SUMMER GOALS #2: READING

I asked my wonderful English Professor to recommend some books to read this summer ... since I have so much time on my hands now that school is out. I bought two last night that I am very excited about!

The first is Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, which won a Pulitzer Prize. It is full of local New Orleans flair. My Professor said for those who have lived here, it will most certainly make you laugh. 

The second is Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. My Professor said this is her favorite writer. She said it would definitely be a fun summer read! The reviews say its wonderful. 

She recommended some others, but I thought I would start with these. I really loved the books we read in class this semester. The first was Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. I really enjoyed this writer. The book is the definition of modernism. There are four main characters: Tomas, Terza, Sabina and Frank that form a strange love square? (I guess). The book exposes the imperfections of marriage and government. Kundera show the reader what is not truth, in hopes that the reader can find real Truth. It is a pretty easy read, and it really makes you think. I loved it. 

The second we read was Chronicles of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marques. It was a good book. I think I enjoyed it more in an English class setting picking it apart, but just reading it on your own may not be quite as enlightening. Although the "moral" of the book I love. It shows that people rely on others to do the right thing instead of doing the right thing on their own. Our society is so guilty of this, I am guilty of this. Seeing the homeless or people dyeing because they do not have food or proper medical care ... things we take for granted everyday. As a society we push the responsibility off on someone else; expecting someone else to fix it instead of standing up for our fellow human beings and helping. "We must be the change we want to see in the world" - Ghandi.

Ok and the third, Sula by Toni Morrison. Morrison is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She has also won the Pulitzer Prize. The story follows two young black girls living in Ohio. The book explores racism, flaws in society and the fierceness of friendship. It is a very easy read and also very good.