Summer Reading

Yesterday was the last day of working in my classroom for the school year-- it is now officially summer! This is the first summer in three years that I am not taking any classes at the University and I am looking forward to doing something that I haven't had much time to do recently: read for pleasure!


I read a lot, but most of my reading is for teaching or learning. I miss being able to get caught up in the plot and emotion of a book. That is why I signed up for my local library's Adult Summer Reading Program at the same time I signed my children up for their Summer Reading Program. The best way to teach children to be readers is to model being a reader!

In the past I've found some real gems just by strolling through the stacks or looking at the patron recommendations' list at my library. My new familia at Multicultural Familia is inspiring me to revisit some of my favorites, though.  Here are a few multicultural novels that really touched me:

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Image via Wikipedia

This book really moved me. It caused me to think about my own spirituality, how it feels to be pulled between two cultures, and what it is like to believe in magic. Anaya captures the voice of a child beautifully in this story of Antonio, a boy growing up in Guadalupe in the 1940's and 50's. It was required reading for a Chicano Literature class I took and I am thankful that my professor introduced it to me.






The Hindi-Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan

Image via goodreads

This is one of the gems I discovered last summer through the list of recommendations written by my fellow library patrons. It is a novel about mothers and daughters, about cultural identity. The story describes the history of women who move between India and America, how they both cherish and sometimes fight their heritage. One wonderful part of this book is Pradhan's description of how food is used to celebrate and preserve cultural heritage. There are even recipes for the dishes described in the book! I enjoyed reading this immensely, and then enjoyed sampling Indian cuisine and exploring Indian film all summer. Before reading this novel, I really knew very little about Indian culture. It literally opened my eyes to a whole new world that I now really enjoy.

Image via Amazon.com

Deep River by Shusako Endo

Four Japanese tourists visit India. Each has their own spiritual journey as they travel the country during a time of great political turmoil. The book is very poetically written and very emotional. Reading it feels like floating, flowing, and being carried along the deep river of the title. I learned about both Japanese culture and Indian culture by reading this wonderful book. Quite simply...it is a beautiful novel.

Do you have any book suggestions? Please share! I would love to find some new books to read this summer!