I love to read, but the school year doesn't give me much time to read outside of assignments. Over the summer, I relish reading only what I want to, and here are a few books on my list.
"The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Mathematics, from One to Infinity" by Steven Strogatz
I knew something fishy would come out of dating an engineer, and here it is. Before we parted for the summer, my boyfriend gave me "The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity." So far, it's been the most enjoyable text I've ever read on mathematics. I'm a few chapters in and have already learned about World War I and "Sesame Street" in exciting new ways. I never enjoyed math, but this introduction refreshes both method and philosophy that makes math meaningful in ways I couldn't grasp in elementary school. But why the multiplication of two negatives make a positive, I still don't know.
"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
I started this fantasy novel months ago and never got around to finishing it. It blends magic and mystery in a medieval setting, with rich and complex characters that aren't like many others that you'd meet in other novels. And if I find this book to be good enough, I'll read the second installment, "The Wise Man's Fear," and then eagerly await the next volume with the rest of Rothfuss' fans.
"Turning Points" by Mark A. Noll
All of my friends know that I have a great love for Mark Noll's scholarship (especially "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind" and "Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind"), and I also took a class in the history of Christianity last semester. We read a chapter from this book about a "decisive moment in the history of Christianity." I decided the whole volume would be worth my time, as a cementation of my knowledge and as an encouragement for my continued research in this field.
Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
The author of "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" has many other poems that are equally striking. I look forward to reading more of Thomas as I pull my poetry reading out of the seventeenth century into the twentieth century. Someday I'll venture into contemporary poetry. Someday. But for now, Thomas's stellar example of formal yet modern poetry will be an excellent introduction into poetry of the twentieth century.
"Surprised by Hope" by N. T. Wright
Wright's volume on "heaven, resurrection, and the mission of the church" has been recommended to me by many people. After reading a pamphlet on Wright's interpretation of heaven, I'm looking forward to reading more on the importance of bodily resurrection of Christian theology, while renewing the hope that God gives us.
What's on your summer reading list?
