“It is what you read when you don't have to
that determines what you will be when you can't help it.”
― Oscar Wilde
Reading is perhaps the most important activity that most of us do not do. The easiest thing is to talk about how much we love reading, how we always wish we read more, but then neglect it in those later hours distracted by an alarming variety of entertainment and communication. But reading will always impart us with something, be it a lesson, or a moral, or heightened skill in analysis, writing, creativity or kindness. So how about a challenge: instead of reading this list and appreciating the titles or making distant promises to check out some of the more interesting titles, take action. Go to Amazon and actually buy (or go to a library and save money?) one or two of these books, and make a serious pact to read into them. You may actually get something out of it.
1. "The Circle" by Dave Eggers
"I want to be seen. I want proof I existed... Most people do. Most people would trade everything they know, everyone they know - they'd trade it all to know they've been seen, and acknowledged, that they might even be remembered. We all know the world is too big for us to be significant. So all we have is the hope of being seen, or heard, even for a moment.”
The only book I could seriously label as “pre-dystopian," "The Circle" is a gorgeous kaleidoscope of new technologies and a bright future, and a faint warning of the dangers of knowledge and the desire for information. Following recent graduate, Mae, as she is hired by futuristic technology corporation, The Circle (think Google or Apple but bigger and brighter), the novel explores all the excitement and beauty of a future revolving around communication and knowledge, but with an ominous tone lingering in the background. If you enjoy social networks or the future of the Internet and communication, read this gem of a novel.
2. "Joyland" by Stephen King
"Some days are treasure. Not many but I think in almost every life there are a few."
Reading "Joyland" feels like a summer evening: warm and inviting, then cold and fleeting, and finally somberly finite; absolutely beautiful the whole way through. The novel is timeless – designed like a pulp mystery from the 1950s, it chronicles the summer of a college-aged hopeless romantic, recently broken up with and looking for solace in a summer job at Joyland, a beachside amusement park. There’s a great deal of romance, mystery and a twinge of horror in this wonderful coming-of-age story.
3. "The Alchemist" by Paul Coehlo
"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
"The Alchemist" is the universally-appealing children’s novella we all should have grown up with. On the surface it is an impeccably easy read: exciting, emotional and relatable. The novel highlights the quest of a young shepherd to find his destined treasure, and it never slows its pace. Reading deeper, however, "The Alchemist" is rich in morals and advice, deeply engaging and beautiful on every level.
4. "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami
“What happens when people open their hearts?”
“They get better.”
"Norwegian Wood" (yes, named after the song) is something melancholy and heartbreaking, but altogether beautiful in the end. The novel, a sort of coming-of-age romance, delves into the loneliness, love, somberness and introspection that can often make up the college experience, and it does so magically.
5. "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
“If you are interested in something, you will focus on it, and if you focus attention on anything, it is likely that you will become interested in it. Many of the things we find interesting are not so by nature, but because we took the trouble of paying attention to them.”
Ever wonder why characters in movies are never shown after the drama subsides at the end? Have you ever thought about how or when you feel fulfilled? "Flow" explores this necessity of goals and interests for a fulfilling and engaging life in an incredibly interesting manner. This book will actively improve how you live your life, and where true fulfillment can come from.
