Is reading on your list of priorities this summer?
What better way is there to spend a summer afternoon than finding a shady spot or an empty chair by the pool and kicking back with a good book?
Dr. David M. Whalen, provost and professor of English at Hillsdale College, recently put together a list of must-reads that we thought was so good we had to share.
“From a fictional story set during Christmas time, to insightful works on writing and literature, to a set of 19th century sermons, Dr. Whalen has compiled a unique line-up of authors that offers a well-rounded summer reading experience. There is something on his list to challenge and inspire every kind of reader.” - Knox Witcher
Dr. Whalen’s Five Summer Must-Reads:
- The Inn at the Edge of the World by Alice Thomas Ellis.
“What better time than summer to read a novel about Christmas, especially Christmas as experienced by people trying to avoid it?” - The Writing Life by Annie Dillard.
“Short, intense, dense and lyrical at once, this is as thoughtful a book as it is beautifully done. Substance and style are one.” - The Age of Exuberance: Backgrounds to Eighteenth-Century English Literature by Donald Greene.
“Originally published in 1970, this small gem would be considered dated by now. But then, so would the eighteenth-century.” - The Four Men by Hilaire Belloc.
“A whimsical, elegiac, outrageous and profound meditation on many things wrapped in a tribute to Sussex, England.” - Parochial and Plain Sermons by John Henry Newman.
“Good for the soul.”
Reading seems to be something we are doing far less of these days, yet it’s such a rich exercise for the mind that we are truly missing out. Why not escape the rat race for a bit and make reading a priority this summer? This list is a great start, or maybe you’ve got a list of your own — so, do tell…what’s on your reading list this summer?
Image courtesy of Inherent Organics
