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?