Books? Bring It On

Why couldn’t I have been this excited about school as a kid? The semester begins next week, and I decided to beat the rush by getting my books ahead of time. As much as I love academia, I am convinced that it is a racket, a hustle. Why else would I have three different anthologies for English classes, three different volumes for Spanish, and three different books for the same Math class? Even if the school keeps the same publisher, the edition changes every year, if not semester. But, for the English major, it just means adding more literature references to my personal library. And, this year I must say I have some books on my reading list that I can’t wait to explore.

First, I have to read Black Boy by Richard Wright for two of my classes. This is a book that I read many years ago, and although its been a while, and I don’t quite remember it, I’m looking forward to reading it again. Then there’s Autobiography for My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid, whom I’ve never read but always wanted to. There’s also Everyday Use by Alice Walker. Consider now, these are American and Modern American literature classes, not African American. I’m also taking a Post Colonial Lit class with a reading list that includes Clear Light of Day by Indian author Anita Desai, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Now throw in some Willa Cather, Nella Larsen, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mary Mccarthy, Andrea Levy and Kathrine Anne Porter, and I’ve got a lot of reading to do, mon!

Finally, fun reading during the school year.