Summer Reading. The dreaded assignment of elementary to high school students. The last day of school celebrations were halted as the teachers handed each of us our summer reading list. We scoffed at the reading requirements, sticking our tongues out at the teachers and singing the lyrics of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” as the bus pulled out of the school parking lot. The reading list ranged from three to four required books, none of which sounded particularly interesting to any student but contained a hidden element of “educational value” that our young minds desperately needed. A bit of brain stimuli, if you will, amongst the hours of television, video games, and neighborhood debauchery we partook in during the holiday months. And did any of us read the required books in a timely manner, spreading the novels out evenly over the summer months? Of course not. We neglected the reading until about two weeks before school started when our parents realized that we had not yet started our assignments, and the authority figures took away our outdoor privileges until we finished our reading list.
Every summer I asked myself, why did the teachers pick such boring books? In elementary school we read short chapter books about foreign cultures or American history that strengthened our reading skills. Moving to middle and high school, we read more specific books, meddling in categories that ranged from history to science to foreign affairs. I remember struggling through Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels, failing to connect with the historical plot about the Civil War. The teachers chose the books as mechanisms to prepare us for the year ahead and to broaden our outlook on the world at large. Some of 
the required books did just that, but the fact that they were summer reading books turned all of us off and, being the rebellious teenagers that we were, neglected the books and chose to spend our free time doing other activities. When we returned to school in the fall and the summer reading quizzes and projects were assigned, we panicked and turned to SparkNotes for help. We each had read bits and pieces of the books and from group discussions knew the general plot, so we pulled our resources together to study for the summer reading quizzes and to create a creative project for our teachers. My senior year I struggled to create a soundtrack that coincided with the plot of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, gathering information about the dense text from class discussions and online synopses to develop the subpar playlist that failed to describe the novel.
My attitude towards summer reading has changed completely since being in college. During the school year, I have no time to read books of my personal choice. My summer reading list expands throughout the year as I discover new, exciting books that capture my attention, promising to read each one over the summer months. As an English major, I read all the time—sometimes more than I would like. Reading for literature classes consumes my time, and by the time I have finished my required reading I find that my eyes are too tired to read my personal books when I return home from the library each night. I get through one or two pages before falling asleep with my book on my chest, getting through a chapter a month—if I’m lucky.
Some books on my current list are ones that were assigned in my English classes but that I did not get the chance to finish because of timing and workload. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy earned its spot during my Cowboys and Indians class this winter. I am eager for summer to start so I can finally pick up the book collecting dust on my bedside table that I began reading over spring break but have not gotten the chance to finish since school resumed. I am excited for summer to read a book solely of my choosing without conducting a literary analysis on its plot or rhetorical elements—just to enjoy the book for what it is.
Looking back I wished I paid more attention to the books I was supposed to read in high school for summer reading. I did not know it at the time, but they were actually good books of substantial quality. I remember rebelling against the summer reading list, refusing to read the assigned novels and only selecting books of my choosing, ones that I knew I would enjoy until the last page.
The required summer reading of elementary, middle, and high school worked in reverse. The list I once dreaded so much now gives me great excitement as I turn to my list and decide which book to select first. My list includes a variety of books, ranging from Pat Conroy to William Faulkner. Whether I’m on a beach or snuggled in my bed, I am excited to dive into a new great story. Perhaps it is because instead of reading for form and theme, I am reading for that personal connection with the text, playing more attention to the way the book makes me feel rather than technical elements that comprise it.
So, what’s on your summer reading list?