The sky is starting to clear, temperatures are rising, the snow has melted and UW students are getting restless, anticipating the warm weather and summer vacation. I am definitely one of these students. Some days, I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin if summer doesn't get here soon. One thing I always do this time of year to alleviate some of my impatience is compose my summer reading list. That's right, a summer reading list. And yes, I view it as a composition. For me, a reading list is a kind of art, like a gourmet meal - all the elements of the meal must compliment and contrast each other, making for the perfect dining experience.
When composing my reading list, I first include all the books I want to read most - books I was unable to get to during the school year, have heard good things about or have caught my eye in the bookstore.
Other times I'll go with a theme. For instance, I like to read books that take place in the season I'm reading them in to fully absorb the feeling of the season and avoid discord, so perhaps, this year, I'll read some books that take place in the summer, like Kate Chopin's The Awakening.""
Once I pick the books that will form the core of my summer reading, I take a step back - are they all by male authors? All modern? The answers to these important questions determine how I will fill out the rest of my list. For instance, if I only have modern works, I'll throw in a big, fatty classic or two. I also enjoy adding a work of non-fiction - perhaps a biography about one of the authors on my list for complementary effect.
Now that I've decided which books to include on my list, the real art comes: assembling the list in a pleasing manner. This is the part when I decide the best order to read the books in so the ""taste"" of one offsets and compliments the others. I always like to start out my list with something on the lighter side, to rest my brain after finals and ease into the summer. Then, I split up the male and female authors, modern books and classics, fiction and non-fiction, arranging them so that one will help illuminate the ones before and after it.
For example, last summer I read a lot of historical novels, so I placed ""The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay"" in between ""The French Lieutenant's Woman"" and ""Tipping the Velvet"" to separate the Victorian-age novels and to compare the author's technique in approaching history. Also, I always leave a slot or two on the list open for a book I might feel a spur of the moment inclination to read.
Perhaps describing how I compile my summer reading list not only got you into the summer mood, but also inspired you to create a list of your own. If not, you could just do what normal people do and read whatever you feel like.
Looking for some creative way to splice Harry Potter into a Kafka/Tolstoy sandwich this summer? Ask Anna for some tips at akwilliams1@wisc.edu.
