Editors' Note: After a day of lectures, labs, meetings, sports practice and the other items that fill up your iCal, it is difficult to find the time to squeeze in some light reading. But with the term winding down and the evenings getting a bit too chilly to lie out on the Green, why not pick up a new release or an old favorite to enjoy before diving into final preparations? Here, members of the Arts staff offer their two cents on titles that could finish off, or start, your summer reading.
If you're craving a non-academic read, but also a novel that will still make you look vogue, hip and indie while enjoying your Starbucks non-fat vanilla latte, double shot espresso, I suggest you read something by Jonathan Safran Foer. He's not exactly a brand new author by any means, but his books, "Everything is Illuminated" (2002) and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (2005), are both extremely captivating for plot content and stylistic structure.
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" truly resonated with me as reader, as I became absolutely smitten with nine-year-old vegan and overly neurotic Oskar and his tambourine. Oskar's search for relics of his father after his death in the Sept. 11 attacks form a modern odyssey of sorts with memorable and engaging characters, like his silent, tattooed grandfather who can only communicate with his notepad. But it was witnessing Oskar's own maturation and increased self-awareness of his place in the world around us that I found so heartening. Oskar reminded me of a prepubescent Holden Caulfield, prior to the angst embedded in his adolescent years just as lost and confused, only far more endearing.
This is the one and only book that has ever made me cry. Sarah Frostenson
If you are at a loss for what to read, try the novels that gave rise to movies and see for yourself why they were chosen to be brought to theaters. With two literature courses and a physiology class, I found myself setting my summer to-read list further aside to create room for the assigned novels and textbook chapters. I was beginning to feel like my subscription to Entertainment Weekly was my primary source for relaxing reads. I realized I needed to clear time for personal reading with my mental note of upcoming movies that I want to see, most of which are based on books. More and more written works are being adapted for the screen, from Alice Sebold's bestselling coming-of-age novel "The Lovely Bones" (2002) to Robert Harris' political thriller "The Ghost" (2007). Although some fans of a particular novel inevitably complain that its movie version doesn't capture the essence of the original, I think film adaptations encourage the audience to read the books that inspired them. After all, didn't the film "Twilight" get hordes of teenagers to stop texting and devour hundreds of pages? Alicia Kim
"The Au Pairs," "Gossip Girl," "A-List." You name it, I have embarrassingly read it. After three summers as a camp counselor for 13 to 15 year-olds, nothing says summer to me like a trashy novel. Ten chatty girls, 50 different cheesy romances to choose from and analyze for hours. These books harken back to sophomore year of high school, when love was still just like and "whatever" was a regular part of my vocabulary. Beach reads have long been a part of summer tuck one under your towel at the beach and let your mind float through the drama on waves of frenemies and cute boys with gelled hair. Dartmouth's sophomore summer has brought me face to face with Stata codes and Machiavelli. The closest I have come to old faithful Serena and Blair is the introduction to Chris Miller's "The Real Animal House" (2006). No Gucci or Prada references. No awkward make out scenes. No seeing the "best friends become more" ending before you even turn the first page.
Sure, these books may do nothing for my major or help me find an internship, but the mental relaxation is well worth the 200 pages of "as ifs." Katie Paxton
I don't actually read books. Ever. This is of great concern to my friends and family, yet I never feel as if I'm missing out on the blossoming culture of the arts. I just watch movies instead.
Summer movie watching is an incredible opportunity to catch up on classic flicks I've somehow missed in the past like "Titanic" (1997), which is awesome. Likewise, summertime has let me catch up on old favorites that make my heart skip a beat, which happens every time I watch "Armageddon" (1998). Even the new releases this season have surpassed my expectations, with "Up" (2009) and "Funny People" (2009) making long-lasting impressions. Don't let this summer movie season pass on by; watch lots of movies, whether they are old favorites or new blockbusters. Reading books is for losers. Alex Duckles
