I’m a crazy-list-maker and not afraid to admit it. Making lists makes me feel good, accomplished even. It makes me feel that I did something for the day, even though maybe I only made a list. Whoops.
Reading lists are one of my favorite lists to create. They’re the nerdy, yet fun-loving cousin of To-Do lists. Let’s call my reading lists, Gertrud. Since this weekend is Memorial Day, which generally marks the start of summer-time, Gertie and I are (reluctantly) whipping out our bathing suits, slathering on our SPF 100, and sipping cocktails poolside.
Summer Reading List 2012 (a.k.a. Gertie.)
Treasure Island!!!
Sara Levine
Although this book gets mixed review on Amazon, I’m going to take a chance and put Treasure Island!!! on the list because the premise is just so weird. And I heard about it on NPR, whom I trust with book reviews.
In this suburban comedy, a recent college grad with a lack-luster job history reads Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and decides she should live her life by the core values of the book: namely, boldness, resolution, independence and horn-blowing.
Sounds mildly crazy, huh? Maybe just as crazy as naming your Summer Book List, Gertie.
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James
I’m jumping on the bandwagon for this one. Generally, books about passionate, physical relationships written in (what I have heard to be) graphic detail, don’t really interest me. I prefer a little magic with my “trash,” a la the Sookie Stackhouse novels. But I feel as a librarian sometimes it is my duty to read books with big hype. And I’m not afraid to admit I want to know what all the hype is about!
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
Jenny Lawson
Since it is summer-time, I want something to tickle my funny bone as I sip on a boozy, cool drink. So, I chose another book from the humor genre. This time, the book is a “mostly-true memoir” from Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess. In Let’s Pretend this Never Happened, Jenny writes about the most embarrassing and traumatic experiences of her life, you know, the ones you wished never happened, and spins them into a hilarious tale. Or at least I hope she does.
Wildwood
Colin Meloy, illustrations by Carson Ellis
Ya’ll know I had to put a YA novel on here. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a long time because of, you guessed it, the cover. It’s beautiful, right? The book is illustrated by Carson Ellis, Colin Meloy’s wife. Colin Meloy is the singer/songwriter for The Decemberists. Her Majesty, the Decemberists was the soundtrack to my sophomore year of college.
Even the plot of Wildwood sounds oddly-beautiful. Prue McKeel’s baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows, so she adventures into the uncharted Wildwood to save him.
The Introvert Advantage: How to thrive in an extrovert world
Marti Olsen, Psy.D.
I’m an introvert. I know it is a cliché for librarians to be introverts, but I can’t help it. Introverts get an undeserved bad rap. Through this book I hope to learn how to better use my introverted personality to my advantage, instead of trying to hide it or “fix” it.
Want more of my “To-Read” lists? Follow me on Goodreads!
What are ya’ll reading this summer?
love,
melanie