[2017] Summer Reading Program Weekly Reading Themes

[Julia]

For this year's summer reading program, we will be highlighting different types of books weekly that you can read during the program! There will be weekly discussion threads about specific genres or types of reading material where we can talk about what we have or are planning to read!
Here are the weekly themes:

Week 1 (July 3-9) - Beach reads
Week 2 (July 10-16) - Staff pick (from our 2016 staff picks, or ask your local librarian!)
Week 3 (July 17-23) - Non-fiction
Week 4 (July 24-30) - Award-winner or classic
Week 5 (July 31-August 6) - Genre (mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, etc)
Week 6 (August 7-13) - Challenge yo’ self! (read outside your comfort zone)
Week 7 (August 14-19) - Treat yo’ self! (reader’s pick)

Suggested titles will be uploaded in a week specific discussion thread. Alternatively, you can pick up a handy bookmark with the titles at the reference desk of your local APL branch!

Remember that you can earn EXTRA CREDIT by reading a book from any of the designated theme weeks during any point in the program, but all books must be marked as finished by the conclusion of the program on August 19.

[Mirkat]

So I've shelved, completed, and reviewed week #3 (non-fiction): Girl Walks into a Bar . . .: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle

Started and shelved week #4 (award winner or classic): The Magicians

[Lauren]

Mirkat wrote:

Started and shelved week #4 (award winner or classic): The Magicians"

Mirkat-- that is one of my favorite books of all time- I hope you enjoy it!

[Mirkat]

Lauren, I am enjoying it so far. I became interested in it after watching season one of the TV adaptation, on DVD...

[Lauren]

Mirkat wrote: "Lauren, I am enjoying it so far. I became interested in it after watching season one of the TV adaptation, on DVD..."

Oh, nice! I have so far avoided watching the show because I have such strong ideas of what everything is like from the books. You'll have to let me know how they compare.

[Mirkat]

One of the differences in the show is that the school is graduate school instead of undergrad. I recall thinking that the school didn't "feel" like grad school, and knowing that the books are set in a magical undergrad institution helps explain why.... My guess is that certain "mature" situations might have seemed a little too much for 18-year-old characters, but more acceptable for 22-year-olds. Also, Penny looks completely different in the show vs. the books. But otherwise, it is seeming very similar.

[Lauren]

Mirkat wrote: "One of the differences in the show is that the school is graduate school instead of undergrad. I recall thinking that the school didn't "feel" like grad school, and knowing that the books are set i..."

Oh, that's interesting! I bet you're right about why they moved it up to grad school. Thanks for filling me in!

[Jody]

So my big problem is that I seem to be starting a new book almost every day. I finish the cute sweet little quirky ones, but can't get further in the other longer ones. I have already started Hidden Figures, House of Names, Bravo Valentina, the Antiques, Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, The The Wordy Shipmates, and I'm rereading the Alienist but put them down to read fun light stuff that I breezed through. Summer Brain!

[Jody]

I'm going to consider The Alienist a classic since I think it is one.

[Lauren]

Jody wrote: "I'm going to consider The Alienist a classic since I think it is one."

I think that is correct! I've had this in my "to read" pile for years, and always skip by it. Maybe I'll finally pick it up this summer.

[Susan]

Any other suggestions for award winners or classics? The book I picked for Staff Suggestions (Passing) is a Penguin Classic, but that is double dipping!

[Tetchy]

I think I'm going to try taking on a book I've started and stopped many time. For my Award selection, I'm going to read The Road, awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006.

[Mirkat]

Jody, if you are referring to The Alienist , you can also count it as award winner: Anthony Award for Best First Novel (1995).

[Mirkat]

Finished The Magician yesterday. My review. Awards: ALA Alex Award (2010) and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (2011).

[Alicia]

Susan wrote: "Any other suggestions for award winners or classics? The book I picked for Staff Suggestions (Passing) is a Penguin Classic, but that is double dipping!"

I know! But I have wanted to read another James Baldwin after reading Giovanni's Room many years ago, so I'm going to read Go Tell It on the Mountain after watching the movie I Am Not Your Negro over the last two days.

[Mirkat]

I've started my week #5 "genre" selection: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Book #1 in the "Veronica Mars" series). Mystery. This was a serendipitous situation where I'd already requested this title and it became available during summer reading. And luckily it fits in with one of our themes. :)

[Alex]

Can anyone recommend an award winning self help book or non-fiction ?

[Lauren]

Susan wrote: "Any other suggestions for award winners or classics? The book I picked for Staff Suggestions (Passing) is a Penguin Classic, but that is double dipping!"

Alex wrote: "Can anyone recommend an award winning self help book or non-fiction ?"

Hi guys,

We were a little late this week, but I did post the list of award winners and classics in its own discussion list.

Alex, if you're looking for non-fiction award winners, I can think of a few:
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink
Non-fiction award winners tend to be a bit heavy, but I can think of some more if none of these grab you! I read Five Days at Memorial and it was just amazing.

[Susan]

Lauren wrote: "Susan wrote: "Any other suggestions for award winners or classics? The book I picked for Staff Suggestions (Passing) is a Penguin Classic, but that is double dipping!"

Alex wrote: "Can anyone reco..."

Oh, some good suggestions there! I saw the display at the Pine Hills Branch earlier this week, but I had either read the books on display or they just weren't by cut of tea. So I picked up Man-Booker winner, A Brief History of Seven Killings
because the author teaches at my daughter's college. The school sometimes does jokes and parodies of this book, so figured I should know the original source. But it is loooong. So may go to Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, which has been on my to-read ever since reading an excerpt months ago. Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital is also on my list. Think I might need another trip to the library!

[Mirkat]

Finished week 5, genre, with The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line . My review.

Any suggestions for Week 6, "Challenge yo’ self! (read outside your comfort zone)"? I'm frankly stumped. (Sorry for jumping the gun...)

[Susan]

Mirkat wrote: "Finished week 5, genre, with The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line. My review.

Any suggestions for Week 6, "Challenge yo’ self! (read outside your comfort zone)"? I'm frankly stumped. (Sorr..."
Thanks for jumping the gun, since I have no ideas either. I may try sci fi or fantasy, since neither of those are usually my cup of tea. So maybe pick a genre you don't usually read. Or a book by someone who espouses a political view the opposite of yours (a serious author, not a Rush Limbaugh type). A friend who had a professor assign such a task to her class a couple of decades ago still remembers it as a useful and eye-opening exercise.

[Mirkat]

I thought I might go with an "uncomfortable" topic. I came across a book by the mother of the of the Columbine shooters, A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy .

[Jody]

I read a large chunk of Seven stones to stand or fall : a collection of outlander fiction / Diana Gabaldon. This fantasy meets historical novel was a lot of fun. I had already read 5 of the books and this collection is just fun fringe stuff about some of the places, people, and things that brushed Jamie and Claire's worlds. I didn't bother with 2 of the short stories because I couldn't care less about zombies meets paranormal...but add more levels of genre if you do and let me know if it's worth going back to.

[Lauren]

Susan wrote: "Mirkat wrote: "Finished week 5, genre, with The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line. My review.

Any suggestions for Week 6, "Challenge yo’ self! (read outside your comfort zone)"? I'm frankly..."

Hi guys,

The idea is just to read something you normally wouldn't pick up-- so it could be as simple as trying an audiobook instead of a print book, or a perhaps a graphic novel, if you've never read one before.

I'm going to put up a display here at Pine Hills next week, and some ideas I had were:
A translated book
A book over 500 pages
A book written before 1800
A fantasy, sci-fi, or horror book
A non-fiction book
A graphic novel or audiobook

I like the idea of an uncomfortable topic, too! I might put some of those up.