:
http://beingisgood.blogspot.com
July 9th, 2009 | 11:46 pm | #32
I’m currently reading A Postcard from the Volcano by Lucy Beckett–very good–if I had the time I would burn through it quickly. Renatus–I really enjoyed O’Brien’s Island of the World—have you read all of his others? Hard to choose a favorite I like all of them so much.
July 12th, 2009 | 12:35 am | #33
[...] Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is part of this summer reading list post – do check it out; you might find something you’ll really enjoy for the [...]
July 12th, 2009 | 6:16 pm | #34
I’ll second the recommend for the John Clarke O.C.D. translation of Story of a Soul. ICS in general is producing solid translations of Carmelite works.
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