Skip to main content

Summer Reading

I know there are some of you who would rather swallow swords than read during your summer. And that's okay. (Well, it's NOT okay, but I don't feel like ranting right now.)

Anyways:

For those needing inspiration: my recommendations on what to read this summer.

Now, I'm going to sound like a fashion magazine and say that the new trend this season(at least on Amaranthine Forever) is...Narration!

All the books I'm going to recommend today have a common factor, and that is witty, effortless, fast paced, often hilarious narration. Narration is sometimes overlooked as a major factor in writing. Sometimes it seems so forced and dry, it squashes brilliant characters and amazing settings.

So. Narration. Let's go.

Topping the list:
http://diligentjoe.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/percyjackson4.gif
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Rick Riordan

This first-person narrated series is one of the best series out there. There are five of them(the last one isn't pictured) and they are very popular among kids and teens. They're easy reads and marketed on the younger side of the teen market, but the sarcastic narration and setting is worth it.  Plus-the second book in the spinoff series of this(The Heroes of Olympus) is coming out in October! So you'll be in the loop. :) Fantasy lovers will love this.

http://www.glogster.com/media/1/4/52/58/4525816.jpg
Artemis Fowl series(books 1-7)
Eoin Colfer
You knew this was coming. Come on! Eoin Colfer is considered one of the most brilliant authors alive, and this series is simply stunning. I must have(counts on fingers)..eight Artemis Fowl books upstairs in my room. The narration is fantastically funny, and the characters are so real and endearing they jump right off the page and live lives of their own. The plot wildly jumps from continent to continent, and even forwards and back in time. This is a great place for non-fans of Science Fiction to jump in.


http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/33330000/33331274.JPG
The Mysterious Benedict Society series(1-3)
Trenton Lee Stewart

This series is a sweet, classic series that wavers on the edge of science fiction. The narration is suspenseful and the characters, though flat at times, will drag you in. It's like an older version of those chapter kid-power books you read when you were younger.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/6a00c22527999b549d00c22527bc8d549d-500pi.jpg
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams

This is for older readers who already like science fiction(they'll appreciate it more.) This is a classic and the narration is dryly hilarious(I need to find some more synonyms for funny.) Absurd situations are mixed with wry narration, and you never really know what's going to happen next. One minute you're sitting drinking tea on Earth the next minute you're about to be tossed out a viewport while listening to poetry and then a blue whale falls on your head.(This actually happens.) If you enjoyed the first book, go on the the rest of them(there are six! The last one is written by...Eoin Colfer! Oh yeah!) but if you didn't like the first one then you should move on, the series isn't for you.


Those are my top recommendations! Most of you are Star Wars fans, so I would recommend some Star Wars novels to round out your summer. Do a long series! NJO or LOTF perhaps. You know what they are!

Now here is MY summer reading list. I'm hoping to avoid rereads.

1. Harry Potter series, JK Rowling. I confess to not having read these. It's a shame, I know. I have the first one already and am looking forward to it!
2. Maximum Ride series, James Patterson. Read the first chapter. It sounds really awesome(and a break into the paranormal genre.)
3. The Chronicles of Prydain, Lloyd Alexander. On Abby's recommendation. i trust her.
4. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. I normally don't do dystopian but I want to be in the loop when the movie comes out.

And maybe A Series of Unfortunate Events. The narration sounds funny but I really don't like books with sad endings. They depress me. So maybe, if I'm really bored. What's on your list this summer?

Comments

  1. Whatever I can get my hands on! lol

    The hitchhikers guide to the universe sounds fun! I may have to check it out!

    Oh, and I'm shooting to find, 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' somewhere to read!! I've died long enough without it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't have much of a list...I love PJ and I have to read Hitchhikers guide...I never finished Harry Potter *shame*

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hitchhiker's Guide! And Artemis Fowl as well; Eoin Colfer is one of my favorite YA authors. I also love his book Airman.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My reading list just gets longer and longer............I have SO many books on my list! I'm hopefully going to make it ALL the way through the SW timeline by the end of the year. It would go so much faster if new books didn't keep getting published and me having to go back and read those. :P
    Of course, I'm looking forward to Choices of One!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just got two new Ted Dekker books from the library!! So psyched to read them :)) I'm totally going to get Percy Jackson this year.
    -Jocee <3

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have a huge reading list. But my top priorities are:

    1. FINISH THE WARRIORS SERIES!!! I've been reading them for almost two years, and I only have 3 more.
    2. Everfound, the third book in the Skinjacker trilogy.
    3. I Am Number Four
    4. The Seekers series (I promised my brother)
    5. Finish rereading the Erec Rex series (it's sad how much I've forgotten those books)
    6. Artemis Fowl

    And if I have time I might try and read an EU book. Don't worry, I will eventually read one!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @ Ashley: I just read that! It's very sweet and charming. I hope you like it!
    @Sophia-I hope you like them! Maybe you should try to finish HP? XD What was the matter with it?
    @Sarah. XD I know right? Eoin Colfer+HG is like the best thing ever.
    @Endor- I know how you feel! I'll probably finish up this reading list really fast though. Don't sweat the SW timeline. :p
    @Jocee-Ted Dekker...gotta look him up. You sound excited enough about it though.
    @DSK-derpderp not too much into cat books. I am number four! Sounds exciting. Have you seen the movie?

    ReplyDelete
  8. READ. MAXIMUM. RIDE.

    It rocks.

    The first Hunger Games was pretty good, but I've heard not-so-great things about how it ends. (OO)

    Anyway, great post!!! We should start an Artemis Fowl club, yo.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Amaranthine <3's you. Thanks for the comment!

Popular posts from this blog

three amazing--and relatively little known--psalms

So I'm reading Psalms in the Bible right now. Well, Psalms is one of the three places I read from. I'm reading the Bible all the way through and read two chapters from three places--the Old Testament, the middle of the Old Testament, and the New Testament--every day. I'm in Deuteronomy and Romans in the other sections, but in the middle I'm still right where I started from-Psalms. Cause Psalms is really really long. I was getting kind of tired of Psalms(which isn't really the right attitude to be reading the Bible in). But I realized there are some really breathtaking passages in Psalms, and I'm glad I read them. These are my three favorites: *Buck Forester on Flikr Psalm 65 This one is about God's spectacular creation. What mighty praise, O God,      belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you, 2       for you answer our prayers.      All of us must come to you. 3  Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,      you forgive them a

Ciel Phantomhive vs. Artemis Fowl

  Don't laugh. XD The similarities between the two characters are so distinct and obvious that comparison is inevitable for anyone who's read/watched both series. I seriously thought when I first noticed Black Butler(more popularly referred to as Kuroshitsuji) that it was literally an anime adaption of Artemis Fowl.  Other people have read Artemis Fowl and thought "CIEL HAS A CLONE??!?" So I thought I'd outline some of the differences and analyze who would win. XD Similarities: Appearance:  This is the first similarity, and one of the most major, because if they didn't look so darn alike I don't think the comparison would have been as striking. The above picture of Artemis is a fanart, because there aren't really any good pictures of Artemis, and the manga style makes it more obvious. They are both from the British Isles and have black hair and blue eyes. Both of them lose/change/switch an eye resulting in two different colors. 

I need book recommendations!

    I heard this movie stunk. C'mon, I'm dying over here! In other, unrelated news, want to hear one of the most overrated book series I've ever read is? Alex Rider. I picked up Stormbreaker after legions of people going "READ ITZ AMARANTHINE TIS AMAZING". It was alright....I guess. I didn't...fall asleep or anything. But it was definitely not mind blowing. For starters, Alex is way underdeveloped as a character. He was a little funny and relate able but not on the same level as I was expecting. And he's a bit cliched in the fact that he's just generally smart and knows everything, without any explanation or emphasis. I guess you could say that he's only a genius when he needs to be, and it doesn't add any other levels to the story. Oh, and did I mention that he's well versed in martial arts too? Yeah. Ender could still kick his butt though. I guess it would be a good read for boys who don't read much. Definitely not YA lev