Summer Reading Non-List

At the beginning of each summer, I usually put together a list of all the books I'd like to read, and all the books I own that I haven't read yet. From there, I go on to form some sort of a reading plan or theme for each summer. Last summer was Jane Austen (and I almost made it through all of her major works!) and the summer before was CS Lewis. I've been working on this summer's theme since the winter, and I simply couldn't figure anything out.

A few days ago, a book on one of my many bookshelves caught my eye. It was "So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading" by Sara Nelson. Before everyone starting writing blogs in order to turn them into published books, Nelson was a book reviewer who decided to keep a diary as she read one book a week. Instead of reviewing the books, she wanted to see the connections that her life made with whatever she was reading. It's a book that I started several years ago, and never finished (I can't remember why). I've become completely enthralled by her writing, and it's inspired me to do something I haven't done in a long time.

This summer I'm not creating a reading list. I'm not setting goals for how many books I want to read. Instead, I'm going to read whatever I want to, whenever I feel like it. This will probably result in me not finishing as many books as I normally do, but I'm really enjoying them. I don't need my summer reading to be a substitute for school.

These are the books that I've already started reading this summer, and I'm open to any suggestions anyone has (especially if it's in the area of fiction - I've got plenty of nonfiction):

The Horses of St. Mark's by Charles Freeman
-This is nonfiction work that tells the story of the four horses (quadriga) that are on top of St. Mark's in Venice and their journey from Constantinople to Venice, Paris and back to Venice.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
-This is a classic American novel that truly brings out the dark humor associated with war, the military and the government.

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson
-See above

The Army At Dawn by Rick Atkinson
-This is the first volume in Atkinson's Liberation trilogy and it details the War in North Africa from 1942-1943

Many more books will be added to this list as the summer progresses!