I don't know about you, but I'm going a bit stir-crazy in quarantine. There is only so much your mind can absorb walking from one room to another over and over again. I just recently completed my undergraduate degree (woohoo!), so when I'm not seeking jobs I need something to keep my mind active and to distract me from the fact that we inhabit the darkest of all timelines. In addition to my writing, I have compiled a BIG reading list for the summer. I've already blown through a number of books, but there's dozens more waiting to be read. So, I thought I would share with you some of the books I've read, the books I am reading or want to read, and make the strong recommendation that you start a reading list of your own (if you don't already have one). I think reading regularly is key to keeping us all mentally healthy while we stay physically healthy indoors. Read what you want, read at your own pace, and read for yourself above all else.
Why make a reading list?
Firstly, a reading list will give you something to do to with the excess time at home that many of us have and it will keep your brain active in quarantine. When I don't read for a few days I feel like my mind is rotting away. I just can't subsist off of Netflix alone. Reading makes me more excited to write than anything else and, as a writer, I feel the need to read constantly. It's crucial for inspiration, for growth, and to get the brain moving enough to write again.
But furthermore, a reading list can give you a visualization of your reading goals. If you want to read a certain number of books in a month, a summer, or a year, a reading list will help you to achieve that through organization. A reading list also helps you to make sure you are not overloading yourself by buying twenty books at once and disappointing yourself when you can't find time for all of them (we've all been there). Further, when you see all of your books laid out in one place, you can see more clearly what your readership is lacking. If you want to read from several different genres, on several new subjects, or from a larger and more diverse group of authors than your regulars, a reading list can be your guide. Lay out your reading list like a road map for your mind. What fictional worlds do you want to dive into? What subjects do you want to learn about? List it out in your reading list and never stop reading for lack of inspiration.
So, without further ado, here are the books I've been reading this summer and the books I want to read in the coming weeks. You'll gather quickly that I'm a sucker for fantasy and mythology, and that I'm trying to get some classic reading down as well. And, of course, your reading tastes may be very different from mine, so tailor your reading list to you!
Books I've read this summer:
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsburg
The Girl From the Other Side (Totsukini no shōjo) Series by Nagabe and Adrienne Beck (Translator)
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Seven and a Half Death of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
The entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan - I'm finishing up now on a nostalgia high!
I highly recommend all of these books, but especially Song of Achilles and The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - both are absolutely thrilling and had me staying up all night to read them.
Books on my reading list:
Educated by Tara Westover
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Iliad by Homer
Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel by Julian K. Jarboe
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
If you have any other books that I should add to my reading list, please let me know! I always want recommendations. Or, if you've read any of the books on my reading list, let me know what you thought of them (without spoilers please). Thanks for reading!
Happy reading and happy writing!
Julia
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