missypie's list: No one would be "hurt" by reading these. But I have read all of the fiction on that list and about 1/2 of the non-fiction, and this is my opinon. Once again, this is my opinion.

IMHO, that list is extremely representative of the bias exhibited in public and most private schooling today in the USA. It's not an across the board political, economic or literary picture, much slanted.

I think of cerebral reading as research, Hawkings kind of stuff, or past classics with others' eras points of view.

It is a list that is non-beach reading, but in some of the non-fiction cases, I think it would just turn people off from reading- period.

I myself think the best cerebral reading possible is to read nothing but the Russian "bests" of the 19th & 20th centuries for about 1 or 2 years.
It will take you that long. Proust or Kafka might not turn you off from the cerebral either.

Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again is a turgid, exhausting read. It is a rambling neo-autobiography- and that is after Wolfe's editors pared it down for Wolfe's original manuscript. I sympathize with your father, ncgirl.

GeorgeW, that's probably what Dad thought of it, but too kind of a man to put it bluntly. He read it as a retiree so he had the time to dedicate to it, unlike most students who have activities in additions to other classes at school.

The Grapes of Wrath is a good book, but depressing. It does show a time period in US history, but what a downer. Would you want to spend your summer vacation with such a book.

When I read The Optimist Daughter, the only Welty I knew was humorous short stories (?Living at P.O?) I found it so different from the short stories. Good for a discussion if you've read her.

I was going to comment on the 9th grade G/T list previously, but decided against it. Why wasn't there any fiction for an English class? That list seemed more appropriate for current studies of history. And just from the ones I know, with a strong viewpoint.

Such a well rounded group, but what else can you expect? I love all your thoughts and recommendations.. I am certainly not so rigid that I choose only one type of book.
To some, an autobiography could be considered light reading, depending on the individual.. what my late dad considered cerebral and what I do don't always match up either,lol.
Just wanted to say thanks for the replies to the post. J.

The 9th grade G/T list was for AP Human Geography - not English.

Wish more people would post on the movies, music and books forum, here on Fodor`s. People don`t even seem to realize it`s here. Did finish Jodi Picault`s MY SISTER`S KEEPER, and I was rather jolted my the ending.

I was influenced by a friend who said she was not reading any more Jodi Picoult because she didn't like the ending of the last one either,lol.
I went to the bookstore, looked at all the books by the author, could't decide, and bought a breve instead.

I have to go against the tide and say that I don't care for Bryson's books. I've read several and I find that they are good for awhile but ultimately they are too snarky, too mean spirited for my taste.

Eeva - the Unbearable Lilghtness of Being was excellent as was Wharton's Summer. I love Edith Wharton.

Just into The Other Boylne Girl after seeing so many recommendations for it on this board. Its fun reading - not exactly cerebral but very good.

Every summer I try to read a classic and sometimes I succeed and other times I have failed. Can't get through Ulysses by Joyce or anything by Hemingway. Can't read virginia Wolf either. On the other hand I love Austen, Wharton, Steinbeck

For the beach, Hemingway's ISLANDS IN THE STREAM might make for appropriate, topical reading. It is uneven, as it was pieced together after his suicide. The first section regarding his sons visiting him on Bimini is good, interesting writing but the section where Hudson is drunk in Cuba after his oldest son's death reads as if Heminway was drunk writing it and probably was some sort of rough draft put together by his widow.

Oh, AP's a bit different than normal classes:) Though unfortunately a bit political/fad driven at times

Grapes of Wrath was a decent read- Lord of the Flies:(

Loved Alas, Babylon....only HS book I really got into.

Not a big fan of Kingsolver....

And the Fast Food Nation's inclusion is a bit confusing!


Read L&T of Frederick Douglass for US history last year- one of the better assigned hisory reads....

sorry- history

You didn't like Kingsolver? I love her books, especially "The Poisonwood Bible."

I'll have to check PB out, kureiff- I haven't had much experience w/kingsolver but assigned reading in literary crit class was a few exerpts/short story, and the story/writing style just didn't "grab" me....of course, hacking apart any work in lit crit is a good way to kill the joy from reading:)

Loved Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible. Also loved Diamant's The Red Tent.

Someone said Henry James isn't cerebral-- I had to laugh. Took a whole college course on his works. Love him, too.

I can't wait to read the new Daniel Silva novel. What's it called? I can't remember. I just adore high-brow literature.

P.S. Anna Karenina throws herself under a train. The end.

LOL- "cerebral" books vary dramatically from person to person- Mymom considers anything not a Harlequin to be "cerebral":)

I am currently reading, "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda" which is the autobiography of Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire who was the force commander of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda, 1993-94 during the genocide.

Cerebral? Perhaps....Light and Happy? NO.....Interesting, Disturbing, Informative, Thought-provoking? Definitely

To follow up on missypie's suggestion:
For my son's Honors English 10 class, their required summer reading is:
The Awakening
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The Natural

How many of the books on your list do the kids have to read in the summer? I thought 3 was more than enough!

Oh no! I'm reading Anna Karenina and someone just ruined the ending for me! (Just kidding) I'm enjoying it, but it is kind of slow going. I always have some kind of light reading on the side, or non-fiction. I also want to finish some of my book club books that I didn't complete last year: 1776 and The World is Flat (not light, but fascinating).

I'm happy to see Thomas Wolfe is still on reading lists but not surprised to see negative comments. His novels ARE long and slow going. I was entranced when I read Look Homeward, Angel when I was in college (decades ago!). The language was so beautiful. Angel was the first of Wolfe's four major novels, and YCGHAgain was the last. Start with the first, if you want to try Wolfe--it's even a smidgen shorter.

Wolfe has disappointed me too often.
Sometimes it seems as if he just gets tired of writing toward the end. Like in A Man in Full. For goodness sakes, he goes on and on and on and then it's like he wakes up, or gets a call from his publisher and hurries to finish. And then I Am Charlotte Whats-her-name, good plot, terrible editing. I didn't read it, I scanned it.
Someone should tell him that every word he writes is not golden! Whew, thanks for letting me get that out.

Oh my, I love this thread. Yinz guys got good taste. That other "what are you reading" thread with nearly a thousand posts if so full of junk that it is no longer worth looking at (for me).

I do have to say that Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible is far, far more accomplished than any of her other works.

I sort of think The Known World is over rated; sluggish, at best.

I like high falutin fiction and when I'm not reading Trollope, which I usually am reading, I've been really pleased with

Muriel Spark
Beryl Bainbridge
and especially, Penelope Lively.

Something I did find was a pleased with on the "other" list was Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers.

My last library book was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I thought it was well worth reading and I recommend it.

A couple by Russell Banks that I've read and enjoyed in the past couple of years were Rule of the Bone (loved it) and The Darling. The Darling was largely about the Liberian wars, and in light of the Charles Taylor trial, it is timely.

DH and I just read Bruce Chatwin's On The Black Hill and we liked that too.

Any recs for good literary fiction?

For my AP classes- it was EVERYTHING on the list- there was a test at the beginning of the year....if you mean the summer reading list. Then there was the list of books we had to read during the school year, and the further list of books it was recced that you should become "familiar" with before the exam....I read the major titles, then skimmed a few more, read the summaries of the rest and then faked my way through the essay portion of the exam- BS is a student's best friend, folks.....

There are good writers out there in every gendre and at every level. And cerebral reading does not have to be dull treatises, long-winded literature, obscure, or containing chunks of highly digested philosophy. Simplicity in form can be extremely cerebral.

IMHO, pare the prose to the essential, fit it to match its time, express true characterizations (and oh the ways that those genuses can do this!)and then "get out of Dodge." In other words, quit the chorus of political opinion- exit the soapbox etc.

So many writers can't seem to include the last and thus we have a lot of good writers, not a lot of great writers.

Kingsolver- perfect example of loving that chorus.

But we all have such different tastes.

I know just what you mean by snarky, bennnie. That is one of the real stoppers for me, as well.

I can easily read grit, but find depressant thought patterns and introspection disguised as literature are my kryptonite. They abound presently.

Thanks for all the leads on the other thread and this one as well. I found some new treasures this summer.

Thanks!

egads people! No one warned me I'd be getting feedback from Mensa members. ((I))Okay, starting tomorrow, I'm finshing the crossword puzzle if it takes me all day.. J.

...and spelling finishing correctly, I might add;)

I finished "House of War: The Pentagon and the Disasterous Rise of American Power" by James Carroll a couple of weeks ago - a long but fascinating (and sometimes personal) history of America's military since 1943. I am now reading "American Theocracy" by Kevin Phillips - scary and kind of depressing. The book I want to read is "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq" by Thomas Ricks - it's getting a lot of attention, and I've seen Ricks interviewed on several talk shows. Probably won't come from the library for a while; maybe I'll have to buy one for a change! Might be good reading on the plane next week.

Andrew

Thomas Wolfe published Look Homeward, Angel in 1929 (or rather Scribner's did. Maxwell Perkins was Wolfe's editor). Wolfe was from Asheville, N.C., and is buried there. He wrote the rest of his major work in the l930's.

Tom Wolfe is writing today. His latest novel is I am Charlotte What's-her-name.

I love this thread, and hope we can keep it going! :)

Also wanted to let all you avid readers know, in case you didn't already, there is a "Music, Movies, and Books" board where you can post an individual title creating a thread, and go from there with discussion. I'd like to see some threads started on a lot of these great recommendations, and I know all the other regular contributors would love to see you all on that board, too! :)

xanthippe
It's just amazing what happens when I don't just scan the thread, looking for new books! Thanks for being alert. :">

After our trip to Italy, my 15 year old decided that he just had to read the Divine Comedy. He finished the Inferno; is working on Purgatorio now. The funny thing is that he is working at our local pool and brings the books with him. Now, two of the other kids at the pool are reading the Inferno! I admit that he is MUCH better read than I am!

By the way, having The Awakening and Their Eyes We Watching God on high school reading lists baffles me. I read them back to back this spring and, as a woman married for 17 years, got a lot out of them. Don't quite know what a 16 year old - male or female - would make of them!

If you like Kate Chopin's "The Awakening," you should read "Desiree's Baby," one of her short stories. It has an ending that hits you like a freight train. I used to use the story to teach irony to my students.

I offered this on the other thread as well, but since I don't think many have read it, I offer it here as well: Peace Like A River by Leif Engel. It is a beautifully written book with characters that you care about and a story that unfolds slowly but is captivating. If you appreciate good writing, you will like this book.

Every time this thread pops up, I feel sick. Reading the heading, all I can think of, is the disease "cerebral palsy".

((*))Alright, I'm heading up the highway to Barnes and Noble today.
Who knows what I'll return with, but I am printing out the list in good faith..
:)it seems that the book store is one of the few places my oldest teen can browse w/o complaint fortunately!
I need to find a good audio tape or two as a distraction from my screams about ds driving on the return leg>) J.

"I need to find a good audio tape or two as a distraction from my screams about ds driving on the return leg."

LOL jetset1. I feel your pain. Having just driven with my ds on vacation I thought the tightness in my stomach would never dissipate. Let him drive to but I drove home. He thinks he's the best driver. He's ok, but he's still too young to know everything he needs to know.

>>For fiction, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, preferably in order.<<

*Definitely* in order!

I'll second Suki's recommendation of "Peace Like a River." Lovely book.

I recently finished Patrick Leigh Fermor's "A Time of Gifts," the first volume of his memoirs of walking from the Netherlands to Constantinople in the 1930s. At the time, he was a young man who had been expelled from his school in England and was at loose ends. Hitler was just coming to power...really interesting. I have the second part, "Between the Woods and the Water," on hold at the library.

Lee Ann

I'm 90% of the way through "A Team Of Rivals" by Doris Goodwin. It shows Lincoln's substantial talents both intellectually and politically. A very well written book that is a full character study of what may have been the most important leader in our history.

Of course, if you've got a few free months I'd suggest "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I think it took me about 2 years to finish.

I ifnished Anderson Cooper's "Dispatches from the Edge" in one sitting...What a book! Amazingly graphic tales of his past life and his experiences all over the world. It's a wonderful read.

OK, I do enjoy a good mystery like P. D. James' "The Lighthouse." But feel I must balance with "cerebral reading" including some mentioned...Devil in the White City: fascinating bipolar.
Freakonomics: amusingly off beat but disquieting. Poisonwood Bible: satisfying. American Theocracy: solid but sobering.

Another disquieting one: Assassin's Gate. A new book exposing the phamous philandering preacher Henry Ward Beecher: The Most Famous Man in America. Reached back for an oldie: Slaughterhouse Five. Good solid history read: The Conquerors (i.e., Roosevelt & Churchill).

ozarksbill

OH Ryan, so glad to hear from you.

And Ayn Rand, our lady philosopher, so much out of favor, so much an example of the 5 page politico-philosophy diatribe- but sometimes, damn it, despite herself, she does nail it. So many hate her, that that fact alone keeps her read. I enjoyed her books, but find the protagonists not believeable. I don't know any supermen or superwomen.

If you are the Ryan that I used to read so much on Fodors, then you must be pretty happy about the last minute NY Yankee purchases of this week.

I, myself, think it is going to be Detroits year.

Oh yes, Ryan, or anyone that wants a good cerebral Civil War read, try "Widow of the South". And then counter it with, "Last Living Confederate Widow Tells All". If you like military, or a good story- both will do. You do have to endure grit. I can't believe the last one was written by a man.

And then there is "March" if you want to comprehend Sherman's motivations and the changing realities of the lowly enlisted man wearing grey, blue, or brown. This one isn't literature, more like boring everyday reality, until.....