There are, I think, two schools of thought about summer reading. The first is that summer is a time for light, fluffy, beachy reads. Sunshine means pulling out your Patterson novels or Picoult melodramas, then laying back in the sun with a floppy hat and a margarita.
Other people think of summer as a time for reading projects — using time and vacation to really delve into something intense. That’s what I did last summer when I read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I didn’t always love it, but I got done and felt proud of what I’d accomplished.
I went back and forth about whether to do another summer project, and if so, what to make that project. I contemplated reading something huge again — a Long Russian Novel, Clarissa by Samuel Richardson, or Atlas Shrugged, perhaps?
Someone also suggested instead of one long book, I should read all the books by a particular author. I contemplated the complete Jane Austen, or maybe all of the Brontes, but nothing really got me excited.
But then it hit me — Tim O’Brien!
I read Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried when I was in high school and loved it so much. It was part of the class that helped drastically change the way I thought about literature. I read one of his more recent novels, Tomcat in Love, a few years ago, and found his style in that comic novel just as awesome. I’ve always wanted to read more, but never made the leap to do it. The canon of Tim O’Brien is a perfect summer project, and the first idea of a summer project that I actually got excited about.
If you don’t know much about him, here’s some good stuff: Tim O’Brien is a Minnesota-born author who’s written pretty extensively about his experiences as an infantry foot soldier between 1969 and 1970. When he came home he attended grad school at Harvard, then joined the Washington Post and has worked as a journalist and fiction writer ever since.
Over the course of his career, O’Brien has written eight books, starting with his memoir. My plan is to read the books in chronological order. I calculated out the total pages, then divided it by the number of days I’ll be reading — Monday, May 17 through Monday, September 6. Here’s the approximate reading schedule for when I’ll try to finish each book:
- Monday, May 31 – If I Die in a Combat Zone (1973)
- Monday, June 14 – Northern Lights (1975)
- Monday, June 28 – Going After Cacciato (1978)
- Monday, July 12 – The Nuclear Age (1985)
- Monday, July 26 – The Things They Carried (1990)
- Monday, August 9 – In the Lake of the Woods (1994)
- Monday, August 23 – Tomcat in Love (1998)
- Monday, September 6 – July, July (2002)
If anyone is interested in joining me on this Tim O’Brien quest (for one book, two books, or the entire thing), you’re more than welcome, but I’m not planning anything huge. I just want the chance to immerse myself in something for awhile, really get to see how an author develops over time and enjoy some beautiful musings on the nature of storytelling.
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I hope you have a great summer and good luck with your plans! My son has 3 days of classes still and then exams. He won’t have much of a break, though, because he has to go to summer school to graduate.
bermudaonion: Thanks! I won’t have much of a break this summer either, other than finally being done with school. I can’t wait to see if that’s a good thing for my reading stats.
I like the title of If I Die in a Combat Zone. I definitely think summer reading is a perfect time to head into the deep end.
Julia Smith: I like that one too. It’s O’Brien’s memoir, while the others are billed as fiction, so I’ll be interested to see if there are differences.
I just loaned by dad my copy of The Things They Carried he wrote a great guest review for me (http://litandlife.blogspot.com/2010/04/things-they-carried-by-tim-obrien-guest.html) but I have yet to get to it. Maybe by the end of July I’ll finally have time. My dad liked that one so much that if he were a blogger, I think he’d love to join you!
Lisa: Thanks for leaving that link, I haven’t looked for reviews of any of the books yet. I hope you find time though, I loved that book a lot!
very organized approach. I haven’t even thought about summer.
Heather: I like making lists and deadlines (and buying books). That’s really how all of this started 🙂
Oh, what a fun plan! I live on the “reading projects” side of the summer reading divide and always get excited when high school students get to meet Tim O’Brien and THE THINGS THEY CARRIED for the first time. I think I’ll join you for that one, and maybe GOING AFTER CACCIATO. And then who knows?
Awesome idea, Kim!
Rebecca: The Things They Carried is SUCH A GOOD BOOK. I remember reading it the first time as a high schooler and just being so amazed by what literature can do and the way literature changes the way you think about the world. I’ve had Going After Cacciato on my shelf forever, I just needed this little personal push to make me read it.
Being from Minnesota myself I am ashamed to say I have never read this author before. He is now on my list to try.
Angie: Awesome. I’d recommend The Things They Carried as a starting point. I think that’s what he’s best known for, and it’s really a stellar(if very emotional) book.
I read The Things We Carried in high school, and it upset me so much, I don’t think I’ll ever read Tim O’Brien again. I’m squeamish – that story about the guy called Lemon dying, and them cleaning up while singing “Lemon Tree” was too awful.
Jenny: He’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. Vietnam is a hard war to read about in any context though, just because it’s so awful. The story I remember most vividly from the first time I read it was the one with the water buffalo.
I would totally read some Tim O’Brien with you. I loved The Things They Carried when I was in High school. I own it and everything 🙂
Plus if I get my job I will have free time to read… maybe
Hey Little Sis! Yes, read with me!
This is a great idea. I’ll join you for The Things They Carried. I’ve been wanting to read that for years now.
Vasilly: Awesome. Maybe I’ll try to turn The Things The Carried into a more formalish read along. I still want to do it in a couple of weeks, but that might be quick for some people.
This is a great idea. I’m definitely in for ‘The Things They Carried.’ I bought a copy a while back, started reading it this year, but I never finished it. Now I have a good reason to!
Jason: That’s great, glad you’ll be joining everyone who seems to want to read the book!
Hi Kim, Good to meet you last week at the J-School ethics conf. Nice blog. Lots of well-considered content. Like the Pulitzer review and FTC discussion.
Ozzy: Hi, it was nice to meet you too. If you get this comment via e-mail, stop back and leave your blog URL so I can find it. I’m always excited to meet more Madison-area bloggers.
Good luck on the O’Brien reading project. I think you’ll love it. I recently read The Things They Carried and July, July. Both great works.
Todd: Thanks! I’m really looking forward to it. I think there will be a lot to think about by reading an author all at the same time. Sort of like English class in college, but on my terms 🙂
I really hope that you enjoy those books. I’ll be reading Tim O’Brien this summer because I’m reading books for the 2010 Vietnam War reading challenge. I hope you’ll consider joining us since you’ll be reading O’Brien anyway!
Serena: Thanks for reminding me about your challenge. I should add a few more Vietnam books to my list and join up with it.
It sounds like a great idea! I recently picked up The Things They Carried. I read the first few stories but then had to put it down because it was all a bit much, but I’ll definitely carry on with it, and more than likely this summer. After that, we’ll see. But I’m becoming more and more interested in reading about the Vietnam war. I don’t know why it took me so long to reach that conclusion, seeing as how I’ve heard about it so often from my dad. Anyway.
Clover: They are difficult to read; that’s one thing I didn’t really consider when deciding to do this. By the end it might all be a bit much. I hope not though.
I’m going to need this in my life right now. You know how I feel about Tim O’Brien (if not! I LOOOOOOVE HIM). I might not make it in time for the first read, but I will join in at some point.
Lu: Yes, I do know. I <3 Tim O'Brien (major all caps love!). I'm excited you'll be reading a little bit too!
Good author pick! I recently finished “July, July” over a few days of heavy bus-riding and renewed my appreciation for O’Brien’s skill as an author. I unfortunately gave my copy of “The Things They Carried” to a skeezy ex, but it definitely changed my perspectives on the role of literature in processing cultural experience and the line between history and fiction and their respective roles in common narratives as well. I’ll join this reading party if I can!
Hey Sarah! So many smart comments 🙂 I hope my analytical brain gets working again for this because Tim O’Brien is the kind of author I want to spend time thinking about. I hope you’ll join!
Are you on track? I am going to try and read first on but for sure will read second with you. Just checkd it out at library!