My Ambitious Summer Goal

I've recently learned that I am way too ambitious for my own good. I plan things out in my head and get really excited about doing them but usually the projects are far too big to actually accomplish. So I've done it again! One of my main summer goals is to read one book every week for the entire time I'm home. I've been successful so far:

• Week 1 - Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
• Week 2 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Week 3 - Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Next up on the schedule:

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Night by Elie Wiesel
  
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (I know, SUPER ambitious. But I don't plan on finishing it. Just starting it to say I've at least started reading it. It's an English major thing.)

I suppose if I'm going to say what I'm reading I might as well say my thoughts on them as well. A bit of a review and critique if you will.
First: Out of My Mind
The whole novel is about an eleven year old girl with cerebral palsy who cannot communicate with the people around her. She is the narrator and it is all coming from inside her head. It's a perspective on how she learns, what she thinks of other people, and what other people think of her. I thought it was a very eye opening novel about how people with disabilities are viewed in general. Usually abilities are underestimated and disabilities are overestimated.
Second: Life of Pi
I've been dying to read this book for quite a while and finally got around to doing it. I was expecting it to be a little slow. After all, how much can really be written about a kid on a boat with a tiger? But the plot was beautifully executed with a steady pace set throughout the novel. It gets a little "existential" at the end but I've read that Martel was influenced by Samuel Beckett so I can see where he's coming from (if you want to see too then read the play "Endgame" by Beckett. But be warned, it is guaranteed to be like nothing you've read before and is even a little gruesome when you think about it). I've heard mixed reactions on the "plot twist" ending but I thought it went very well with the overall theme of the book. Morals, existence, life and death are all heavy themes in this novel.
Third: Of Mice and Men
I didn't get to read this in high school and I'm kind of glad. I feel like I appreciated it more now than I would have as a Junior. It's a very quick read but also very "Steinbeck-ie" just so you know if you are interested. I'm sure most people are familiar with the generals about this book just from pop-culture and hearing about it in school. Two men in California are looking for work in tough times (typical Steinbeck) and find it on a ranch. One man looks after the other who has some sort of mental incapability. The thing I do like about Steinbeck is that he is very detailed and because it's a short story you do have to think about why he includes these details: are they symbols, what they add to the plot, what it tells you about him as a writer, etc.

And that is that for now. Hopefully I can keep up with myself. Next up...Huck Finn! Here we go down the Mississippi River!