Sometimes required summer reading can seem so unappealing that we end up putting it off for the better part of the summer. Looking to procrastinate with a book you’ll actually enjoy? In an effort to help, we asked the HC Team for their thoughts on what books are must reads for this year’s pre-collegiettes™ and collegiettes™ alike. Read on for a worthwhile summer reading list, Her Campus style.
Perks of Being a WallflowerÂ
by Stephen Chbosky
It’s always a treat to have read a book before seeing its film adaptation, so here’s your chance! Author Stephen Chbosky has adapted his hit book for the screen and is currently filming a movie version of Perks(jam-packed with stars like Emma Watson and Paul Rudd) that’s set to release in 2012. Critics have often described Perksas a contemporary MTV version of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye. The protagonist (a high school freshman named Charlie) is like a modern day Holden Caulfield, lost between his childhood and the adult world. Set in the 90s, the popular coming of age story uses frighteningly realistic dialogue and description to explore a darker side of growing up.  Like Catcher In The Rye, the narrator, Charlie, tells his own story in entries written to an unknown recipient that are both insightful and unapologetically honest.
Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
by Chuck Klosterman
No pop culture junkie will be able to resist this book. Author Chuck Klosterman is all too aware of our culture’s short attention span. In fact, he’s so in tune with today’s generation that the essayist divides up his book much like a CD track listing. Klosterman breaks up his novel on American pop culture into 18 quick “essays,” each funnier and more filled with MTV generation references than the last. The jokes and humorous allusions will make you chuckle, but the real strength in Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffslies in Klosterman’s ability to take just about any element of modern life and connect it to a wider meaning. Mentions of “Saved By The Bell” and John Cusack’s boom box are fun, but, as the A.V. Club said in their review, “because he never puts jokes ahead of insight, Sex, Drugs And Cocoa Puffs stands out as one of the brightest pieces of pop analysis to appear this century.”
Commencement
by J. Courtney Sullivan
Ever wonder what it would be like to go to an all-women’s school? Author J. Courtney Sullivan offers readers an inside look into the dorms of Smith College with Commencement – the story of four former roommates’ lives both during their college years and five years after graduating. The story is fictional, but Sullivan builds her witty and heartfelt story around real places and issues – everything from female empowerment to the challenge of tackling the real world after college – that every collegiette™ will be able to connect with. “It was interesting especially because I could relate,” said HC contributing writer Alexa Johnson, “even though I didn’t graduate yet!”
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BossypantsÂ
by Tina Fey
Tina Fey’s new memoir-esque collection of anecdotes, blurbs and thoughts on how she was able to conquer the comedy scene may be this summer’s number one must-read for collegiettes™. Not to judge a book by its cover, but you don’t even have to crack this one open to know it’s going to be impossibly funny. It’s not an autobiography, as The New York Times said, but rather “a spiky blend of humor, introspection, critical thinking and Nora Ephron-isms for a new generation.” HC contributing writer Rachel Kossman says Fey’s book is a literal LOL experience. “I read Tina Fey’s novel and chuckled out loud to myself as I did,” she said. “Her humor is dry but she’s witty and it’s a great, quick summer read.”
The Bell Jarby
by Sylvia Plath
This semi-autographical narrative of Sylvia Plath’s own mental breakdown is at the top of my list for this summer – it’s just one of those books I feel like I should have read by now. The Bell Jartells the story of Esther, a young college student who begins her struggles with depression during a summer internship in New York City and continues her dissent under, maybe for the last time. HC editorial intern Alice Chen describes the book as an “engaging and insightful” read that delves into “real-life issues that are sometimes stigmatized or ignored by society.” Although dark at some points, such real and accessible looks into the psyche are rare and should make for an interesting summer read.
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Re-read your favorite book! Summer provides the perfect opportunity to go back and read that book you always meant to return to. Whether it’s one of your all-time favorites that you’re ready for a refresher on, or a book you only had time to skim or Sparknote back in high school, now is the time to dust off that cover and give it a second try.
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Any other books you think should’ve made our list? Leave a comment!