Summer Reading List 2007!

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Harry and the Potters Summer Reading List 2007!

Ok, so here's the deal. If you read any of the books on this list and bring a book report to one of our summer shows, then we'll give you a free Harry and the Potters toothbrush! Awesome right? Almost as awesome as these books!

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

Paul: OK, this is actually a trilogy, but there's no way you can just read one of these books.  The first book is called The Golden Compass, the second is The Subtle Knife and the third is The Amber Spyglass.  Our friend Dawn gave us copies of these books on our very first tour in 2003 and we all read them and loved them.  I just re-read them this month and was blown away all over again.  This is a story about sticking it to the Man in the largest of ways, The Authority himself.  The story is wonderful, the writing is breaktaking, and the themes are huge and awesome.  Armored bears, parallel universes, angelic battles... seriously, what more do you want out of literature?  READ IT!

Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor

Joe: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
This was by far my favorite book ever assigned to me to read in high school. I read this book as I was beginning to see the influential and awesome power of religion for so many in this world. My English teacher called it a "Grotesque Comedy." I don't
really know what that means. However, I can say for certain that while it tackles serious theological arguments, O'Connor also writes to induce laughter, as long as you have a sense of humour. This novel presents a variety of theological and philosophical
conflicts which are ultimately resolved by the reader.  In the novel the disaffected Hazel Motes returns to the American south after serving in the Army. He becomes obsessed with the idea that the only way to live without sin is to eliminate the soul. He begins to preach his Church Without Christ, where "the deaf don't hear, the blind don't see, the lame don't walk, the dumb don't talk, and the dead stay that way." It
is a church without guilt. The story follows Hazel's struggle to eliminate his own soul and his own guilt.

!!BONUS POINTS OPPORTUNITY!!
My favorite part of this story was when Enoch Emery goes into the woods suited in a stolen gorilla costume and frightens a young couple. Bonus points if you analyze that in your book report.

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

Paul: I know this gets read a lot in high school, but it didn't get read in mine and I was pissed when I found out what I had nearly missed.  I'm not even sure how to dig into this one, it's just an absolute classic.  Salinger wrote this over 50 years ago, but his language and style still feel fresh and innovative.  It's one of those books that changes your life.   The man is an amazing writer.  If you've already read Catcher you can read something else by Saliner and we'll accept a report on that as well. 

the Giver - Lois Lowry

Joe: I read this book in sixth grade. It is simple to read but heavy to contemplate. At least it seemed so when I read it. It was the first book I had read that put me into an alternate world that seemed so distant from our present reality but at the same time it presented a very conceivable future. It is a warning to us. I like to think of it in the same category as books like 1984 and Brave New World. The story goes like this: In the anti-utopian universe of The Giver, our friend, and main character, Jonas comes of age into a world where pain and suffering have been eliminated by the social and technological institution of "Sameness." When the Elders assign Jonas his career role as the Giver, the keeper of memories, Jonas is given the memories from the world before "Samesnees" took reign. He realizes although his world may be painless it lacks the passion, pain, and pleasure of human life.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

Paul: OK, I haven't even read this yet.  I was going to put his earlier book, Everything is Illuminated on the list, but then Andrew, our drummer for the next couple months, told me that this is even better.   It was already in my que, but now I'm really looking forward to reading it.  Let's hear what Andrew says about it.

Andrew: It's been many moons since I've read EL+IC. It was the absolute highest recommendation of a very good friend of mine, and it became the most fruitful advice I've ever gotten on a book. Some times you find a particular piece of literature that ends your life for a little while (it's all you can think about, dream about, talk about: actually, like most of the books on the summer reading list) and this is certainly a prime example. Foer does some seriously risky writing: it's a story about 9/11 and the firebombing of Dresden, all in one. But most notably, it's written from the point of view of a nine year old boy. There are scenes that will punch you directly in the face.
Like any highly emotional book, you need to give the author some license to play around. He's been accused of sentimentalism by less credulous critics, but you will see, if you really give it a chance, that this is one of the most sincere and powerful books written in years.