I have to choose a book for summer reading (I know, kind of late) but I can't really read a book unless it's really good and I like it. Last year I read 'Rebecca' by du Maurier and couldn't put it down, so I got my assignment done very quickly. This year I have to choose from:
My Antonia by/ Willa Cather
Living/ Annie Dillard
A Farewell to Arms/ Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God/ Zora Hurston
Babbit or Main Street/ Sinclair Lewis
Natural/ Bernard Malamud
Heart is a Lonely Hunter/ Carson McCullers
Moby Dick/ Herman Melville
Catcher in the Rye/ JD Salinger
A Connecticut Yankee..../ Mark Twain
Color Purple/ Alice Walker
Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it!
2006-08-22 17:54:02 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Darn, I didn't again, ah sorry-- *best
2006-08-22 17:54:23 · update #1
Actually, those are some good choices. Well, not Moby Dick--that would be crazy to tackle for a summer read.
You can go to Sparknotes http://www.sparknotes.com/ to check out plot summaries for most of those (please, read the books, though, don't just read the Sparknotes, because those are really good books) and decide which sounds the most interesting to you. As you say, it has to match your particular taste--even though they're all good books.
I liked My Antonia. Pretty much everybody likes Catcher in the Rye. The Color Purple is one of Oprah's pet books, of course. I think I didn't like that Annie Dillard as much for some reason--can't remember why. I do remember my dad really liked it, though. The ones others have suggested are all good ideas.
Hmm, at this point maybe you should be looking at the shorteste one.
2006-08-27 10:24:29 · answer #1 · answered by EQ 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I loved A Connecticut Yankee by Mark Twain. I'm into all that time travel, fate and destiny stuff. Catcher in the Rye is a fast read, too.
2006-08-24 03:54:31 · answer #2 · answered by justMe 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I liked both Catcher in the Rye/ JD Salinger & A Connecticut Yankee..../ Mark Twain.
The two books are both humourous and insightfull.
2006-08-23 03:14:51 · answer #3 · answered by Levana 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
out of those, if you want a quick read, I'd say Catcher in the Rye. I really hated the book, but about 95% of the people I talk to loved it. So that'd be a good one...otherwise I'd choose any of the ones that are in Oprah's book club, because those books tend to be really interesting and good.
Good Luck!
2006-08-23 01:08:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Their Eyes Were Watching God/ Zora Hurston
This was one of my favorite books ever. It takes some time to get into the rhythm of the language...but well work it!
Enjoy
2006-08-23 01:03:00 · answer #5 · answered by Kimberly K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd go with Catcher in the Rye - it's a short, easy read and it's the book that the murderer of John Lennon had in his pocket.
2006-08-23 16:57:35 · answer #6 · answered by UKJess 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I loved Their Eyes Were Watching God. I absolutely loved it. I thought it was beautiful. Zora Neale Hurston is one of my favorite authors. (There's also a recent Oprah made-for-tv movie of it which is on dvd). But I read it in college, so it might not have been as challenging to me as it would have been if I'd tried to read it in highschool. It's about a young girl's (African-American) struggle to find not only love but her own identity. Her first husband treats her like a mule or field hand...her second husband treats her like she's property...but her third round with "love" teaches her a few things about life and love. Beautiful imagery and dialect.
2006-08-23 10:34:09 · answer #7 · answered by laney_po 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would say Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.
2006-08-23 04:05:09 · answer #8 · answered by ira a 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Connecticut Yankee..../ Mark Twain this is my favorite from your list
2006-08-28 11:20:47 · answer #9 · answered by bootandpooh 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everything is great. I just love poetry. They make want to sleep with the ocean.
2006-08-23 01:49:26 · answer #10 · answered by ErC 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋