Rory Gilmore | Flickr User Musgo Dumio_Momio | Flickr Creative Commons
It’s summer vacation and you know what that means…
Softball? Uh, maybe…
Hot Dogs? Only if it is vegan or farm raised pig/cow/poultry…hey wait, what goes into hot dogs anyways?
Swimming? Meh. The sand is too hot and the water is too cold.
Summer is the time for….wait for it….catching up on great summer reads. Whether it is lounging in a hammock near the beach or just simply escaping from work, summer is really the season for reading. “But what should I read?” you may ask. That’s why I’ve compiled a “lists of lists” of books to read. (Oh, you expected me to actually create my own list? I only allow myself to do so much work on vacation). Regardless of your penchant for trashy love stories, thrillers, cultural lit, classics, or spiritual reading, these lists might help you find a good book or two for your summer vacation.
1) Do You Read Like a Gilmore Girl?
Buzzfeed compiled a list of the 339 books read by Rory Gilmore over the 7 year duration of “The Gilmore Girls.” If you looking for the literature that inspired the fast-talking, hyper-caffeinated, snarky dialogue and obscure cultural references, check this list out. I’ve got to say, that despite my initial judgment, the list is pretty comprehensive. I’m not sure if I’m embarrassed or proud that I’ve read about a third of the list.
2) Summer Flings
The NY Post produced a list in May of the top 29 books of summer 2014. This list includes books appropriately titled for a guilty summer fling such as “This One Summer,” “The Vacationers,” and “Summer House with Swimming Pool.” Suggested new reads are Stephen King’s novel, “Mr. Mercedes,” the post-apocalyptic pick-me-up “California,” and for those suffering from Game of Throne withdrawals, try “Half-a-King.” My favorite on the list (which I may or may not read) is a novel entitled “The Lobster Kings.” It seems to smack of Sharknado as it melds the perfect combination of 5 foot lobsters and meth dealers in a single book. Epic.
3) Spiritual Reading
If the summer heat is bogging you down, try something a little more transcendental. Amazon has provided us with a list of the top 25 selling spiritual books. Although it includes classics such as “Siddhartha,” “The Alchemist,” and books by the Dalai Lama, it somehow forgot to list “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything,” “Jesus: A Pilgrimage,” or the book that changed my spiritual life, “The Jesuit Post: #Faith #God #Frontiers #Culture #Mystery #Love.” Luckily, I’ve linked it here.
4) Oldies But Goodies
Sometimes we want our reading to be consistent and reliable, just like a Subaru Outback. I suggest this list of classic books. For some reason, I feel cultured just by looking at the list.
5) Catholic Literature
Is summer just a little too light? Do you need something that will root you in all things Catholic? Or better yet, challenge your notion of what it means to be Catholic? Ranging anywhere from novels about a Jesuit missionary in Japan forced into apostasy (“Silence”) to a man confronted with the existence of God at the risk of losing his mistress (“The End of the Affair”) to the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, this list includes 25 of the greatest Catholic novels and poetry ever written.