Summer Reading Roundup

Since school ended in June, I’ve been gluttonously catching up on my reading. Ah summer….the time to read trashy books and light novels. I threw in a few non-fiction books for good measure. Here are the books I read that I can remember.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Okay, I can’t believe I’d never read this until this year. Damn funny, even after all these years. I’m looking forward to reading the follow-ups.

CSI graphic novels and CSI novelizations by Max Allan Collins
CSI was on summer break, so I got my fix by reading all of these that I could find at my local library (and some I had to get from Inter-Library Loan). I still need to read a couple of the graphic novels (Dominoes; Secret Identities) because they aren’t in the system yet. But MAC has the characters down! I highly suggest these for fun reading.

Pretty in Pink The Golden Age of Teenage Movies by Jonathan Bernstein
Ah, the 1980s and their teen movies. Such good memories of a time that held such promise. The author lambasts some of my most treasured 1980s icons and is still funny. There are even movies I never saw that now I must find and watch. Did you know David Caruso was in some 80s teen movies? How weird!

The Race: The Uncensored story of How America beat Russia to the Moon by James Schefter
I recently rewatched “The Right Stuff” and am totally intrigued by the early people and days of NASA. I happened to come across this book at the library and brought it home to read. I can’t put it down. From the sex lives Mercury 7 astronauts to Enos the Penis (the last chimp in space!), this book is a fun read and an intriguing look at mid-century America. It’s also a very good global look at the early years of NASA. I can’t wait to read “The Right Stuff”.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Another book that I’d never read before (although I love “Danny Champion of the World”)! I hate watching the movies and having the characters in my head while I’m reading the book. So I read this first (and have yet to see the movie). Although I’d seen the original movie so I was surprised at some of the differences (like the songs the Ompah Loompah’s sing). Dahl has a wicked sense of humor. The copy I read had an interview with him at the end about how he writes and comes up with his characters, etc.

Sahara by Clive Cussler
Cussler is one of my favorite authors (Night Train and Raise the Titanic are still two of my faves). I’ve had this book for about 10 years now to read. Since the movie came out this year, I thought I’d better read it. I figure the movie is nothing like the book and so I wanted to read that before I saw the movie so I could bitch about it. Turns out, I don’t even want to see the movie (despite Matthew M. being in it), because it can’t even be 1/10 as good as the book. What can I say? Double-fisted action, complex plot with an environmental twist (of course, again, here comes America to save the day but considering our enviro record…), a hot leading man (who doesn’t look anything like Matthew M.), Cussler writing himself into his book, trekking through the desert and a Confederate boat in Africa. I’d almost forgotton how awesome Cussler is. FUN, FUN, FUN.