Summer Reading Suggestions from the Frodo's Notebook Staff
Daniel Klotz
One for the Rose by Philip Levine
The most poignant book of poems I've ever read. Raw and real, the
resonance Levine's verse strikes is inescapable.
Something Happened by Joseph Heller
You get the sense Heller set out to write about a subject as different
from Catch-22 as possible: a middle-aged, middle-American middle manager
and his uneventful life. Heller's prose takes on the shape of its
protagonist—repetitive and dryly humorous, and it makes the idea of
growing up seem simultaneously repulsive and intriguing.
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
A new novel again about a middle-aged man, this time one desperately in
search of he doesn't know what. It turns out to be a love story like none
of the Romantics could have ever told; McLarty takes us on a journey that
ends in a glimpse of broken, unjust, yet somehow beautiful and heaven-bent love.
Show and Tell by Jim Daniels
The first collected works of a great living poet offers a sampling of the
full variety of his poetry. Daniels has a reputation for working extremely
hard on his poems, and it shows in words and ideas that are fully in tune.
The Body Artist by Don DeLillo
The shortest novel in this set of recommendations. Short enough for a slow
reader to finish in a few days on the beach, but still not easily forgotten.
Timothy Rezendes
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
If you've never read Lewis's classic series about the world behind the wardrobe, then you've been missing out on an archetyple tale of magic, mystery, and adventure. The most recent printing of the series has changed the order that the books are numbered; make sure you read them in the order they were meant to be read in so that you can discover Narnia with Edmund, Lucy, Peter, and Susan first. Then you can go on to read more of the land's legendary tales and learn about its fabeled history.
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Prince Caspian
- The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"
- The Silver Chair
- The Horse and His Boy
- The Magician's Nephew
- The Last Battle
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A quick read, but eminently worth it. Bradbury tells the story of a world where houses are fireproof, but books are forbidden; so firemen don't put out fires, they start them.
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Recently, Sarah Vowell was the voice of Violet Parr in the Pixar film, The Incredibles, but for years now she has been a writer. The Partly Cloudy Patriot is a collection of essays centered around Vowell's life as an American deeply interested in the democratic process. It is witty and engaging, and, without even realizing it, you may learn a few things!
Amanda Leas
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
I absolutely loved this book. Though not quite a cheerful pick, its beautiful tone paints an unforgetable picture. It's a short read and a story that you will never forget.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Again, I suppose this isn't the happiest of tales...but its unique take on death, heaven, and redemption will leave you feeling lifted.
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, and Michael Sharra presents an incredible, fictional, historically accurate account of the clash of Union and Confederate forces at the sleepy town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 1993, Ronald Maxwell filmed the epic movie Gettysburg completely on location in Pennsylvania, based upon Sharra's novel.
Holy War: The Crusades and their Impact on Today's World by Karen Armstrong
If you're in the mood for a relevant, intense history lesson, than this one's for you. Karen Armstrong, a former nun turned agnostic, barrels through a brief history of Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam, then takes you through each and every crusade led through The Holy Land. Forget Orlando Bloom and Ridley Scott...Pope Urban, Richard the Lionheart, and Salah-al Din are fully chronicled in the most objective persepective you can find on what happened during the crusades.
The Shining by Steven King
I took a class last fall about the horror genre, and this was the last book on our syllabus to read. If you've seen the movie and haven't read the novel, you've definitely been missing out. Cool off from hot summer days by taking a trip to The Overlook Hotel.