Summer Reading

Just finished:

This book was beautifully written. The author gave care to each word, artistically building witty and insightful descriptions of the life and mental state of a collegiate runner consumed by his sport.  I found myself laughing at the subtly humourous passages and reading unusual and delicious descriptions out loud to anyone around me.  Be warned, Once A Runner contained a lot more profanity than I expected, showing up in most of the dialouges. However, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the work.

A gem from the novel:

"It is simply that we can all be good boys and wear our letter sweaters around and get our little degrees and find some nice girl to settle, you know, down with...Or we can blaze! Become legends in our own time, strike fear in the heart of mediocre talent everywhere! We can scald dogs, put records out of reach! Make the stands gasp as we blow into an unearthly kick from three hundred yards out! We can become God's own messengers delivering the dreaded scrolls! We can race dark Satan himself till he wheezes fiery cinders down the back straightaway....They'll speak our names in hushed tones, 'those guys are animals' they'll say! We can lay it on the line, bust a gut, show them a clean pair of heels. We can sprint the turn on a spring breeze and feel the winter leave our feet! We can let our demons loose and just wail on!"

Now who wouldn't want to go for a run after that?

Still ebbing away at:

I've been reading this book since December, but that doesn't mean it's slow reading. It's just really, really long-- and justly so, her life has been one long adventure.  Madam Secretary is (in my limited scope of reading), the best autobiography I've delved into.  This book has all of the components:  fascinating foriegn policy, touching personal accounts, and wildly funny anecdotes involving some of the world's greatest leaders. I've been so inspired by Madeleine Albright that after reading about her experiences at Wellesley College, I went ahead and applied.

Just started:

A classic!  I can't believe I haven't read it before.  It's a short book (a novella), and reads somewhat like a story book with no chapters to break up the prose.  I think I will finish it quickly and the move on to:

I have a deep love for futuristic dystopian novels that I hope this will feed.

And then:

It's been sitting on my shelf long enough that I want to break into it and let the story free.

 Hopefully I can get through most of these this month so I can fit in the rest of my list!  Dad and I are watching The Great Gatsby tonight, I'll see whether it inspires me to read the book or not.