Books are a great, cheap way to pass time and get some sun at the same time, whether it be on the beach or just on your front lawn. Here’s my summer reading list of three books spanning genres and time periods. PLEASE NOTE: “Harry Potter” is not on this list.

1. “Waterland”

by Graham Swift (1983)

Waterland is a mystery of sorts told in all sorts of out of order. It’s sometimes hard to keep up with but I never complained about giving certain portions a second or third read. The book follows a high school history teacher through his bizarre classroom lectures incorporating the history of England into the twisted history of the author’s own family.

2. “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers (2000)

If you can ignore Dave Egger’s pretension and a lot of footnotes, you will love this book. I don’t recommend reading it in public as the book can make you laugh and cry out loud – sometimes in the same sentence.

3. “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver (1998)

This book is worth all 1000 plus pages. Kingsolver chronicles the lives of five women in a family sent to Africa on an extended mission trip along with their insane, bible-beating father. Kingsolver seamlessly switches narrators between the five every chapter to keep things fresh.

It will make you realize no matter how many embarrassingly posed photos your mom insists on taking during a family vacation, your family could be worse.

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