Bookin’ It

Image by Wayne Gooderham on The Guardian.

Huzzah! The end of the semester has come! Now commences my first summer break in 5+ years! As I wrote in a previous blog post, I have intentions to read several books over the summer. I didn’t read many books before college, which is a sin for an English major, so I will be reading many legendary works that I should have read by this point. I’m going to list these books in hopes that I will be able to keep myself accountable.  So, here is my list:

1. Jane Eyre: I’ve read a couple of chapters from this book, but never finished because of random school stuff.  However, since my Long Romantic Period class will be reading it, this summer would be a great time to get it out of the way before I get bogged down with school work.  Also, the fact that I actually own this book helps.
2. Frankenstein: This is also listed on the book listing for Long Romantic Period.  Plus, this is the one book that gets taught in every class but mine.  It’s about time that I read this book even if it wasn’t required.
3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn: I can’t tell you how many times I have been scoffed at the mere mention of the fact that I have not read, or at least completed, Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn.
4. The Invisible Man:  Because H.G. Wells‘s writing is fabulous.  I have heard great things about the story that make me excited about the story.  I loved Wells’ The Time Machine, so I want to read more of his books.
5. Alice in Wonderland:  I read snip-bits in my Victorian Lit class this semester, so I really want to finish it.  It was neat seeing how the 1951 Disney movie twisted the book in cool ways from the little bit I read.
6. Treasure Island: I read about a third of this book in high school, but didn’t finish by the time it was due from the library.  As a result, I never finished.  *sigh*  Plus, I told myself that I wouldn’t watch Disney’s Treasure Planet, which is based off Treasure Island, before I finished the book.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird: The main reason for this addition is because my friend, Megan, told me that it had lots of word play and puns, two things that are up my alley.  I read a little bit in high school, but like most of the books on the list, I would like to finish it.
8. 1984: I actually read 1984, but I want to read it again.  However, this time every time I read “Down with Big Brother,” I’ll think of a particular institution that I have dealt with this past semester.
9. *Updated!* A Midsummer Night’s Dream
10. *Updated!* The Taming of the Shrew

Considering that I am a slow reader, this should take me the whole summer.  However, the summer will be spent expanding my mind and keeping it running.  This will be good.