Summer Reading List

I am quite the librophile when I choose to be, and while it has it's ups and downs, there is nothing I enjoy more than sitting in my backyard enjoying a book and beverage on a hot summer afternoon.  I feel as though in the summertime there is absolutely no better way to spend my time, so at the beginning of every summer I compile my summer reading list, and this years list is intense.

The Classics- I didn't take standard English classes in high school, so while everyone else was reading the classics, I was in my creative writing classes, and now, I've fallen behind on standard literature.

• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  With the new Emma Stone movie coming out, I figure there is no time like the present to catch up on this novel.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I'm kind of obsessed New York of the past and the cultural effect that Zelda and F. Scott had in this city amazes me.
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.  I should probably read some Mark Twain at some point in my life.
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  This is an ambitious one, but the movie is supposed to come out next year, and I always love reading the book before watching the movie.

Contemporary- I rarely read any contemporary fiction, mostly because I've read everything by my favourite contemporary authors, but I've managed to scrounge up a few books for this summer.

• Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk.  It's the only book of his I haven't read, it'll probably take me a day.
• Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney.  He was the 80s rival and contemporary of Bret Easton Ellis, this book was made into a movie later on that I've avoided seeing until I get the chance to read the book.

Non-Fiction- I'm obsessed with non-fiction books, especially anything having to do with food politics, and biographies.  I'm sure this section of this list will expand by the end of June!

• Mapplethorpe by Patricia Morrisroe.  I'm kind of obsessed with Robert Mapplethorpe, but know nothing about him.  I'm setting out to change that.
• Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.  Vegetarian, I am not, but I like to learn about the meat industry, and what animals go through so that I can gain a deeper respect for what I'm putting in my mouth.  
• Food Rules: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.  Pollan's previous book, The Omnivore's Dilemma changed my life.  Hopefully this one will do the same!

So there's the beginning of my summer reading list.  It seems quite ambitious and I'm sure there will be many a times where I will get off track and something new will inspire me!