July 30, 2006

Summer Reading Goal

Most people I know have specific book genres that they favour and read a lot. Which is why I think it would be cool if everyone in our little I am Fashion community set themselves a summer reading goal. Let me explain:
The aim is to choose a book that you normally wouldn't choose. This does not mean you only read this book this summer and ignore the books you normally like reading. Nor does it mean picking up some random thick book and forcing yourself to read it. Choose a book that actually interests you; a book that you've always wanted to read but you haven't had the time to; a book that challenges you in some ways. Now I'm not saying we should all completely not read chick lits this summer, but it's fun to try something different every now and then, you know.

For myself, I chose The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. I admit I really don't appreciate, nor understand most poetry. But Sylvia Plath's poems are the only poems I actually sort of understand and genuinely love. And Sylvia Plath herself fascinates me. We all know she was a depressed person, but was she always like that? How did she feel and react to things and events around her? This book basically consists of 12 journals Plath wrote, including two that were just released a few years ago. I just love reading about successful females.

So how is this a challenge? I've read the first few pages already and let me tell you, it's not easy! It's not like the language or topics are too difficult to understand. It's just that reading through someone's journals means that you don't get a smooth, connected story.

So go set yourself an aim and let us know what it is!

28 Comments:

Blogger Frapp said...

My aim is to try and read as many classics as possibly. I'm not talking Harry Potter, I mean George Orwell and C S Lewis. Proper classics. Right now I'm on Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and I've also got out The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, The Colour Purple by Alice Walker and The Colour of Magic and The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett.

7/29/2006 6:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i am a literature addict... may I can suggest a few for the goals??
Oscar Wilde - everything is great!!
Zadie Smith - White Teeth and On Beauty are awesome!
Umberto Eco _ in the name of the Rose - fabulous!
and, the greatest classic of all classics, HAMLET.

7/29/2006 6:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marquez Gabriel Garcia - One Hundred Years of Solitude

great book great story

7/29/2006 10:02 PM  
Blogger jewelboxdreams said...

I think SP's journals are fascinating. They're one of the few non-fiction books that I've re-read several times.

7/29/2006 10:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh my god! I just read On Beauty! I loved it too. Awesome. I should read "White teeth" too. That's so random!

7/30/2006 2:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

so far this summer i've completed: Fabulosity by Kimora Lee Simmons
He's Just Not That Into You by GB
The Accidental Diva by Tia Williams

left unfinished:
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella....i just can't get through this one guys.
What Would Jackie Do?...its just OK, a bit gossipy.

currently reading:
Cosmopolitan Girls by Lyah Beth Leflore and Charlotte Burley

MY GOAL: The Da Vinci Code (i've just decided to hope on the bandwagon...i know i'm sooo late!)

i do own both Zadie Smith novels mentioned, just haven't gotten to them. i loved Animal Farm by George Orwell...can't wait to read 1984.

but happy reading everyone ;-)

7/30/2006 3:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Fountainhead, which I am halfway through, is a real eye-opener. I recommend it to everyone!

7/30/2006 10:01 AM  
Blogger chelsea said...

zadie smith is great. i LOVE oscar wilde! i'm an english literature major (and love it) though and so the summer for me is my time to read non-classic stuff i save throughout the semesters. this summer a couple of favorites have been "on beauty" and "extremely loud and incredibly close" by jonathon safran foer which i would recommend to anyone. his books are fascinating.

7/30/2006 10:38 AM  
Blogger Casey MacKenzie Johnson said...

Man, I'm in summer school... No fun reading for me right now... but I am definately going to copy down these titles to look into when I go on break in September!

My suggestions:
The Phantom Toolbooth
King Soloman's Mines
Robinson Crusoe
The End of Fahion- How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever

7/30/2006 11:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

have u seen the movie "Sylvia" starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig? it's about Sylvia Plath, i love it!
for book, i suggest:
"Status Anxiety" by Alain de Botton
"Whatever You Think Think the Opposite" by Paul Arden

7/30/2006 1:30 PM  
Blogger the unmediocre said...

I don't really know what my aim is yet but I've been reading a lot of Jackie Collins this summer..it's been my guilty pleasure cuz I usually find it too trashy.

7/30/2006 1:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice choice Andrea! I absolutly love Ayn Rand.. my fave is Atlas Shrugged (even though its a bit long!).. you should try that next!

7/31/2006 12:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Def want to read some oscar wilde and other classics when i have more time. Currently i'm reading A Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert.

7/31/2006 12:51 AM  
Blogger neomumenu said...

Read Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore or The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. His writing is amazing.

7/31/2006 1:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Frapp - the Color Purple is an absolutely fantastic book. Good Choice!

LuvKisselle - I read the Da Vinci Code late too, you won't regret it, but I would recommend reading the book before seeing the film.

My aim is to read The Third Policeman, I'm going to miss my chick lit though! x

7/31/2006 2:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've got Sylvia Plath's diaries, very good to dip into. my goal: Wuthering Heights. I seem to be the only person who hasn't read it.

7/31/2006 3:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i havent read wuthering heights either! so you r not alone!!! i loved EMMA. its great! maybe you can start with that!!

7/31/2006 4:51 AM  
Blogger Sophia said...

not a fan of reading but i will NEED to read Fashion Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones. http://vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=37086&date=&sid=
most exciting fashion read since DWP hehe :)

http://sofysophia.blogspot.com/

7/31/2006 10:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Everyone has made great suggestions - I'll add my endorsement for Status Anxiety and anything by Haruki Murakami.
My goal is Proust - In Search of Lost Time - I'm half way through the first volume. It'll take a while because I'm back at university.

7/31/2006 11:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

summer+me=reading. I constantly read during the summer, i usally average 2000 or more pages a week

7/31/2006 11:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey everyone, I would absolutely recommend Valley of the Dolls. It is definitely a classic from the 1960's or so. Very good read that makes you laugh and cry.

8/01/2006 12:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am reading a biography of Che Guevera by Jon Lee Anderson. It's really interesting, but I must confess that I am excited for some summer beach reading when I'm done w/it!

8/01/2006 12:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kite Runner, Song of Solomon, and Wuthering Heights (again)as part of AP coursework.

Kite Runner is actually quite good but I can't stand Toni Morrison or any of the Bronte sisters.

I really don't like most women authors.

8/01/2006 4:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had to read Kite Runner for a sociology seminar last semester and I was pleasantly surprised. Right now, I'm tryiing to plow through Les Miserables, the book since I love the musical so much. It is SO long! Then again, what should I expect from Victor Hugo?

8/02/2006 2:27 AM  
Blogger jo said...

i've read that particular book. I felt it got abit too depressing and long. However, i do recommend you read The Bell Jar, which is fab. I've read all of Zadie Smith's works as i'm a massive fan of hers. She's brilliant. Read Orwell Animal farm, loved it. Quite an ingenious idea and loves the way he upholds freedom of speech in his preface. 1984 is quite scary- what with the whole big brother totalitarian regime.
Love reading, unfortunately, have to study for my bloody resits. Oh how i love the law.

8/02/2006 8:08 PM  
Blogger shymomo said...

My goals are to FINISH reading One hundred years of solitude and Beautiful mind plus Einstein's dream before Christmas this year...

8/03/2006 2:49 AM  
Blogger -- said...

Hi! I absolutely love your blog! The Bell Jar is an awesome read! I also recommend "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. It's got beautiful narrative.

8/04/2006 4:43 AM  
Anonymous gih said...

Sylvia is fabulous.

5/11/2010 5:08 AM  

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