Summer Reading List

I love summer. Looooooove summer. Almost as much as I love summer, I love summer reading.

So, as a public service to you, admirers of Jon-Peter-Lewis, I'm going to provide what I think is the ideal summer reading list. This is a compilation of books that are (a) awesome, (b) perfect for summer reading (that is, interesting, compelling, beautifully written, but not exactly heavy Russian literature), and/or (c) about summer.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The be all, end all, last word in perfect summer reading. If you haven't read it ever, do us both a favor and treat yourself to the great American novel. If you've read it already, read it again. It gets better each time.
I would suggest reading this on a quiet summer evening, near a window, if possible, with the last rays of summer sun slanting through, if available.

2. Devil in the White City, by Eric Larson
This is non-fiction, but it reads like a novel. It's an account of both the World's Fair held in Chicago at the end of the 19th century, and the first recorded serial killer in America.
Read in a park, preferably in Chicago, but any park will probably do. Read during the day, but don't be surprised if you can't put it down come nightfall.

3. Jesus Son, by Denis Johnson
This book of short stories has a dry, dusty, desert-y quality, like it's been baking in the California sun all afternoon. Really cool stories, not for the faint of heart.
Read on a road trip. If you can go on a road trip in an old van, maybe one that has no A/C, no radio, and threatens to break down a lot, mores the better.

4. "Hills like White Elephants", "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber", by Ernest Hemingway
There are sort stories, some of the best of Hemingway's cannon, in my opinion. They both take place in dry, distant locals, quintessential Hemingway.
I would recommend reading this while wearing all khaki, on your way to Africa. Or at least while waiting in an airport.

5. Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury
The summer of '28 was a vintage season for a growing boy. A summer of green apple trees, mowed lawns, and new sneakers. Of half-burnt firecrackers, of gathering dandelions, of Grandma's belly-busting dinner. It was a summer of sorrows and marvels and gold-fuzzed bees. A magical, timeless summer in the life of a twelve-year-old boy named Douglas Spaulding...
I think that's all that needs to be said.
Read while eating a popsicle.

So, June is almost here. Summer is fast approaching. If it wasn't so rainy and cold in New York, I might start this list myself. I can assure you I'll be doing my annual reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, as I've done every summer for the past decade. Beyond that, I'm planning on reading Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, and Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. You know, heavy Russian literature.

What are your summer reading plans?