A Sea Of Red

June 1st, has everyone put together their ambitious summer reading list? I've got mine, and with a couple beach trips in the works, I think I might actually have time to get through it. My goal this year is to read one book a month, which to most seems kind of juvenile, but for me that's a big deal. I'm a little behind right now, but hope to get caught up with a couple vacations (and a couple shorter books).

Here's my list for the summer:

Blink by Malcom Gladwell. I've read Tipping Point, which was very good.
Clash of Kings by GRR Martin. Loved Game of Thrones. I hope to eventually get through the series.
Kinda Christianity & Why We Love the Church by Ted Kluck.
The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood.
Freakonomics by Levitt/Dubner.
The Essentials of Prayer by EM Bounds.

And of course I have a whole slew of history books to get through like John Adams and 1776, etc. Problem is, I'm starting to get bored with the non-fiction the more I read fiction.

Anyone else have their list together?

Why We Love the Church was okay -- nothing groundbreaking.

I'm working on Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias right now. I've been looking for some decent fiction but haven't really found anything that has held my attention. Any recommendations?

I usually only work my way through 3-4 books a summer if I can find the time. Thus far I haven't had much time at all so I haven't determined what is coming up next. I'm reading Vertical Self by Mark Sayers right now.

One book I would highly recommend that reads like fiction but is actually terrific non-fiction is one I devoured twice last summer ... Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson. Its a 200-page paperback that you'll knock out in nothing flat with a smile on your face.

Finishing up Storm of Swords - George RR Martin
Mere Christianity - CS Lewis
Greatest Show on Earth - Dawkins
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Feast for Crows - George RR Martin
The Science of God - Gerald Schroeder
The Return of the Great Depression - Vox Day

RubberMallet wrote: Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

One of the greatest book series I have ever read. For some reason, I relate alot of things to that series. For one, I know I cant play halo ever without thinking of Ender

TDDance234 wrote:Why We Love the Church was okay -- nothing groundbreaking.

I'm working on Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias right now. I've been looking for some decent fiction but haven't really found anything that has held my attention. Any recommendations?

Jonathan Strange and Dr Norell is one i'd highly recommend. its not a series but one story but she is creating another book as a sequel right now.

The Song of Ice and Fire Series by George RR Martin is one of the best series of its genre (fantasy) If you can get around the occasionally hokey descriptive sex scenes the story and characters are fantastic.

RubberMallet wrote:The Song of Ice and Fire Series by George RR Martin is one of the best series of its genre (fantasy) If you can get around the occasionally hokey descriptive sex scenes the story and characters are fantastic.

You and WinterIsComing's geeky banter is what got me to check out this series. I finished the first book and loved it.

I'm not really looking for groundbreaking in Why We Love the Church, I have a brother who doesn't go to church, and I'm hoping it's something I can pass along to him.

ALUmnus wrote: You and WinterIsComing's geeky banter is what got me to check out this series. I finished the first book and loved it.

It just keeps getting better. its ridiculous.

dance with dragons was supposed to come out last year...everyone is freaking out that its not here.

rueful wrote:

RubberMallet wrote: Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

One of the greatest book series I have ever read. For some reason, I relate alot of things to that series. For one, I know I cant play halo ever without thinking of Ender

Also love the Ender/Bean series as well as much of Card's other works.

My summer reading list:

For June
Philosophy and Education by George R. Knight
P.R.A.I.S.E. -- Effectively Guiding Behavior by Beth Ackerman
Classroom Management For Middle and High School Teachers by Edmund T. Emmer and Carolyn M. Evertson
Behavior Management: A Practical Approach for Educators by James Walker
Introduction to Middle School by Sara Davis Powell

Then I try to get caught up on the review stuff I have stacking up:
The Sword by Bryan M. Litrin
The Revolutionary Paul Revere by Joel J. Miller
Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles
Remembering the Ladies: A Century of First Ladies by Ann Covell
Magickeepers, Book Two: The Pyramid of Souls by Erica Kirov (this is a Young Adult book, so it won't take me long)
Into the Path of Gods by Kathleen Cunningham Guler (I've had this FOREVER, and I feel guilty about not having finished the review yet, so I may bump this to the top of the list)

Man, summer reading was the worst. I'm on summer vacation. Just let me not do school work for 3 freaking months. How is it possible the school can even tell you what do do when you're not in either grade? That always made me so angry.

Wealth of Nations audio book
On Writing Well
Goals

I will probably find a few other business or American History related books if I end up with a beach trip, we shall see

if you want good business related books, look into these:

psychocybernetics - Maxwell Maltz
Non manipulative Selling - Tony Allessandra
Take Back Your Time - John de Graaf

my collection of jane austen books, hopefully. already have pride and prejudice read, just need to read the other 4. i keep starting, then i don't get around to reading for several days to a week or more and forget what happened and have to start over.

Just finished The Tyranny of E-Mail and about to start Angels and Demons, and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, and on June 5th I'll be getting The Short Altered Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer. Also on the list is Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and Open by Andre Agassi, and I'm really hoping its more exciting than Pete Sampras' autobiography.

ATrain wrote:Just finished The Tyranny of E-Mail and about to start Angels and Demons, and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, and on June 5th I'll be getting The Short Altered Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer. Also on the list is Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and Open by Andre Agassi, and I'm really hoping its more exciting than Pete Sampras' autobiography.

its tennis...probably not.

Pistol Pete didn't confess to any addictions and hating tennis. So I am guessing Andre's tome is a tad more engaging.

ATrain wrote: The Short Altered Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer.

Please stop encouraging that woman.

My problem is I am a very slow reader. It takes me forever to go through books and I have poor retention. I need to take a reading class or something. Kinda sad that I made it through college and hardly read any.

JDUB wrote:My problem is I am a very slow reader. It takes me forever to go through books and I have poor retention. I need to take a reading class or something. Kinda sad that I made it through college and hardly read any.

This is also my problem, but I just decided that I'm going to read whenever I have some down time, and I'm actually getting through books. Some of them bore the heck out of me, so I just move on to something else. I don't actually get to sit down and read big chunks at a time (too busy), so it still does take a little while, but for me it's been worth it.

Sly Fox wrote:Pistol Pete didn't confess to any addictions and hating tennis. So I am guessing Andre's tome is a tad more engaging.

Yeah, Pete Sampras was as clean cut as they come, and he didn't marry Brooke Shields. Hate to say it, but perfection and actually having a clean life to go with the clean image is rather boring.

Sorry Libertine, but no.

ALUmnus wrote:

JDUB wrote:My problem is I am a very slow reader. It takes me forever to go through books and I have poor retention. I need to take a reading class or something. Kinda sad that I made it through college and hardly read any.

This is also my problem, but I just decided that I'm going to read whenever I have some down time, and I'm actually getting through books. Some of them bore the heck out of me, so I just move on to something else. I don't actually get to sit down and read big chunks at a time (too busy), so it still does take a little while, but for me it's been worth it.

i read before i go to bed...i actually have to now or else its hard for me to go to sleep.

I read constantly as a kid, so that's why I read so much now. I never left the house without a book in my hand -- my parents made fun of me because once I got my driver's license I didn't know how to get anywhere, because every time we got in the car, I was reading.

I've been trying to do the 50 books in a year thing, but the closest I've gotten in the last few years is 27. This year has been a waste because of how busy I've been, and how much school work I've had to do.

That's the nice thing about blogging -- do it long enough and you have people asking you to review their books. You get some stinkers, but you also get some really good books.

RubberMallet wrote: i read before i go to bed...i actually have to now or else its hard for me to go to sleep.

Hah, it's like you live on a tv show.

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years - Miller
Essential Church - Rainer

Those are the two I have now. I'm interested to see how Chan's new one (Fear God) is going to be when it comes out in July.