Let me begin by saying YOU DO NOT have to read the books from this list for the Summer Reading Assignment. This book list is made up of books I think you might enjoy - however that does not mean you have to read any of them.
Book List
Sci-Fi
Slaughter House Five – Kurt Vonnegut
Cross between a World War II book and a science fiction book. Semi-autobiographical story about a young boy in the US army who is taken by aliens to live in a zoo on another planet. Funny and weird tale.
Starship Troopers – Robert A. Heinlein
Not at all like the movie. Not a lot of bug killing, but still an interesting read. The political ideas Heinlein gives in this book are insightful and dangerous.
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Story warning about the future of free speech in the not so distant future.
Dune – Frank Herbert
A Biblical story about a planet of deserts, a war for control of that planet and a messiah who leads the local inhabitants to victory. (Consider that Dune is a metaphor for the Middle East and the book takes on a very interesting theme).
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
One of the funniest books you’ll read. Story about Arthur Dent who leaves Earth before it is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic off ramp. Marvin the depressed android is a nice touch.
Horror
I am Legend– Richard Matheson
Probably the best vampire book I’ve ever read, by one of the masters of horror.
Song of Kali - Dan Simmons
You can feel the steam and filth of Calcutta just pouring off the pages. The horror is from the fact that you’re never quite sure why the evil in this book does what it does.
Burnt Offerings – Robert Marasco
Stephen King based The Shining off this book. A family slowly goes insane as an evil force in a house that has killed so many other families before controls them.
It – Stephen King
Even King himself has claimed that this is probably his best book. If you’re easily scared by clowns than this book is for you.
Fantasy
Elric of Melnabonie – Michael Moorcock
One of the greatest fantasy series of all time in my opinion. The second book Sailor’s on the Seas of Fate is actually better than the first book, but I think if you read the first book you’ll read the rest. Almost as good as The Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
Considered by most the greatest fantasy series ever. Tolkien’s works have set the stage for all other fantasy works after 1960.
The Wizard of Earth Sea - Ursula K. Le Guin
A Harry Potter type story that is better written and much deeper.
Shoeless Joe – WP Kinsella
Story set in Iowa in the 1970s about a man who begins to have visions of building a baseball diamond in his cornfield so that the ghosts of famous ball players can come and play baseball with him. The movie Field of Dreams was based off this book.
The Magic of Recluce -L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Story about good and evil in a world where magic is not easy to perform. Good characters and a solid story. It won’t win the Pulitzer Prize, but it’s still a good read.
Action/Adventure/War
Blue Light of African Dreams – Paul Watkins
Post World War I novel about fighter pilots living in Algeria – kinda a guy’s book.
Guard of Honor - James Gould Cozzens
World War II book about the Air Force’s job here in the states. Shows what it was like to live in the USA during the 1940s and a good story to boot.
Night over Day over Night – Paul Watkins
World War II book about a 17-year-old kid who joins the SS in Germany. The best book about war I’ve ever read – the end gave me nightmares.
The Tin Drum – Gunter Grass
Book about Poland and Germany during the Third Reich. Darkly funny, very disturbing (especially the part where the eels start pouring out of the dead horse’s head).
Swan Song - Robert McCammon
An epic about the end of the world. Not really a horror story per-se but it does have it’s moments. This is the classic story of good vs. evil taken to the level of a masterpiece.
Literary
Chocolate War – Robert Cormier
Young adult book about standing up for what you believe in, not a cliché book. You won’t see the end coming.
In the Skin of the Lion – Michael Ondaatje
Ondaatje’s first novel. Not as good as The English Patient but still better written then most books.
A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
His best work in my opinion. This book is an epic. It builds up to the climax better than anything I’ve ever read. You will be dazed for hours after you finish this book – truly amazing.
Postcards - Annie Proulx
Heartbreaking story of a murderer. The language is fantastic as is the story. This author writes better than anyone living today, either you’ll love the way she writes or you’ll hate it.
The Crying of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon
Wild and weird, psychedelic book from the 60s. Story about conspiracies in the postal service. Started college students drawling muted horns all over their desks in the 1970s.
Romance
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
Two love stories set during the Second World War. Much better than the movie. There are lines in this book that will simply take your breath away.
The Heart of the Matter - Graham Greene
A tale of a British civil servant living in Africa during the 1940s. Sad tale of what happens when two people fall in love in a world where they don’t belong. You can feel the steam of the jungle in these pages.
Wild Palms – William Faulkner
Two stories going on here – one is about a prisoner in the south who escapes during a flood and the other is about a couple that move around the country looking for love. (The first story is ok – the second is just simply amazing).
Time and Again - Jack Finney
Time travel story that involves a mystery and love story. Kinda a Hallmark card type of book with it positive outlook on everything, but still a good read.
Non-Fiction
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt
Story of a murder in Savannah, GA. Makes you wish you lived there, I couldn’t put this book down.
The Undertaking - Thomas Lynch
Book about running a funeral home. Thomas Lynch is a mortician/poet he makes death and the aftermath of it almost poetic.
The Circus Fire – Stewart O’Nan
Story of a fire in the 1940s when a main tent at the circus caught on fire and all the spectators panicked. Sad but fascinating, kinda like driving slow past a car wreck.
Stand Before Your God – Paul Watkins
Autobiography about an American kid growing up at one of the best private schools in the world, located in England. Sad, funny and sometimes just plain strange.
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