Summer Reading List

This afternoon, while sitting on the bleachers waiting for gym class to begin, I came across an object that would ultimately inspire this second extra-credit assignment: the 11th grade summer reading list. At the end of every school year, we are told that summer reading is a necessary, albeit burdensome component of our academic life because it prevents students' sharpened, intellectual minds from festering in all the idleness and heat of Summer Vacation. Upon this reflection, another idea crossed my mind: can the same principle not be applied to the summer between senior year in High School and freshman year in college? Though the summer following senior year should certainly be a time to unwind, de-stress, and spend quality bonding time with peers before everyone goes their separate ways, those crucial two months also present a great opportunity to read the classic works of literature teachers and authority figures have always said will invariably come up in college-level discourse. If this opportunity to read classic works of literature does not sound too appealing, then perhaps our final summer could be viewed as an opportunity to read whichever books outside the English class curriculum that truly interest us. In any event, I thought it would be nice to use the carte-blanche Ms. Silva gave us to enumerate my personal reading list for my final summer before starting college:

1. The Victors, A non-fiction work of history by Stephen E. Ambrose
Given my penchant for military history and the development and execution of WWII, The Victors was an obvious choice for me. It is in this work that Ambrose shifts his emphasis away from depth--he wrote voluminously on many specific events, outfits, and individuals involved in WWII--and towards breadth, providing a general analysis of how America and all of its allies emerged victorious in WWII. The Victors, therefore, describes many different events and people integral to the Allies' victory. A wealth of knowledge about an extremely important time period in American and World history, this book should be fun and exciting to read!



2. The Virtue of Selfishness, by Ayn Rand
Ever since I read Atlas Shrugged the summer before junior year, and went on to read Anthem and The Fountainhead in Comp and Lit, I've had a propensity for the works of Ayn Rand and a keen interest in Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. If I want to go to college a true Ayn Rand aficionado, however, it will be necessary to re-familiarize myself with her philosophy and read some of her nonfiction works. The Virtue of Selfishness will be appropriate.




3. The U.S. Constitution+Bill of Rights+Amendments 11-27
Now that I think about it, this should probably be at the top of my list, certainly above some arbitrary military history and philosophy books. I have an interest in politics, and this is the Supreme Law of the Land. The fabric of American society, law, government. I need not explain further why I would like to read this document from cover to cover. To be well-versed in Constitutional Law is to be well-versed in in the principles that founded this country and that permeate our government today. I can't even feign interest in politics unless I have a working knowledge of this document...I kinda see it as my duty as an American to know it, so this is certainly a necessary pre-college read.




4. As many books of Milton's Paradise Lost as I can
Though Paradise Lost will likely be the most torturous work to read, considering its archaic language and epic-poem format, I firmly believe that reading as much of this work as possible will be immeasurably beneficial. I will be the first to admit that Religion is one subject in which I am painfully, regretfully ignorant, so I hope that reading Paradise Lost will enhance my understanding of an important subject matter currently foreign to me. Considering the important force Religion has in this country and in its citizens' lives, attaining a more thorough understanding of religious stories and figures will certainly improve my ability to recognize allusions and positively interact and form positive relationships with my peers. I also have a great interest in mythology that the high school curriculum cannot quite satisfy, so reading Paradise Lost should be fun in that regard.