Summer Books, Summer Loves

UNTO my books so good to turn
Far ends of tired days;
It half endears the abstinence,
And pain is missed in praise.

As flavors cheer retarded guests
With banquetings to be,
So spices stimulate the time
Till my small library.

It may be wilderness without,
Far feet of failing men
But holiday excludes the night,
And it is bells within.

I thank these kinsmen of the shelf;
Their countenances bland
Enamour in prospective,
And satisfy, obtained.

Emily Dickinson

While preparing for the Summer Classes, and doing various school-related and other activities, here is a list of what I plan to read this summer:

1. John Irving’s Until I Find You
The latest from one of my most favorite novelists. Thanks Tito Alan Q for giving me a hardbound copy of this book. Merci pour l'amitié. Ayez une bonne vie partout où vous êtes.

2. Salman Rushdie’s Grimus
I haven’t really read any of his stuff, so this summer I thought I might as well...

3. Salman Rushdie’s Fury
Found Rushdie’s books at a coffee shop that sell used books. P100 each. Had to grab it. I opted for a cheaper drink so i can buy the books.

4. Ethan Canin’s The Palace Thief
I saw and loved “The Emperor’s Club which was based from a short story from this book.

5. Ethan Canin’s For Kings and Planets
First lines:

“Years later, Orno Tarcher would think of his days in New York as a seduction. A seduction and a near miss, a time when his memory of the world around him – the shining stone stairwells, the taxicabs, the sea of nighttime light- was glinting and of heroic proportion. Like a dream. He had almost been taken away from himself.”

Glorious!

6. Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Love in the Time of Cholera
Read this a few years ago. I remember someone lent me a copy, and I read it for two days straight. I couldn’t put it down. Something took hold and I felt like I had fever (cholera?) reading it. And when I emerged from the isolation, I felt the world changed. I’ve always loved it, but never had a copy until I got this as a gift from olib. Thanks.

7. J.M. Coetzee’s Elizabeth Costello: Eight Lessons
Read the first few paragraphs, and I can’t wait to finish it.