2008 Summer Reading List
Each spring, the College Store publishes a list of good summer reads suggested by members of the Bates community. Without futher delay,
Welcome to the 12th annual Bates College Store
Non-required Reading List
or
Good Reads for Leisure Moments XII
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin
Karen Palin recommended this book to me, and it is a really good read. It’s the story of Greg Mortenson’s journies to build schools in some of Pakistan’s most remote villages. It has adventure, history, politics, relationships, cultural revelations, self-discovery. What more could you want?
Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
I can’t remember whether I suggested this book last year or not, but it bears another plug. Temple Grandin is autistic, and has her Ph.D. in animal behavior. This book focuses on her ability to see the world as animals see it, and how that has made her a resource for the food production industry. It is a fascinating book for anyone interested in autism, how brains function, and/or animal intelligence. Grandin just spoke at the vet school at U Penn as a member of a food industry panel from the USDA. She has also written Thinking in Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with Autism, which I have not read, but it’s on my list.
Tell Me Where it Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeonby Nick Trout
This is a James Herriot-esque book about Trout’s work as a small animal surgeon at MSPCA/Angell Memorial Hospital outside of Boston. It is a good look at the human side of veterinary medicine, from both the vet and owner perspectives. It will make you laugh and cry, and remember the true value of deep, sincere empathy. This would be a good book to read with (or to) a 12-year-old-aspiring-vet type kid.
Lee Abrahamsen, Associate Professor of Biology
***
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
The Magician's Assistant - Ann Patchett
The Age of American Unreason - Susan Jacoby
Matthew Barison, VISTA Leader, Maine Campus Compact
***
I've been on an escapist kick lately: Philip Pullman's Dark Matter trilogy (who ever thought those were for kids? Academy vs. Church is really a more grown-up thing, I'd have thought); Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series but also the seriously funny Nursery Crimes Division work (The Big Over Easy is about the murder of Humpty Dumpty). I also worked through some Orhan Pamuk, which is gorgeous but takes too much concentration to read when busy. I did my ritual annual rereading of Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer but not yet my ritual spring reading of Ray Bradbury'sDandelion Wine. I also recently read Knots by Nuruddin Farah, which was beautiful and complicated and hopeful. Pam Houston's novel Sight Hound was also a seriously beautiful book, an easy and satisfying read but full of her signature nuance and wonderful dog-characters.
Anna Bartel, Associate Director--Harward Center for Community Partnerships
***
I have been catching up on fiction so some of the following were on previous lists but worth repeating:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen-much more interesting than I imagined!
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood-19th century murder
The Blind Assassin by Atwood-Another good book by her
Winterkill by Craig Lesley-Native American son returning to his roots
The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier-Dutch artist and subject
Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star Gazer by Sena Naslund-a different take on Ahab and his hunt but much more
Snow Falling on Cedars by D. Guterson-Japanese American accused of murder
These were also pretty good:
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (southern girl in the 60's)
My Year of Meats by Rozeki (the 'rotten' side of the beef industry)
Straight Man by R. Russo (humorous)
The Meadow by J. Galvin (set in Colo, Wyo)
Empire Falls by R. Russo (life in a small mill town in Maine)
Jan Beaudoin, Business Manager—Athletics
***
Light Summer Reading Suggestions:
I seem to have been in the mood for light fiction all year long this past year. Here are some of the better, lighter ones!
1. PS I love You by Cecelia Ahern...apparently was made into a movie that is now on DVD. Made me laugh out loud at times, set in Ireland.
2. The Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella. Makes you laugh, sometimes you tire of the main character but not enough to stop reading....read them in sequence so that each subsequent story makes sense. They do refer back to characters and events. Set in England, with the partial exception of The Shopaholic in New York.....
3. The Other Woman by Jane Green. Would you believe the Other Woman is the "Mother-in-Law?" That should pique your curiosity.
4. Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Baby Proof by Emily Giffin.....I stayed up too late reading these...kept my interest.
5. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs....really good...makes you want to find a little Friday night knitting group.
Jane Bedard, Admissions Office Specialist
***
For my New Year's Resolution I decided to read some American Classics that I had missed during my formal education period. The first on my list that I would recommend is A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. I have now chosen the works of Willa Cather. If you like novels about everyday people from the past you will enjoy hers. The ones that I have read so far and would recommend are Alexander's Bridge, O Pioneers and The Song of the Lark. All the books that I have mentioned are found in our library. Enjoy!
Denise A. Begin, Staff Assistant, Office of the Dean of Faculty
***
I continue to enjoy the books written by Kathy Reichs (I believe I have recommended her books in the past). She writes one a year, continuing the saga of Temperance (Tempe) Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who is drawn into all sorts of intrigue as a result of her dual career as both a UNC faculty member and position with the Laboratoire de Médicine Légale in Montreal. Recently I was able to catch up on her latest two books: Break No Bones (2006) and Bones to Ashes (2007).
If you like a little learning (details of forensic investigative methods) mixed with your intrigue, Kathy Reichs is an author you will enjoy!
Sarah Jane Bernard '75, Database Analyst
***
Three reads, one for when you want something wintry on a muggy day, two to celebrate the sheer delight of a summer day up here, one for sitting on the porch:
Wintry: Judith Butler. Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. New York: Verso, 2004. She makes sense and shame out of the grand ole USA declaring who has and does not have a grievable life. She brings into focus, and as grievable, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens killed and covered up by our war.
Delightful: Flannery O’Connor. Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose. New York: Farrar, Staus and Giroux, 1969. And, The Habit of Being. Farrar, Straus and Giroux again, 1988. The Habit of Being is a collection of Flannery O’Connor’s letters. I reread both of these gorgeous books in preparation for the Multifaith Chaplaincy’s short-term reading group on Flannery. If you want to dig into why and what you really liked about listening to Morris Dee’s content and style at the recent President’s Symposium on Diversity, let these two take hold of you.
For the porch or armchair: Billy Collins. Picnic, Lightening. Pittsburg: The University of Pittsburg Press, 1998. These poems anoint the ordinary with something like "a cold one." Makes me want to light up the grill and sing Opera arias aloud, not caring what the neighbors think.
Bill Blaine-Wallace, College Chaplain
***
My daughter recommended Three Cups of Tea for me to read, which (incredibly) I did. It's about Greg Mortenson, a true story of an American whose failed attempt to climb K-2 mountain resulted in another amazing journey of perseverance, sacrifice and international goodwill. What he did and is doing in Pakistan and Afghanistan provides a worthy alternative to wars and adversarial approaches.
Charley Bonney, Financial Offices
***
I'm in a nostalgic mood - so here are my oldies but goodies.
Literature -- if you haven't read it, do it this summer The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Pop culture -- the classic football book (that's the real football) The Soccer Tribe by Desmond Morris
…and, old wine in a beautiful new bottle Valerius Maximus: Memorable Deeds and Sayings - One Thousand Tales from Ancient Rome translated by our own Henry John Walker
Dennis Browne, Associate Professor of Russian
***
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo is a great piece of fiction writing, especially the character development.
Ned Carr, Assistant Treasurer
***
Born on a Blue Day, by Daniel Tammet:
This book is an inside view of what it is like to live with Aspergers Syndrome. Although the writing itself is relatively weak, it lends a certain "voice" and authenticity to the difficulty of expression when dealing with Aspergers. I read this book because I have a 12-yr-old son with Aspergers. He devoured the book in one sitting and said he could relate to so much of it. My son doesn't have the "savant" capacity, but he was intrigued by his own connections to the synesthesia and also to the day to day living experiences.
Anil’s Ghost, by Michael Ondaatje:
I just finished this one -- on CD actually as I travel in my car. It unwinds slowly, like the uncovering of the mystery surrounding the death of "Sailor," the skeleton that Anil (a woman with a man’s name) is analyzing forensically. I really like the intertwining of the characters as well as their characterizations -- the loyalties and secrets, the flaws and foibles. A doctor who is addicted to speed; an artist who is a drunk; and Anil who is (was?) in love with a married man and has a best friend who is dying. I felt like I was on an archaeological mission myself to uncover the "bones" of these people. At the same time, I learned about Sri Lanka and about a history that I have been oblivious to. There is an underlying sense of sadness and tragedy throughout the text, up to the bitter end, and there are some somewhat brutal descriptions at times, but all of this lends a realism that isn't sidetracked by sentimentalism or trite conclusions.
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen:
A good read, and quick. The ending is very hokey, which is too bad, but the story is quite interesting -- an almost voyeuristic look at circus life during the Depression, and an old man looking back on his experiences. The photos make it feel "real," and many of the bizarre moments were taken from real-life lore.
Drowning Ruth, by Christina Schwarz:
This book got (unexpectedly) under my skin! It works on you afterward, like the zing of a hot pepper that you don't quite "get" while eating it. Watch out for any assumptions you might make throughout this book -- the very ending is the final surprise. I loved the way this book makes the main character "speak" from what appears to be some sort of mental illness, leading you down paths of intrigue and assumptions that don't always lead where you think they might. Bizarre and yet "mundane" and earth-bound all at the same time. This was recommended by a student of mine and I can understand why -- a good read.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini:
A must-read, one that is most likely on many people’s list. I loved this book as much as Kite Runner, possibly even more! The writing is wonderful, the story is poignant, and I have learned a lot about Afghanistan and a way of life that I am grateful not to have been born into as a woman.
The Dollmaker, by Harriette Arnow:
My mother-in-law recommended this book, and I loved it! One of my favorites in a long while. This book follows a woman and her family from the hills of Kentucky to the city of Detroit during WWII. It is a fascinating study of "immigration" of those from within the US -- the overwhelming sense of displacement felt by some of the characters; the lack of common "language"; the misunderstandings; the seduction of the American Dream, but the reality that makes it almost impossible to get ahead. A powerful read. Highly recommended.
Sister of My Heart, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni:
A quick and enjoyable read overall. (The sequel, however, is not recommended!) I like the exploration of what makes "family" or "sisters" and I also like the exploration of the ups and downs of such a relationship. Again, as with other Divakaruni works, I find parts of the plot to be contrived and unrealistic, but I can overlook that for a light bedtime read, and I love the setting of India.
Queen of Dreams, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni:
I usually like this author and this was a good read overall. Nothing spectacular, but gives a view of the difficulty of living between two cultures and identities. Also explores parent/daughter relationships -- how much do we really know of each other? I like the touch of mysticism in Divakaruni's books. Some definite weaknesses and contrived moments, but fine as a pleasure read about Indian-American culture.
Anita Charles, Lecturer in Education
***
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan; Saturday by Ian McEwan (not even close toAtonement, imho, but I was still glad to have read it), Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking (a three-hanky read); Edward P. Jones's The Known World (mentioning it makes me want to read it again); and in the flyweight category, Bill Buford's Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany.
Joanne Cole, Coordinator—Peer Writing Project
***
I've got several recommendations for summer reading this year: Break Through, by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, is a series of essays that critique the environmental movement, and suggest that in order to become effective the movement's rhetoric and vision need to change. The authors start the book with a wonderful story about Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech – their point is that (unlike much environmentalist rhetoric to date, particularly on global climate change) the speech wasn't "I have a nightmare" – but instead presented a vision of a new social reality, one that engaged people and brought about real change, in large part by giving them hope. The book is really thought-provoking, the kind of thing you want to talk and argue about after you've read each chapter.
My second recommendation is James Elkins' Pictures and Tears: this is a fascinating study by an art historian who got interested in the question of when, why, and where people cry when they look at paintings. He wonders how people engage deeply with paintings; how museums and academic discourse may get in the way of that engagement; and he brings in intriguing accounts from surveys and interviews that relate people's stories of paintings and tears. The book really made me think about how I go to museums, how I look at pictures, and how I feel when I'm doing the looking. (He urges you to go to museums alone, and to spend a long time looking at a few pictures.)
Jane Costlow, Professor of Russian
***
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
This book is well-worth a reread.
Jerry Davis, Class of 1961
***
Rise and Shine, by Anna Quindlan
Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky
Assassination Vacation, by Sarah Vowell
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J. K. Rowling
Leaving Church, by Barbara Brown Taylor
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khalid Hosseini
Balm in Gilead, by Sara Lawrence Lightfoot
Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver
The Maytrees, by Annie Dillard
Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo
Marty Deschaines, Assistant Dir. for Community Volunteerism & Student
Leadership Development, Harward Center for Community Partnerships
***
Good To Great, Jim Collins
More of a Management Book. Focuses on several companies and their leaders and how they moved their companies from Good to Great.
ISBN: 0-06-662099-6
Go Put Your Strengths To Work, Marcus Buckingham
Go Put Your Strengths to Work aims to change that through a six-step, six-week experience that will reveal the hidden dimensions of your strengths.
There is also a companion video: Trombone Player Wanted. Human Resources has purchased the short series and has added it to their library collection. http://www.simplystrengths.com/viewingoptions.php
Lee Desiderio, Manager of Help Desk Services, ILS
***
I highly recommend Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. Here he explains his ideas in more depth than is possible in stump speeches. I'd love for the cable news anchors to read and think seriously about what he says. Maybe we'd get truth and relevance from them instead of truthiness (Thanks, Stephen Colbert!), misinformation, and disinformation about this unique and inspiring candidate. Sorry to let my political stripes show, but this book should be read by thoughtful people across the political spectrum.
Anne Dodd, Senior lecturer in Education
***
I highly recommend Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
This story moves between a story about circus life during the Great Depression and about an old man in a nursing home. It is a great story from start to finish. It gives the reader an amazing look into life as it was back then. Gruen puts just the right amount of glitz, murder, shenanigans and tragedy into her story to keep you glued to the book. I especially liked the fact that Gruen researched circuses and animal behavior so therefore I learned some amazing things that actually occurred under the big top back in the 1930s.
I couldn't put this book down. And when I finished it, in one complete sitting, I found myself wanting more.
Donna M. Duval, Project Specialist--Office of College Advancement
***
A book to add to your list if not already on it
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, made me stop, pause & think.
Melinda Emerson, Sales & Accounting Specialist, ILS
***
Patrick O'Brian: The Aubrey/Maturin novels
(utterly absorbing, vivid, clever, heroic period-accurate novels, around 20 of them.)
Robert Hass: Time & Materials (poems)
(this year's co-winner of the Pulitzer. Hass' work has been a profound and delicious pleasure since 1975. Like this? Go back to his early books, Field Guide, and Praise.)
Clarice Lispector: Near to the Wild Heart
(a strange and wonderful modernist novel.)
David Mitchell: Black Swan Green
(a novel of early adolescence, perfect non-patronizing pitch and contemporary English detail)
David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas (novel)
(a tour de force of genres and styles, a deeply inspired, disturbing, thrilling, kaleidoscopic pleasure.)
Brian Turner: Here, Bullet
(affecting, well-made lyric poems by an Iraq War Striker Brigade veteran)
Christine Montross: Body of Work
(a memoir by a med student of her time in the anatomy lab. Terrific.)
Ellen Bryant Voigt: Messenger
(for 30 years EBV has made elegant, piercing, American poems out of ordinary experience.)
Derek Mahon: Harbour Lights
(with Heaney, one of the deans of Northern Irish poetry, his best book in years.)
James Richardson: Interglacial New & Selected Poems & Aphorisms (just excellent)
Stephen Brunt: Searching For Bobby Orr
(If you were around as a fan or player in the Boston area between 1965 and 1973, you'll enjoy this biography by a writer at the Globe & Mail)
Rob Farnsworth, Visiting Assistant Professor of English
***
My book club has read the following books this winter and really enjoyed them.
Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Boleyn Girl by Philipa Gregory
Anita Farnum, Security and Campus Safety
***
Ok, I will contribute for the pride of the Admissions Office.
I am sure that it has been on the list, but:
Three Cups of Tea --Greg Mortenson, is worth putting out there again.
Another favorite: Hunting and Gathering --Anna Gavalda
Johanna Farrar, Assistant Dean of Admissions
***
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
Banker to the Poor Muhammad Yunus
Off the Side (or anything) by Jim Harrison
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
Holy Fools Joanne Harris
Laura Faure, Director-Bates Dance Festival
***
This year I read James Tatum's The Mourner's Song, which challenged a lot the way I think about war. I also enjoyed Emile Zola's Belly of Paris for the descriptions of the food.
Sylvia Federico, Assistant Professor of English
***
I would like to recommend a book of Short Stories called Tar Heel Dead: Tales of Mystery and Mayhem from North Carolina , edited by Sarah Shaber.
Shaber has assembled new and old mysteries by North Carolina writers such as O. Henry and Lillian Jackson Braun, set in North Carolina or by a North Carolina author. Each story is filled with the flavor of a unique part of the state. When I read the first story, I was struck by the fact that quality of the writing was better than most of the books I read. Other stories confirmed that these authors were a cut above the average writer.
I also enjoyed Shaber's other books. Shaber is the author of the Simon Shaw mysteries. Simon Shaw is a college professor of History who ends up solving current mysteries by solving an historical mystery. There is a lot of interesting background of the history of North Carolina in the novels.
The books are; Simon Said, Bug Funeral, Snipe Hunt, A Fugitive King and Shell Game.
Jane Frizzell, Network Services Administrator
***
Mo Willems: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
[Doug tells this editor, if you’ve ever read to young children, you’ll appreciate this title and other wonderful titles by Mo Willems.]
Doug Ginevan, Asst. VP for Financial Planning and Analysis
***
Some recommendations for people who like good historical novels:
Anne Easter Smith, A Rose for the Crown, and Daughter of York, about the
Yorkists in the 15th-century Wars of the Roses.
Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters, author of the Brother Cadfael series), A
Bloody Field by Shrewsbury, including the fascinating characters of Henry
IV, Prince Hal, Hotspur and Owen Glendower (you remember them from
Shakespeare).
These are all carefully researched, beautifully written, and a pleasure to read.
Lois Griffiths, retired staff member, Class of 1951
***
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Well-written book in the first person and it took me back to the days of the real carnivals we had in this area especially at the Lewiston Fair Grounds.
Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer
Memoir of the author who is starting over (after her divorce) with a preteen and live chickens by the coast. There is lots of humor and warmth in a very fast read.
The Red Tent by Anita Diament
Finally had a chance to read this novel and it was well worth the effort.
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Many characters in this 1940’s novel. It’s about the exodus of many families from Paris pre-Nazi’s. With the sadness there were some funny moments.
Milltown by P.D. Lafleur
A mystery that involves a group of friends in a small mill town. (Not Lewiston )
Bull Island by Dorothea Benton Frank
Will make a good beach read.
Lorraine P Groves, Bookstore Supervisor
***
I read two story collections recently that have been around for a long time but had escaped my notice. Don't let them escape yours!
Women in Their Beds: New and Selected Stories, by Gina Berriault
Apparently, Berriault is not much known outside the West Coast, which is a terrible shame but likely not an enduring one, given her popularity at my writing program in Vermont. This book was recommended to me three times when I was last on campus, so I added it to my reading list. Lucky me! Berriault's stories are quiet and patient--so much so that you don't realize how much they're getting under your skin, at first. They all seem to arise from intense character sketches, so intense I felt almost embarrassed at times, like I was seeing too much. Really beautiful, full, rich prose.
The Ice at the Bottom of the World, by Mark Richard
Richard's stories are all about voice. He captures dialect without all that annoying effort at faux-phonetic spelling and scattering of apostrophes. If you are attracted to more diverse voices in storytelling (but you don't want to get bogged down in some author's poor effort at transcription) read Richard! If you do, you will get both a dazzling demonstration of the power of colloquial language AND thrilling storytelling. Fair warning: The dialect is General Southernspeak, so it might not be as easy to read for you New Englanders!
Claire Guyton, employee spouse, reader and writer
Seduction of Place: the history and future of the city by Joseph Rykwert
Largely concerns New York and London, a social history of what makes cities work and what doesn't. If you like Jane Jacobs, you will enjoy this work.
The Great Transformation: the beginning of our religious traditions by Karen Armstrong
Armstrong has a number of works out about religion (notably her accessible work on the Buddha), and this is about a pivotal time of history when major modern religions coalesce. Although an atheist, I found it a very enjoyable read.
The Best American Travel Writing 2007 edited by Susan Orlean
The collection is from various travel and leisure magazines. All the writing is good, and the piece by David Halberstam, although short and not especially about travel, is worth the whole book.
The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski
The author spent 30 years covering social and political aspects of central Africa for a Polish newspaper. An amazing look at the transformative time - colonialism to independence - of the 1960's and 70's.
Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Wonderful images and a tender story of India and Indian culture.
One City: a declaration of interdependence by Ethan Nichtern
Buddhism in the US and it's relation to social and political movements - some thought- provoking ideas.
Persia: through writer's eyes edited by David Blow
Social history interspersed with snippets of traveler's writings from Aeschylus to the Modern Iranian Revolution in 1979
John Harrison, Associate College Librarian
***
Mysteries:
New releases from favorite authors:
Philip R. Craig, Vineyard Stalker (Latest in the J.W. Jackson, Martha's Vineyard series)
Alexander McCall Smith: The Careful Use of Compliments, An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (the philosopher series)
Peter Robinson, Friend of the Devil (the Banks & Cabot series, resurrects the Lucy Payne child murders.)
Jo Bannister, Flawed, A Brodie Farrell Mystery (Latest in the "Looking for Something?" series)
Philip R. Craig and William G. Tapply, Third Strike (3rd in the series that includes both Brady Coyne and J.W. Jackson...no fishing this time, though)
Anne Perry, A Christmas Beginning (latest in the "A Christmas..." series)
Religion and Spirituality:
Matthew Fox: Original Blessing, A Primer in Creation Spirituality
A bit repetitious, but challenging and thought provoking. Contrasts the Christian fall/redemption ("original sin") tradition that started in the Middle Ages with '...creation spirituality that begins with "original blessing;"...'. Not just a treatise, it lays out a path for living, similar to the Buddhist "Four Noble Truths" and "Eight-fold Path", but from a Jungian and Judaeo-Christian perspective, a combination of psychology and spirituality.
Jim Hart, Programmer/Analyst
***
Here's one for you--a smart, entertaining read. Geraldine Brooks, who won the Pulitzer Prize forMarch, sweeps through history in People of the Book, 2008. Central to the story is a precious illuminated Hebrew manuscript rescued time and again through the ages, most recently from the national museum in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The chapters skip from past to modern, tracing the creation and preservation of this glorious book from its creation in the fifteenth century to the mid-1990s. Rich characters, fast-paced story-line.
Judy Head, Assistant Dean of Faculty
***
How to Make a Moose Run...and Other Great Things My Dad Taught Me.
by Gary Stanley
Stanley was only thirteen when his father died ~ but his look back on memories shares delightful stories of a man who taught him how to see with his heart on the funniest lessons he ever learned. A heart warming journey down memory lane, told in Norman Rockwell Style ~ will tickle your funny bone. Stanley also weaves in reminders of a very present Heavenly Father who fills our lives with meaning. A wonderful glimpse of what a father means to his children.
Laurie Henderson, Director of Office Services
***
Kent Haruf, Eventide. A gently written novel of small-town rural Colorado, where decency and unexpected friendships carry people through loss.
Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict. Stiglitz, the 2002 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, paints a convincing and damning portrait of the accurate long-term costs of the war, and makes the case that in any other setting, such malfeasance by those who have led us into the war but refused to deal with its outcomes would be cause for criminal prosecution.
Candice Millard, The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. After his loss in the 1912 independent run as a Bull Moose, Roosevelt undertook an exploratory adventure down a totally unmapped river in the Amazon jungle which almost cost the lives of everyone on the exhibition. Good summer beach book, an account of a crazy, ill-organized and very hair-raising example of Roosevelt's almost fatal attraction to the strenuous life.
John Matteson, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and her Father. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, and a happy companion book while reading our daughter, now 11,Little Women, as a bedtime book. I had forgotten what a great book the novel is as well.
Martha Hodes, The Sea Captain's Wife. Hodes, a Bowdoin grad and skilled historian, has written several books on race relations and families in America, often focusing on how interracial families survived hostile social attitudes. This book follows the theme, in that it is about a white working-class Civil War widow who marries a Caribbean ship captain who is only seen as a Black in New England but as the owner of several large trading ships is a significant economic leader on his home island. A fascinating portrait of not only the thematic issue of 19th century interracial marriages, but of how grindingly hard it was for 19th century working class women to make their way and survive.
Arthur Herman, How the Scots Invented the Modern World. For those of us with Scots heritage, suspicions confirmed.
David Lamb, Vietnam, Now: A Reporter Returns. My yearly inclusion of something about Vietnam, this is a very readable and thoughtful account by a journalist who returns to Vietnam 30 years after he was a war correspondent.
Jon Cannon, Cathedral: the Great English Cathedrals and the World That Made Them. One of the great perks of working at Bates is the two book shelves on either side of the front door of Ladd, the New York Times bookshelf and the new bookshelf. I could not afford this book, but it is wonderful to have it at home for a few weeks to look through. A gloriously printed coffee table affair with great photographs, about 250 pages on the culture and history of the cathedrals collectively, then pocket accounts of about 10-20 pages each on the most important thirty cathedrals.
Bill Hiss, Vice President for External Affairs
***
Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte
Wynn Hohlt, Associate Professor of Physical Education, Head Coach of Field Hockey
***
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory — terrific historical novel...riveting in the details.
Twilight, Stephanie Meyer—a vampire love story...definitely a "chick" book, though...
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle—a timeless classic that I re-read this year with my 10-year-old son. As good now as it was when I was a kid!
Kimberly Hokanson, Director of Alumni and Parent Programs
***
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, what a wonderful, inspirational book, waiting to read it myself.
These by Fern Michaels:
Payback
Lethal Justice
The Jury
Weekend Warriors
Sweet Revenge
Vendetta
Hide and Seek
Free Fall
There is one more. The "sisterhood" was formed when the courts did not serve up justice for various reasons. The women of the sisterhood are vigilantes of sorts...keeps you wanting to read them all and waiting for Fern Michaels to keep writing new ones. She had decided to end the series after the original 6, however, could not give up the characters
Joan Houston, Facility Services Staff Assistant
***
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. A popular one this year, but a must read. It really opened my eyes to enjoying the simple things life offers everyday.
The Sunday List of Dreams by Kris Radish. About a retiring mother who is cleaning out her house to move to a smaller place. She finds her daughters belongings and finds that she not only has no idea who her daughter is but she doesn't know who she is. She travels to NYC to find her daughter and together they find themselves and each other. Also pulls at the heartstrings and makes you think about the things in life that you want to do but are always putting off to another day.
Ashley Jewell, Staff Assistant, Alumni and Parent Programs
***
Great narrative history--G. Mattingly, The Armada
Great historical novel (the best Arthurian one) R. Sutcliffe, Sword at Sunset
Darwin anniversary (travel and exploration) Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle
Michael Jones, Christian A. Johnson Professor of History
***
Wole Solinka, Ake
As a biographical piece, the first chapter starts out as a "babbling memory" of the author as very young child, and then proceeds as one would expect of an autobiography. The images, of his village, his elders, his memories of the people of his area of Nigeria at the end of colonialism, are both amusing and compelling. That this is the beginning of someone who would grow up to become a Nobel laureate made it all the more enjoyable.
Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Laura Miller in Salon: "For a guy who rarely leaves his own block, Toru Okada, the decent, if hapless, hero of Haruki Murakami's new novel, "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," has a lot of adventures." And so will you.
This is an impossible book to describe in a paragraph. My book club read it and surprisingly everyone thoroughly enjoyed it - a seldom happening. Japanese Murakami knows more about American pop culture than I do and takes one on a "magical realism" ride that can only be done justice in a full review. Read Laura's in Salon, and "East Meets West" By Jamie James, published in the November 2, 1997 New York Times Book Review. If you like to take a ride and don't mind not knowing where you are going next, this is a great one.
The one tragedy is that Knopf restricted Jay Rubin, the translator, to a limited number of pages and Rubin's full translation was not used. Truly, the shirts at Knopf should have their heads examined. Shame on them.
Ulysses S Grant, Personal Memoirs: Vols 1 & 2
Everyone should read at least one book of history each year, but with the wars in Iraq and Afganistan going on, and being a veteran myself, I was not keen on reading the two volumes of Grant's memoirs (one is his personal life and one of his military life during the Civil War).
I was surprised at Grant's attitudes about his troops. My admiration for him keeps growing and I only knew him second hand, as a drunken, lazy genius from things I have heard and read about him, most of which were quotes of the yellow press in histories of other people. To hear his thoughts on the matters and on his duties and responsibilities brings out a truly different person. He is truly a "citizen soldier" and has an appreciation of those he commands, going out of his way to praise them, and being reticent to speak ill of anyone without due cause. His distaste of the waste of men and material is quite evident, and his compassion for the civilian population caught in the crossfire, is remarkable. Would that more people understood him and thought as he did, especially in today's circumstances. I am ashamed to say that, in my ignorance, I never thought much of him either.
Lawrence Hill, Someone Knows My Name
"You feel you are turning the pages of history, the pages of truth." Austin Clarke, author of The Polished Hoe
Abducted from Africa as a child and enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata Diallo thinks only of freedom--and of the knowledge she needs to get home. This captivating story of one woman’s remarkable experience spans six decades and three continents and brings to life a crucial chapter in world history.
Laura Juraska, Associate Librarian for Reference Services
Richard Fochtmann
***
The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)- a surprisingly entertaining scientific account
of what might happen if humans instantly vanished from the planet, enjoyed by both
the adults and teenagers in my family.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
(Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein)- not sure what the philosophy faculty would
say about this one, but my family and I found it amusing, with whoever was
reading it frequently feeling the need to read jokes aloud to anyone else who
happened to be in the room! The title alone made it irresistible to me.
American Bloomsbury (Susan Cheever)- here too, not sure what the American Lit.
folks in the English Department would think, or the history faculty either, but I grew
up in Concord Mass. and found this short account of the friendships among the
Alcotts, Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, etc., a fun read.
Song of Solomon (Toni Morrison)- I re-read this every few years, and always
love it. Since my list is basically just the last few books I've read for pleasure, this
happens to make my list because this year was one of the years I re-read it. Even
if you've read it before, it offers something fresh every time.
The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy). If, like me, you somehow missed this when
it came out in the late 90s, it is beautifully written and engrossing.
The Uncommon Reader (Alan Bennett)- very short, very amusing, recently passed along
to me by a friend, this book is an account of what might happen if Queen Elizabeth
suddenly became an avid reader of literature.
Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism (Patricia Hill Collins)- I can't resist adding to my list one book by a sociologist. This book argues for the necessity of a feminist analysis of racial/class politics in the contemporary U.S., with significant focus on popular culture (music, TV, and movies especially).
Emily Kane, Whitehouse Professor of Sociology
***
I'd like to add a wonderful read: Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son.
Nancy Koven, Assistant Professor of Psychology
***
Handling Sin by Michael Malone
Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater
***
Awakening at Midlife by Kathleen Brehony.
Cheryl Lacey, Associate Director of Dining
***
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (British edition, purchased at auction at SUNDOOR firewalk initiation training I staffed in Scotland, worth every pence I paid for it, which were many)
Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky (read while I was in France at SUNDOOR Waterpourer's seminar prior to going to Scotland; fascinating account of French people during WWII written by a Jewish woman)
Mrs. Steven's Hears the Mermaids Singing - May Sarton
The Seashell on the Mountaintop - Alan Cutler (the life of Nicolaus Steno, a very important figure the development of geology, who became a priest)
Shadow Baby - Alison Maghee
That Freshman - Cristina Catrevas (pub. 1910) (novel about a "freshman", class of 1908, at Mt Holyoke College, I wonder if there are novels like this out there about Bates?)
Here If You Need Me - Kate Braestrup (UU minister and chaplain to the Maine Warden's Service)
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
The Testament - John Grisham (someone left a Bath library book behind; so I read it before I returned it)
A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life's Purpose - Eckhardt Tolle (very clear about how we are ruled by our egos and how being conscious beings is a significantly more peaceful way to live as individuals, as institutions, as nations)
For One More Day - Mitch Albom
Let Your Life Speak - Parker Palmer
Absolutely beautiful translations by Daniel Ladinsky: Love Poems from God; I Heard God Laughing (Hafiz); The Subject Tonight is Love (Hafiz)
Powerful books by Toltec Master, Don Miquel Ruiz: The Four Agreements; The Mastery of Love;The Voice of Knowledge; Prayers - A Communion With Our Creator
Charlotte Lehmann, Assistant in Instruction for Environmental Geochemistry Lab
***
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
A moving novel about an Ethiopian immigrant now living in Washington, D.C.
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Fiction based on a true story, this is the history of an illuminated Hebrew manuscript. Unraveling the mystery of its origin, Brooks transports you from a mountain meadow in Europe back centuries to the Inquisition and much more.
Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles
Great Depression. East Texas. A dodgy racehorse named Smoky Joe. Description of a dust storm that will keep you drinking cold water for days. All of this in the context of a timeless passion between two loners. A great read!
And right now I'm half-way through Jhumpa Lahiri's latest: Unaccustomed Earth. Not every one of these short stories reaches perfection but the ones that do stay locked in your mind.
Becky Lovett, Assistant Bookstore Manager
***
Birds without Wings, Louis DeBerniere,
The Secret River, Kate Grenville,
Black Swan Green, David Mitchell.
Kathy Low, Professor of Psychology
Bill Low, Assistant Curator, Museum of Art
***
FICTION
Adrian McKinty: Dead I Well May Be, The Dead Yard, The Bloomsday Dead
I read this thriller trilogy and really liked all three books; excellent character (Michael Forsyte) and good writing. Joan [Paul’s spouse!] read a non-Michael Forsyte book by the same author and didn't like it nearly as well.
H. Murakami: The Wind-up Bird Chronicles
This is an amazing book. I read it (600 pages) over a couple of days and really enjoyed it. Very hard to describe because of its mix of history, straighforward narrative, and magical realism. About loneliness, the self, the history of Japan, WW II, and a lot of other things. The writing is workmanlike, not fancy, but the characters and storyline are engrossing and the themes universal. Very fine book.
P.Roth: Everyman
A short novel about an older man who is a former advertising person. He is thrice-married and divorced and is now retired and estranged from his entire family, except for one daughter, and living in a retirement community in New Jersey.
The book deals deeply and powerfully with the inevitable ill health and contemplation of death of the elderly and the hopelessness of the unreligious in the face of the inevitability of death. I also read the medieval play from which Roth took his title in which a man confronted by Death finds that he cannot rely on his money, reputation, or even knowledge or intelligence in the face of death but only the good works he did in his lifetime
Exit, Ghost
Also Roth. The return of the now aged Nathan Zuckerman who, after many years living in rural New England, returns to NYC. It brings back the previous story The Ghost Writer and the woman he met in that story and memories of the writer who was his hero and mentor. Typical Roth, dark, male-centric. Wonderful writing. Deep insights.
NON-FICTION
Wilentz, Sean: The Rise of American Democracy
This is an amazing book on the rise of political parties between the adoption of the Constitution and the Civil War. Very long but interesting, provocative, and readable. A must for any American history maven.
Rhodes,Richard: John James Audubon
Excellent bio of the famous bird painter. It is particularly good on the development of the American frontier over Audubon's life. He either lived or visited virtually everywhere, including Maine and England. Fascinating man.
Paul Macri, Local Lawyer, Voracious Reader
***
I love Maine writers so I will start with them:
Any Bitter Thing by Monica Wood (Fiction)
Gripping story about a woman who following a near death experience reflects back on her childhood and begins to question why at the age of ten she was suddenly removed from her custodial uncle who was a local parish priest. She begins to put back together the memories of her childhood.
Perfect, Once Removed Phillip Hoose (Non-Fiction)
I became a baseball fan after reading this very funny recollection of a young boy who discovers he is related to the New York Yankee's pitcher who pitches the perfect game during the 1958 World Series. As a ten year old boy, he sits anxiously in his classroom while his school principal brings updates to his classroom and he becomes popular as a result of his cousin, once removed.
The Home Repair Murder Mystery Series by Sarah Graves (Fiction)
Set in Eastport, Maine this is a great series of murders in small town Maine. All the local scenes really exist and will make you want to travel to Eastport this summer!
Other favorites:
Driving with Dead People by Monica Halloway (Non-Fiction)
Touching and funny book about a young girl growing up with an abusive father. She befriends a yound girl whose father is the local funeral director and ends up driving the hearse. Well-written, you won't put it down.
Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan (Fiction)
Tell sthe story about a group of American tourists that disappear in Myanmar (Burma). Told through the voice of the ghost of their tour guide, I found this book funny and a sad commentary on American tourists in far off lands!
We Are Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg (Non-Fiction)
Based on a true story about a mother who contracts polio while pregnant. Set in the deep south during the early 1960's, against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, she delivers a healthy baby girl but spends the rest of her life paralyzed. Is told from the view of her daughter she feels burdened by her mother's disability and confused by the events around her. Watch for Elvis to make an appearance in this book!
Mary Main, Director of Human Resources
***
Rise and Shine -- Anna Quindlen. Imagine if the unprintable opinion you were thinking suddenly slipped out, in a public situation. Then imagine what would happen if you were the most famous woman on television, interviewing a complete jerk, and your slip was broadcast to the world. The aftermath is told through the eyes of her younger sister, who weaves a story of New York, social stratifications, gender and race issues, and family relationships into an unforgettable novel. If you understand "going under the porch," you will love this one!
Everything by Greg Isles. I love his complexity and his surprises; not finished with his compleat works yet.
A whole bunch of books about the history and people of Newfoundland--great fun if you have been there or think about going:
The Iambics of Newfoundland, Robert Finch
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, and The Custodian of Paradise, Wayne Johnston
Random Passage, and Waiting for Time, Bernice Morgan
Judy Marden, recent Bates retiree and Class of 1966
***
This past summer (2007), I read the first 10 books of an 11 book series by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Truth. The final book in the series came out in November 2007.
The Sword of Truth is an epic fantasy series featuring a vast cast of unique characters. The main character is a young man named Richard Cypher, a simple woods guide who lends a hand to a stranger seeking a nameless Wizard who left his land many years ago. Over the course of the series, Richard learns about his heritage while seeking to stop the evil that others would unleash upon the world of the living. By refusing to sacrifice his values and living his life as a free man, others begin to understand the nobility of man and what it means to be free. Each book is loosely themed around a Wizard's Rule, tenets by which all wizards should abide.
The novels in the series are:
* Wizard's First Rule (1994)
* Stone of Tears (1995)
* Blood of the Fold (1996)
* Temple of the Winds (1997)
* Soul of the Fire (1999)
* Faith of the Fallen (2000)
* The Pillars of Creation (2001)
* Naked Empire (2003)
* Chainfire (2005)
* Phantom (2006)
* Confessor (2007)
Karen McArthur, Systems Administrator, ILS
***
Learning the World: A Scientific Romance, by Ken MacLeod
This book has a little bit of everything for folks who like science fiction (and if you don’t, are you sure you’re not a snob?). There are sympathetic aliens, complicated first
contacts, intriguingly evolved humans, odd economic and political systems, a generation gap, and, of course, hip spaceships boldly going where no one has gone before.
Liz McCabe Park, Maine Campus Compact
***
No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
I found this book when I was looking for some light reading during a recent trip. It is the first book of a now 8-book series about an independent African woman, Precious Ramotswe, who creates her own detective agency in her village in the country of Botswana. The story describes her life and how she tracks down information to solve the various cases that are brought before her. The author’s writing style reflects the dialects of the characters and his descriptions paint a view of how things are in the dusty, hot country of Botswana. I enjoyed reading this book and plan to continue following her adventures in the rest of the series.
Monica McCusker, Office Coordinator- College Store
***
It took me 11 years to discover that Bill Bryson is a very enjoyable, funny writer. I found one of his book's last month, Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe. Although I had never read it, the book had been given to me at a conference in England in 1997 by the British conference convener. I now understand why he had enjoyed it so much. Bryson's observations about Europe are more often from a British perspective than an American one, which he had the confidence to pull off having lived 20 years in England with his British spouse. Bryson has a wonderful, self-deprecating style that I admire in many folks from the British Isles. But he's also from Iowa, born in 1951. American boomers will easily grok his sensibilities. He made me chuckle; he made me laugh.
In this book Bryson is his early 40s, retracing a European backpacking trip that he took in 1972-73 with a high school friend. The stops include: Norway (Hammerfest, Oslo), France (Paris), Belgium (Brussels, Bruges, Spa, Durbuy), Germany (Aachen, Cologne, Hamburg), Holland (Amsterdam), Denmark (Copenhagen), Sweden (Gothenburg, Stockholm), Italy (Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Florence, Milan, Como), Switzerland (Brig, Geneva, Bern), Liechtenstein, Austria (Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna), Yugoslavia (Split, Sarajevo, Belgrade), Bulgaria (Sofia), Turkey (Istanbul). You learn more about Bryson than you do about any of these places, but that's what makes the book fun.
Bryan McNulty, Director, Office of Communications and Media Relations
***
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Three Cup of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
"One man's mission to promote peace one school at a time"
Uplifting story and amazing what one man could do.
Cathy McQuarrie, Office Manager—Admissions
***
I recommend two good memoirs for summer reading:
Bliss Broyard, One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life--A Story of Race and Family Secrets (NY: Little Brown, 2008)
Lori L. Tharps, Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain. (New York: Atria Books, 2008).
Charles Nero, Associate professor of Rhetoric
***
These are a few of the novels that helped me through this winter.
In Out Stealing Horses by Per Peterson, the narrator reflects on his life from the solitude of a remote spot in Norway where he and his family spent holidays under German occupation. Trond, the narrator, slowly solves the mysteries of his childhood during days filled with dog walking, drinks with neighbors, and wood chopping.
I heard that Lloyd Jones’s book, Mr. Pip, was about a teacher, so I sought it out. It turned out to be a book about how stories help us construct and reconstruct ourselves and our communities. Told through the eyes of a bright young girl named Matilda, what seems like a simple and charming story takes many devious and even horrific turns.
When I arrived at my hotel after a day of travel only to discover I had forgotten my nighttime reading, I went to a mall and bought Beginner’s Greek by James Collins, because the jacket said something to the effect that it was suitable for people who wished Jane Austen had written more books. Every romantic-comedy convention gets its turn in this perfect beach/hotel/train/laid-up-in-bed-with-a-cold book.
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida was another favorite. Although there are many stories of children who struggle to be loved, this one, set in and around the Arctic Rim, was excruciatingly sad. In an interview or afterward, the author said she was curious about people for whom the past and present seem unconnected. So am I.
The author’s first novel, Mudbound by Hillary Jordan is the story of two families on a desolate farm in Mississippi after World War II: the landowners and the sharecroppers. At once a tale of racism and family secrets, the story unfolds through the narratives of different members of the two families.
Georgia Nigro, Professor of Psychology
***
Hands down my favorite book of 2008 was Ian McEwan's Atonement, and amazingly written and amazingly structured novel. I planned to read it before seeing the movie, but than after reading it decided the movie might wreck the experience of the book! Highly recommend.
When We Were Orphans, by Kazuo Ishiguro, is a wonderful book about a British detective who was raised in Shanghai in the 1920s and returned there to try to figure out the disappearance of his parents that precipitated his removal to England.
Kerry O’Brien, Assistant Dean of Faculty
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph Jacob Ellis - I'm a history buff and I love reading about about figures from revolutionary times (and visiting historic places such as Williamsburg VA) - Thomas Jefferson was a man of different characters who could rationalize one way of thinking with another of carrying out his thoughts - great read
John Adams by David McCullough - Have just begun this book -Had a chance to meet Mr. McCullough and his family when he was here a couple of years ago - love his work (have also been reading his book 1776)
Warrior's Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals - Incredible story about the Little Rock Nine from the perspective of one of the students who lived through it - her follow up book, White is a State of Mind is a continuation of the story - Both books will leave you frustrated, hopeful and looking at life differently.
Lori Ouellette, Administrative Assistant, Dean of the Faculty’s Office
***
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