Holiday Reading

When I'm trying to decide what books to read during vacation time, I often consult the Upper School Faculty Sponsored Summer Reading list. It is wonderful list of books about which my colleagues are passionate. Every year our students comment that they would be happy to read multiple titles from the list, and I agree. Here are a few of the titles I've read already and can personally recommend, and a couple more that I hope to take with me to Florida in December.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever-escalating dangers around them -- in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul -- they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. This is a book every woman should read. It is terrifying but also uplifting to witness the difficulty of women's lives in Afghanistan but also how they manage to rise above all that they face. I highly recommend this book!

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

When college sophomore Laurel Estabrook is attacked while riding her bicycle through Vermont’s back roads, her life is forever changed. Formerly outgoing, Laurel withdraws into her photography and begins to work at a homeless shelter. There she meets Bobbie Crocker, a man with a history of mental illness and a box of photographs that he won’t let anyone see. Jodi Picoult, a favorite author of many of our students, comments that this is "[t]he sort of book you want to read in one sitting and it packs a twist the end that will leave you speechless.” Read this with a friend – you'll want to talk about the ending after you finish it!

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

The authors focus on the economics of real-world issues that most people view as insignificant, such as how the Roe v. Wade decision impacted violent crime and the socioeconomic patterns of naming children. It examines the hidden incentives behind all sorts of human behavior. If you think economics is boring, this book will prove you wrong.

Run by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett has been a regular visitor at Harpeth Hall, most recently last year when Run was first published. This is an engrossing story of a family on one fateful night in Boston during which their secrets are unlocked and new bonds are formed. I also recommend Bel Canto, another one of her best sellers, as an entertaining read.

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore (Harpeth Hall class of 1979)

Catherine Grace Cline's highlight every week is licking her Dilly Bar at the local Dairy Queen as she longs for the big-city life of Atlanta. As she dreams of leaving Ringgold, GA, population 1932, Catherine deals with her single father, who is a Baptist preacher; younger sister, Martha Ann; doting family friend, Gloria Jean; nosy neighbors; high school gossip; and a boyfriend, Hank. Eventually, and with high hopes, Catherine Grace boards the Greyhound for Atlanta. This is a fun and fast read making it a great beach book!

I hope you can find something here to enjoy during your free time over the holidays.

Read and enjoy! Karen