So, I’m an English major. I mean, what book-lover doesn’t have a properly compiled list of their most beloved literature? Well, I figured I had to create such a list for myself (because I didn’t previously have one, but shh, let’s keep that on the down low since that’s an English-major sin of the highest degree). I am not going to summarize any of these works because you are perfectly capable of looking them up on SparkNotes yourself (as you do with a great many of your other English class assignments [gasp!] -- I know all your secrets!). Also, please note that these books are not in any particular order because I really couldn’t choose one single favorite and one single second favorite, and one single third favorite, etc. That would be like asking me which type of chocolate was the best. I mean, white, dark, milk, the kind with caramel filling, the sort that they add spices to…well, you get the general idea. Now, I didn’t write this to make you hungry, I wrote this as a challenge. Read this entire list this summer and I’ll give you a hug (please note: I am not a physical touch person so this is a rare experience) and a cup of tea (over which we can discuss how remarkably awesome each and every word of these books are), but I digress…

1. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseni.

First of all, this book is written by my favorite living author and the writer of the classic novel "The Kite Runner" (also a really quality book).

2. "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseni.

Yes, yes, I realize I just recommended all of the books that Hosseni has written, but he is a really good storyteller. Please, do me a favor and just read his books! Also I just recently finished reading this novel and I’m still exceedingly excited about it!

3. "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare.

I’m sure you probably read this in your high school English class, and promptly passed the play on to your little sister to read for her high school English class even though she’s only in second grade and so the play ended up in some spidery corner of your basement covered in stick-figure drawings. Well, I’m telling you to take out your flashlight and dust this play off and give it another shot please! Also, this is my favorite work by my favorite dead author, so, I mean, you trust me, right? It’s got to be good.

4. "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare.

It’s really quite terribly amusing to memorize Lady Macbeth’s mad scene and freak out your roommate by dramatically acting it out just before you turn out the lights to go to bed (not that I’ve ever done that or anything).

5. "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath.

If you’re feeling a little insane yourself after finishing off that last chemistry final (you poor unfortunate soul) and you’d like to continue down that road a bit longer and feel completely and terrifyingly sane and logical while doing so, then take a copy of this book and lock your room, throw the key out the window into your neighbor’s frog pond, draw the curtains and secure any items you care about someplace out of your reach…

6. "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway.

Yup, it’s a love story, I suppose, but don’t worry, I promise it’s not cheesy Nicholas Sparks material. Hemingway knows what’s up!

7. "The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton

This one’s a quick read (I read it in one sitting, is that bad?). It sucks you in and spits you out leaving you wishing the author wrote a sequel (all in favor of "The Insiders" raise your hand!).

8. "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman.

Poetry is, arguably, my favorite genre of literature, so, forgive me, I had to add just one volume of it. Also, dear Walt is quite probably my favorite poet out there (we’re getting married).

9. "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri.

I had to include at least one collection of short stories and so, here it is! Read one as you relax in a nice hammock, read one on the way to your second cousin’s graduation party, read one as you picnic in a field of daisies, read one as you wait in the dentist’s office to get your wisdom teeth removed… Essentially, read these anytime and anywhere you have 10 minutes to spare for a quick escapade.

10. "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley.

If you’d like to think deeply about the human condition and what, in fact, makes a human a human (are humans truly any different than animals?), then snuggle up with a hot cup of herbal tea, a sweater and a seat by a window with a view of the foggy, windy, drizzly day outside in your favorite library.