Category: Summer Reading 2019

While James Baldwin is an iconic literary figure, I had never read his books.  I joined a bookclub, and Giovanni’s Room is this month’s selection.  The novel is magnificently written, but there is no relief from the tragic story that unfolds.  The book cover reads: “Set in the 1950’s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and

Well, the book was technically a pretty fast read, but also pretty dark so it ended up getting set down periodically.  You could finish it in a few evenings of bedtime wind-down reading. The whole thing is basically a long allegory for the consequences of human arrogance. It is worth reading, although if you are

I picked this up in the used book section of a Barnes and Noble- these are rare places and the one in NJ is the centralized location for all used books sold through B&N. Suffice to say I was there for a little while last night. I got this because I felt like thinking about

Today I was hanging out at my dad’s office and was looking through his bookshelves to find something to read. I found this and was completely blown away and read it in its entirety this afternoon– it is a short and uncomplicated read, but by far one of the stranger publications I’ve read to date.

The Light Princess is a story about a royal family who gives birth to a baby girl who is unaffected by gravity due to a curse that is put on her by an aunt. This floating child’s only relief comes from when she swims in the lake. Poor princess is never left alone- she has

I am about 1/3 through the book and so far it is reminiscent of Planet of the Apes. The universe created by Le Guin is drawing me in. Humans have colonized a planet that was populated with life by a meteor from Earth about a million years ago. This wave of colonists seems to be

I saw the National Theatre Live productions of Millennium Approaches and Perestroika in a local cinema (last year, I think).  I had seen them done by Dallas theater groups in years past, but the NTL was something else again.  The cast, the sets! What does this have to do with Summer Reading?  The National Theatre

I write to you from Chicago where I am waiting for my next train to NYC. On my trek I’ve already finished two books: 1) Everything Happens for a Reason and other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler and 2) Three Poems by John Ashbery. Bowler’s book caught my eye because of the appendix in the back– something about things