MANILA, Philippines - I know, I know. Reading is hard, so why make it harder? Summer’s fast approaching and you’re bound to have some free time on your hands. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to spend your days just marathon-watching One Tree Hill. (Come on. One Tree Hill?)
Set yourself up for a challenge and read a book that requires a vocabulary range of more than 1,000 words. Who knows — maybe you’ll even enjoy it.
Nineteen Eighty-Four
(1949)
George Orwell
Level of difficulty: 8/10
Synopsis: This dystopian novel focuses on Winston Smith, a middle-class citizen living in dystopian London. The world he lives in is ruled by Big Brother, the omnipresent party leader of Winston’s totalitarian society. History is constantly rewritten and dissident thoughts are punishable by death. Winston meets a young rebel named Julia, who leads him to question the world he lives in.
Modern insights: Winston is reminiscent of that wheezing, sickly kid at the back of the classroom whose name everyone only knew at graduation. Is he unlikable because of his personality or his environment? Does anyone even care?
Why you should read it: With all the horrors of our time, nothing is scarier than knowing that your every thought and action is being watched. It’s pretty eerie that George Orwell wrote this way before the technology for comprehensive surveillance (a.k.a., the Internet) became possible. Who knows — while you’re staring at your computer screen, someone’s staring right back. Dun, dun, duuuun...
The Hobbit (1937)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Level of difficulty: 7.5/10
Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins is foisted into a quest to win a share of the treasure guarded by a fearsome dragon. Joining a bevy of dwarves and Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo leaves the calm confines of the Shire towards darker, more dangerous terrain. Along the way he encounters man-eating trolls, beautiful elves, and a mysterious ring that will soon play a much bigger part of his life and the rest of Middle Earth.
Modern insights: Bilbo’s adventure is Middle Earth’s answer to the frat boy comedy. He’s the quintessential, awkward good guy who finds himself keeping up with a bunch of loud, cantankerous dudes who won’t stop getting into trouble.
Why you should read it: Reading The Hobbit is essential to appreciating the rest of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, as it explains how Bilbo ended up with the ring in the first place. Tolkien also beautifully illustrates Bilbo’s transformation from a conservative hobbit into a sword-wielding man of war. If you wish to venture into the LOTR series, start with this book — but for more than chronological reasons. This prequel is just as packed with adventure as the rest of the series, but leaves behind all the emo, occasionally homoerotic drama of Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo. (Let’s face it; he was so annoying, ring bearer and all.)
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Level of difficulty: 6/10
Synopsis: World War I veteran Nick Carraway moves to Long Island and befriends his neighbor, nouveau riche Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws elaborate parties in his mansion in the hopes of attracting the attention of his former flame and Nick’s cousin, the very much-married Daisy Buchanan. It is through Nick that he manages to muscles his way back into ethereal Daisy’s life. It soon becomes clear, though, that Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion may do them more damage than good.
Modern insights: With Gatsby’s hopeless romantic notions and Daisy’s manic pixie dream girl mannerisms, you could say that these two could star in a 1920s reboot of 500 Days of Summer.
Why you should read it: Once you get past Gatsby and Daisy’s ill-fated romance, you’ll see that this novel is more than just a tragic love story. The Great Gatsby is, in essence, a cautionary tale on the dangers of ambition. Gatsby is so eager to show off his success to earn Daisy’s approval that he is blind to her destructive behavior. If you wanna know how far a guy will go to earn a (crazy) woman’s love, this is the book to read but hopefully not to imitate.
One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)
Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez
Level of difficulty: 9/10
Synopsis: The novel encompasses seven generations of the BuendÃa family, who founded the town of Macondo in Colombia. It’s a smorgasbord of (often self-inflicted) disasters that include murder, incest, and a really bad hurricane.
Modern insights: And you thought your family was crazy.
Why you should read it: Reading this book literally requires you to sit down and decide to do nothing else but read it — it can’t be half-assed, otherwise, you’ll fail to understand what it’s about. Like a classic Márquez story, it is laden with magical realism that blends history with myth. As you go along, it becomes increasingly hard to figure out what’s real and what isn’t. It’s kind of like the BuendÃa family’s fan fiction of the Bible, but with psychedelic drugs on the side.
Patricia Highsmith
Level of difficulty: 6/10
Synopsis: Tom Ripley is a young and handsome con artist living in New York City. While pretending to be a Yale University alumnus, a wealthy shipping magnate convinces Ripley to go to Italy and persuade his son Dickie Greenleaf to return to the States. Ripley befriends Dickie and becomes accustomed to their carefree, wealthy lifestyle. When his new identity is threatened, Ripley takes extreme measures to maintain his cover.
Modern insights: Ripley is a lying, cheating, murderous, and well-dressed gay man who can charm the pants off anyone. Literally. How can you not love him?
Why you should read it: Carrie Mathison from Homeland may be a master of lies, but she did train with the CIA. It’s pretty amazing how Ripley can easily manipulate people with nothing but his sheer cunning. His cat-and-mouse chase with the police will cause minor anxiety attacks — mostly because you’re wondering how he can manage not to sweat bullets and ruin his fancy linen shirts.
Emma (1815)
Jane Austen
Level of difficulty: 7/10
Synopsis: Emma Woodhouse has it all — pretty, privileged, and intelligent — and no one else knows that better than she does. After taking credit for getting her governess married to a country gentleman, Emma decides to do a little bit more matchmaking with her friend Harriet. She soon realizes, though, that playing cupid can lead to some pretty wild consequences.
Modern insights: The novel inspired the ‘90s classic film Clueless, which is also about a pretty, rich girl who might be too smart for her own good.
Why you should read it: Don’t let the formal Regency England dialogue intimidate you; if anything, this story confirms that every generation had and has to suffer through at least one meddling, self-aware adolescent female. Emma may not have achieved the same iconic status of Pride and Prejudice, but Austen managed to create a surprisingly likeable anti-heroine. Also watch out for the gorgeous and bossy George Knightley, whose lethal combination of cravats and cleverness will make a girl reach for her smelling salts.
Agatha Christie
Level of difficulty: 5/10
Synopsis: Ten people who have been complicit in the deaths of others but managed to evade punishment are tricked into coming to a deserted island. A storm comes, and no transportation is available for anyone who wants to come or leave. One by one, they are killed, until none are left.
Modern insights: This murder mystery makes Pretty Little Liars seem like child’s play.
Why you should read it: There really isn’t much to say to sell this book, except that you can forget about Nancy Drew crime sleuthing. Agatha Christie is a master at feeding fear, not just to her characters but to her readers as well. And Then There Were None is best read with all the lights turned on. Self-defense weapons by the bedside table are optional but highly encouraged, because the paranoia this book feeds is incredibly unnerving.
Franny and Zooey
(1961)
J.D. Salinger
Level of difficulty: 8.5/10
Synopsis: Franny and Zooey are the two youngest children of the Glass Family — a brood of child prodigies in New York City. Franny is a college student facing an “emotional breakdown†after realizing the selfishness and pretentiousness surrounding her. She is brought to her parents’ home where her brilliant brother Zooey offers what he thinks is fraternal love and wisdom.
Contemporary insights: These spoiled geniuses are said to have inspired Wes Anderson to create The Royal Tenenbaums.
Why you should read it: Franny and Zooey is arguably one of Salinger’s more obscure works — definitely less known than rebel wannabe-favorite The Catcher in the Rye. The book is heavy on Eastern philosophy, but it’s also about the pains of privilege, both materially and intellectually. The titular characters tend to come off as clinical and borderline unlikable, but pairing that with how naked they can get with their personal doubts is jarring but oddly fitting.
Michael Crichton
Level of difficulty: 4.5/10
Synopsis: John Hammond, a billionaire philanthropist, puts together a group of genetic scientists to create an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs. He invites his grandchildren and a couple of paleontologists on a test run of the tour. But like all things too good to be true, the plan goes awry and the dinosaurs make a mess of the place.
Modern insights: Let’s be honest, there is nothing cooler than seeing dinosaurs come to life.
Why you should read it: Pretty much everyone and their mother have seen the film adaptation, but it isn’t surprising to know that the book is a hundred times better. Crichton is able to explain just why cloning dinosaurs is bound to fail, something that the film didn’t have time to do. He was also able to do it without losing himself in scientific jargon; it’s pretty much dumbed-do
The Golden Compass
(1995)
Philip Pullman
Level of difficulty: 3/10
Synopsis: In Lyra Belacqua’s world, people’s souls are in the form of dæmons — animal spirits that accompany their humans. The Magisterium, a theocratic organization they also call The Church, wants to find a way to cut children from their dæmons to prevent them from forming rebellious thoughts. Lyra sets off from the comfort of her home and meets ice bears, witches, and aeronaut to defeat the Magisterium’s tyranny.
Modern insights: Lyra is a girl after my own heart. She’s rash, rebellious, and quite frankly, brilliant as hell. Much better than Katniss Everdeen, if you ask me.
Why you should read it: The Golden Compass, the first book of a trilogy, is a wonderfully multilayered story. It does seem like a young girl’s adventures into the arctic north, but it also deals with more adult themes of religion and freedom. If that isn’t your cup of tea, read it anyway and marvel at the extraordinary world that makes reference to Norse mythology, Romani culture, and English tradition.