What should I read over the summer?

[xaqxit]

Hello, this is my first thread here (and second post, but first of any substantial length)!

I think I might have a little bit of free time over the summer (hopefully I'll be able to get some kind of research position to fill up some of it, though), so I was just looking for some book suggestions.

I'm not very well read, and I've always been somewhat discouraged from reading a lot, since I've been such a slow reader all my life (I read about 20-30 pages of standard "novel" text--about 50-65 characters per line and 35-40 lines per pag--in an hour, and don't have "the option" to read any faster, even for so-called "light reading"; I understand most my peers read at least 2-3 times faster than me). However, I recently finished Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 (loved it), and am halfway through Nabokov's Lolita (it's been quite an experience so far, will probably end up being a favorite of mine). I also enrolled in a Science Fiction class this term, where we've read (so far) Walter J. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon (the novel version), and Thomas Disch's Camp Concentration, none of which blew me away, though all were somewhat thought-provoking (I'm looking forward to reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, which we will cover later in the course). Reading the two aforementioned books and taking this course have somehow renewed my interest in literature (well I've been intersted in literature for the past few years, but let's just say they've renewed my optimism for actively reading literature).

So far, I've come up with this reading list:


Pale Fire (Vladimir Nabokov)
V. (Thomas Pynchon)
Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie)
*maybe* Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut)


The first two seem natural given my two recent reads, and the concept of Pale Fire seemed so intriguing--almost Borges-like (and I do like some Borges occasionally). I optimistically intend that reading V. will be practice, that will eventually enable me to tackle Gravity's Rainbow and Against the Day; in reality, reading V. will probably be an attempt that will help me figure out if I even want be near those other two books. The Rushdie novel was recommended to me by a few friends now, and I'll decide if I want to read Cat's Cradle after rading Slaughterhouse-Five for my class.

At any rate, I'm looking for recommendations along these lines, and my interests seem to lean toward modern/postmodern (maybe magical realism) and wordplay is always nice. One of my favorite novels is Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose if that helps. Let's try to stick with the newer stuff (crica Conrad or newer), but I'm not totally closed to older classics. Oh and shorter novels (150-250 pages) are especially welcome given that I read slowly, just so I can fit in more than a couple. And one last thing, if anyone knows if there are any good ways to improve my reading speed (I think the problem is that I subvocalize everything and don't realy know how to *not* subvocalize when I read) I'm welcome to suggestions or courses that I could take to remedy this problem.

Thanks in advance (and I apologize for the numerous parenthetics).

[ennison]

Try 'Catch 22' as a summer read.

[nps_marina]

I tried Catch 22 as a summer read, last year
then lent it, and haven't finished it yet
it's a kind of crazy book, but if you're not like me, xaqxit, then you'll probably manage well. I hop around lots of books at a time, and finally settle for one. perhaps that's why I didn't catch on to Catch 22 (gag- but unintended!), though I was liking it.

I don't know how you can quicken your reading skills (I suppose there are courses...), but is that really such a bad thing? I mean, as long as you're reading for pleasure, the time of pleasure remains, no? And also, there's that hilarious Woody Allen quote- I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia. XD

I haven't read any of the ones you have recently read, or are thinking about, so I can't pursue that any further.

Btw, do you people think summer should be used to read the 'hard-core' books, or the lighter ones? And, xaqxit, what's your avatar stand for?

[PeterL]

Pale Fire is interesting in parts, but there are large parts of it that are superfluous, but it is very well written. If you liked The Name of the Rose, you might want to read more by Eco. I think that Foucault's Pendulum is much better than The Name of the Rose.

[vheissu]

OUt of the books you're thinking of reading, I've read V. and Midnight's children. Both were great and would definetely recommend, especially of you have time.
When I first started reading Midnight's children it took me a while to get into it, I found it a bit slow for the first quarter of it and almost thought of giving up. It might also be because at the time I knew nothing of indian culture so I found it hard to indentify with. But it's very good and you should try Rushdie's newest book one day, Shalimar the clown.

V was...challenging to say the least but worth the effort. I haven't read any more of Pynchon, though I do have Gravity's Rainbow. Some day I'll start it :) . I love his style of writing and V takes you back and forth through time, characters and places and it's all a mystery until the end.

I'm not too sure what magical realism really is.....though Angela Carter's Nights at the circus combined reality and magic/mystery very well and the story was simply amazing! Another author that comes to mind is Joanne Harris (Chocolat, Five quarters of the orange), her books are a bit 'lighter' than the others.

You have some pretty good choices!I'd say you should try and see which one appeals to you more by reading a bit of the beginning.

[xaqxit]

ennison, a friend of mine (who loves Nabokov and Vonnegut) is a big fan of Catch-22. She describes it as the "book version of Dr. Strangelove." If that description rings true for me, then I would probably enjoy it, yet at the same time I have no immediate interest in reading this book, and have no rational reason to offer as to why. But, I plan to get through at somepoint, and maybe it will be this summer.

nps_marina, nice Woody Allen quote, I can almost imagine him saying that. What film is that from (if I'm correct to assume it's from a film)? Annie Hall is a favorite movie of mine (so if anyone knows a similar book, that could be interesting). I'll tell you why it (reading slowly) is a bad thing, though. If it takes me 10-25 hours to get through the average good book. This is assuming I don't have start/stopping issues, and that I don't get stuck in some passage, and that the book isn't so difficult that I have to start looking up allusions, references, then look up things that aren't even allusions, but seem like them (red herrings... those can be fun), words I don't know, etc. For awhile I decided, why read if I can just watch films? I suddenly became interested in film, since they put everyone on a level playing field time-wise. I could watch a film as fast as anyone else! Albums interested me for the same reason. While this reaction led me to watching some great movies, and hearing some great albums (and piecs of classical music), I still felt that I was missing out one their sister art of literature. And I should add that I don't want to read faster than everyone, I just want to read at an average speed, because I think that would motivate me to read much more, and that way even when I'm busy at other things, I'll eventually be able to finish that novel I'm reading on the side even if I'm only reading a half hour a day. Reading slowly is fine, but the option to read faster can't hurt can it? Options never hurt... (actually from the perspective of Game Theory, they can, but that's another story...)

Light vs. hardcore? What's hardcore? Finnegans Wake or just any weighty classic? I believe one should read whatever one wants; anytime is as good as another, even if the title of this thread suggests otherwise. I probably won't take another literature class for the next two years, so the summer is my best bet to cram in any reading. And I should add that I read less to enjoy the act of reading, and more to enjoy the accomplishment of having read, for the former provides fleeting entertainment, and the latter (at least taking something substantial away from the book whether it improves ones ability to read, or a theme that surprisingly resonates with a reader) will stay with you.

Peter L, I guess I'll do my best with the superfluous parts of PL, and hope to catch the brilliance of the rest. As for FP being better than NotR, I've heard many claim that it is in fact *much* better, though I've heard the opposite claim from as many people. I'll believe you (or be ready to have a heated battle) when I've read it, which will hopefully be sometime soon if not this summer; it's sitting on my bookshelf.

vheissu, pick up the Crying of Lot 49 if you haven't read it and you'll probably enjoy it/appreciate it. My copy is only 152 pages long. I think some of Rushdie counts as magical realism; The Satanic Verses does, I'm quite sure (though I haven't read it). Borges would count. I have a few Indian friends, some of which have read Midnight's Children, so hopefully they can help me out with the culture-related issues (I'm actually a Muslim of Persian descent, so I think the novel will interest me, though I doubt Rushdie's works would necessarily offend me).

Thanks for all the helpful comments!

Maybe I should start a separate thread about learning to read faster.

[xaqxit]

I forgot to explain my avatar. I don't want to give it away but it has to do something with The Crying of Lot 49.

[ennison]

OK The most accessible Nabokov is 'Pnin'. I'm thinking light stuff for summer here. 'Spies' by Frayn is light and funny. (By light I mean relatively short and no heavy art). But if you're into heavier summer reading then 'Voss' by Patrick White.I'd recommend anything by Cormac McCarthy

[xaqxit]

Thanks, I'll look into those.

[Whifflingpin]

I'd second "Voss" and indeed other books by Patrick White.

If you want post-modernism, then I believe you should start with Barth and Barthelmy (not that I've read Barthelmy, but Barth recommends him.) Barth's "The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor" would make a good start.

[nps_marina]

Ah, but I haven't read The Crying of Lot 49!!! Then how can I know where it pops from?

I see that it really troubles you to not be able to read books as fast as others. All I can suggest are fast rading courses, perhaps you can look up through google if there areany around the place where you live, or better tips than what I am writing through here.

I know, I know... this forum is the internet, so in a way you are already looking through the internet for advice...

But anyway. Certainly I don't think that you should drop literature and 'resign' yourself to movies and music, because you would be missing out on some very fine pieces of art, there.

Oh, and the Woody Allen quote, I don't know if it is from a movie, or from one of his books. It's just a ery famous, very typical one. It might even be from Annie Hall, what can I say. Though if you dont't remember it from Annie Hall... btw, I also loved that movie.

[Guzmán]

Im reading Pynchon's "V." right now and so far its great, I read the crying of lot 49 last year and loved it; i read it in two days. Pynchons writing style really grabs me. The plot is amazing as well. I find V and the crying very similar in their theme; both about the search of some secret something (woman/underground postal empire), paranoia, conspiracies, etc

I also have sitting on my desktop waiting on the to-read list three of the twentieth century big boys:
Ulysses by Joyce
Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon
The Recognitions by William Gaddis

Anyway as far as recommendations I'll suggest something by Aldous Huxley; if you're into some early twentieth century satire about future utopias and totallitarian regimes you may enjoy "Brave new world". "Point Counterpoint" is excellent as well (these are two of my favourite books).
Have fun!

Ps: WASTE

[Guzmán]

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered Magical Realism. I've only read his "Cronica de una muerte anunciada" in highschool and didn't enjoy it much, too sensationalist for my taste but i guess thats the whole point of the book. Something funny; last year my mom read the first few pages of "The crying of lot 49" and said she found pynchons writing style similar to Marquez, but who knows...
Im not sure if i would consider Borges magical realism although ive only read his "Ficciones", short story compilation. Spanish is my native toungue so i read it in its original language and ill admit he's a good writer, a bit pretentious and pseudo-intellectual for my taste but it has some good points i guess. Still i think Borges is overrated by many. Maybe you should check out Julio Cortazar if you like that kind of stuff, some of his short stories are pretty good.

[barbara0207]

The best science fiction author, to my mind, is Isaac Asimov. Not too heavy stuff, but well written and it gives you something to think about.

Concerning your problem of slow reading try practising the techniques of scanning and skimming texts. The most important thing will be to get rid of 'subvocalising'. These techniques may help you.

1. Choose a word that occurs very often, e.g. 'the'. Take any text and scan it for that word as quickly as possible. Count how often it appears - but don't move your lips. If you have some practise doing that, stop counting, just scan. Take other words and texts, too.

2. If you think that went quite well, try skimming a text. Take a newspaper article (not too long, about three paragraphs), let your eyes glide over it very quickly, taking in the key words only. Then write down in two or three sentences what the article is about. Try to reduce the time for skimming with every new article of about the same length. If you do that you simply won't have time to subvocalise. Take longer texts now, and then have a go at a novel.

Hope my tips will help you. Good luck!:D

[xaqxit]

Thanks for all the suggestions and tips, everyone!

nps_marina, I've tried reading about speed reading online, but there are quite a few techniques and systems out there, and most of them involve ordering something, and I'm kind of wary of such systems, so I came to the forum to see if anyone's tried anything or knows someone who has tried anything that's worked (I've heard even fast readers take reading courses to improve their reading speed, but I don't know of any), or to see if anyone had any simple tips, such as the ones barbara0207 was willing to share. I've heard about these things, but I like the idea of trying it on a newspapaer rather than trying it with a novel or textbook initially. I don't want to burn through a novel with any less comprehension, by reading it faster until I attain my current level of higher comprehension at higher speeds too. Yeah, it would be sad if I stopped reading, so I think I've resolved to read at least a little bit every couple of months, even if I can never speed up my reading.

Guzmán, if V. is comparable to The Crying of Lot 49, then I'll definitely give it a shot. I was worried (I think I had heard from someone, or read a review on Amazon or something) that his writing was weaker at that point, but I don't think it should matter even if it is true.

P. S. edit just tell people to write by WASTE.

[Guzmán]

Actually, i read on the introduction to Pynchon's "Slow Learner" collection of short stories, that he holds his writing in V. in higher esteem than his work in "the crying...", even though V is a bit earlier. I enjoy them both myself. The paragraph at the beggining when he describes Mucho's suceptibility through how much his work in the used car lot got to him, is priceless, one of my favourite moments in literature.
Maybe you could check out this collection of short stories, I only read "entropy" (being drawn to it by the title i suppose) which is very good.