It’s a beautiful Friday afternoon, and as I sit to type this, I cannot help but look out the window at the lovely green grass, the somewhat-cloudy-but-still-pretty-clear blue skies, and the bright leaves softly rustling in the big trees. Thank goodness it’s almost the weekend–I plan to spend some time outside and enjoy this wonderful New England weather!
For me, summer is such a great time to catch up on books. It feels so nice to jump into a story while relaxing at the beach or hanging out in the park, so I try to take advantage as often as I can. As a student, I always enjoyed receiving the list of books that I had to complete by the end of August. In middle school, I would even help my cousin with his reading requirements: he promised me that I would be able to read to him a chapter of Harry Potter if I read to him a chapter of his summer reading. What a great deal!
Now, one of my favorite questions to ask during interviews is, “So what are you reading?” It interests me to see which classic stories will be covered and which contemporary tomes are being added to the list. Just today a student told me that she was enjoying Wuthering Heights, and another student earlier this week mentioned how much he liked Catcher in the Rye.
As I’m almost finished my book club’s pick for July, I thought it might be worthwhile to see what other good options might be out there. First I came across this list on our new site called HC 100 Books. Apparently back in the ’80s a group of faculty members chose books that they considered great classics (you can read the list here). After skimming the list, it surprised me to find that I have only read three!
Other choices for summer reading: works by Holy Cross alumni. Billy Collins ’63 served as the US Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003 and the New York Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Some of his books include Aimless Love, The Trouble with Poetry, and Nine Horses. Another Holy Cross alumnus, Edward P. Jones, graduated in 1972 and wrote All Aunt Hagar’s Children and Lost in the City. Jones went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2004 with his novel, The Known World.
Between the 97 classics by historic authors and the award-winning works by these notable Crusaders, it looks as though I have my work cut out for me this summer!
