Apparently things have changed since I was in high school and looking ahead to college. I just Googled “college summer reading lists” to try to find lists similar to the one I was handed by my high school English teachers near the end of the school year, and so far no luck. What I did find was a bunch of contemporary titles I’ve never read, but have heard great things about. My goal in this post was to dive back in to those more traditional recommendations and offer my two cents, so I’m still going to do that. Make sure to supplement your formerly-known-as-Classics with some voices of varying perspectives. (Check out this list for some contemporary recommendations.)
“A note on what I mean by “Classics” before we get going: While of course there is the ancient stuff, I think for this moment in time I really mean books that are either famous or well-known, both old and somewhat contemporary. ”
What started ringing bells were the Advanced Placement prep reading lists that I stumbled upon. So, if you want to study hard this summer, that’s what I’ll be recommending today! I’m such a nerd, but if you’ve found this blog post that might mean you are too. Welcome, book nerdling. I’m here to guide you.
Read some weird, ancient play like Antigone by Sophocles or Medea by Euripides
Why? Either are relatively quick reads because they’re plays, they will help your brain encounter strange new things because they’re formatted like plays and were written very long ago, and shit gets real. If you enjoy family drama and death, these may be your jam.
Read some contemporary authors who write about a different American experience than those historically portrayed in history books. Good examples include Beloved or Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison and Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.
Why? History textbooks are currently written from a very high level, with little detail or humanity, from the perspective of the White European experience in the US. Our country needs to continue to cultivate the understanding that there are many stories that brought us here, and many experiences now, and many needs of diverse peoples. Our future depends on it. Also, Song of Solomon is a wild, weird book (no surprise if you’ve ready anything by Morrison) that engages the concept of masculinity in interesting ways. Bless Me, Ultima does too, but it also has curanderismo so I’m never not going to recommend it if it shows up on a reading list. Full disclosure, I didn’t read either of these books until college, and I wish I’d known about them sooner.
Read some Shakespeare, but don’t get all caught up on how amazing he is. He’s okay. Get a hold of yourself. My recommendations are The Tempest or McBeth.
Why? I’m more a fan of tragedies that don’t circle so much around teenagers being immature and silly. Also, if you’re tracking allusions, know that there may be 119 bird allusions in Romeo and Juliet according to my memory (I’d wager 55% accuracy on that one).
Read some weird, maybe lyrical Biblical fanfiction like Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri, Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, or Paradise Lost by John Milton to prepare for the final season of Supernatural. Goodbye, Winchester brothers (and Castiel). You had a good run.
Why? Meditating on the nature of sin and innocence is a worthy venture, even if you don’t believe in sin. Also, they’re just kind of creepy and fun? It must be a taste thing, but give them a go. Excerpts are okay if noshing on the whole thing doesn’t seem like a reasonable investment of time and energy to you.
Read some satire like Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, 1984 by George Orwell, or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Why? They’re all weird and set in either future or fabulous worlds, but they’re not just set in those worlds because they want to entertain you. These books are meant to make you think, reflect, and ultimately be alert and mindful to the dangers of our civilized world. It’s okay to have some fantasy books that are purely for entertainment and escape, but I highly appreciate the books that require us to heed warning and search for the similar danger in the real world so that we might stop certain trajectories before it becomes too late.
Bonus: I hope you already read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain at some point in your life, but if you have not yet, add that one to your list. If you’re trying to paint a portrait of the US in your historical, creative, and/or literary mind’s eye, I think you need a little bit of Mark Twain in there. Did you know he wrote a book about Joan of Arc? I bought it and have yet to read it, but it’s on my list.