When thinking about Summer holiday, my mind instantly goes to books and authors to (re)discover.
When I was very young (about the age of seven) I discovered the wonderful Margaret Mitchell.
Everyone knows the movie, "Gone With the Wind". But what about the book?
It's an injustice to only see the movie, and not to read the book.
In my modest opinion, believe me - the book is far better, more interesting and complex than the movie.
And it is probably normal to be so.
First published in 1936, Gone with the Wind was the top American fiction bestseller in 1936 and 1937. As of 2014, it was the second favorite book of American readers, after the Bible. More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide. (source: Wikipedia)
All teenagers out there looking for a summer delight, this one is definitely for you.
It will sharpen your mind, knowledge of the world, your soul, and will bring you a little bit of the maturity that you probably dream of.
Gone with the Wind is a controversial reference point.
Scholars at American universities refer to, interpret, and study it in their writings. The novel has been absorbed into American popular culture.
Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937, and the novel became popular all over the world.
And it is actually one of the best books that you will ever read.
Another great summer read for everyone, especially for children and teenagers, is a book called The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876 by the amazing Mark Twain.
If Gone with the wind is fun, but also a more serious life story that describes the evolution of a young woman and all the difficulties, struggles that she must face and difficult choices that she must do in a world markedby the war and other issues, the adventures of Tom Sawyer is pure fun, so maybe you would prefer to start with this book.
Especially if you are very young, and like adventures and a good laugh.
The book describes the life of a boy growing up along the Mississipi river. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. (source: Wikipedia)
In the novel,Tom Sawyer has several adventures, often with his friend Huckleberry Finn.
Originally a commercial failure, the book ended up being the best selling of any of Twain's works during his lifetime. And to think this was Twain's first attempt to write a novel on his own.
Though overshadowed by its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the book is considered by many to be a masterpiece of American literature.
The novel was one the first novels to be written on a typewriter. Maybe that's why it is su funny and easy to read, a real treat for everyone.
Its importance in American litterature is given by the elements of humour, satire and social awareness, together with simply describing boyhood, with all its colors - features that later made Mark Twain one of the most important authors of American literature.
As an adult, I remember with so much joy reading several times about the adventures of Tom Sawyer, that made my childhood so much better than anything else.
Let's go a little bit into this charming book's plot, maybe it will convince you to read it this summer:
"Tom Sawyer, an orphan, lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, sometime in the 1840s.
A fun-loving boy, Tom skips school to go swimming and is made to whitewash his aunt's fence for the entirety of the next day, Saturday, as punishment.
In one of the most famous scenes in American literature, Tom cleverly persuades the various neighborhood children to trade him small trinkets and treasures for the "privilege" of doing his tedious work, using reverse psychology to convince them it is an enjoyable activity." (text source Wikipedia)
There's also an 1973 movie, called "Tom Sawyer", that you might want to take a look at.
