The months of summer can be a time when lots of activities are taking place. You may be going on vacation, or to the beach, or hiking, or biking, or you may be participating in all sorts of other activities. Whether you're staying home, or traveling near or far, you'll want to have a summer reading list that's perfect for your needs. Here are some tips!
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Varies
Here's How:
- Are you reading for a class next fall? You may have a list of books from which you have been encouraged to pick books to read. Or, there may be specific titles that you are required to read. Whatever the requirements for your class, think about these books only as a starting point. What other books will you read--in addition to the required titles?
- What are your plans for the summer? If you are planning to hike, why not read some books about nature? Read about Sir Edmund Hillary's mountaineering adventure, or another adventure memoirs. The idea here is to integrate related books into your busy summer. So if you're active in the outdoors, why not motivate yourself by reading more about it--as part of your summer reading list.
- Are there places you've always wanted to visit? Why not travel the world through your reading of literature? you can read about the travels of Dos Passos. Travel with Mark Twain in Mark Twain: The Innocents Abroad & Roughing It. Or, read about Paris.
- Are there books you've been wanting to read for some time now, but you just haven't had the time? Write down those titles, and make the time to read those books this summer.
- What about your favorite authors? There are probably a number of titles left to read by your favorite authors. If you've enjoyed one title by the writer, you'll likely enjoy more of his/her works, so be sure to add at least a few of those titles to your summer reading list.
- Sometimes, it's fun just to get in the mood for summer with your reading list. Perhaps you'll enjoy Edith Wharon's Summer or John Muir's Writings. Or, maybe you enjoy reading about baseball. Discover the joys of summer reading.
- What about your time commitments? If you won't have a great deal of time to read the great American novel, why not read a few collections: Irish Short Story Collections, Edgar Allan Poe Collections, Jack London Collections, O.Henry Collections, and Sherlock Holmes collections.
- Don't be afraid to have some fun with your summer reading list! Spice up your list with lots of different books. Perhaps include some poetry, short stories, novels, essays, etc. Remember just because it's on your list doesn't mean you are being forced to read it.
- This is the perfect opportunity to dig into those classics you've only ever heard about. Enjoy "Anna Karenina," "The Count of Monte Cristo," "David Copperfield," "My Antonia," "Don Quixote," "East of Eden," "Emma," "Ethan Frome," "Dracula," "The Great Gatsby," "Gulliver's Travels," "Life on the Mississippi," "Madame Bovary," "Middlemarch," "Mrs. Dalloway," "1984," "The Plague," "Pride and Prejudice," "Jane Eyre," "The Sound and the Fury," or any of the number of other great classics.
Tips:
- Make summer reading fun.
- You can explore the world with your reading.
- Get your friends involved in your summer reading project. Why not start a book club?
- Take your books with your everywhere. Make them a part of your summer!
What You Need:
- Pen (or pencil)
- A Piece of Paper -- Upon Which to Write Your Reading List
- Some Time to Read
- Books (borrowed from the library or friend; or purchased on-line or off)
