Summer Reading

I made a list of books I'd like to read this summer.

(Technically, it's not summer yet; summer still officially starts on 21 June and in Chicago, June still tends to be a cool month. On the other hand, September and October are usually still pretty warm. But, I digress.)

I'm still a part of the 50 Book Challenge group, although my goal this year is 60, so getting through all of these this summer would get me pretty close to my goal. I tend to divide things up into "train reading" and "home reading." I take the subway to work and have a commute of about 35-45 minutes one way. For me train reading is:

1. a compelling book. The type of writing doesn't matter so much as that I am completely engrossed in the book and can't wait to read it. It should be something that wakes up mu mind in the morning and relaxes me in the evening.

2. a small book. Though I am not opposed to dragging around a large hardback from time to time, I prefer something that can easily fit in my bag. Note that doesn't mean necessarily a short book, just one with dimensions that fit.

Home reading is something a little more challenging, something I can read about a chapter per night before bed or a book just too damn big to lug around everywhere I go.

I've divided this list into three sections, fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels. Yes, this is a lot of books. No, I have no idea if I will actually get through all of these. Probably not. I'll be happy if I can get through about half. These are also in no particular order.

Fiction:
1. The American Fantasy Tradition (Various): a compendium of short fantasy stories by various authors
2. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist and Dave McKean
3. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
4. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
5. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Haruki Murakami
6. Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami: I tend to get on "kicks" where I read everything I can get my hands on by a particular author. This year is Murakami.
7. The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer: I visited his grave a few years back and promised I'd read it.
8. The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko: I can't wait to get my hands on Day Watch and Twilight watch - especially since the Day Watch movie is coming out soon
9. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
10. Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco: This is one of my favorite movies ever, so I have to finally read this.
11. Snake Agent by Liz Williams: This is described as John Constantine meets Chow Yun Fat. I really can't wait to read this.
12. The Lying Tongue by Andrew Wilson
13. Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon: It won a Pulitzer AND it's about comic books.
14. Harm's Way by Colin Greenland
15. The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny: There are 10 (!) books in this collection, so I doubt I'll get to this one. One can always try.
16. Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance: As a D&D player, I feel it is my sacred duty to get through these.
17. The Magus by John Fowles: The Collector was frightening but good, so I have to read this one.
18. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: Well, of course! Edit: I had temporary insanity and spent two weeks rereading books 1-6 before starting Deathly Hallows.

Non-Fiction
1. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
2. The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler
3. Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
4. The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri and Gilbert Miller

OK, let's talk about these for a minute. I am in a scriptwriting class and I am trying to get myself in the habit of creative writing or just writing period. So, I have overloaded on books about writing.

5. In Search of Schrodinger's Cat by John Gribbin
6. Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality by John Gribbin
7. Chaos by James Gleick
8. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

A little light reading...

9. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
10. Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King
11. London: A Biography by Peter Ackroyd
12. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt
13. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
14. True Tales and Amazing Legends of the Old West by Editors of True West magazine
15. Victoria Victorious by Jean Plaidy: Technically this is historical fiction, but I'm not going to pick nits here.

Graphic Novels
1. Castle Waiting by Linda Medley: I think this is the complete series, lovingly printed in a beautiful hardback volume complete with ribbon book marks. I never read the series before, but it was too hard to resist such a pretty book.
2-4. The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol. 2-4 by Eiji Ohtsuka and Housui Yamazaki: Volume 1 was just too much weird and gory fun.  Read vols 2 and 3. I don't think 4 has been released yet, but I'll reread it when it does.
5-21. Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 1-16 by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima: these books are the epitome of train reading - dense, beautifully told and illustrated stories in a compact format.
22. Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter by Stan Sakai
23. Usagi Yojimbo: Seasons by Stan Sakai
24. Deathnote Vol.1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata: These came highly recommended by my friend , Doc Midnight, so I am willing to give the first one a shot.
25. Torso by Brian Michael Bendis: A true crime/noir graphic novel  Love the black and white artwork. It really feels like a movie from the 30s, only grittier and grislier. The ending made me want to scream though.
26. Desolation Jones by Warren Ellis Read it; this was a really good TPB, but very adult and weird. It's about a former spy, Jones, being held with other former spies in LA. Jones now acts as a kind of private investigator, although his past makes him less than an ideal detective. I'm not entirely sure what sorts of experiments and surgeries were performed on Jones, but I'm pretty sure one of them was the removal of his conscience.
27. Fell by Warren Ellis: Trying to get issues of this was terrible; I'd go to a store, find like issues 4,5 and 8. I'd go to another store and find 2 and 3. There are huge gaps in the run that I'm sure I'll never fill, so I'm glad this is finally coming out in trade.   This is a great read. Great artwork, nice noir-ish crime story feel.

Update: OK, so I haven't been doing as well as I had planned. I have read 9 titles off this list, but I have also reread Harry Potter 1-6 and I am reading a book called Peace Like a River that a friend loaned to me and several other graphic novels I have not listed here. So there.