Winter came and went, and so did spring. Now that summer is rapidly approaching, many of us have our own plans for the long break. Some may have internships to look forward to (good luck to anyone who does!), some may embark on road trips with friends to American landmarks — like Buc-ee’s — and a lot of us, including myself are planning to curl up in our bed with a good book.
If you’re looking for some summer reading recommendations, you came to the right place! Below I’ll recommend some books I enjoyed reading in the summer and hope you’ll get the same satisfaction too.
“Bullet Train” by Kōtarō Isaka
A dark comedy thriller, “Bullet Train” is something you ought to read from front to back in one sitting. Four hitmen board a Shinkansen train from Tokyo to Morioka, all with their own unique quirks and backstories. Having the story wholly set on a train is unique, and I liked how its laser-focuses the story on its characters and their rich backgrounds and psyche.
I love how each page slowly reveals how all the assassins are connected in a web of lies and deceit, like a well-written detective story. My favorite character in this is Ladybug, as the level of misfortune he has is endearing to me.
“Crazy Rich Asians” by Kevin Kwan
Technically, this isn’t one book, after you read “Crazy Rich Asians,” you will want to read the whole trilogy. A few years ago, I got the first book from a library in Palo Alto, Calif. When I got the next two books in the trilogy, I finished both in one day each, because I was so engrossed in the world of “Crazy Rich Asians.” It’s just filled with excess and glamor that can only be found in the world of the uber-rich which is fascinating.
The shining light of these books is probably the family drama within the Young, T’sien and Shang clan, it’s what drew me in about these books. There’s a “Succession”-like drama to inherit Tyersall Park, a priceless property in the middle of Singapore. It also helps that the comic relief in this book perfectly balance out the hard-hitting moments. I love Eddie Cheng because of the hijinks that ensue in his efforts to please everyone or to make himself look well-respected.
“What if? 2” by Randall Munroe
What’s better than one book about serious scientific answers to hypothetically absurd questions? A second book about serious scientific answers to hypothetically absurd questions, of course!
I haven’t read the first “What if?” book, but if it’s anything like this one, I’ll be certain to pick it up this summer.
Munroe’s prose is so reminiscent of the webcomics that made him famous, and the mountains of research he puts behind his answer to every absurd hypothesis people bring in are fascinating. Who knew it would take 2*10 to the 39th liters of soup to fill our solar system with soup out to the orbit of Jupiter? His writing on these matters is easy to digest as well, so it doesn’t mean you need to have a degree in physics to understand the problems at hand.
What’s also cool is all the little doodling on each page. They add to this book’s ability to explain physics concepts and the sheer size sometimes needed to answer questions like how tall a billion-story building would be.
“Console Wars” by Blake Harris
This is a non-fiction novel that encompasses the whole war between Sega’s Genesis console and Nintendo’s SNES, told through the lens of its protagonist, Sega of America former CEO Tom Kalinske. It’s the perfect rags-to-riches story, as Harris details Sega’s successful battle against Nintendo’s stifling influence in the American console market.
There are tons of people to root for in this entirely real story that happened almost 35 years ago, from Kalinske to marketer Al Nilsen, to “Sonic” developer Yuji Naka. The David and Goliath-esque battle of Sega and Nintendo will keep you hooked throughout all the pages, and Harris’ ability to fully describe this world will draw you in.
That’s what I have so far. I found great satisfaction in reading all of these books, and I hope you will find great satisfaction reading them in the sunlight, the shade or even inside. If you have any recommendations of books for other people to read, don’t hesitate to comment on this article on The Daily Campus website. I’ll greatly appreciate it.
This is probably the last thing I’ll write for The Daily Campus this semester, apart from a roundtable. Thanks to everyone at The Daily Campus for letting me write articles for the past eight months and to everyone who read my ramblings. Goodbye everyone; I’ll see you all in the fall!