To Kill a Lord of the Rye

         I don't know how many of you can relate, but there was a time in my life, in my pre and early teens, during which I was routinely prescribed great literature to read over an extended period of freedom we all called "summer". In retrospect, I feel lucky to have been a book-gobbler as a child; that I took on eagerly rather than rejected to do such assignments. Yet I still feel as though I took "summer reading" for granted somewhat. During my stage of naivete, there were a couple of books I misjudged as too historical or abstract, too tediously written and therefore not well written. As for the books I read and cherished - there were a few - I might have based my love and respect for them on limited comprehension. It wasn't until I was older and somehow rediscovered the same books on my own terms that I realized that lit teachers actually had taste and that it was a privilege to have them leading me through a promising reading career.

          Now in university, I envy that era of my youth. That era when someone other than yourself was responsible for your intellectual wellbeing. I fear that I have lost so much momentum in reading books ever since reading books was no longer institutionally mandated. The university student's "lack of time" illusion is only half of the cause of my current predicament. The other half is not having ENGLISH TEACHERS around me anymore!! Is it too unseemly to email one of them for a summer reading list now?? Like "hey, I'm in university now, but uh, I'd really like you to assign me summer reading, Mrs. Kristi/Val/Ruth/Robin/Tiffany."

          Okay, I'd probably not do that, but I'm serious about my endearment for summer reading. Why is it such a big deal, you ask? Why not just pick up a book right now, Mika? Because summer reading is not just reading any book and anytime. It is a formal commitment to stay educated over the summer. #pullquote And it doesn't involve just any kind of literature. The books of summer reading are the cream of the crop (or challenges to feel proud about overcoming)! The kinds of books that survive generations.
          So, it is 2013 right now. And with summer just 2 months away, I, Mika, am assigning myself summer reading. Let's start it 8 and see how it goes. =]

Mika's 2013 Summer Reading List

* = to be selected at the bookstore.