Best of: Summer Reads

Summer—the time when one will supposedly catch up on all that unfinished school reading. With internships, study abroad programs, and traveling, there probably won’t be too much time in the summer either. And while no one wants to look pretentious reading Joyce on the beach, these novels might just hit the mark.

"A Visit From the Goon Squad"

Jennifer Egan’s latest novel, “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” just won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction—which, at Columbia (and in the world at large), is kind of a big deal. But for the more entertainment-focused, the book is in the process of being developed into an HBO series, perhaps becoming the next Sopranos. Diligent readers should take the opportunity to read the book before the show comes out. The novel shifts back and forth through time, though most of it takes place in New York City.

"There Is No Year"

What better time than the summer to catch up on new hipster favorites? Blake Butler’s “There is No Year” was just released in April, so one will hardly even be behind. The book is probably one of the weirdest of the decade. Even the “official” description can stand on its own as a work of art. There are some crazy lines, from “Events on the horizon: a hole, a box, a light, a girl” to “Holes in houses. Holes in speaking. Holes in flesh.” Deviating from the standard book dimensions, the shape of the book is also one of a kind.

"Freedom"

Read this hunkering novel now because it may be tough to do so during the busy school year. Clocking in at nearly 600 pages, Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom” is sure to please in the wake of “The Corrections.” Hailed as a modern day Tolstoy or Eliot, Franzen is fit to have his name thrown around in an English seminar. “Freedom” follows the lives of several members of a family and continues for several years and more than several pages. And, as one can guess from the book cover, there’s some birdwatching involved.

"Let the Great World Spin"

Supposedly the “first great 9/11 novel,” Colum McCann’s “Let the Great World Spin” focuses on Phillipe Petite and his real-life tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. McCann himself has a charming Irish accent that one can imagine reading the book in. There’s also a second “secret” plot about a fictional prostitution trial. “Let the Great World Spin” won the National Book Award in fiction in 2009.