At the moment my Instagram is filled with the lovely wintery snaps of books and Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere. Many of my favourite Bookstagrammers are from the North, but I am also seeing my favourite Australian Instagrammers sharing summer shots, garden shots and brilliant blue skies.
We are definitely entering summer and there is no denying that; I wanted to write a summer reading list, but really these books are such classics and can be read at any time of the year. Most of these books are on my summer reading list. I can't wait for the holidays to really begin on the 18th, when we can get away for a few days and begin the long, hot, break with rest, family and relaxation.
Here is my list for classical reading this summer. There are only 5 classics on the list, because summer should be full of other things as well!!
1. A Mid-Summer's Night Dream, William Shakespeare. I studied this play in high school drama class and I'm really keen to revisit it again this summer. I haven't read any Shakespeare for a few years and am keen to rectify that this summer. If you haven't read any Shakespeare before, or aren't familiar with this particular play, A Mid-Summer's Night Dream is set in Ancient Athens and is based around Hermia, the daughter of Egeus, who refuses to marry Demetrius, the man Egeus has chosen for her. Hermia actually loves another young man, Lysander and her best friend Helena is in love with Demetrius. Demetrius, however, is in love with Hermia. Thus follows a very comical yet tragic, love story involving wood fairies and a whole range of misadventures and magic.
2. The Aeneid, Virgil. Now that I have finally finished The Odyssey, I can't wait to start The Aeneid. Like The Odyssey this epic follows the long, troublesome journey of Aeneas after the Trojan War as he heads towards Italy to found a new city. I love Italy and all things Italian, and although I have read bits of Virgil's classic, I haven't yet read the whole epic. Also, my version of the book is pocket size and is perfect to pop into swimming bags and hand-bags for when there are a few, sunny moments to spare.
3. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens. Although this is a decidedly 'wintery' tale, there is no better time than to read this classic of Dickens' than Christmas. We have this delightful vintage version of the novel with lovely illustrations. Sometimes, on the hottest days, it's nice to read about the cold and snow.
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad. I began this classic earlier in the year but put it aside for some reason. This hot, steamy and tragic journey of Conrad's into the slave camps of the Congo during British Imperial rule is not a light and easy read, yet I would like to finish it. Additionally, I have a really engaging version of this on my phone from Librivox so that I can listen to the story as I work in the garden, or on long car trips. For me, it was a toss up between this book and George Orwell's Burmese Days which also invokes hot, humid imperial issues but as it's one I've already read, I decided to go with Conrad.
5. Collected Verse, Banjo Paterson. I have been including more verse in my reading this year and am really enjoying it. I chose this particular book because I already own this collection, but also because Paterson is such an iconic Australian writer and I would love to be more familiar with his work. If you are reading along with my summer list but don't have access to the whole collected verse, you can access Paterson's poems here.
There you have my Summer 2020/2021 reading list! I am pleased with the diversity on offer here, and don't think I will get bored or unmotivated by these books as they are all ones I am very keen to read. If you haven't seen my classic Spring reading list yet you can see that here.
What about you? Are there any books on my Summer Reading List that appeal to you? Would you like to read some of these books or all of them?
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