Read Guide
July 2022
THE STRANGER | ALBERT CAMUS
Albert Camus made it clear that he didn’t identify as an existentialist, despite his work fitting neatly into the classification. But it’s unclear how he felt about the term absurdism, essentially created for him. The Stranger is about a man embracing the meaninglessness of existence in an increasingly secularized society. And it happens to take place over the summer. Sometimes translated as The Outsider, the book’s main character Meursault is a French man living in French-occupied Algeria. Disoriented by the heat and partially blinded by the reflection of the sunlight off the knife of a man attacking his neighbor, Meursault kills a man on the beach, unnecessarily unloading every round into him after the first fatal shot. His general apathy towards life is alien to the court, and he is thus found guilty of murder. The book continues to explore the thoughts of a man sentenced to death in a universe with no higher power.
TO THE LIGHTHOUSE | VIRGINIA WOOLF
To The Lighthouse isn’t really a plot-driven book. My reading of it was Virginia Woolf expressing her own thoughts, opinions, and emotions through multiple characters. Essentially, it takes place over two summers ten years apart. The first section introduces the characters Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay, their eight kids, and some guests at their summer home, including painter Lily Briscoe. The kids want to visit an island lighthouse by boat, but Mr. Ramsay is wary of the weather. Woolf’s unconventional narrative involves little dialogue but is told in the third person by an omniscient narrator. The middle section describes the events of the past ten years before the family finally reconvenes with their house guests from 10 years ago to visit the lighthouse at the end.
INFINITE JEST | DAVID FOSTER WALLACE
Infinite Jest isn’t about summer, but summer break is probably the best time to read it, or so the creators of the blog Infinite Summer thought. The site was a book club that read Infinite Jest from June to September in 2009 and analyzed it in a series of discussion posts. Though it’s not required that you read it in the summer, I certainly did by coincidence shortly after graduating with my BA. Infinite Jest is a groundbreaking hysterical realist fiction with some dispute over which school of thought it exists in. With several narratives, the sur-thousand-page book centers around a film that is so entertaining that viewers lose interest in anything else and eventually die.
Also, check out this summer reading list from our Instagram.
Curated by Andrew Scott
June 2022
CHOKE | CHUCK PALAHNIUK
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY | OSCAR WILDE
TENDER BUTTONS | GERTRUDE STEIN
GIOVANNI'S ROOM | JAMES BALDWIN
QUEER | WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS
Curated by Andrew Scott
May 2022
THIS IS WATER | DAVID FOSTER WALLACE
RULES OF ATTRACTION | BRET EASTON ELLIS
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO | JUNOT DÍAZ
GET GOOD WITH MONEY | TIFFANY ALICHE
Curated by Andrew Scott
April 2022
THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY | ELIZABETH KOLBERT
WALDEN | HENRY DAVID THOREAU
LEAVES OF GRASS | WALT WHITMAN
HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE: LEARNING TO FIGHT IN A WORLD ON FIRE | ANDREAS MALM
Curated by Andrew Scott
MARCH 2022
THE HANDMAID'S TALE | MARGARET ATWOOD
A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN | VIRGINIA WOOLF
INANNA, LADY OF LARGEST HEART: POEMS OF THE SUMERIAN HIGH PRIESTESS | ENHEDUANNA
TIME IS A MOTHER | OCEAN VUONG
In an effort to provide something more contemporary, I’m going to suggest a male author. Last month I wrote about Melissa Broder. All of her books are written by a woman. You can also look into Mira Gonzalez and Darcy Wilder for more contemporary female-written literature. None of these authors and poets have a work that focuses specifically on womanhood, nor have any published this year. Ocean Vuong has something that satisfies both of these requirements. His second poetry collection and third publication, Time is a Mother, is set to release in April and was written as a response to the death of his mother. His novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, published in 2019, is also about a son’s relationship with his mother and will be adapted to film by A24.
Curated by Andrew Scott
FEBRUARY 2022
THE PISCES: A NOVEL | MELISSA BRODER
RICHARD YATES | TAO LIN
SHAKESPEARE ROMANCES
The fun thing about literature is you can go back and read some of the works that inform how people think about the genre of romance today. A great place to start is Shakespeare. Though formally referred to as tragicomedies, Shakespeare produced many tales that embody what we now easily recognize as love stories, which he developed from chivalric romances. The obvious choice is Romeo and Juliet, but there are quite a few other options. Henry V though technically classified as a “History” play, chronicles the story of an English king seeking the hand of a French princess despite her apprehension due to her inability to share a common language with him. The Two Noble Kinsmen, based on Chaucer’s A Knights Tale, is the timeless tale of two friends and cousins who fall for the same girl. Then there’s Much Ado About Nothing about a young suitor who is convinced that his love interest is fornicating with another man. Twelfth Night follows the story of Viola, who is separated from her brother in a shipwreck. She falls in love with a duke while disguised as a man. These are just a few options, being that many Shakespeare plays feature a love story, there are many more.
THE GREAT GATSBY | F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
Curated by Andrew Scott
JANUARY 2022
WILL | WILL SMITH
A YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING | JOAN DIDION
TAKIN’ OVER: BY IMPOSING THE POSITIVE! MY PERSONAL RAP TO YOU | BRANDON MCCARTNEY
ATOMIC HABITS | JAMES CLEAR
Curated by Andrew Scott
DECEMBER 2021
LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS | JRR TOLKIEN
MR. DICKENS AND HIS CAROL | SAMANTHA SILVA
IN GOD WE TRUST: ALL OTHERS PAY CASH | JEAN SHEPHERD
SKIPPING CHRISTMAS: A NOVEL | JOHN GRISHAM
Curated by Andrew Scott
NOVEMBER 2021
THE COLLECTED POETRY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
THE CRACK-UP | F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR | TRUMAN CAPOTE
Curated by Andrew Scott
OCTOBER 2021
THE INSTITUTE | STEPHEN KING
AMERICAN PSYCHO | BRET EASTON ELLIS
HOUSE OF LEAVES | MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI
RING SHOUT | P. DJÈLÍ CLARK
If you need a quicker read, check out these spooky articles!
https://mashable.com/article/scary-stories-halloween
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/g22635979/real-life-haunted-house-stories/
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a39179/five-real-life-horror-stories/
Curated by Andrew Scott
SEPTEMBER 2021
September brings not just Virgo season but for many it is a time for back to school, and with a new school year comes fresh lists of reading material. From learning about Chess, Addiction recovery, moving forward in a career, family history, or discovering a new comic book or video game. We assembled our September collection in the hopes of finding a good book, podcast or movie to curl up with as the fall season begins.
Please let us know your favorites and your own favorite way to welcome Autumn with your favorite books, TV shows, movies, or podcasts. We’d love to hear from you!
Virgo Season
Teen/Young Adult
Kids
National Drug & Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month
American Chess Day – Sep 1
Labor Day – Sep 6
Grandparents’ Day – Sep 12
National Video Games Day – Sep 12
National Comic Book Day – Sep 25
Ask A Stupid Question Day/National Neighbor Day – Sep 28
Curated by: Media Smart Citizens Content Creator Martha Reckers.
AUGUST 2021
To continue the celebration of summer, we present our August collection of curated ‘reads’ ‘watches’ and ‘listens’. With August being Leo season is a time for generosity, to be generous to others and as always to be generous with ourselves by keeping an eye out for our own physical and mental health.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month, it is also the month playing host to Grief Awareness Day (August 30). Thus inspiring our selection of self-care podcasts, and hopefully plenty of books and movies throughout the month to escape into. Whether that's escaping onto a mountaintop for National Climb a Mountain Day, spending time with friends and family, listening to your favorite song, or to cheer on your favorite athlete in the Olympics.
Please let us know your favorites and your favorite way to celebrate the final month of Summer with your favorite books, TV shows, movies, or podcasts. We’d love to hear from you!
August National Immunization Awareness Month
Kids
Wilma Unlimited - By Kathleen Krull, illustrated by David Diaz
Stephen Curry: The Boy Who Never Gave Up - By Anthony Curcio
The Field - By Baptiste Paul, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara
Fatima’s Great Outdoors - By Ambreen Tariq, illustrated by Stevie Lewis
The Wisdom of Trees: How Trees Work Together to Form a Natural Kingdom - By Lita Judge
Grandpa’s Stories - By Joseph Coelho, Illustrated by Allison Colpoys
Homemade Love - By bell hooks, illustrated By Shane W. Evans
The Relatives Came - By Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Leo Season
Young Adult
The Olympics
Young Adult/Teens
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine - By Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time - By Mark Haddon
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist - By Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
National Mountain Climbing Day/International Friendship Day - August 1st
Book Lover’s Day - Aug 9th
National Son & Daughter Day - Aug 11
Curated by: Media Smart Citizens Content Creator Martha Reckers.
JULY 2021
Here we present a curated selection of July and all things summer-themed books, podcasts, and movies to enhance your summer season. Whether lounging on a beach with a fresh book or working from home/office, here are some pieces to read, watch, and listen to help pass the time in and out of the sun.
Despite the high energy of Cancer Season, it is also a time for family, friends, personal reflection and self-care. The Cancer season collection was compiled in the hopes of meeting both the high energy and expectations of the season, while allowing the space to take (for some) a much-needed exhale.
Our selection of Eco-Fiction to commemorate the small holidays in July to raise environmental awareness, from Clean Beach Week (July 1-7) to Plastic Bag Free Day (July 3).
It's difficult to summarize the history and culture of America on the Fourth of July within one word, let alone one book, movie, or podcast. But here some
Feel free to share your favorites that remind you of summer and all that it entails. We’d love to hear from you.
Cancer Season
The Marvels - Brian Selznick (Middle Grade)
Summer Reading/Beach Reads
Wild: From Lost To Found on The Specific Crest Trail - By Cheryl Strayed
Home Body - Rupi Kaur (poems)
Helium - Rudy Francisco (poems)
Juliet Takes a Breath - BY Gabby Rivera (Young Adult)
Red, White, and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston (Young Adult/New Adult)
All Summer Long - By Hope Larson (Young Adult/Middle Grade)
Young Adult/Teens
Kids
Curated by: Media Smart Citizens Content Creator Martha Reckers.