Summer Reading List — For Fun!

The summer of 2013 will be the most relaxing summer since eighth grade. Why? Because there is absolutely no heavy AP work to finish within our two month break! So how will I spend my time with nothing to accomplish? By reading books, of course! However, my summer reading list does not contain anything written by Shakespeare, Greek poets, or textbook companies. Wow, reading for pure fun? What’s the point in that? The objective is to take myself on a mind vacation before college, detoxing myself from the constant analyses we’ve done during high school. I’ve assigned myself 5 purely-for-fun novels to read. Below are the places I will travel to during the summer:

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

Avg. Rating on Goodreads: 4.3 out of 5

I read The Hunger Games (the first book of The Hunger Games series) back when I was a sophomore, along with about 50 pages of Catching Fire. I have no idea what happened that made me stop reading, but it must have been something tragic. Because The Hunger Games series is so good! If you want an action-packed read, this is definitely the series for you. In fact, it is so action-packed that summarizing it would be impossible. I plan on reading the entire series, but mainly I want to read Catching Fire. I need prepare myself for the movie coming out in theaters in November!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks

Avg. Rating on Goodreads: 4.08 out of 5

My mom is seriously obsessed with zombies. She plays Resident Evil and Dead Island. She went through a Plants vs. Zombies phase. And she has read World War Z. She is the one who recommended the book to me. The book is a detailed account of the result of a worldwide zombie plague, including valuable interviews of the survivors. Who knows, this book may be a resource for any future apocalypses the world may endure. We plan on having a mother-daughter date to see the movie in July, after the movie is released on June 21. Which means I have less than two months to read the book!

The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton

Avg. Rating on Goodreads: 3.68 out of 5

Michael Crichton has been my favorite author for years. I’ve read the Jurassic Park series, Next, Pirate Latitudes, and Prey. Crichton is pretty much the king of suspenseful science fiction novels. He does research before he begins writing about a subject, so his novels almost seem to be non-fiction. The book that I am disappointed I haven’t read yet, however, is The Andromeda Strain. Apparently it’s one of Crichton’s best novels, dealing with the fight between mankind and deadly space microorganisms. Awesome, right?

The Pursuit of Happyness, by Chris Gardner

Avg. Rating on Goodreads: N/A

Ever since I watched the movie, I’ve always wanted to read The Pursuit of Happyness. It’s so inspiring! From living on the streets in San Francisco with his toddler son to becoming the founder of a multimillion-dollar brokerage firm, Chris Gardner writes a memoir of his own arduous but heartfelt journey. I just know I’m going to cry.

Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Avg. Rating on Goodreads: 4.39 out of 5

I’m reading this book as soon as I’m finished with The Hunger Games series. I have two motives for reading Divergent: [Number One]: People say it’s similar to The Hunger Games. [Number Two]: My boyfriend bought me this book for my birthday, so I kind of have to read it! Also, it won a Goodreads Choice Award for Favorite Book of 2011 and for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2011), so it just HAS to be good!