| Your Best Summer Reading List By: M.S. Gearheart There is nothing more perfect than a lazy summer day by the pool, in the park, or on the beach curled up with a good book—the ideal summer companion. This year take the opportunity to read the best publications of the decade. AMG offers you a tasting plate of delicious page turners, our picks for the best of the last ten years. If you’ve already read them, don’t worry—a good book, like your little black dress, never goes out of style. #1: Published in 2000—Interpreter of Maladies Written by Jhumpa Lahiri, this collection of nine short stories explores the traditions and intricacies of Indian culture. The reader follows these stories as the protagonists struggle between their traditional inherited customs and the culture of their new worlds. While the characters may be of Indian heritage, the tome lends itself to an extrapolation of lessons applicable to any family, any stranger in a strange land, any daughter, and anyone in love. Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Recommended for: Travel Reading. The writing makes the book interesting enough to ward off travel boredom, and yet the separate vignettes make it easy to pick up where you left off. Also a great conversation piece among strangers in the airport. #2: Published in 2003—The Kite Runner Author Khaled Hosseini tells the story of two boys of Afghanistan during the turbulent era of the Soviet invasion, the exodus to Pakistan, and the rise of the Taliban regime. Spanning decades, the narrative illustrates the turbulent and complex friendship between Amir and Hassan, the son of his father’s servant. Love, honor, guilt, betrayal, and redemption are all on display in this poignant and heavy tale. Recommended for: Beach Reading. While The Kite Runner is not light reading fare and requires some concentration, it’s perfect for a long day by the water with endless leisure time at your fingertips. You will need a few hours to read it since the story pulls you in irrevocably with its gripping plot. When the sand gets hot, you might even feel like you are transported to Amir’s Afghan world. #3: Published in 2006—The Road Cormac McCarthy’s The Road follows a father and son cross a grim, post- apocalyptic country in search of warmer weather as winter descends. Some unspecified event has destroyed the majority of life on Earth, but the pair are is driven by the hope of a better life, and the hope that there are other “good people” out there like them. Recommended for: Family vacation. When you can’t stand your siblings or your parents for one more second—perhaps you are trapped in a car on a long road trip or babysitting your younger brother for the summer— pick up this book. While it may be dark, it will surely inspire a renewed appreciation for family and the love between parents and children. Bonus Book: To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee’s transcendent novel marks its 50th Anniversary this year. Whether it was last month that you read it in first period English, or if it’s been 5 years since you’ve cracked its bindings, pick it up. If you’ve never read it, there’s no better time to get to know Atticus—a southern gentleman lawyer—his children Jem and Scout, their friend Dill, and all the townspeople of Maycomb County, Alabama during a time when racial tensions simmer to a boiling point. Recommended for: Everywhere! This book has it all—an excellent plot, humor, suspense and some of the best characters in American literature. This book is like coming home. |
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