I don’t know about you, but for me any break from school immediately becomes a mass consumption of media. Of all types. I take a consistently rigorous course load throughout the school year and I simply don’t have much time to dedicate to reading for pleasure or going to the movies. Over the summer though, I more than make up for it. I watch multiple series of T.V. shows at a time, go see every movie that comes to theatre, listen to new music and READ. All. OF. THE. BOOKS. As an avid reader (and newly-minted English minor) I find myself regularly giving unsolicited book recommendations. So, instead of yelling at people on the street corner to read more books, I decided to write a list of some of my top picks. Maybe some of them will end up on your summer reading list!

In no particular order:

1.The Help

-Kathryn Stockett

This is one of my all-time favorite books and I constantly find myself recommending it to anyone who will listen. I’ve got to be honest, I really love books about the South and I don’t know why. Whatever the reason, this one fits the bill. Set in early 1960’s Mississippi, right in the throes of the Jim Crow era, this is a timeless story of strong women surviving, thriving, and finding their voices. When an unlikely group of women come together to be heard, they become agents for change in ways they couldn’t have imagined. If you’ve seen the movie, you only got a taste of Kathryn Stockett’s amazing storytelling and heartbreaking honesty. I could go on forever, but I won’t. Read this book.

2.The Other Side of Gravity

-Shelly Crane

If you’re in the mood for romance, science fiction and addictive storytelling, this book is for you. Situated firmly in the YA Romance genre, Crane’s latest book is a departure from her signature supernatural plotlines and an exciting look into a dystopian future on a planet with no oxygen, no gravity, and virtually no human rights. Sophelia, our heroine, escapes from slavery and in her search for freedom, unintentionally becomes involved in a rebellion. This is the first in Shelly’s newest series and if history has shown me anything, I will be eagerly awaiting every future instalment.

3.The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts

-Maxine Hong Kingston

In this part autobiography/part fictional short story collection, Kingston weaves a fantastical and very raw tale of her childhood, sharing both her personal stories and the stories she heard growing up in the home of Chinese immigrants. I like to call myself a collector of stories and this book really just made my day. I love this book so much and even though I am not an immigrant and don’t live that life, the universal truths about growing up as a girl, the nature of the mother daughter relationship and life lessons really are for everyone.

4.The Tale of Despereaux

-Kate DiCamillo

Ok, in reality, any Kate DiCamillo book will do (Because of Winn-Dixie, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, etc.). This one, however, happens to be the first book I ever remember being my favorite book. I think I’ve read it three times, which is a big deal since I never reread books. This story of a mouse overcoming all odds to save a kingdom in distress is really just more than my heart can handle in all of the best ways. Make no mistake, this is a children’s book but as C.S. Lewis says “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.”

5.The Joys of Love, And Both Were Young

-Madeleine L’Engle

This is more of a recommendation for non-A Wrinkle in Time related Madeleine L’Engle books than one specific book. Most people don’t realize that she even wrote other books when in fact they were some of her first. I really just love the simple, reserved style of these books and the unexaggerated portrayal of life and love. Sidenote: I actually listened to these books on CD and would highly recommend it. Roadtrip?

6.The Importance of Being Earnest

-Oscar Wilde

This is actually a play, not really a book. And while you could read it in book format (it’s free for your Kindle on Amazon), I recommend finding a production or listening to the audiobook. My personal recommendation for the latter is a fully dramatized version staring James Marsters (think Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). This comedy of mistaken identity and the joke that is the Victorian English class system is one of Wilde’s most popular works and some might even say his best (cough cough).

7.Ender’s Game

-Orson Scott Card

The movie simply does not do this book justice. This book made me feel all the feels and the writing is impeccable. Even if sci-fi isn’t your thing (obviously it is mine) this is such an amazing story of loss, triumph, the will to overcome and facing societal perceptions of what is right and true. Also, space.

8.Mere Christianity

-C.S. Lewis

If you are a Christian and have not read this book, read it. If you are not a Christian and have not read this book, read it. This book is a meaningful explanation of some of the most basic pillars of the Christian faith and gives extremely useful pictures of Christian doctrine.

9.The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

-Douglas Adams

Honestly, I can’t even tell you what this book is about. All I know is that it is one of the single-most entertaining books that I have ever read and if you can’t appreciate it, we can’t be friends. #sorrynotsorry

10.Ruby Holler, Bloomability

-Sharon Creech

Once again, this is a recommendation for an author more than any one book. I have never read a Sharon Creech book that I didn’t fall in love with. Ruby Holler was the first Sharon Creech book I read and I immediately fell in love. It’s about two siblings in foster care who go to live with an older couple in a last ditch effort to be adopted and make some amazing discoveries while they’re there. I read Bloomability a few years and several Creech books later and was struck by this coming-of-age story and the depth contained in what is, realistically, a pretty quick read. Again, these are “children’s” books but I’ll refer you to the previous Lewis quote.

11.Cannery Row

-John Steinbeck

This one is inspired by my recent trip to Monterey, CA, home of the real life Cannery Row and the National Steinbeck Center. We’ve all read The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men but how many of us actually explore Steinbeck’s work beyond high school English? I haven’t read this one myself but it is on my personal reading list for the summer. I’ll let you know.