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June 20, 2011 —
You don’t talk about book club.
I’m just kidding, of course, since many students have turned into tabookworms who talk about what they read this summer. Some are continuing a series, some are rekindling a long lost love with a title read years ago and others are choosing something entirely new.
As a fellow bookworm, I’ve also chosen some books by Chuck Palahniuk, one being “Rant,” the story of a small town teen who runs an infamous demolition derby in the big city. In the end, his adventure gets him killed in a car crash, but his legend lives on through his friends stories.
Another book I’m reading is “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, a psychological look at the splitsecond decisions we make every day. Gladwell breaks down how accurate we actually may be in our snap judgment. This is a real page turner if you’re into psychology.
Also on my list is a book of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories and poems. The language is just incredible.
I have a stack of programming manuals on my desk as well, but I won’t bore you with the details.
With a nine-to-five job and my leisurely reading routine, I don’t get much page-turning done. But for some students, like art and history Emily Sovey, the pages turn much faster.
Her reading list includes “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman, “Art Kills” by Eric Van Lustbader and “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown.
“The Graveyard Book” is about an unusual boy raised by ghosts and werewolves in a cemetery trying to adapt to a world outside the gates.
“Art Kills” is about Tess, art consultant who witnesses the murder of an art dealer over the ownership of a very rare piece of art. Tess then fights through the unfolding plot as the heroine out to set everything straight.
“The Lost Symbol,” the sequel to “The Da Vinci Code,” is packed with secret codes and mysteries for protagonist Robert Langdon to solve. When his mentor is kidnapped, he must unravel a mysterious invitation to find the truth behind the crime.
Sovey’s summer reading list spans about a half dozen other books as well.
Another book lover is English senior Ashley Swarts, who is reading “The House at Riverton” by Kate Morton. The story involves an older woman named Grace who lives an assisted living home. Grace looks back on her life in service as a maid at Riverton and significant life events, including those that include a secret she’s kept her whole life.
Swarts is also reading Stephen King’s “It,” which tells the story of a group of friends and their fight to destroy the “It” that terrorizes their hometown every few decades.
She said that it’s been on her bookshelf for a while and she wanted to give “It” a try since King novels seem like good summer reads.
Her list ends with a few rereads she pulled from her shelf for a second time, Carlos Ruiz Zaphon’s “The Shadow of the Wind” and its prequel “The Angels Game.”
“The Angel’s Game” precedes “The Shadow of the Wind” and tells the story of David Martin and the mysterious person who asks David to write a book.
My advice to fellow students would be to find a title and become lost in the literature.