I don’t remember the exact date that I started blogging, but I do know that around now is my one year blogoversary (see? I can make up blogging words too!). I haven’t really been keeping track, but the conditions right now seem to mimic what they were when I started. For example, when I started, Riley Lark was hosting his first ever virtual conference. Today we’ve come full circle. Last year I didn’t have any experience, and therefore, little to say. Perhaps I’ll be able to add my input in this year.
A couple weeks ago a friend received a gift card to a bookstore and a note that said “this is to take advantage of one of the best parts of teaching: summer reading.” I recall an abundance of reading lists last year, but haven’t seen many pop up yet this year. I’ve been working recently on my own list. This summer I’m generally trying to avoid books about math and education, since that is what has consumed my life for the last twelve months (though they always end up creeping in).
It should be easy for me to create a reading list – my dad is a book dealer**, so I am inundated with books every time I go home. Nonetheless, I can never seem to find a genre/writer/style/font face that I regularly enjoy. Yesterday, with a laundry list of recommendations and an abundance of recommenders, I went with my dad on a run to the local thrift shops and picked up a number of books at various people’s recommendations. I like this because I didn’t have to pay more than $1 for a single book. On the flipside, I was at the mercy of what I could find in the unsorted piles of rejected books.
So after a day of hunting, I picked up a pile of books that might be worth reading… And with that – Behold:
- Brave New World
- Forrest Gump
- Childhood’s End
- The Kite Runner
- The Millennium Problems
- The Collector
- Logicomix
And then there’s a few books that I was sort of looking for but couldn’t find:
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- The Brothers Karamazov (Pevear and Volokhonsky Translation)
- The Yiddish Policeman’s Union
And then there’s books that I know little about, but have been recommended since this post:
- Candide
- A Clockwork Orange
- The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
- Crime and Punishment
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?
I only vaguely know what most of these books are about. If you read and liked/disliked any of these, or just have some advice/words of wisdom, let me know. Feel free to tell me what’s not worth my time, or what’s a must read. I’m just looking for books to enjoy, to think about, and to pass the time.
**For those who don’t know what a book dealer is, my dad goes to garage sales and book stores where he buys books at absurdly cheap prices. He then turns around and sells them online for anywhere from $4 to $4000.
Forrest Gump is one of those rare instances where I liked the movie more than the book. However, if you have never read Candide by Voltaire, it makes you think differently about what Gump was going for. And, it is hilarious.
Brothers Karamazov is phenomenal, but you might consider shelling out a few extra dollars for the new translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky, which blows away the old Constance Garnett versions.
Brave New World is a good one, but, if you didn’t guess, I am a sucker for dystopia. Not my favorite dystopian novel (that is 1984), nor the most interesting (that is A Clockwork Orange), but worth the read.
YAY reading! I read _Brave New World_ in high school and liked it — but I wonder if I read it now if I would enjoy it as much. It’s pretty heavy-handed. I think we read it alongside 1984.
I read The Kite Runner a few years ago and I also really liked it. It was emotional.
A few months ago I finished The Yiddish Policeman’s Union (pretty cover!). It was interesting, and the descriptions were beautiful, and I felt good that I read it. But it wasn’t the stunning tour de force that I had hoped.
I just got The Brother’s Karamozov with @sarcasymptote when we were walking around his hood — because he was waxing euphoric about it. So there’s a ringing endorsement. You should ask him for which translation he liked most — the one I got wasn’t his favorite (but it was the one which was there).
You should sign up for Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/) and then we can be friends and see what the other is reading!
Ditto on Brave New World — I found it a bit simplistic, not as much fun to read as 1984. Stranger in a Strange Land was a lifeline of my high school years, but recent rereads have startled me with how much stereotypical, sexist silliness I managed to filter out. It’s full of ideas that are fun to think about, though, and I’ve felt that way about most of Heinlein’s books, even the ones I found tiresome (like Starship Troopers).
Yep, goodreads is great (Goodreads edu-blogger book club, anyone?). For more readerly goodness, check out The Gutenberg Project for public-domain ebooks, Librivox for public-domain audiobooks, and BookCrossing for free book-books.
BookCrossing is a bit like geo-caching with books; people leave books around their neighbourhoods and post a notice online about what it is and where they left it. You either stumble across a book tucked into the cereal aisle at the grocery store or subscribe to the notices for your area and hunt down a book someone just “released”. You write your impressions, then set it free again. If you are looking for a particular book, you can post it to a “Wishlist”, and if the stars line up, someone with an extra copy will send it to you.
You should most definitely read Brothers Karamasov as soon as possible. It’s a great book which on the surface is about a crazy family, but is actually about God and the meaning of life.
Yeah, Heinlein is sexist, and his writing is choppy, but The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorite books ever. I’ve read it at least 20 times. It’s an old friend. Stranger was fine, but there are a lot of his books I like better.
Yeay for book lists. A month ago, in the airport, I picked up The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, read it on the plane, and loved it. I need some good light reading for this summer.
Heinlein was sexist, but he was a product of his times, and he needs to be viewed in that context. Mark Twain is accused of being racist these days because he used “the N word,” but in his time, Huck Finn was banned because it depicted an African American man and a white boy alone together for days on end. Banned for being too liberal in his own time and for being racist now–poor guy can’t win. Some critics consider Stranger to have precipitated the 60′s, with its themes of “free love” and mysticism.
Also, I understand from reliable sources that 95+% of the books your father sells go for $25 or less–many for $10 or less. If you plan to become wealthy, buying and selling used books is not the easiest way.
Since Stranger in a Strange Land is on your list, I feel I must warn you that if you decide you love Heinlein, there are some you should definitely read (such as the Moon is a Harsh Mistress), and some you shouldn’t bother with (I Will Fear No Evil and The Number of the Beast): Heinlein went through a stage where he would start out books in his classic style, but then about 2/3 of the way through the book, the plot would just fall apart–I think I may have heard that it was due to a brain tumor. Anyway–let me assure you that those two books at least have fabulous titles, and are most disappointing if you actually read them.
@ Dan (from college): When someone recommended The Brothers K, I immediately thought of you reading that all through EDUC 92C (which was far more productive than what I did) – I didn’t even realize you read this blog.
@ Dan (from being my dad): Just because the distribution of your book pricing resembles a rational function doesn’t mean you don’t sell $3000 books occasionally. But as you said, the easiest way to have a million dollars selling books is to start with two million and quit after you’ve lost half your money.
@ Everyone else – Loving all the recommendations, suggestions, and opinions!
Sheesh! You’re the second person this week who’s confessed to not reading Candide. This is strange, and spooky, and will take very little time to rectify. It’s a short, fun read. I read it in my very favorite high school class and just last weekend went to see a modern theatrical version. Totally funny, totally worth the afternoon it will take you to finish it.
A suggestion for Candide lovers–and those who will be once they read it: Follow it up by reading Candy, by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, if you have not done so already. It is somewhat silly entertainment, certainly not in the same league with Candide, but may be the only parody of a parody ever published.