This is less of a "here's the book I'm reading this summer" because we all know I don't have my life that together, and is instead more of a "let me help you pick a book to read based on what sort of experience you want to have (and my spotty book-reviewing skills)."
(Also, the world can be a terrible place and books aren't, so here we are).
Got it?
Let's go then.
1. The Brothers Karamazov
Unsurprisingly, this is at the top of my list. This book encompasses everything I am about as a person. Interesting philosophical discussions? Check. Loving family bickering? Check. A murder mystery, over-complicated series of love triangles, and a secret, hidden sibling? You betcha. It's 700-some pages of delightfulness, but don't try to do it all on your own. Make someone else read it with you (then you have a captive audience to bounce your theories off of).
Also, the author (my boy Dostoevsky) calls Alyosha "our hero" and it's just precious.
2. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
It's weird, self-aware of its own weirdness, and has the Bennet sisters take out zombies with knives. What more could you want?
3. The Complete Poems of John Keats
He wrote a poem freaking out about other famous poets and it's the most pure thing I've ever read.
4. Emily's Ghost
Giardina's fictionalized account of Emily Brontë's life is everything I could have wanted and more. It's not overly romantic (as in, the main characters have lives outside of whatever guy is currently the Potential Love Interest), it's got some pretty interesting theological ideas (Giardina's development of the idea of universal salvation is fascinating), and there's a dog named Keeper who is the sweetest thing alive. It's great.
5. The Harry Potter Series
This one's probably pretty familiar to you, and there's a high chance you've already read it, but hear me out: in this one, the kids take on the government and they win. They see their literally magical world corrupted by facism and classism and they arguably remake it as it should be. Also, Buckbeak the Hippogryff is still my favorite creature and Viktor Krum continues to be an awkward delight, so really, what do you have to lose in re-reading this series?
What books do you plan on reading this summer?
