Summer Reading List, First Draft

Hooookay, here's the thing: my attempts to read during the Christmas break failed miserably.  I have no particular reason in mind, but I assume it is because I tend to procrastinate far more than I should.  Other possible reasons to fall extremely (read: 100%) short of my goal are lack of time due to poor time management, rewatching season 4 disc 2 of One Tree Hill more than once because I was too put out to take it out of my DVD player, the temptation of doing nearly nothing for a few weeks, snowboarding and Whitefish.... the list really does go on.  But in the end, it's sheer procrastination.  Boourns.

Therefore, I propose a new reading list for the summer.  A better, well thought out reading list.  It will contain books I will read for guilty pleasure, to challenge my intellect, and/or because I thought the title or front page were fantastic.  Given the last criterion, I should add Vampirates to the roster, but I may have trouble tracking it down, the tweens will be all over it for a good summer read.  I may be forced to replace it with the Twilight-mockery series.  Tempting, so tempting.  Seriously, they look good (fulfilling the first criterion).

Without further ado and babbling, my first reading list:
1. Finish The Picture of Dorian Gray.  Seriously, it is becoming my Everest, bigger than Guns, Germs and Steel
2. A Swiftly Turning Planet ( a book in Madeleine L'Engle's series, like A Wrinkle in Time)
3. Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
4. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
5. The Wayfinders - Wade Davis (part of the Massey Lectures series.  A Race Against Time was an assigned book for a class last year, and I absolutely loved it.  The way it is written, oh! It is as if you are in a lecture hall listening to the most captivating speech you have ever heard. I highly recommend it, although I give you fair warning that it may slightly depress you.  Nonetheless, amazing.)
6. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
7. Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips

I will stop there.  Odd numbers are the best to end a list.  As is the number 7.  It is not too high like 9 or 10 (which is even, so clearly out of the picture all together, despite the attraction most feel towards lists being this length) nor is it too simple and well-planned like 5 seems (considering 10 is too large and even, many people find it makes sense to half 10 to 5, but it seems all-too-convenient so I am not a fan of 5-itemed lists).

On a side note, the neighbor's cat, (Sam) has decided to take a liking to the Condo.  It has made two recent treks through the open door and up the stairs, peeking around the corner to jingle his bell and give a quick 'hello' before jaunting off to scratch himself on the sidewalk.  This new step in our relationship pleases me.