Roof Beam Reader
Adam Burgess
10 Books to read this Fall
The folks over at The Broke and the Bookish have come up with another “Top 10” list that I couldn’t help but think about. With the start of school last week, and with my tendency to be over-organized and list-happy in the first place, I found this week’s topic not just interesting, but appropriate and helpful.
I will be reading far more than 10 books this Fall (because I need to read 20+ just for school), but I thought I would choose 5 books from my required reading that I’m most looking forward to, plus 5 books that I hope to read for fun. Here we go!
Required Reading:
1. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford. I have never been particularly excited by or interested in reading this particular book; however, I have never read anything by Madox Ford, so when I saw him on the syllabus for my Narratology course this Fall, I thought: “Cool!” I’m always happy to add new/more authors to my bucket.
2. The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction by Frank Kermode. Another text for my Narratology course. I imagine this one will be rather dense (just like the one I’m currently reading, Narratology by Schmid, but it is a fascinating subject for anyone studying literature at an advanced level, so I look forward to it.
3. White Noise by Don DeLillo. This one is for my American Lit seminar course, and I am very excited about it. DeLillo is another author I have yet to experience, and this specific book of his has been on my “wish list” for a long, long time. I now own a copy & will finally get to read it and discuss it in an academic setting. Stoked!
4. Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King. Another for my American Lit seminar. I know absolutely nothing about this author and I know absolutely nothing about this book; BUT, my experiences with Native American fiction, so far, have all been fantastic. It’s a particular sub-genre of American Lit. that I find very interesting and appealing, so I can’t wait to delve a little deeper with this one.
5. From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature by Malcolm Bradbury and Richard Ruland. This is the only non-fiction text listed on my syllabus for American Lit, and it is “optional.” Optional texts, as far as school syllabi are concerned, tend to become “required” reading for me, personally. I feel that the professors put these texts on their syllabi for specific reasons (1. They add to the content of the course; 2. They aid understanding of the subject matter; 3. They are resources when it comes to writing research and analysis papers, etc.), so I may be the only one in the class who actually reads this one, but considering I’m a student of American Lit, how could I not? And how could I be anything but excited to get started?!
Pleasure Reading:
6. The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens. This is book #2 in the YA series, Books of Beginning. The first book, The Emerald Atlas, came out last year. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC and I fell in love with it. It really filled a void for this Harry Potter-loving reader! I can’t wait to get this book in October.
7. Passenger by Andrew Smith. This is the highly anticipated sequel to Smith’s The Marbury Lens, which I just recently read and reviewed for our Andrew Smith Saturdays event. I really enjoyed The Marbury Lens, and I have enjoyed every Andrew Smith book so far (I own and have read his complete works), so I’m definitely eager to read this one in October as well.
8. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. Another October release! Wow – it’s going to be a busy month. I’m not sure I’ll actually be able to read all of these in October, but I know I’ll be buying this one, as well as the other 2, on their release dates. Mark of Athena is Book 3 in the Heroes of Olympus series, which I have loved so far. I am a big fan of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, as well as The Kane Chronicles, both by Riordan. So, this one is a must.
9. The Good Book: A Humanist Bible by A.C. Grayling. I’ve had this one on my shelf since it released quite some time ago. I keep wanting to read it, but keep putting it off (something I am forced to do far too often, with far too many books!). I really have been itching to get it done, though – so I’m going to try to read it in pieces over the course of the next few months.
10. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. I have just a few books left on my 2012 TBR Pile Challenge List to complete (I’m almost done!), and this is one that I most look forward to reading. Every time I read something by Steinbeck (fiction or non-fiction), I fall deeper and deeper in love with him. There are a few books left on my list (Hemingway’s Islands in the Stream and Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend, for example) that I very much look forward to, but I think Steinbeck will be up next!
There you have it. 10 books, required or otherwise, that I’m really looking forward to reading this Fall! What’s on your “to read” list for the coming months??
Roof Beam Reader 
I read The Good Soldier for a British/Irish literature class I took last fall. I won’t say anything about it and spoil the book with my opinions, but it’s worth the read. 🙂
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Ah, sounds promising – it was one I was really only excited about because of the fact that I haven’t read FMF before. Hopefully it turns out to be an unexpectedly positive experience! 🙂
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White Noise is great and Cannery Row is lovely as well. Enjoy your required reading.
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Glad to hear some positive feedback – I’m looking forward to ’em both!
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I know that you have mentioned this before, probably a million times, but what are you studying?
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I’m working on my Ph.D. in American Lit with an emphasis on Gay studies (primarily transgressive fiction, but also some poetry).
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I love Percy Jackson & can’t wait for the new release! I noticed the other day that Riordan has finally broken the 600 page barrier on this one!
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Oh, wow – that’s crazy! I bought the last in the Kane Chronciles on the day it released, but still haven’t read it. Very odd, because I normally read Riordan’s books within a few days of buying them.
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Interesting list, Adam! Hope things are starting well for you in Grad School. Here’s my Top Ten Fall List.
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This is the second time someone has mention the Kermode in a matter of days. Someone out there is trying to tell me something. I’d better see if the university library has a copy.
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I read The Good Soldier last semester for a Modernism course, and I really enjoyed it and found it a lot more intriguing than I thought I was going to. 🙂
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AC Graying was interviewed on CBC Radio 1 (Canada) as part of a 1 hour show. You can download the podcast here: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Tapestry/ID/2270561907/
The title of the show is Autism and the Divine.
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Cannery Row is just delightful — and short! I noticed you still have two whoppers on your TBR, Our Mutual Friend and Monte Cristo. I loved OMF but it did take a while. Good luck with your list and with your studies!
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A new YA series that is a must for the Harry Potter lover? I need to put that on my tbr! Speaking of TBR… I need to speed up my reading or else I won’t finish the challenge. Again 😦
With all the events and challenges planned for fall, I’m sure I’ll have a few crime/mystery/horror/thriller titles ahead of me 🙂
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I love Cannery Row, I love everything Steinbeck actually. I am sure you will enjoy it too. I found White Noise very dense and difficult to read. I would love to read what you think though.
If the Fire Chronicle fills the void left behind by Harry Potter, then I have to read this. So far, nothing has lived up to the wonder of HP.
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I can’t WAIT to read The Good Soldier!! And your 2 and 5 sound FASCINATING. (Do you know you’d dropped off my Google Reader when you switched from net to com? I started wondering why you were so quiet and went to look for you, and you were gone! I mean, I assume you were still there, but people need to re-subscribe to see your latest posts. An FYI…)
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Oh, jeeze – seriously? That’s so annoying. The subscriber # on the blog is the same. Bah.
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Sorry. 😦
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Cannery Row is kind of Steinbeck doing Kerouac or Thompson before they did themselves. It’s a book for the sun and for anything involving good friends and alcohol. Everyone should read that book!
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Well, that sounds fantastic! haha
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