summer book list

Here is, give or take one or two, my selection of reads for this summer.

Now, whether or not I get through all of these in six weeks is highly questionable, but here's what I'd like to aim for, in no particular order:

1. When Knighthood was in Flower by Edwin Caskoden (or, Charles Major)

I'm excited about this book because 1) It is the story of Mary Tudor, the younger sister of Henry VIII and the courtly commoner Charles Brandon and 2) I don't think I have ever read a copy of a book this old - this book is copyrighted 1898 and it was a Christmas gift to a Mabel Miller in 1899. I found it on eBay for pennies, and something tells me this copy is worth far more than what I paid for it.

2. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

I think this book has the kind of quirk in it that I dearly love (and it's a children's book, go figure) - the four main characters - two of whom are named Constance and Sticky (I rest my case) - travel to an isolated school where children are being trained by a criminal mastermind to participate in his schemes to take over the world. Bottom line: Any book that has a place in it called the Whispering Gallery has my attention.

3.

Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

Because it's Louisa May Alcott. Since this is the sequel to Eight Cousins, perhaps I should read that one first.

4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

This one's been on the shelf calling my name for awhile now. I fell in love with the cover of this one and I hope the inside lives up to it.

5. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

This one seems really interesting: An upper middle class journalist tries to live on the wages of unskilled jobs in three different locations in the US. The author describes her experiences and tries to relate them to a larger frame of reference by laying out statistics about the US.

6. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

John Ames, a 76 year old preacher in Iowa, is writing a letter to his 7 year old son to leave to him an account of his life. It's a meditation on fathers and children, particularly sons, on faith, and on the imperfectability of man.

7. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America by John M. Barry

I started reading this one at the very end of last summer, and was surprised by how much I liked it. Sadly I had to put it down in August and have yet to pick it back up so I'm excited to finish it this summer. It's a mix of social history, politics, and science - sounds pretty boring, I know - but what could very easily be a pretty dry account of the 1927 flooding of the Mississippi River turns out to be (at least in the first few chapters) a really engaging story of the transformation of American society.

8. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Because it's what I assigned for next year's 7th graders to read this summer. And I have never read it. Please don't tell anyone.