Remember that old tune? “Summer reads make me feel fine”. Wait, I think that me the wrong lyrics. Anyway, summer reads are great, and I have a short list to keep me busy for a while. That’s not to say that reading is the only thing I have to do. Despite what many think, summer is not a total vacation for the educational sect. We have classes to prepare for; research to do; and, you never know when a problem might crop up on campus.
With that being said, we obviously have time for some leisurely reading. I am going to begin with the following.
The Columbus Affair: A Novel by Steve Berry. I have read Berry’s Cotton Malone series since its inception and like its mixture of action and historical mystery. It’s one of those things that started after the popularity of The Da Vinci Code and is far from high level intellectualism. That’s why I like it.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. The students on the field trip said I have to read this. I plan on seeing the movie, so I also feel that I need to read it. It comes from the smash-up genre and shows Honest Abe as a killer of vampires. I can’t wait to see Franklin Roosevelt as a killer of werewolves and Barack Obama as the slayer of the people who voted for him zombies.
The Emerald Storm by William Dietrich. Another work from the genre of historical fiction, this book has a twist. The mystery takes place in the past with the adventures of Ethan Gage. I have also read all of these and was first attracted because one took place in the western frontier. Ethan has been all over the world in the employ of some of history’s most powerful people.
Where the Tall Grass Grows: Becoming Indigenous and the Mythological Legacy of the American West by Bobby Bridger. Only a work of history would have a title that long. We tend to spell things out right there on the cover, so I don’t have to do much explaining. It has a buffalo skull on the cover, so it must be good.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Ever heard of HeLa cells? Apparently, they have become important in medical research throughout the world. This book is about the woman that they were originally taken from.
Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports by Mark Ribowski. As a kid, I was fascinated by Howard Cosell and the people on Monday Night Football. My parents let me stay up long enough to see the Halftime Highlights and hear Cosell’s cadence as he said, “He. Could. Go. All. The. Way.” I can’t wait to delve into the life of the man behind the mouth.
That’s my list. If you have any other suggestions, then please let me know.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 