Pick up a good book
Finals are quickly approaching, ushering in the beginnings of sweet summertime. Without all the mind-numbing text book assignments or a new addition to the Harry Potter saga, it can be difficult to find some new reading material. Here are a few suggestions to keep pages turning no matter what summer plans include.
Beach bound or poolside
The Beach by Alex Garland – Fast paced and infused with pop culture, this book is the perfect beach read. It follows a group of young backpackers as they discover a secret Thailand island community. The isolated utopia quickly disintegrates before them as they struggle to survive shark attacks, violent drug lords and betrayal amongst themselves.
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson – Though this is Thompson’s first book, it helps his fans understand his personal worries of becoming a dead-end writer before his career took off. This book is a rum-soaked account of a journalist at a small newspaper in Puerto Rico as he carouses his way around the island and his youth.
Deep mountain tales
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer – For any disaffected twenty-something who has experienced a sense of wanderlust, this tale of Chris McCandless will satiate their taste for adventure. McCandless is a young man from a wealthy East Coast family who hitchhiked to Alaska in 1992 to live isolated from humanity. This true tale of his small victories and monumental defeat in the unforgiving wilderness expands meaningfully beyond the big screen.
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson – With a talent for humor and a desire for adventure, Bryson embarks on the Appalachian trail with a quirky and out-of-shape friend. He runs into some odd fellow hikers, bears and hilarious dilemmas on the trail during this story which will transplant readers deep into the wilderness.
Summer releases
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris – This author of bestsellers like Me Talk Pretty One Day is known for his offbeat humor and wit when recounting scenes from his childhood and adult life. In his newest collection of essays, coming out June 3, he writes about a lozenge falling from his mouth into a fellow plane passenger’s lap and traveling to Tokyo to quit smoking.
Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk – Palahniuk writes books that grotesquely fascinate his cult following, including Fight Club and Choke. In his newest book, coming out May 20, he follows a day in the life of an aging porn star as she tries to sleep with 600 men on film within 24 hours. His writing has a tendency towards the bizarre and disgusting, so while this book may not attract new readers, it should please old ones.
Front porch reads
Suite Fran
