Summer Reading

I've gotten in grad school, which seems like a major feat, but it happened and I'm dealing with it. I'm excited and ready for the challenge of a new academic life. So that's why I quit my job at the bookstore. If I'm a student again, I might as well fully commit, right? Also, I just didn't care for the job that much. Minimum wage for my age, education and aspirations just makes me depressed and resentful. And now, my summer is freed up! I have all the time in the world to devote to friends, listless laying about in the apartment, taking long walks around the neighborhood and. . . READING!

When I told Evan that I was going to read like a newly freed slave, he gave a nervous laugh that suggested I shouldn't make those kinds of jokes. But there's something about summer reading that makes me feel more alive and heady with excitement. I'm rediscovering a world that I had previously abandoned in favor for work and I'm giddy with the thought of escaping to another world!

So far my summer reading list is short, but I hope to make some real progress before school starts. Here's what I'm into so far.

 I wanted to read this book because I'm getting interested in travel writing and how black women, in particular, participate in it. This is an interesting narrative about a free black woman's travels before the Civil War. She went to Russia with her husband, who was a servant in Tsar Nicholas' royal court.

 This book was a recommended read from a friend. We were talking about Indian women fiction writers. I really like reading Jhumpa Lahiri, but I've read anything she's written. My friend said to give this a try. I look forward exploring this novel.

I'm almost done with this book and I'd say that it went too quick for my taste. When I finish reading any collection of David Sedaris essays, I get a little depressed. This was hilarious and poignant like all of his other books. It's nice reading about another dyfunctional family that can put my own family in perspective.

This is another friend recommendation. I realized that I needed to read more Russian fiction, but was not ready to make the War and Peace commitment.