Thanksgiving Break Reading Guide

Ok, so you have maybe five days at home, longer if you skipped Monday and Tuesday classes or were lucky enough to have them canceled.  Sure, papers are due the week you get back, and you likely have exams to study for.  But let’s be honest, you aren’t going to actually do any of these things until you’re on your way back to Boston.  Maybe you won’t do them at all.  And why should you?  You’ve earned a break after almost a semester’s worth of work.  So what are you going to do with yourself?  Sure, you can go see your friends, spend time with your family, and eat way too much food, but what about after that?

If you’re like me, you’ll want to use this time to read a good book, since one is probably all you’ll have time for.  Here are a few suggestions for after you’ve stuffed yourself with turkey and grown tired of the people you are now being forced to spend time with.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  How could this not be a suggestion?  Sure, it’s over 700 pages and you only have a few days, but unless you read it before heading to the midnight movie premier, you probably haven’t picked it up in at least a year.  So dust off your copy and find a cozy spot.  You’ve read the first six books several times; there’s no need to go back just now.  So freshen up your memory on J.K. Rowling’s last book and settle in for the magic.  If you haven’t seen the movie yet, it’ll be a great prelude to it.  And if you have, you can compare them.  Either way, you can’t go wrong.  It’s a great read and is long enough to keep you busy and entertained over break.
2. Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry.  If you read The Time Traveler’s Wife (and I do mean, read, not saw the movie, which was good, but subpar compared to the book) and liked it, you’ll like Niffenegger’s sophomore novel even more.  She takes readers on a journey to Highgate Cemetery in London, following two twins who inherit their aunt’s flat there.  Separated at last from their parents, the twins embark on a journey of self-discovery in a foreign country, discovering that despite being mirror twins, they aren’t so similar.  Neffineger’s novel is so captivatingly odd you won’t be able to put it down.
3. Steve Martin’s An Object of Beauty is being released this week.  Sure, it’s not Sarah Palin’s America By Heart, also being released this week, but it promises to be an interesting read.  I mean, it is Steve Martin, after all.  He writes about his observations in New York and art that he feels passionate about, which undoubtedly has that classic Steve Martin charm.
4. America the Edible. If you’re looking for something a little more Thanksgiving themed, check out Man vs. Food’s Adam Richman’s new book.  He recently gave a book talk on campus (reviewed here by one of our own) and he goes through what different foods mean to different people and situations.  It should make for an interesting post-turkey coma read.  And who knows, maybe it’ll inspire you to go on your own food journey, or just think differently about Thanksgiving.
5. Water for Elephants. Sara Gruen’s novel has been out for several years and has gotten great reviews.  They’re even making a movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, due out in April 2011.  Do yourself a favor and read the book before you see the movie—I’m skeptical about the whole R-Pattz thing and this novel, which follows a man as he travels with a circus, deserves better.

   

Hopefully you can find a quiet, cozy spot and a good book wherever you are this Thanksgiving break and unwind a little.  You deserve it.