It’s summer. The best time of the year, I don’t care what you fall football loving freaks think, you’re wrong. All that matters is now. Yeah I like Georgia football but I couldn't for the life of me tell you who their first game is against, why is that? Because it means summer is winding down and that makes me sad.
So picture this, it’s a summer Sunday and the sun is high and proud in the sky. You’re having a nice cold drink of something, that’s up to you and your Mr. or Mrs. is sitting on the lawn chair next to yours. You have absolutely nowhere to be and why would you? It’s the perfect time to open up a book and get lost in the words, transfix your brain on some otherwordly adventure or story all the while getting a nice bit of color about you.
If you want something freaky and weird:
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
Henry Ford is God? Everyone is addicted to pills? Babies are made in labs, the only real people left are in New Mexico? Savages, sex, Soma and surprises. It’s written in the 1930s and yet the problems that seemed so far fetched and dystopian when the book was written seem wildly prevalent today.
Length: 2-3 days if focused
Readability: Old use of some words, not too bad, open mind is needed at some points.
Storyline: Moving parts, jumps around with a few key characters to follow.
If you’re in the mood for poetic adventure:
A time of Gifts- Patrick Leigh Fermor
Ever just want to go for a walk? What about a walk from The Netherlands to Turkey? That’s what this bloke did and it’s in the posh boy poetic prose that makes you think every interaction you have in life should be beautiful. Written in the buildup of World War Two he accounts as he walks through Germany is quite chilling as the writing was clearly displayed on the wall.
Length: Well he did walk a shit ton of distance so each day is a few pages, the book is actually broken into a few volumes. This one covers up to Hungary. So you’ll need some time.
Readability: A few pages at a time. He uses big language and prose to describe things
Storyline: He can ramble but it evokes daydreams.
Laugh at Old Money and High Class folks:
Tender is the Night- F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Razor’s Edge- W. Somerset Maugham
Drinking was a way of life in the 1930s I reckon. Both are set in European countries, both have a quirky cast of characters. Forbidden love is a central theme, universal love is a theme of one man who seems to be loved by the universe in one book. Seeking fame and fortune can lead to a lonely existence, all that jazz.
Length: A weekend
Readability: It’s easy to gloss over and have to read a few sentences again. I found one to be quite better than the other but I’ll leave it to you to figure out which one.
Storyline: One is straightforward, the other will have you thinking you skipped pages
Want some education:
Prisoners of Geography- Tim Marshall
Apparently Russia can just cut the heat off in half of Europes countries if they wanted to. The United States is safe (ish) because it’s so far away from the rest of the world.
Length: Read a chapter a day so you can retain and think about it
Readability- The author does a great job of explaining it to you as if you were six.
Storyline: One chapter is one map or country so you can go to where you want to learn about.
Sports Book:
Open- Andre Agassi
Summer and tennis are synonymous, you have the French Open at the beginning of summer and The US Open to close summer out, so why not read from one it’s greats. This book is one of the most honest things I’ve ever read. A domineering father, a great athlete who actually hates tennis and the brutal lessons along the way.
Length: 3-5 days
Readability: Flows nicely
Storyline: Weaves in and out, almost dreamlike as he plays his last match and the past life he led.
There you have it folks, go grab a book.
Keep going,
-Jackson
