SUMMER READING LIST
LEIGH PATTERSON
Leigh Patterson is an editor and web designer in Austin, TX. She is co-creator of a fantastic art, design, and literary journal called synonym. She had this to say about her selections:
"Something happens to me in the summer where my brain just goes…away. Remember that time I wanted to read Infinite Jest in July? Me neither.
Basically, the only thing I really want to do from June to August is be given permission to let my guard down. And as far as reading is concerned, I want to consume books that I can sit and let wash over me like a wave.
That said, I'm also kind of a snob. I have a hard time just buying the Hunger Games trilogy, okay?! Fortunately, there are a lot of books that toe the line between something you're not embarrassed to read in public and something that, if we're being honest, is actually just a mainstream thriller in "literary fiction's" clothes. Soak it up.
1. Graham Greene
Our Man in Havana
In college I took a class about Graham Green and Evelyn Waugh. Basically the class was about chauvinism, alcoholics, and war? The saving grace was this book, which is a total espionage thriller that's also hilarious! Highly recommended.
2. Philip Roth
Goodbye, Columbus
I'm convinced this is the ultimate summer book. A coming-of-age story with a whole lotta Romeo/Juliet "boy from the other side of the tracks" drama, Goodbye, Columbus feels so nostalgic and comfortable and...it's also really confusing that it's written by Philip Roth.
3. Donna Tartt
The Secret History
Bizarre secret cults, East Coast boarding schools, and a cast of terrible, terrible people. All you need to know.
