Home Schooling For a Lit Major

School starts in six days and for the first time in four years I won't be there when thousands of kids flood the campus of UBC, laden down with books and dreams. My part time degree has, admittedly, taken me longer than most but I've never been much of a sprinter. Besides, here I am. Two (torturous) French classes away from my BA (how can a girl who loves France so much be so hideously bad at learning the language? It seems wrong!). 

So here it is September and there is a definite longing in me to pull my book bag out of my closet, go buy fresh school supplies and sit in one of those comfortably charmless classrooms to learn. But just because I won't be on campus doesn't mean I can't stop being a Lit major at home. I've had a summer off with little reading (and I've missed it) so my plan is this: a new book every two weeks means I will have read eight by Christmas. There are some books I've purchased and always wanted to read, others will be suggested along the way. Here are a few on my hit list:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte~ I've sadly never read this but since being given it as a very thoughtful gift, I can't wait to get into the iconic love story. (My favourite quote by Emily here)

2. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

3. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis~ A life of money and excess means when you're at the top there is nowhere to go but down. Amazon bills it as "The Catcher in the Rye" for the MTV Generation, so I'm reading it. 

4. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

5. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates~ I'm at a stand still with this one after Chapter one, as it just seemed too depressing, yet I keep hearing it's amazing so I will persevere (and I have yet to see the film either, which is on my list too).

6. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls~ A memoir written by the child of two extreme eccentrics, this one sounds touching and hilarious and sad at the same time. 

7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy~ An English Lit major has to read some Russian Lit. 

8. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood~ I've read only one of Atwood's books (Oryx and Crake) and it was for a class, though it still haunts me. This one, while compared to it, is reviewed as even better. It's not released until September 8, but I can't wait. 

What are you reading right now? Or any recommendations of must reads? 

ps- Isn't this the prettiest photo in the world? I love it so much! 

(Photo via Paper Tissue)