I said this yesterday, but it’s really hard to reflect seriously during finals week. I didn’t do anything that tremendously taxing today, but I still don’t feel like seriously thinking tonight. I didn’t even take the garbage out today. So rather than give a poor excuse for a pondering, I’m just going to share my summer reading list. Everyone should have a summer reading list. Here’s mine (in no particular order):

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series (I want to read it before the movie comes out)
Douglas Adams’ complete Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy (an anniversary present)
Phillip Lopate’s Portrait Of My Body (a collection of essays, I picked it up really cheap)
Lee Stringer’s Grand Central Winter (another book I picked up cheap)
Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies (a very intriguing author I’d love to dig into)
Anne Lamott’s Operating Instructions (in case I’m feeling ambitious)
Flannery O’Connor’s Mystery and Manners (I read three chapters for class and loved it)
Something by Wendell Berry (several people have recommended him and I should check him out)
Best Essays 1999 (bought it for a class in January and only got half way through)
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (it’s a classic and I’ve never read it–plus Five Iron Frenzy has a song referring to it)
Something by Kurt Vonnegut (I read Player Piano in high school and I enjoyed it. I’m leaning towards Slaughterhouse-Five)
Something by David James Duncan (read excerpts in my Creative Writing class and I was impressed)
Toni Morrison’s The Color Purple (it’s plain embarrassing that I’ve never read anything by Morrison)

and in case I’m really bored this summer:
Something by Annie Dillard (the most assigned author in Bethel’s English department)
Something by George MacDonald (I’ve heard his name but really have no clue who he is)
Something by Madeline L’Engle (maybe finish the Wrinkle in Time series)
Something by Barbara Kingsolver (read portions of High Tide in Tucson my freshman year and liked it)
E.W. Howe’s The Story of a Country Town (I’m related to him and my Grandma gave me a copy of it last summer, but it was a little dull and I never got through it)
C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia (got the complete volume for Christmas and only got through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe –although they make excellent light reading for during the school year)
Something by D.H. Lawrence (every time I go to the book store I see tons of stuff by him, but I really have no idea who he is)
Something by Louis L’Amour (read his stuff in high school and it’s just fun–the definition of Western)

I know I won’t come close to reading half of these this summer, but it’s worth a shot. You always need something to shoot for. You can bug me at the end of the summer and see how well I did.