I keep forgetting this town has a library. It's inconveniently hidden, and it's on the side of town I choose never to venture to. Not that the library is located in a particularly crappy part of town. But, it's located right next to Meijer (which is kind of like Walmart, but less scary). And traffic in that area is kind of atrocious for a nervous driver like myself.However, because of my summer job, I'm forced to be on that side of town. In fact, my factory is just down the road from the library! I plan to put my library card to use.
Anyway, I mentioned cracking down on my summer reading list last post, and Dollface from The Rotten Little Girls requested I post my list. Here it is:
1. Revenge of the Paste Eaters: Memoirs of a Misfit by Cheryl Peck
A funny and poignant new collection of personal stories about growing up a misfit. The reason I bought this book a while back was because it mentioned Kalamazoo, MI, and I go to school in Kalamazoo.
2. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics.
3. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
A brilliant cartographer, 12 year-old T.S. classifies and categorizes everything in his path. But his most challenging task is to map out a route from his home in Montana to the Smithsonian Institute, where he's scheduled to accept an award for his scientific illustrations.
4. Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. by Roland Kelts
The title explains itself. This book examines everything from Hayao Miyazaki's epics, the world of hentai, and Puffy Amiyumi, whose exploits are broadcast daily on the Cartoon Network to literary novelist Haruki Murakami, and more.
5. The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford
A critical piece about America's funeral practices-- funeral practices that assault Americans' values and wallets.
6. Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
The setting is China's Forbidden City in the last days of its imperial glory. The story is about a girl named Orchid who is chosen to be the emperor's wife. After the emperor's death, Orchid must rule a crumbling China.
7. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens seems to be a normal boy. However, he lives in a sprawling graveyard and is raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.
8. A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
A portrayal of the complicated legacies of mothers and daughters, chronicling five generations of women from the close of the nineteenth century through the early years of the twenty-first.
9. A Short History of nearly everything by Bill Bryson
Generally a travel writer, Bill Bryson decided to take on the creation of the universe in this book. If it's anything like the last two books I read by him, A Short History should be nothing short of hilarious.
10. Broken Silence: Voices of Japanese Feminism Edited by Sandra Buckley
A collection of interviews and essays by Japan's leading feminists. While Japan is often thought to be without a significant feminist presence, this collection reveals a vital community of women fighting for social change.
11. The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno
Granted I've only read two of his books (Hairstyles of the Damned and The Boy Detective Fails), Joe Meno is by far my favorite author, and I cannot wait to delve into his newest book about the contemporary nuclear family and their individual search for their purpose in life. The novel also makes room for drawings, long transcripts of old radio serials, declassified government documents and several chapters consisting of exactly 26 short sections, each headed by a letter of the alphabet.
12. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
A semi-autobiographical story about a young Native American boy who chooses to transfer to a high school off the reservation in order to nourish his desire for a better future and to become a cartoonist.
Okay, so that was a top 12 list, not a top 10. Ten-shmen. To be honest, I have no clue if I'll be able to finish 12 books within the next two months...But I'm still totally pumped to get my read on! (btw, most of the summaries are from the Barnes and Noble website. I no good at writing summaries.)
What books have made it on to your summer reading list?
