My Future Reading List

Over the last few weeks, I did something I haven't done in quite a long time. I read a book, for my personal enjoyment, and it wasn't Harry Potter. One of the unfortunate things that happened as I went from elementary school to high school and now that I'm in college is that the amount of time I spent reading books for personal enjoyment has, for the most part, greatly diminished. This is not to say that I've stopped reading, as at times I've been overwhelmed with assignments that require me to read books for a class, but I haven't really done it as a leisure activity.

But now that I'm free of those restrictions (I'm fairly confident that I don't need to take any more literature courses), I can finally get back to what I spent much of my time in grade school doing: Picking up a book that interests me and reading it, just for fun. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind English as a subject. Many of the books I've read over the past several years I quite enjoyed. But I don't really like being forced to read those books, and then analyze them every which way. The fact is, I just don't derive enough satisfaction from the effort I put in when I have to go through a text.

For the most part, I like to read in order to be entertained. I'm interested in a good story. Sure, some of my favorite books require me to look beyond the narrative to truly understand what the story's about (The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye), but that's not what, for the most part, interests me as a reader. I find that the art of storytelling a fascinating challenge, and that's what drawn me to literature. I spent a good portion of my preteen years pouring through the Animorphs series, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Michael Chrichton. All of which told stories that captivated me and kept me entertained from start to finish. And now I'd like to get back to that.

The book that inspired me to write this post was Frank Herbert's Dune, one of the more popular novels of the scifi genre. It's quite a fantastic read, so if you have the chance to read it, I highly recommend you do so. The book focuses on the sociopolitical atmosphere of a futuristic universe where the House Atreides, a duchy that's part of the Imperium, moves to a planet called Arrakis. The planet is one giant desert, with powerful storms, deadly sandworms, and the Fremen, the mysterious natives of Arrakis. Shortly after the House Atreides, which is led by the Duke Leto and his son Paul, arrives on the planet and takes command of the valuable spice trade, chaos and turmoil ensue.

Herbert does a great job of telling a captivating story, based on how he gives you just enough to understand what's going on, but not enough to give you the big picture. This keeps you guessing, not knowing what will come next. And then there's the level of depth that went into creating the universe in which the book is set is. The Dune universe is given incredible detail, from the different races and cultures to the political climate that sparked the first major turning point of the novel.

I can't tell you how much fun I had as I slowly worked my way through Dune during my commutes to and from where I work. And when I powered through the last half of the novel traveling from Chicago to Bloomington and then back to Chicago. It was just as exciting and enthralling as watching a good movie or TV series, and that's something I haven't felt from reading a book in a really long time. TV has probably spoiled me, and things like Netflix Instant aren't helping either. But I look forward to the fall, when I'll have more time to simply sit down, pick up a book, and get lost in some great adventure.

What I'm looking forward to reading, in no particular order:

• The rest of the Dune series (Frank Herbert)
• His Dark Materials trilogy (Philip Pullman)
• A Song of Fire and Ice series (George R.R. Martin)
• Foundation series (Isaac Asimov)

Until next time, Orange Hat Guy