I’m about to begin the first book on this reading list, while finishing up the 8 or so other books I seem to have found myself in at once. The goal for this summer is to concentrate on one at a time.
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel Leonard Everett
Love in the Ruins by Walker Percy
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle
Howards End by E.M. Forster
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches by Russell Moore
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
I could also use additional suggestions. What do you plan to read this summer?
My reading list is still forming, but includes:
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigin
Confessions by Augustine
The Bondage of the Will by Luther
There’s also the 4-5 books I’ll have to read for Christian Theology in July. And, I can predict that if I don’t add more happy fiction to my list, then I’ll end up re-reading some part of Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings or maybe Lilith… which is not so bad, really.
I do recommend Lilith by George MacDonald (or anything by him, really – his children’s stories are wonderful). And you’re already reading what I think is possibly the greatest book I’ve ever read, The Brothers Karamazov. So… yeah. I just dominated your blog with this comment.
I’ve re-read almost all of HP in the past 6 months.
And I love George MacDonald’s fantasy works; in fact, I wrote a paper on allegory in Lilith back in high school.
There are three that I’d recommend, and this is in order of importance AND brevity, so hooray!
The Enemy Within, by Kris Lundgaard.
Culture Making, by Andy Crouch.
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Well, you’re already reading the Brothers Karamazov, so that’s fine. But The Idiot is incredible.
Lastly, as an extra (and, again, a short one – though I’ve now read each letter two or three times because they’re so good), check out Letters to a Young Poet, by Ranier Maria Rilke.
Inspired by your post i created my own summer reading list. Something about imitation and flattery i believe…
http://jugglingnutcase.blogspot.com/2010/06/summer-reading-list.html