Great Wintersession Reads

Flyby hopes that everyone in the Harvard community is enjoying their break, but we want to remind you not to ignore your nerdy side as you catch up with high-school buddies, townsfolk, and family. Here are a few book recommendations (either for this break or the summer) so that you can begin conversations with the oh-so-Harvard “Well currently I’m reading…”

For the English major/literature enthusiast:

"As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner. I like to call William Faulkner the Louis C.K. of modernism. And that’s not just a moniker to make Faulkner seem less pretentious: if you’re willing to look past the stream-of-consciousness and tricky dialect, Faulkner really is (darkly) humorous. "As I Lay Dying" was an easier read than "The Sound and the Fury" (cue shudders as people recall AP Literature from high school), but still hits on big themes of the "old" vs. "new" South, death, religion, and adaptation.

"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck: A high-school English teacher tells me to this day that Steinbeck lacks a sense of humor and is hard to get through. Patently false, Mr. Lynch. While Steinbeck doesn’t have the same knack for dark irony as Faulkner, "The Grapes of Wrath" is incredible. The story about the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression and a family’s flight to California is compelling and fast-moving. Though by no means light-hearted (can you really blame an author writing about the Depression for that?), Steinbeck’s ability to write a damn good sentence is enough to make the book worth it. Fans of John Locke, look for and soak in the long conversations about property rights and identity in the first ten chapters.

(Modern) Fiction:

"The Son" by Philipp Meyer: The only book published in 2013 on the list. Think of Hemingway or Steinbeck-esque writing (i.e. very pretty prose but not particularly difficult) but the thematic weight of a Faulkner or Flannery O’Conner (i.e. a coming-of-age novel, the South dealing with the influences of modernity and the North, etc.). Unlike many writers nowadays (I’m looking at you, John Grisham), Meyer doesn’t try to write the novel version of a movie or a television show but actually focuses on enhancing theme and plot with hard-nosed, piercing writing and an eye for philosophy.

Non-Fiction:

"The Nine" by Jeffrey Toobin: Though a few years old, this is a compelling read about the Supreme Court (largely the Rehnquist and Roberts Courts, with plenty of fodder for the hipster who wants to rant about Bush v. Gore over a micro-brew with his friends). In addition, it is interesting to see how Toobin writes about the Justices as people with complex opinions rather than cogs in a political machine.

Inspirational/Read This Before You Get Back to Campus and Lock Yourself In Lamont:

"This is Water" by David Foster Wallace: The whole speech, which is available in a short book, not the short movie—though that is also wonderful. Before everyone gets caught up in how difficult their schedule is, they could use a reminder about choosing how to relate to others and view their own experiences, however frustrating.

Enjoy your breaks and pick up a book or two!