2012 Summer Reading List

Aaron Louque

Welcome to the 16th annual Bates College Store "Good Reads" list!

We invite you to browse and enjoy...and let us know your thoughts (bookstore@bates.edu).

This year's titles receiving three recommendations or more:

11/22/63 by Stephen King
The Swerve
by Stephen Greenblatt
Bring Up the Bodies
by Hilary Mantel
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
Game of Thrones series
by George R.R. Martin
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese

As always, the list is presented in alphabetical order by contributor's surname.

16th annual "Good Reads for Leisure Moments"

Joe Coomer: Pocketful of Names
A story set on an island in the gulf of Maine, about an artist who has her solitary life all figured out.  Until a dog washes up on her island.  And then a wayward teen-aged boy comes to live with her.  And then the boy brings his girlfriend.  And then her pregnant half-sister shows up.  It turns out to be an odd and wonderful cast of characters, who ultimately make it all seem perfectly normal.  I love Coomer's comfortable and sensitive writing, and (on Sarah P's advice) am currently reading another of his novels, "Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God".  This one is set on the harbor in Portsmouth, NH.  It's about dealing with grief, and finding solace in unlikely places.  So far I like it.
Elizabeth I - Margaret George
I like historical fiction, and Margaret George does a good job of making Elizabeth I (daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn) come to life.  George's beautiful descriptions of England in the 1500's make the story of the "Virgin Queen" come to life.  Surrounded by the likes of William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake, Elizabeth is portrayed as a strong and willful character, who even as a powerful woman suffers from the limitations of her sex (if you'll pardon the double entendre).
11-22-63 A Novel - Stephen King
I am not a rabid King fan, but this was a great read.  The story is about time travel (I LOVE time travel), in which a regular guy gets hooked into traveling back to the time Kennedy was assassinated to try to stop the whole thing.  If you are old enough to remember 1963, you'll like the references to the dances, the music, the newscasts.  If you're not that old, you'll still like the way the story is intricately woven of many disparate threads.  It will make you think about best intentions, how one tiny variable can shift a whole story, and "what if"......
Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
I told you I'm a sucker for time travel.  This one is about a young archeologist from the 21st century who travels back to the 1300's as part of her graduate research.  It has a great cast of very human characters - a spunky heroin, a smart and caring professor, a fabulous teen-aged boy - and an engaging mystery or two.  If you like the idea of the ultimate in experiential learning and thinking about how you would convince people from another century that you are one of them (despite the fact that you are immune to all of their diseases....), you'll love this.
Lee Abrahamsen,  Associate Professor of Biology

Novels, in order of publication date:
- American Falls, by John Calvin Batchelor (1985)
- Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn (1989)
- Baltasar and Blimunda by Jose Saramago (1982)
- The Green Knight, by Iris Murdoch (1993)
- The Night Manager, by John le Carré (1993)
- Last Orders, by Graham Swift (1996)
- Jack Maggs, by Peter Carey (1997)
- The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood (2000)
- Anil's Ghost, by Michael Ondaatje (2000)
- The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa Al Aswany
- The Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson (2002)
- By Ian McEwan: Atonement (2001) and Saturday (2005)
Magazines: The New Yorker.  Still the most literate, insightful, entertaining and regularly compelling magazine read I've ever encountered.
Newspapers(online or print): The New York Times.  Still simply the world's finest daily newspaper, cover to cover.
Were you to ask me for some recommended film titles, you'd probably wish you hadn't.  The lists would never stop coming.
Roland Adams, Senior Communications Adviser and Director of Media Relations 

Two titles by Charles Mann: 1491and 1493, the former about what was going on in the Americas before Columbus; the latter about what happened afterwards.
This year's Pulitzer-Prize-winning play, Clybourne Parkby Bruce Norris, looks at what happens fifty years later to the house the Youngers buy at the end of A Raisin in The SunFunny and smart.
And I'll add The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth, a three-generation novel about the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, a non-fiction account of the life of the American ambassador & family in Berlin during the early years of the Nazi regime.
Martin Andrucki, Professor of Theater

Favorites from this year:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts
Susan Cain
Three Junes
Julia Glass
Freedom
Jonathan Franzen
     Hayley Anson, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

I've listened to lots of books in my car on my commute. The best this year was the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith.  I haven't had great luck finding something good to read this year.  Can't wait to see other people’s suggestions.
Linda Archambault, Lab Research Assistant, Dana Chemistry

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
An incredible description of life in Annawadi, an illegal settlement of poor people who live and die near the Mumbai, India airport.
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
A highly readable book about how political institutions play a central role in explaining the current inequality in wealth between nations. For a book about a complex subject, it is very well written.
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
A wonderful graphic novel (recommended to me by Dennis Grafflin in History) that really captures the absurdity of the North Korean regime.
Just Kids by Patti Smith
If you are a fan of Patti Smith and/or Robert Mapplethorpe, this book is a must read. It is simply wonderful.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
The story of Germany as the Nazi's were consolidating their power in the early 1930s told through the eyes of the US ambassador to Germany and his twenty-something daughter.
A Palace in the Old Village by Tahar Ben Jelloun
A story of a Moroccan immigrant to France and his desire to return to Morocco.  An interesting-- and somewhat sad--take on the immigrant experience in Europe and the challenges of returning "home".
Bloodmoney: A Novel of Espionage by David Ignatious
A fast paced spy novel/thriller about a CIA operation in Pakistan gone horribly wrong.
Aslaug Asgeirsdottir,  Associate Professor of Politics

My list.
All out of print. Four books of photography and one of interviews.
River Of Colour: The India of Raghubir Singh
.  A fantastic collection of color documentary photography. Singh was inspired by the likes of Henri Cartier Bresson but chose color, rather than black and white, to record the life around him.
Portrait of Nepal
, Kevin Bubriski. Very rich large-format images of Nepal. Bubriski made deeply personal portraits of the ethnic groups living in that country.
Legacy of Light: 205 Polaroid Photographs by 58 Distinguished American Photographers.
An eclectic group of photographs organized in genres. These are not your father’s Polaroids.
Chaos
, Josef Koudelka. Dark panoramic landscapes by one of Europe’s leading documentary photographers. Koudelka takes the photo-reportage style, but uses a format more associated with the landscape tradition.
Dialogue with Photography: Interviews by Paul Hill and Thomas Cooper
. An interesting collection of interviews of some of the 20th century’s most influential photographers and photo historians.
Will Ash, Assistant in Instruction, Imaging and Computing Center

A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World by Tony Horwitz
An excellent read about all the Europeans in America before the Pilgrims.  Goes beyond the propaganda of the Pilgrims.
Dave Baker, Acting Director of Academic Operations-Finance

Two books that take place in France (mostly in Paris).  Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky and The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. First takes place during WWII, second is present day.  Has France changed?
Pam Baker, VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty

I highly recommend Steve Jobs. Great insight to the history of Apple and the pc industry.
Jim Bauer, Director of Network and Infrastructure Services 

2011-2012 was apparently a year indulging myself...all I read was fiction!!! Perhaps I needed a good escape......
I would highly recommend Left Neglected by our own Lisa Genova.  Excellent...could not put it down, just as good as Still Alice.  With Lisa's neuroscience background, so much of the "fictional" is actually real.
I then submerged myself in Tess Gerritsen mystery novels. Her books grab you from page one. Unlike other suspense/mystery writers, you don't really know what is going to happen until the end. Wonderful writer and she lives in Maine.  Body Double, The Sinner, The Keepsake are great choices.
James Patterson is always a quick read, great for the beach, train or plane rides...anytime.  I, Alex Cross and Worst Case were good choices. The Christmas Wedding was a delight to read and NOT a murder mystery...
Robin Cook's medical mystery Foreign Body...a "should read" if you like medical mystery.
Female fiction suggestions are Jennifer Weiner's Certain Girls and Then Came You.  Also, Debbie Macomber's, A Turn in the Road...(NOT from her romance collection)
I read 16 novels last year, but I will stop here.
Jane Bedard, Admission Office Specialist

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles:  If you love New York City and savor relational entanglements that intrigue, you will love this novel.
Quest for the Living God
by Elizabeth Johnson: This post Christian book of theology by a Christian nun is a real page turner, if you like such godly things. The pope and his lieutenants warned good Catholics not to get near this apostasy! And that did not hurt sales.
The Cross and the Lynching Tree
by James Cone: Another great book of theology. Cone argues convincingly that Americans have not embraced (save the Harlem artists) the obvious--lynching is America's execution of God.
Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?
by James K. A. Smith: The author introduces Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to the church as balm rather than bile.
Healing the Heart of Democracy
by Parker Palmer: A relational salve for a broken nation. A one-step-at-a-time, step-by-step journey of civility.
The Rev. Bill Blaine-Wallace, Multifaith Chaplain

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
I'm a racehorse owner, so I love writing that offers unsentimental insights into the backside of a racetrack that isn't the kind you see for two minutes every year on the first Saturday of May. The story is lyrical and a touch diffuse, and unglamorous. Racing is like that.
Jay Burns, editor, Bates Magazine

Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein (2009). A debut novel about an archeologist in Israel who risks her career to excavate beneath the home of an Arab couple who believe that restless spirits are communicating with them.  Interesting and light reading, with an exploration of religious and personal tensions throughout.
Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz (1966).  A Nobel Prize winning author.  This book explores the lives of various characters living in one of the back alleys of Cairo, as they intertwine with each other, creating a story rich in culture and place.  Beautifully written.
Between the Assassinations
by Aravind Adiga (2008).  This set of short stories captures vignettes of life in a city in India, bringing to life (as written on its back cover) “a mosaic of Indian life.”  The characters are often down-trodden and morally conflicted, and a complex portrait of the city of Kittur and its people emerges.
In the Convent of Little Flowers
by Indu Sundaresan (2008).  Another volume of short stories that take place in India.  Some of the stories were better than others, but gives another portrayal of Indian life through these vignettes.  A light read.
The Calligrapher’s Daughter
by Eugenia Kim (2009).  This one takes place in Korea at the first part of the 20th C, when Korea is overtaken by Japan.  It captures the tension between the “old” and “new” ways, the traditional culture and the “modern” one demanded by the Japanese.   The story focuses on a young girl who grows up and becomes educated, defying her father.  The story is well written, with a fascinating exploration of the history of the time and place.
A Map of the World
by Jane Hamilton (1994).  A dark novel about loss and the ways in which lives can tumble from the illusion of safety.  A compelling read, hard to put down.
Vinegar Hill
by A. Manette Ansay (1994).  Another dark novel about a loveless and stifling household of two children, their parents and grandparents.  I just started it, but haven’t been able to put it down.
Gap Creek
by Robert Morgan (2000).  A story of survival, the book takes place in North Carolina after the Civil War.  Julie Harmon narrates the story of her life, chronicling her marriage at age 17 and the move to Gap Creek where she takes care of an elderly man who eventually dies, with unforeseen consequences.
Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett (2008).  A strange and fascinating story about a hostage situation in a South American country, where an opera star provides the interweaving thread that ties the characters together.  A great read.
House of Sand and Fog
by Audre Dubus III (2011).  In this book, two people find themselves struggling desperately to hold onto the same house, each with his/her own claim to it.  The story’s inevitable and dire ending is a result of stubbornness, pride, and passions that allow emotions to win over reason.
Anita Charles, Lecturer, Education

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Kristen Cloutier, HCCP, Assistant Director of Center Operations

Fiction:
Reamde
by Neal Stephenson
This story involves a computer virus that encrypts your files then demands a ransom, Russian gangsters, spies, computer hackers, and terrorists.  After some initial background information this turns into a non-stop action story about a hostage dragged around the world and the attempts to rescue her by an international cast of characters.
11-22-63 A Novel by Stephen King
If it was possible would you go back in time to prevent a tragedy from happening?  A high school teacher from Lisbon Falls, ME enters a portal to the past with the goal to prevent the Kennedy assassination.
Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Widely considered the first sensational novel as well as one of the first mystery novels, written in the mid-1800s.  A mystery told from the points of view of several main characters, each continuing the tale where it was left off by previous narrator.  Very compelling with truly devious villain. (If you read ebooks: this is in the public domain and can be downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg.)
The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) by Steig Larsson
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Read this book as part of the Staff Enrichment last summer--fantastic story.
Non-fiction:
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
An authorized biography of Steve Jobs, warts and all.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The title just about says it all. A nonfictional account of the use of cadavers throughout history that is surprisingly informative and mildly entertaining.
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
Again, the title says it all.
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John Barry
This book is not only an account of the Spanish Flu during the early 20th Century but also includes history on the American medical school system at that time.
Grace Coulombe, Director of the Math and Statistics Workshop

Another alumni author, because, how could I not? Lisa Genova's ('92) Left Neglected is touching and insightful, getting into the emotions of the main character and patient as only Lisa has proved she can, again, with humor, tenderness and understanding.
Marianne Nolan Cowan '92, Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement

Thinking of summer and all the time I will hopefully have to read.
For once I am attempting to get my list in on time.
I recommend the following:
The Vault
by Ruth Rendell - one of the best English mystery writers with quirky characters.
The Feast Day of Fools
by James Lee Burke - a great read.
Destiny of the Republic
by Candice Millard - James A. Garfield's assassination with a tragic tale of medical incompetence.
Spies of the Balkan
by Alan Furst - Greece at the beginning of WWII.
Finding Nouf
and City of Veils by Zoe Ferraris - two murder mysteries set in modern Saudi Arabia, both underscoring the difficulties of being a modern woman in that culture.
The Leopard
by Jo Nesbo - Norwegian mystery- similar in feel to Stieg Larsson.
Orange is the New Color Black
by Piper Kerman.   Story of a white female Smith graduate who is arrested, convicted, and jailed on charges of selling drugs- a revealing analysis of female prisoners in modern US jails.
Jerry Davis, Class of ‘61

Here are a few. I can't believe how little reading I've done lately! Arrgh.
Murder on the Rocks
by Karen MacInerny
This falls squarely in the 'beach reading' pile.  Not thought-provoking, and requires some serious suspension of disbelief.  But if you want a light-hearted, non-creepy murder mystery that's set on the Maine coast and has the workings of a B&B (with detailed food descriptions) as a backdrop, then you might find this mindlessly relaxing.
Nobody's Fool
by Richard Russo
Darker and less side-splitting than his academic satire Straight Man (which I confess to having read repeatedly).  The various screwed up relationships in Nobody's Fool are sadly realistic and filled with unrealized potential.  The main character is likable but also his own worst enemy.  More tragic than comic.
The Chosen
by Chaim Potok
It was actually a few years ago when I read this, but I still think about it -- tensions between desire and responsibility, freewill and expectations, plus father-son dynamics, tradition, complicated friendships, the Holocaust, and Zionism.  Lots to chew on.
Don Dearborn, Professor and Chair of Biology

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand--Helen Simonson
The Wild Trees--Richard Preston
The Imperfectionists--Tom Rachman
Every Last One--Anna Quindlen
The Warmth of Other Suns--Isabel Wilkerson
Luka and the Fire of Life--Salman Rushdie
Doc--Mary Doria Russell
Marty Deschaines, Assistant Director, HCCP

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.   A fun short read, like most Gaiman books, it’s a darker take on the fanciful.  Like a steampunk Sherlock Holmes fantasy.
Duma Key
, by Steven King.  One of his best, along the same vein as Hearts in Atlantis, King manages to blur the lines between reality and the fantastic superbly. The author manages to evoke in the reader the emotions the main characters are experiencing.
The Magicians
by Lev Grossman.   First novel for the author; a gritty take on what has become a generic theme of an “ordinary” person finding they somehow have special powers, the writing style is somewhat complicated, but world that the author creates makes up for the density of the text.
A Dirty Job
by Christopher Moore.  Somehow this book manages to be stupid, funny, poignant, and more stupid, an excellent airplane book.
Plant propagation; Principles and practice
. 3rd ed. Hudson Thomas Hartmann, Dale E. Kester.  A great reference, the title says it all, dry and to the point.   Current edition is about $109.50 a used 3rd edition is $ 0.63 plus four dollars shipping on Amazon, you do the math.
American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques
by Alan Toogood
A nice complement to Plant propagation; Principles and practice, but is somewhat lacking in content, more of a coffee table book… great pictures.
Phil Dostie, Assistant in Instruction, Chemistry

The Power of Habit. Fascinating read. Seeing it in my own life.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/1400069289/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337080733&sr=1-1
Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)
– Carol Tavris and Elliott Aronson
http://www.amazon.com/Mistakes-Were-Made-But-Not/dp/0151010986
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistakes_Were_Made_%28But_Not_by_Me%29
In case you’re still taking submissions, I just started another book (prompted by an interview on Planet Money) and really like it. It's about our national debt and what we should do about it.
http://www.amazon.com/White-House-Burning-Founding-National/dp/0307906965/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337599738&sr=1-1
White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, and Why It Matters to You

Glenn Dudley, Desktop Support Technician, ILS

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
Classified as young adult novels, but I got hooked.  These are the first two novels of a trilogy.
Donna Duval, Advancement

Port City Shakedown by Gerry Boyle. A mystery set in Portland, ME. A nice easy read.
Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. Have read 5 of the 7 in the series. Even though these are long (over a thousand pages each), I never want them to end.
Olive Kitteridge by Batesie - Elizabeth Strout. This is an interesting style of book, as they are all short stories in their own right.
The Lobster Chronicles by Linda Greenlaw. Gave me a new appreciation for the Lobsterman's way of life.
Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos by Donna Andrews. book 3 in the Meg Langslow Mystery series. This was set in a civil war reanactment was a fun to read.
Dead of Winter - Winston Crisp Maine Island Mystery by David Crossman. Was very timely, I read this during one of our few snowy days last winter.
The Murder of Mary Bean & Other Stories By Elizabeth A DeWolfe. Interesting time piece.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Interesting true story where two cultures collide. The Hmong and our Western medicine.
The Plague by Albert Camus. Was one of the worst books I've ever read. Boring  & too long. Only read it because of the book club I am in.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Giilman. A depressing book. Also read for the book club. At least it was interesting, going crazy.
Children's Books:
Lost Trail (Comic Book) by Don Fendler. Got this for my 12-yr-old Grandson. We all loved it and can't wait for the movie.
Sarey by Lantern Light by Susan Williams Beckhorn. This is a great story, even had me teary eyed. Got this for my 10-yr-old granddaughter.
Melinda Emerson, Purchasing Sales and Accounting Specialist, ILS

Joseph Brodsky-- Watermark (memoir/meditation about Venice)
Tracy K. Smith -- Life On Mars (this year's poetry Pulitzer winner)
Chad Harbach-- The Art of Fielding (novel about baseball and small college life)
Richard Powers-- Generosity (a novel more interesting for its speculative ideas than for its characters, perhaps, but genomically troubling...)
Rob Farnsworth, Senior Lecturer, English

My book club read two great books. I had never heard of either author but everyone loved the books.
Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
The Wedding Gift Marlen Suyapa Bodden
Anita Farnum, Administrative Assistant, Concierge

Here is my contribution for the year:
Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Johie Farrar, Associate Dean of Admission

I am reading Dreaming in French, by Alice Kaplan (U of Chicago, 2012): it is an account of the Paris years of Jackie O, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis, and a discussion of how these three women's experiences in France, in turn, changed America.
Sylvia Federico, Associate Professor of English

I enjoyed these two books recently;
Open by Andre Agassi - very revealing insight into a man who made the top of athletics and battled insecurity all the way.
Calico Joe - Nice light reading baseball novel by John Grisham.
Stewart Flaherty, Head Coach, Men’s Soccer

Jonathan Franzen's  The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History
In this warm, honest memoir, Jonathan Franzen tells the story of his Midwestern childhood and his adulthood in New York.  Particularly interesting are his analyses of the dynamics of a Christian youth fellowship in the 1970s and of his obsessions with birdwatching and environmentalism.
Katie Flinn, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology

Predictably Irrational by Daniel Ariely.  Ariely researches behavioral economics and writes about his experiments in a very accessible, entertaining way for the non-economist.   He describes how "expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities."  Really illuminating and thought-provoking.
Nancy Gibson, Senior Assistant Director, Bates Career Development Center

There are two books which really impressed me in the past year:
David McCullough, The Greater Journey - The amazing adventures of the creative young Americans who flocked to Paris in the 19th century, and lived through its tragedies and triumphs.
Stephen King, 11/22/63 - I am not usually a fan of King's horror novels, but this one really captivated me. An ordinary young man in the 21st century discovers that he can go badk in time and change the history of the nation at a crucial point - what happens if he does?
Lois Griffiths, Alumna and Retiree

Long-time listener, first-time caller.
One suggestion: Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello. Many people have heard of Sally Hemings because of her supposed (and now effectively proven) relationship with Thomas Jefferson. What makes this book remarkable is that someone has dared to write about the lives of individuals who left almost no documentary trace. And she does it powerfully and sometimes lyrically. And I think she won something like 18 awards (including the Pulitzer and the National Book Award) in the process.
Joe Hall, Associate Professor of History

I want to put Me, Earl and the Dying Girl by first-time author Jesse Andrews on the Good Reads list.  It was just published in May. It is in the young adult genre. The film rights for the book were purchased by the producer/director that made the film “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”  I read it because Jesse is the brother of my best friend from high school, but it really is excellent.  If a book about a young girl dying of cancer can be funny then this is it.  It qualifies as young adult literature because the main characters are in high school, but I would say that based on the subject matter and the language that it is pitched at a much older audience.
Josh Henry, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry

I believe this is my very first suggestion to the Good Reads List.  It is Nimo's War, Emma's War by Cynthia Enloe. It is an account of the Iraq war, and women's experiences of the war through the experiences of 8 women, 4 U.S. and 4 Iraqi. It's fascinating and compelling.
Leslie Hill, Associate Professor of Politics

Lynn H. Nichols:  The Rape of Europa.   A well-written account of the wholesale Nazi plundering of European art and cultural artifacts during WWII.   Lots of detail at 450 pages, but the astonishing scale of the thefts lends to this treatment: tens of thousands of paintings and sculptures, libraries, rugs, tapestries, furniture, gold and jewelry, even 5000 church bells.   The book is a portrait of the Nazis as monsters but also pathetic kleptomaniacs, convincing themselves that stealing European culture would fit out the future Reich with suitable decorations. The book is part art history, part WWII detective story as the Allied “monuments units” tried to find the immense caches of stolen treasures and return them to their owners.
The late Bates President Hedley Reynolds spent the second half of WWII assigned to a monuments unit, as an Art History major at Williams who was reassigned from a tank unit.  The book has been made into a well-regarded documentary film of the same name, narrated by Nichols.
Ann Weiss:  The Last Album: Eyes from the Ashes of Auschwitz-Birkenau.  Some years ago, a tour guide at Auschwitz-Birkenau unlocked a storeroom everyone assumed was empty and found thousands of photographs that Jewish families had brought with them to the concentration camp, hoping to survive with their family treasures and keepsakes.  With research, many of the photographs were identified, and the book is a photo album accompanied by profiles of those in the photographs.
Monique Truong: The Book of Salt.  An imaginative historical novel, recounting life with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas through the eyes of their Vietnamese cook.   A wonderfully piquant and humorous book, one of a number of admirable books by Vietnamese immigrants to the US adjusting to dislocations in unexpected locations like 1930’s Paris.
Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo:  The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island.  New theories on the Easter Island statues, offering evidence that the statues, like other Polynesian cultures that created large statues, got to their locations by being “walked” in an upright position.  The culture’s collapse was likely due not to internal dissent but to contact with early explorers and whalers, quite parallel to the “American holocaust” of Native American tribes meeting diseases for which they had no resistance.  Frequently mentioned is the work of Charlie Love ’66, a geology professor from Wyoming with decades of research on Easter Island.
Andrew Lam, Perfume Dreams.  A set of moving essays by a Viet Kieu (those who fled Vietnam after the war) who went on to become a fine journalist for NPR and other outlets.  Lam’s father was a skilled and professional South Vietnamese general whose family fled, and the essays are about adapting to a new culture, trying to keep values, and returning to Vietnam years later.
Adam Hochschild:  To End All Wars: A story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.  This history of WWI focuses on the many families whose members had fiercely divided loyalties.  The Field Marshall commanding the Western Front had a sister who led suffragette, pacifist, resistance and IRA efforts and went to prison for her commitments.  Very well written for the weaving of the family histories during the war.
Vicki Baum:  Love and Death in Bali.   First published in German in 1935, this is a remarkable novel about the collision between the deeply religious and artistic people of Bali with a Dutch colonial administration.
Amanda Hale:  In the Embrace of the Alligator.  A set of connected short stories about a Canadian woman powerfully drawn to Cuba, and the contrasts between the beauty and grace of Cuba and its people with the lumbering weight of the Cuban government.  Often cited as one of the most accurate portraits of modern Cuba by a non-Cuban.
Tony Williams:   The Pox and the Covenant: Mather, Franklin, and the Epidemic that Changed America's Destiny.   Cotton Mather is sometimes regarded as a Puritan divine hostile to change, but in fact he was one of the towering intellects of his age, and far more open to science than might be imagined.  This well-written book is an account of Mather’s attempts to support the very early experimentation with vaccinations against smallpox in the midst of a horrifying epidemic in Boston, when ironically the brother of Benjamin Franklin was using the family printing press to attack Mather for not treating the epidemic surely as a scourge from God.
Oscar Hijuelos:  The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love and Beautiful María of my Soul, or, The True Story of María García y Cifuentes, the Lady behind a Famous Song. Hijeulos won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Mambo Kings…, the first Hispanic to win this prize, and Beautiful Mariais a retelling of the story of the Mambo Kings from the very different perspective of the woman, now older, who inspired their greatest hit.  A third novel with the revealing title of The Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O'Brien is a rambling but very readable account of a large Irish-Cuban family in small-town Ohio over the two generations from the immigration of the parents to the old age of the fifteen siblings.  Hijuelos has been a prolific author, with eight novels and a memoir, mostly around the themes of Cuban-Americans in complicated relationships with both their homelands.
Bill Hiss ’66, Senior Leadership Gifts Officer and Lecturer in Asian Studies

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
The Replacement Wife by Eileen Goudge
Journey by Danielle Steele
Joan Houston, Administrative Assistant, Facility Services

Here's information about two books I've been reading.
In preparation for a trip to Alabama with a friend who worked for a newspaper there during the time of the Civil Rights Movement, I've been reading two compelling and intensely moving books about the Movement. The first, The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It, is the story behind the boycott by Jo Ann Gibson Robinson, who, as president of a women's political club, gave the go-ahead for the boycott after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man.  Edited by David Garrow and published by the University of Tennessee Press, it's a fascinating story of how people worked together and persevered despite great hardship and persecution, and how what they did resulted in desegregation of Montgomery's city buses.
The second book, which I haven't quite finished, is Selma, Lord, Selma, and consists of the memories of two women who were little girls participating in the marches for voting rights in Selma -- and the attempted and actual marches from Selma to Montgomery. This book is so beautiful. The courage of those two little girls, Sheyann Webb and Rachel West, has brought me to tears several times. Sheyann was the first of the two to get involved, soon joined by her good friend, Rachel. Sheyann's passion for the cause, willingness to turn her life upside-down (she skipped school for the meetings and marches, and focused everything she had on the effort to gain equal treatment), and sheer incredible bravery have put her on my list of people I admire most. She was marching on Bloody Sunday, when state troopers charged on horseback into the group as they crossed the Edmund Pettis Bridge, whipping and knocking down the peaceful marchers. It was probably only because an adult picked her up and ran with her that the little girl escaped injury or death. This book is published by the University of Alabama Press.
I loved these two books. I'm planning to go to some of the sites of the struggle on my trip.
Sue Hubley, Senior Researcher, College Advancement

I have been listening to books on tape on the drive to work and I heartily recommend the following series:
The Amanda Peabody Egyptology series by Elizabeth Peters - the first book in the series is Crocodile on the Sandbank.
The Brother Cadfael, medieval English series by Ellis Peters - the First book in the series is
A Morbid Taste for Bones.

The Aubrey/Maturin Napoleonic Wars (from a British Naval perspective) series by Patrick O'Brian - the first book in the series is Master & Commander.
On a less sheer exuberant indulgence but still very good note, I'd recommend
The Black Swan
by Nassim Taleb which is a book about flaws in modern economic and statistical thinking due to the failure to adequately account for the highly improbable but important invent - it sounds dry but in fact the author has a very strong persona which makes the book a fun if occasionally snarky read.
The Clockwork Universe
by Edward Dolnick which is an intellectual and social history about the invention of calculus and quite fascinating.
Margaret Imber, Assoc. Professor of Classical & Medieval Studies

Waiting for Robert Capa by Susana Fortes. An unforgettable love story played out against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, with photojournalists/refugees Robert Capa and Gerda Taro as the protagonists in this short but stunning novel.
My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte. The compelling story of Belafonte's life pairs his commitments to artistry and social justice.
Call it Sleep by Henry Roth. A groundbreaking novel first published in 1934 that explores the early 20th-century immigrant experience through the eyes of a young Jewish child on New York's Lower East Side.
Phyllis Graber Jensen, Director, Photography and Video
, Bates Communications Office

I haven’t been keeping good track of what I’ve read this year, and my memory isn’t what it used to be, so I’ll just toss out two fiction and two non-fiction works that I’m currently reading or read recently.
To Serve a Larger Purpose: Engagement for Democracy and the Transformation of Higher Education
(edited by John Saltmarsh and Matthew Hartley).  I’m finding some chapters of this edited collection more useful than others, but I appreciate its overall focus on higher education’s institutional-level responsibility to the public good and the institutional-level structures necessary to executing that responsibility.
No University is an Island
(by Cary Nelson). Another analysis of higher education, this one focuses on academic freedom and the role of faculties in college and university governance, with attention to the implications of that role for higher education’s democratic potential.
The Distinguished Guest
(by Sue Miller). This 1995 book was a nearly-random purchase I made at a used bookstore on a beautiful spring afternoon outing with a friend last year. I just recently got around to reading it, and enjoyed the gentle pace at which it explores aging, regrets, multigenerational family relationships, writing, memory and art.
The Lotus Eaters
(by Tatjana Soli). I’m only a few chapters in, but this novel about a photographer in Saigon during the Vietnam War is beautifully written so I assume I’ll continue to find it worthy of recommending.
Emily Kane, Professor of Sociology

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain--as an avid Ernest Hemingway fan, I was enthralled by this book told by his first wife and first love, Hadley.  It shed a perspective of Ernest that I had known about superficially but appreciated more when narrated by Hadley.  Reading this prompted me to re-read an old favorite, A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, and made me yearn to live in a time of great writers, whiling away the days in Paris cafes.
Day of the Bees by Thomas Sanchez--Some of the best books I've read have come from picking it up randomly at a book sale and this is one of them. From almost the first page, I was sucked into the romantic prose of Sanchez's writing style. His descriptive use of language was intoxicating and I just found myself lost within this story. I really enjoyed reading this book, and it's letter form didn't irritate me as I thought it might. There are some slow parts, but it's definitely worth it to reach the end.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot--As a self-proclaimed sciencephobe, I found this book to be intriguing, thought-provoking, and fascinating.  The language in which Skloot uses to describe such scientific and technical terms is so understandable that it makes it such an interesting read and compelling.  It really got me thinking about my knowledge (or lack thereof) of medical history, including my own personally.  This is a case of truth being stranger than fiction and covers science, relationships, race, and the ability to find and discern your roots in a clear way.
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue--Another booksale find.  As the mother of a two year old, I didn't think I wanted to read about stolen children, but I opened this anyway and was immediately riveted by the story of a seven-year old boy kidnapped in 1949 and replaced by a mythical changeling who takes over his life and grows up haunted by the distant knowledge that he is not who he claims to be. Part fairy tale, part science fiction, part novel, this book illuminates messages of loss, loneliness, and the search for an accepted identity, based on the W.B. Yeats poem of the same title.  This book was a total surprise to me.
Alison M. Keegan, Administrative Assistant, Office of the Dean of the Faculty

Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) has a new book out [Bring Up the Bodies] that I hope to read and find as enchanting as the first one. But that is for next year.
John Kelsey, Professor of Psychology

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I read it again after a few decades in honor of the book's 50th anniversary and was impressed by how much more I enjoyed it this time.
The Lacuna
by Barbara Kingsolver - An historical novel with an amazing cast--Diego Rivera, Frieda Kahlo, Leo Trotsky--and locations from Mexico to Washington to Ashville, N.C.
Look Homeward, Angel
by Thomas Wolfe - Being reminded in The Lacuna of the rich literary history of Ashville, I decided to read Look Homeward, Angel again. The history and the characters are worth the effort. Thank goodness for Wolfe's editor, Maxwell Perkins.
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Wall - an autobiography by a woman about how she and her siblings survived being raised by two eccentric, if not totally dysfunctional, parents.
Loving Frank
by Nancy Horan - An historical novel about Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress.
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese - a novel about ex-pat doctors in Ethiopia, twin brothers, and what the true meaning of family is.
Zeitoun
by David Eggers - an account of a Muslim family's experiences in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Still Alice
by Lisa Genova, Bates '92 - A novel about early-onset Alzheimer's told from the perspective of the patient, a Harvard professor. I've read a number of books on Alzheimer's and experienced it through my parents' decline, and I thought that Lisa was able to capture the stages and symptoms without becoming cliched.
The Most Famous Man in America
by Debby Applegate - A Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Henry Ward Beecher. Beecher was a member of a large, influential family--Harriet Beecher Stowe was his sister--in the 1800s. He was an influential minister with what we would call a "mega-church" in Brooklyn, an adviser to Presidents and kingmakers. He was an abolitionist and an advocate for temperance and women's suffrage. But, it was also rumored that he fathered at least one child out of wedlock and seduced many women.
Caleb's Crossing
by Geraldine Brooks - a story about Harvard's first Native American graduate, set in the late 1600s. Another one of Brooks' super-woman main characters--learns Latin, Greek, and Wampanoag and midwifery by osmosis, it seems, and even her sheep were smart enough to survive a hurricane when everyone else's were killed--makes the book a little trying, but the subject is fascinating.
Margo H. Knight, Director of Advancement Research

One of the best books I've read recently is this one by a woman who will be here at Bates on Monday! [4/30/12]
Dr. Patricia Sullivan, Professor of History at the University of South Carolina and author of  Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement (2009)giving a talk entitled   "Brown is a Black Cultural Product": The NAACP  and the Struggle for Equal Education.
Karen Kothe, Associate Dean of Admission

Saul Below, Mr. Sammler’s Planet
Michael Kranish, Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War
James t Farrell, Studs Lonigan
Robert Herrick, Wasted
Candace MIllard,  Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
James Clifton, The Coming Jobs War
Peter Hitchens, Rage Against God
Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater

Tear down this myth: the right-wing distortion of the Reagan legacy
by William Bunch (276 p., New York, Free Press, 2010, c2009).
After this read, you’ll never look at the current crops of conservatives in the same light, or at least not in the carefully chosen glorious beams in which they, self-serving as ever, now seek to bask. In the process of exposing Reagan’s self-proclaimed adherents, Bunch re-examines his presidency and legacy in a clear-headed and factual fashion. It’s about time!
Into the silence: the Great War, Mallory, and the conquest of Everest
by Wade David (655 p., New York, Knopf, 2011).
Along with other early explorers of the region such as the Italians, the British had no idea what they faced in the highly un-Alps-like Himalayas.  They all learned of the vast differences in height and climbing conditions quickly enough, and in the case of the British tragically so.
Jim Lamontagne, Ladd Library

Lest you think Economists don't read....
This last year I really, really enjoyed
Adrift
Cutting for Stone
and
The Trilogy of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Lynne Lewis, Professor of Economics

Originby Diana Abu-Jaber
Without you really noticing, the author slips in beside you and suddenly you realize that you are walking alongside her main character, Lena. Lena is a fingerprint analyst in a crime lab and, on the personal side, is wrapped up in myths of her early childhood. Or are these truths? Her job brings her work on a series of crib deaths that pulls her deeper into her own story. As a reader, you will surely begin to look at your own myths.
Another character of the book is Syracuse, New York, complete with the depths-of-winter colors, temperatures, smells and dangers.  A good book to read in either a mild non-winter or in the bright sunlight!
Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey, and France by mother and daughter team Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
An interesting work that alternates chapters by the two and is based on trips together during times of change for both of them. They reflect on each other, share their personal introspective thoughts, and weave in visits to places related to their individual work. One generation learns from another and it works both up and down the age ladder. If you liked The Secret Life of Bees, you will learn wonderful insights into its creation. Grab a map and settle in for a good armchair traveling experience as well as a thoughtful and thought provoking memoir.
Rebecca Lovett, Assistant Bookstore Manager

Rings of Saturn by W. H. Sebald, translated by Michael Hulse
"Ostensibly a record of a journey on foot through coastal East Anglia," as Robert McCrum in the London Observer noted, The Rings of Saturn "is also a brilliantly allusive study of England's imperial past and the nature of decline and fall, of loss and decay. . . . The Rings of Saturn is exhilaratingly, you might say hypnotically, readable. . . . It is hard to imagine a stranger or more compelling work."
Bill Low, Curator, Museum of Art

Sisters Brothers, Goon Squad, Buddha in the Attic, George R.R. Martin series, Game of Thrones
Kathy Low, Professor of Psychology

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
Set in a tiny town on the border between South Africa and Mozambique, it is 1952, and new apartheid laws have recently gone into effect, dividing the nation.  Tensions simmer as an Afrikaner police officer is found dead and emotions boil to the surface. This is a page turner and the setting in South Africa makes it a very different murder mystery.  The main character, Emmanuel Cooper, is a complex and interesting police officer, and the South African setting makes solving a murder even more interesting. Sequels recently released are Let the Dead Lie and Blessed are the Dead.
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
 by Tom Franklin
This is a murder mystery where the past meets the present.  In the late 1970s, tragedy strikes when one of the main characters, Larry, takes a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she is never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the small town— most of all, his friend, Silas. His friendship with Larry is broken, and then Silas leaves town.  More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.
Iron Lake
by William Kent Kreuger
I like finding mystery series with a main character that develops throughout the series, and I was so pleased to find this one!  There are twelve books in this series so far and it starts with Iron Lake.  Set near an Indian reservation in northern Minnesota, this series follows former Chicago police officer, Cork O'Connor.  He is part Indian and was raised in this small Minnesota town.   In Iron Lake, the disappearance of an Indian newsboy, coincides with the suicide of a former judge, and Cork clashes with a newly elected senator (who also happens to be the judge's son); the town's new sheriff; and some tribal leaders getting rich on gambling concessions.
This is Where I Leave You
by Jonathan Tropper
This is Tropper's newest book, and I think one of the funniest to date.  Judd Foxman is wandering between a sea of self-pity and a "snake pit of fury and resentment" in the aftermath of the explosion of his marriage, which ended "the way these things do: with paramedics and cheesecake." Foxman is jobless (after finding his wife in bed with his boss) and renting out the basement of a "crappy house" when he is called home to sit shiva for his recently departed father. This means seven days in his parent's house with his incredibly dysfunctional family.  The shiva scenes are hilarious, and in the end this is as much about a family's reconnecting as it is about one man's attempt to get his act together.
Mary Main, Director of Human Resources

Through the Fields, Woods, and Marshes of New England Naturally Curious: a Photographic Field Guide and Month-by-Month Journey by Mary Holland.  Exactly what its title implies, this new field guide alerts you to what to look for outdoors as the months progress.  In our busy lives, the days fly by so fast that before we know it, the times to look for natural seasonal changes and wildlife behaviors have slipped away without notice.   Naturally Curious is a perfect reminder: a little bit of every month to whet your appetite for what’s out there so you won’t miss anything!
The Map of True Places
by Brunonia Barry.  A respected psychotherapist returns to the Salem of her childhood, revisits her past, and reevaluates her present.  Zee Finch is an appealing young doctor, launched on a brilliant career and about to make the perfect marriage.  A patient’s suicide and her father’s illness bring her home again, as she deals with issues of caregiving, sexuality, responsibility, and guilt—all those familiar issues that make a fascinating story.

Compiled and edited by Sarah Potter, Bookstore Director, 5/12

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2011 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

Each year, as a gift to the graduating class, the staff of the College Store solicits suggestions from the Bates community for interesting summer reading.

The list, famously known as the Non-required Reading List, or Good Reads for Leisure Moments, is now in its 15th edition, with more than 110 contributors this year.

And as always, we lead off with our "alpha" contributor, Associate Professor of Biology Lee Abrahamsen.


For a couple of years I have been hooked on the novels of Bryce Courtenay. His stories of boxing and Australia and his wonderful character development hook me every time. The newest of his novels, The Four Fires, is another good one. About an Australian family working their way up from poverty in the 1950s-1970s, this story is particularly good to listen to as the audiobook is narrated by Humphrey Bower (a fantastic weaver of tales and voices).

 

I am also 2/3 of the way through his Australian Trilogy, which is historical fiction that chronicles the change of Australia from the land of Aboriginal people, to a place where England's convicts are exiled and struggle to survive. The three books in the trilogy are The Potato FactoryTommo and Hawk and Solomon's Song. The characters are engaging, and the action is non-stop. The books include bawdy stories about whaling, pickpockets and beer-making in Van Dieman's land -- what more could you want?

Lee Abrahamsen, Associate Professor of Biology


Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese is the story of twin brothers who are born to a young nun and a surgeon at a mission hospital in Ethiopia. Their mother dies in childbirth, and their father disappears, so the twins are adopted and raised at the hospital by two other physicians. The twins learn medicine by osmosis - then one goes on to attend medical school, while the other stays behind to work with his mother in the clinic. As Ethiopia teeters on the brink of revolution, the characters learn about politics, relationships and the many ways we care for others. A great book that leaves you thinking about your own life and how you choose to live it.

 

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo, late of Colby College, is a great read for academics. It's about a guy whose parents were English profs and who can't get their voices out of his head. Funny and truthful.

Martin Andrucki, Professor of Theater


OK, I haven't read it yet but I have it on good authority that this is a good read: Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin.

 

Every night I read one or two selections from The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks. I read the same selections again the following morning or as soon as I get to it. The second reading is heaven!

Linda Archambault, Lab Research Assistant, Dana Chemistry


I have two recommendations, both of which center broadly on the immigrant experience - one in the US, the other in France. The first one is Zeitoun by Dave Eggars and the second one is A Palace in the Old Village by Tahar Ben Jelloun.

 

Áslaug Asgeirsdottir, Associate Professor of Politics


A Choice of Weapons by Gordon Parks (autobiography/photography)
Musashi
 by Eiji Yoshikawa (historical novel)
Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems
 by Ryokan (poetry)
Japanese Pilgrimage
 by Oliver Statler (out of print) (history/travel)
Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage
 by Chet Raymo (science)

 

Will Ash, Assistant in Instruction, Imaging and Computing Center


The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street
 by Naguib Mahfouz
The Museum of Innocence
 by Orhan Pamuk

 

Senem Aslan, Assistant Professor of Politics


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I had no idea that the Channel Islands of Britain had been occupied by the Nazis in WWII. This whole book is in the form of fictional letters through which we learn about the lives of ordinary people during that time. It seems odd to use a word like "charming" to describe a book about wartime occupation, but it is.

 

The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior by Paul Strathern. I vaguely knew that DaVinci, Machiavelli and Borgia lived in Italy around the same time, but I didn't know that all three interacted extensively. Really fascinating history... real life tales of intrigue, science and art.

Pam Baker, Professor of Biology/Director of Faculty Research and Scholarship


One of the best books I read this year was Just Kids by Patti Smith. It's a remarkable "coming of age" story, a love story, and, most importantly, the story of a young woman as artist. The writing is clear, free of nostalgia, cliche, or cynicism. The memoir is a beautiful evocation of what it felt like to discover art and music at the time.

 

I'm currently re-reading and enjoying Annie Dillard's Teaching a Stone to Talk. It's a collection of exquisitely written essays on human relationship to the natural world.

Misty Beck, Writing Specialist


Non-fiction....Against Medical Advice by James Patterson and Hal Friedman

 

Chronicles a boy's life with Tourette's Syndrome, OCD and depression from age 5-18. Hal (co-author) is Cody's dad. Unbelievable what the family managed to survive in those 13 years and especially, Cody.

Fiction....The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen
She is a "page-turner" author!!!!! Her story tangles in so many directions that it is near the end when I started to figure things out. This book makes me anxious to read more Tess Gerritsen....

Jane Bedard, Admission Office Specialist


My attendance April 2010 at the 50th Anniversary of The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee inspired a year of nostalgic, moving, and informative reading. Three great ones:

 

1. Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC (Holsaert, et. al.)

2. Blues for Mr. Charlie (James Baldwin)

3. Letters From Mississippi: Reports from Civil Rights Volunteers and Freedom School Poetry of the 1964 Freedom Summer (Elizabeth Martinez, editor)

And a really great read about the art of peace-making: The Moral Imagination (James Laderach)

Bill Blaine-Wallace, Multifaith Chaplain


Of the books on the schedule for the Boston Bates Alumnae Book Club this year, the one that we all seemed to agree upon as a great read (not an easy thing as we have such divergent tastes) is Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Beautifully written and a fascinating story of family, medicine and politics.

 

Boston Bates Club via Lisa Romeo '88


I'd like to recommend Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success by Matthew Syed. While his ideas are applicable to other areas of life, this is really a book about the success of elite athletes. How do they perform at what seems to be other-worldly levels? How do they squelch self-doubt and why do they sometimes choke under pressure? Mr. Syed, who is himself a world-class table tennis player, has some pretty counterintuitive answers to these questions. This is an engagingly written book with some wonderful examples of both "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat," but combined with relevant scientific findings from sports psychology, neuroscience, and other fields. This book will change the way you think about what it takes to be successful.

 

Helen Boucher, Assistant Professor of Psychology


The following are a series of three books by author Stieg Larsson: great adventure, murder, mystery and intrigue, suspense. You must read the first one as each one refers to the prior book. This is also out in video but after reading the book it is a bit graphic, so be warned. My husband liked the videos as he is not a big fan of reading.

 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

The following is the write up from the publisher on the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
"The disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden, gnaws at her octogenarian uncle, Henrik Vanger. He is determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. He hires crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, recently at the wrong end of a libel case, to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance. Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattooed genius hacker, possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age--and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness--assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, an astonishing corruption at the highest echelon of Swedish industrialism--and a surprising connection between themselves." --From publisher description.

Jane Boyle, Ladd Library, Library Assistant-Public Service


I enjoy reading...maybe too much. If I have a good book, the world could disintegrate around me. I would not notice and I would not care!

 

Under the Dome - Stephen King
I've been staying away from Stephen King the last few years but my daughter left this at the house. I wasn't thrilled with the way the ending, but the first 800 pages were great!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Received this one for Christmas. LOVED IT!
Forced myself to wait until I was traveling to pick up the 2nd volume in the trilogy.

The Girl Who Played with Fire
I finished this and wanted more! But the 3rd book wasn't out in paperback.
The next long plane ride, I'll be getting

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest even if I have to buy the hardcover.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
I picked this up because the movie was coming out. I still haven't seen the movie but
the book lived up to what I have come to expect from Connelly.

Barbara Buck, Program Analyst


I have not personally read this book but my father (who has read just about every non-fiction adventure book in existence) could not recommend this book enough for those who like adventure novels!

 

Great Heart: The History of a Labrador Adventureby James West Davidson and John Rugge (This has been taken off Amazon.com: "In 1903 Leonidas Hubbard set out to cross the Ungava-Labrador Peninsula, and to forge a name for himself as an adventure writer. He took a friend, a guide, a canoe, a ton of equipment, and scads of naive hope. Months later, the friend and guide staggered out of the snow, and Hubbard starved to death in his tent, too weak to attempt the 30-mile trek to safety. And that's just Part I.)"

Amy Bureau, Administrative Assistant Alumni and Parent Engagement


I recommend The Master Switch by Tim Wu. A detailed account of information empires -- telephone, radio, movies, and television and cable. Each one was thought to be the invention that would change everything. Then money pours in, the grassroots industry consolidates hugely, and small handful of companies control the 'master switch' to reach consumers by that communications medium. Do you think the internet will be different -- that broadband changes everything? Then read this book. Lots of detail about the outsize personalities involved.

 

Also recommend Zero History by William Gibson. The last of a trilogy (including Pattern Recognition andSpook Country). Quirky but highly imaginative plots. Almost science fiction in a completely recognizable world. The author is a close observer of modern culture, consumerism (same thing?), technology, the thrum of cities (especially Tokyo), spycraft and fashion. Zero History can be read alone, in fact each of them can be, but if you have time it's more satisfying to read Zero History as the capper of the three. I will never see an exuberantly decorated hotel again without recalling the amusing opening chapters of this book.

Ann Bushmiller, '79, Trustee


I do recommend reading or for many of us re-reading Jane Eyre. The book is a stunning portrayal of the power of authenticity and self direction, and the difference one person can make.

 

Nancy Cable, Vice President and Dean of Enrollment and External Affairs


Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Here If You Need Me
 by Kate Braestrup

 

Tammy Caron, Assistant Director, CMR, Creative Design


In no particular order of preference, here are my book reviews for this year!

 

Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow: A "classic" that I had never read. I really enjoyed this book -- well crafted. And it gave a wonderful sense of history of a time/place. It was funny at times, poignant, and had a host of interesting characters weaving in and out of the pages.

A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster: Another classic and a brilliant book -- philosophical and literary. It reveals the tensions between the Indians and the British in the early part of the 20th century. I had never read this book, and I'm glad I finally did. Be sure to read the reflection/commentary at end -- it has great insights into some of the layers of the novel.

Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls: The story of Jeannette's grandmother, told from first person p.o.v. It was a good story, but I liked her Glass Castle book better. This one doesn't really explore the characters in depth -- more of a sense of vignettes in her grandmother's life. But I did enjoy it, and so did two of my boys, ages 14 and 16.

People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks: A page turner. It traces, through minute details, an ancient Jewish text that travels around much of the world. My one complaint is that each chapter of discovery from tidbits never "go" anywhere -- it is disjointed, almost like a series of short stories.

A Year of Wonder, by Geraldine Brooks: I would give this 3 out of 5 stars. I would rate it higher, if not for the abysmal ending. The story is captivating, well written, and captures a slice of true-to-life realities from the 1600's in a small town infected by the plague. Based in a real historic town and set of events, the book was excellent overall. Unfortunately, the ending put a damper on my enthusiasm for this book and left me disappointed. Still, it's a good read if you overlook that one flaw.

March, by Geraldine Brooks: Clever take on the Civil War as seen by Mr. March, the father of the Little Women. It shows the complexities and brutality of both sides of the war, and it portrays what Mr. March goes through while away at war. A Pulitzer Prize winner.

The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt: Nonfiction. I liked this book much more than I expected to. It is very well written, and it reads a bit like a mystery, a bit like a series of character sketches. It's all true, and it made Venice come alive to me, truly a character in its own right within the book. Fascinating story.

Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay: A good book in many ways, but it dragged a bit at the end, and I also felt that the writing quality decreased toward the end. A sad story about a girl who gets rounded up by Nazis and who promises to come back for her little brother who is locked in a cabinet... and the fall-out from that decision.

Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann: I enjoyed this book quite a bit -- The "background" story/thread is about a tightrope walker who walks between the Twin Towers (pre-9/11). But the "bigger" story is really about the everyday lives of people on the streets of NY -- and the ways in which those lives collide and intersect with each other. The contrast of the ordinary with the extraordinary, the mundane and the surreal, creates a tension that places all of us (readers) on that tight rope. Well written.

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy: A sad and quick read about a post-apocalyptic world, where a father and son try to find safety, food, and warmth -- all of which is in very short supply. But, despite the inhuman conditions and the almost complete lack of hope, the father and son keep their spirits alive by staying focused on what matters -- their love for each other and the possibility of something "more" out there.

The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins: These books are written for the "young adult" audience, but they are definitely "dark" -- about a dystopian world where children are chosen to participate in "games" to the death. This series is a real page-turner! Well written, and the characters, settings, and plot are well developed. The best are the first and second books, but the third wrapped up many details. However, the third book shifts the focus quite a bit away from the society as a whole, to the heroine herself. I definitely recommend the series.

The Millenium Trilogy, by Stieg Larsson: (The Girl with the Dragon TattooThe Girl Who Played with Fire;The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest): All three of these books are real page turners, no doubt about that, and I couldn't put them down. A quirky heroine (most likely with Aspergers, which is near and dear to my heart as a parent) who defies all explanation and labels, who ends up on a set of tense adventures that create a complex webbing of characters and circumstances. However, these books are all extremely dark, not always my "cup of tea," and I also found my "willing suspension of disbelief" pushed to the max on many occasions. The second book was my least favorite, and I found myself impatiently trying to finish it. But the other two were better and kept my attention all the way through.

The Beet Queen, by Louise Erdrich: A 40-year saga that begins with a brother and sister abandoned by their mother who jump on a train. The boy, Karl, vanishes, to reappear later, and the girl, Mary, is raised by an aunt and uncle, vying for attention and friends with her cousin Sita. Slow-moving, with shifts of perspectives throughout. No real conclusion to the tensions, which works for the novel in many ways. This is a real "character" novel.

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe: A simply-told story of enduring complexity. A classic and a "must read" for many reasons. It captures the tensions of old tribal customs (Nigeria) and colonialism, and the costs of both in the intersections. Told in sparse prose, with an anti-hero trying to make sense of conflicting worlds, the story ends inevitably in tragedy.

Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson: Nonfiction. Despite the recent controversies surrounding this text and the author (most of which I attribute to a somewhat-prurient desire to dig up dirt on heroes), I really liked this book and wish I'd read it sooner. While I have not yet read the sequel (Stones to Schools), I was taken in by the storyline -- a man who more or less "falls into" a situation where he makes a promise to build a school in the mountains of Pakistan, an occurrence that begins a lifelong mission to build schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson never claims to be a details-person, an organizer, or a record-keeper (some of which faults have led to the recent criticisms), but he is a passionate and sincere visionary who works against all odds in the name of education for all.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley: Cute and clever, funny and quick -- a fun read. An 11-year-old precocious heroine who unwittingly finds a dead body in her garden and then works to free her father from the suspicion of murder. The writing is a bit stilted, the plot a bit contrived, and the similes are significantly overdone, but it's easy to forgive the flaws for an escapist mystery featuring a likable and quirky protagonist.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett: Really enjoyed this book -- well written with important reflections on women's roles in the south during the early '60's, and several women's courageous choices to step outside of their assigned identities to break down barriers.

The Insufficiency of Maps, by Nora Pierce: A novel about growing up Native American as seen through the eyes of a child who is torn between the people of the "res" (her own heritage), many of whom are broken and dysfunctional, and the white people who take her in as a foster child. Her mother's mental illness make it impossible for the child to stay with her, and we follow the disintegration of the spirit through the child's eyes. Good idea for a story, but not as well written as I'd like.

Anita Charles, Lecturer/Director of Secondary Teacher Education


The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Here is synopsis from Amazon:

 

"Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm--and into Edgar's mother's affections.

"Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires--spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward.

"David Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes--the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain--create a riveting family saga, a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic."

It's a wonderful book that many relate to a modern take on Hamlet. Being a lover of dogs, I was personally drawn to the brilliant description of the emotional ties between humans and their canine companions, as well as the parts of the novel that were told from the vantage point of Almondine.

Kristen Cloutier, HCCP, Assistant Director of Center Operations


Here's one I recommend: The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World by Ken Alder. It's an account of the efforts during the French Revolution to measure the size of the earth and establish the true length of the meter. Politics, history, science, cover-ups...everything you need for a good summer read.

 

Matt Cote, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Associate Dean of the Faculty


North and South- by Elizabeth Gaskell. I discovered this little gem last April. It was originally published as a 22-part weekly serial in a magazine in the mid 1850s. (Don't be misled, this is NOT the John Jakes series of novels centering on the Civil War.) The title of this book refers to the contrast between the wealthy south and the industrial north of England in the Victorian era. I have recommended this book to friends and all of them compare it to Pride & Prejudice. If you are a lover of Jane Austen then you will likely enjoy this book. In fact, you might even have a hard time deciding which characters you love more. Will it be Mr. Darcy or Mr. Thornton? [In the U.S. this book is in the public domain, so you can download a free copy of the ebook through Project Gutenberg or another such source of public domain books.]

 

The Pillars of the Earth - by Ken Follett. This is a sprawling epic in the 12th century about a community of people, in fictional Kingsbridge, who endeavor to build a cathedral. It's a roller coaster ride of highs and lows for the heroes of the story and includes truly evil villains. This summer I plan to read the follow-up, World Without End, which takes place in Kingsbridge two centuries later featuring the descendants of the characters fromPillars but set against the backdrop of the Plague.

Never Let Me Go - by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is a unique and thought provoking story about the loss of innocence, accepting one's fate, and the meaning of humanity. This one contains heaps of great subtext. I could not stop thinking about this book for several days after finishing it.

The Remains of the Day - also by Kazuo Ishiguro. Tells the story of a butler in post-WWII England. He strives for perfection in his profession while failing to notice that his former employer was a Nazi sympathizer. Much of the story is told through his recollections. While attempting to achieve perfect dignity in his profession he makes sacrifices in personal relationships along the way. This is not a fast-paced book, but very well written.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson. It spans one day in the life of Miss Pettigrew who stumbles into a job as the social secretary of a singer/actress who lives a whirlwind existence. In short, it is a case of mistaken identity coupled with self-discovery. This is a delightful, fun, and quick read.

Split SecondHour GameSimple Genius, and First Family - by David Baldacci. A series of books about two former Secret Service agents, Maxwell and King, turned private investigators. The most recent installment, The Sixth Man, was just released in 4/2011. They are very fast reads--I squeezed the first four in during February break.
A Prayer for Owen Meany - by John Irving. I first read this book in the mid 90s, but I reread it every few years because it is one of my favorites. Tells the story of John and his best friend Owen. Most of the story is set in New Hampshire in the 50s and 60s. A central theme of the story is Owen's belief that he is an instrument of God, but just how is not revealed until the end of the story.

Grace Coulombe, Director of the Mathematics and Statistics Workshop


I read my Bates contemporary Ru Freeman '93's A Disobedient Girl this year - I think it was this year - enjoyed it very much, though the ending was a painful twist. Good illustration of the havoc wreaked by the class system in Sri Lanka on the lives of two women and their families.

 

I've been reading some pretty fluffy but good historical fiction about the Renaissance that I won't report about.
I bought Left Neglected but haven't read it yet...

And I've only read half of What the Dog Saw...

I know there have been some other good ones, just don't remember what.

Marianne Nolan Cowan, Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement


Halfway to Each Other by Susan Pohlman
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

 

Karen Daigler, Bates Career Development Center


The Girls Who Went Away by Anne Fessler. Interesting, heart-wrenching stories of women who surrendered their children for adoption

 

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Study of the suppression of women in various cultures and the ways women have worked to overcome their circumstances to advocate for others.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Crazy by Pete Earley. A very readable book (by a journalist whose son struggles with bipolar disorder) about the broken mental health/prison system in our country.

Marty Deschaines, HCCP, Asst. Dir. for Community Volunteerism and Student Dev.


I am really interested in China. Ha Jin's Waiting shows how difficult life and love can be when a man lives in two places--in the city for his job with summer visits to his hometown with women in both places. He is caught between two cultures and two very different women. Lisa See's novels are quick reads. Shanghai Girlsfollows two sisters from Shanghai where they were carefree and "modern" until their father, who has lost all of his wealth, sells them to Chinese men from Los Angeles. There they live traditional lives in what some might call a Chinese ghetto. Finally Peter Hessler (whose previous books, River Townand Oracle Boneswere also terrific reads) takes the reader across today's China in Country Driving: A Journey through China from Farm to Factory.Hessler captures the people he meets and the places he visits with such detail, the reader feels as if s/he has been right beside him and learns a great deal about the lives and perspectives of diverse Chinese people.

 

Anne Dodd, Senior Lecturer Emerita in Education


Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
This book recounts the experiences of Olympic Runner Louis Zampirini as an Olympic Athlete and World War II POW. Hillenbrand provides and extensively researched account of Zampirini's life as a child, airman and post war hero. I highly recommend this book.

 

Stephanie Dumont, Administrative Assistant, Advancement


Digging to America - Anne Tyler

 

The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver
One of her earliest books, and deserves to be better known.

Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Yes, really -- it's been a different book every time I've read it. So far, that's been in my teens, 20s, and 30s.

The Patron Saint of Butterflies - Cecilia Galante
Ostensibly a YA book, but well worth reading.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Because it's probably been a while since most people reading the list read this book. My 8th-grade daughter was blown away by it this year.

Knitting for Peace:Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time - Betty Christiansen
For knitters (obviously). Short chapters on ways you can knit for others in the hope that every tiny act helps things get better.

Elizabeth Durand, class of 1976


I read one of the books being discussed during Staff Enrichment Week, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. It is a quick read and the messages are practical. For some reason it inspired me to proceed with getting our kitchen remodeled (something we had wanted to do for a long time) so I did get something out of it.

 

Ken Emerson, Associate Director of Human Resources


Following the Water- a Hydromancer's Notebook by David M Carroll
I read this during the winter and felt like I was transported into SPRING. It is a beautifully descriptive notebook with wonderful sketches, then again I love nature.

 

The Power of the Rellard by Carolyn F Logan
I got this for my grandson, but had to read it first. It is a young readers' adventure, much like The Golden Compass and Harry Potter.

Melinda Emerson, ILS Purchasing, Sales and Accounting Specialist


Justin Tussing - The Best People in the World -- a quirky, but engaging novel about young people on the lam back to the land in VT back in the day.

 

Jose Saramago - Blindness -- a ferocious but provocative apocalyptic novel by the Portuguese Nobel winner.

Aracelis Girmay - Teeth -- one of the most vibrant first books of poems I have read in some years. She read here at Bates this spring.

David Lodge - Deaf Sentence -- It's very British, and often excruciatingly funny-- you know, David Lodge.

Gregory Pardlo - Totem-- another excellent first book of poems, by a young poet coming to Bates to read in September.

Rob Farnsworth, Senior Lecturer in English


This might have been on the list before, but: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver

 

Johanna Farrar, Associate Dean of Admission


Life by Keith Richards.
I just finished Keith Richards' autobiography, which I totally enjoyed but am embarrassed to recommend for fear that the Bates community would think that I ever partook in such debauchery while young.
But it really was a fun read.

 

Joan Fischer, Leadership Gifts Officer


May I recommend The Book Thief by Markus Zusak?
I do not want to spoil this book for anyone. Let is suffice to say that I had not cried over a book for many a year until I read this one. But, oddly enough, it is not a sad book!! Set in a small town in Nazi-ruled Germany, this book describes the daily life of young girl. Amazon ranking with over 1000 replies is 4.5 stars. It may be aimed at the young adult reader, but it one of the best-written and well-plotted books I have ever read. Once I figured out who the narrator of the tale was, I was hooked. I would love to read this in a book club so that I could discuss it with others.

 

Also, for a sweet "cozy" mystery, I just found Carolyn Hart's 3 detective books about the ghost Bailey Ruth.Ghost at WorkMerry Merry Ghost and Ghost in Trouble. The well-dressed heroine is not a "ghost", but an "emissary" from Heaven's "Department of Good Intentions" who gets sent back to fix problems without interfering, but always interferes. Above all, she must not scare anyone by being ghostly or doing something unexplainable, but how else can she save the day? These stories are lots of fun with minimal mental aerobics required.

Jane Frizzell, Network Services Administrator


I just finished the Alex McKnight series of books by Steve Hamilton. The first book in the series is A Cold Day in Paradise, which won the Private Eye Writers of America/St. Martin's Press Award for Best First Mystery by an Unpublished Writer. Once published, it went on to win the MWA Edgar and the PWA Shamus Awards for Best First Novel, and was short-listed for the Anthony and Barry Awards. Great series.

 

Shirley Govindasamy, Payroll Manager


If you like mysteries, here's a good one for summer reading, centering on horses and a train trip across Canada:The Edge, by Dick Francis.

 

Lois Griffiths, Alumna and Retiree


The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield : A mystery with magnetic pull.

 

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova: Interesting story of the impact of a brain injury that could happen to any of us. Character has lost the ability to perceive information coming from the left side. Enjoyed this story very much and if you liked "Still Alice" you will like this also.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Godrick: This is a thriller on the quiet side but an enjoyable read.

I Was a Dancer by Jacques d' Amboise: I have to promote my cousin's book!! But even if I were not related, I would love this book. Jacques speaks of a life well-lived with lots of hard work and much success. The back ground of the dance world in the US and in foreign lands is well documented. It is a joy to know that some famous people can live a good and healthy life in the entertainment world. He has accomplished a lot in his life with more to come I am sure.

Lorraine Groves, Bookstore Sales Floor Supervisor


Great book, would recommend to all: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

 

Nicole Hastings, Assistant in Instruction, Physics


I can't remember if I already suggested this in a previous year (books are so timeless!)--An Imaginary Life by David Malouf. A very edgy imagination of what Ovid's exile in Tomis (on the Black Sea) might (not) have been like. Short but engrossing.

 

Also the field guides by David Sibley, the one I use when I go birding myself--The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America.

Tom Hayward, Humanities Reference Librarian


Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Longish, telling short stories.

 

Judy Head, Associate Dean of the Faculty


Under the Dome by Stephen King. On a normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mills, Maine, the town is suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away.

 

Laurie Henderson, Director of Offices Services


Ian Frazier, Travels in Siberia. Part travelogue, part history of where the Czars and Soviets sent the millions of people who annoyed them. Beautifully written with a droll sense of humor: lots can go wrong on a trip through a land that includes 11 time zones, and it does, starting with buying a second-hand car for the trip.

 

Antonia Fraser, Must You Go: My Life with Harold Pinter. A great historian's elegiac account of her mid-life marriage to one of the great modern playwrights, up to his death. The wry sad title is reflective of the tone of the book.

Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. A stunning book on the "HeLa" cells that form the basis of most modern cellular and genetic research. Part medical history, part social commentary and family portrait of a young Black woman who died of cancer in Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Her cancer cells, taken without her knowledge, were able to survive outside her body and were used for most modern medical research, helping to find cures for polio, cancer and viral diseases. The book includes Victor McKusick, a Bates parent and founder of modern genetics, who was a leader in the team who worked with the cells.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies. Another book on cancer, by a gifted and dedicated oncologist, with sections on the history of the disease and its treatment, layered with chapters on the author's work with his patients. Powerful writing, and ultimately hopeful about the disease.

Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. A powerfully told story of the Black migration from the South to other parts of America, following three families. The Amazon blurb calls it "an epic, beautifully written masterwork," not an exaggeration for this book.

Peter Gomes, The Good Life. The great voice is stilled, but in this book are his rolling cadences and phrasing with the warm crisp insight from one who spent his life thinking about how to make a good life from the imperfect stuff we are given.

Bill Hiss '66, Executive Director for International Advancement and Lecturer in Asian Studies


The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a great read!

 

Aislinn Hougham, Assistant Director of Annual Giving



The Wedding by Danielle Steele

 

Another great book, Vanished by Danielle Steele

Also--titles that are part of a SERIES aka THE SISTERHOOD series and the Lt. DALLAS series, these are GREAT and are ongoing.

Joan Houston, Administrative Assistant, Facility Services


To the End of the Land by David Grossman
This is a long and tender tale of an Israeli woman who hopes that a hike in the Galilee -- with an old friend and lover who has fathered her son but never met him -- will somehow protect the young man from his military service. If she's not sitting at home waiting for the delivery of her son's death notice, he can't die. Written by one of Israel's finest novelists and essayists who lost his own son to war, this book embodies the power of life and intimacy and rages against the idiocy of armed conflict.

 

Phyllis Graber Jensen, Director of Photography and Video, Communications and Media Relations


Half Broke Horses- Jeannette Walls this is the follow up to The Glass Castle which I would also recommend.
Another I would suggest is Room by Emma Donoghue. It's a difficult read in that it is about a woman abducted and abused by her captor, she has a son and together they escape and begin to live a normal life outside of Room. It's beautiful, dark and sad but uplifting when you consider the resilience of the human spirit.

 

A lighter, feel good read: The Art of Racing in the Rain Garth Stein. If you are a dog lover you will appreciate this book about the special bond between a dog and its human.

Ashley Jewell, Admission Coordinator, Campus Visits and Events


Has anyone recommended The Help yet? If you were raised by a Southern woman who came of age during the civil rights movement, this book will definitely provide insight into who she was. (I loved it!) Not a very lofty comment, but the book is a dang good read for the beach/airplane.

 

Beverly Johnson, Associate Professor of Geology


Cutting for Stone : a Novel / Abraham Verghese2009
Compelling story about a medical family - their relationships with the backdrop of Ethiopian's turbulent history.

 

The Sherlockian / Graham Moore2110
Sherlock lovers, for sure, and others will enjoy this debut novel intrigue about the interim period when Sir Conan Doyle had "killed" Sherlock to when he decides to write him to life again, and the modern Sherlockian search for the lost diary of the same period.

Octavia's Hill / Margaret Dickson1983
Margaret (Smith) Dickson '68 writes a haunting account of a fictional place in Maine and the historical relationships that continue to affect the present generation of occupants on the hill.

The Poacher's Son / Paul Doiron2010
I guess I'm on a Maine authors kick.... this is not as enthusiastically endorsed as the above ones, but I thought it was a good page-turner and an interesting look at the lives of those who live much further north.
Laura Juraska, Associate Librarian for Reference Services


Some years I offer more of a summary of my entries, but this year I'm especially tight for time so I'll have to settle for a few random selections with little description!

 

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon: somehow I missed this book 10 years ago when everyone else was reading it, so I'll recommend it now to encourage anyone else who missed it to check it out (or anyone who forgot it because they read it 10 years ago to consider reading it again!).

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver: I'm only about one-third of the way through this book, but one of my 17-year old sons is an avid reader who recommends it very enthusiastically, so I'll pass that recommendation along.

The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates: this is another one that everyone else was reading a few years ago and I only managed to get around to recently.

Parenting Out of Control: Anxious Parents in Uncertain Times by Margaret Nelson: a very engaging sociological study of class variation in parenting styles and the use of surveillance technologies in parenting; many students in my course on "Privilege, Power and Inequality" considered it their favorite of the 5 books we read because they recognized their own experiences in Nelson's analysis of her interviews with parents of teenagers (while I found it interesting both as a sociologist and as a parent of teenagers myself).

Winning by Francesco Duina: here's a plug for one of my colleagues in the Bates sociology department- his new book is written for a broader audience than just sociologists, and a very engaging read.

The 2010 Bates College Accreditation Self-Study Report: working on this was a large part of the reason I got so behind on everything else this year, and did less leisure reading than usual, so I'll include it on my list of what I've been reading, but I'm confident you'll find many better suggestions throughout this year's summer reading list.

Emily Kane, Whitehouse Professor of Sociology


Little Bee by Chris Cleave--Like the back of the cover says--it's simply a magical book that will leave you wanting to discuss with others, and if you're lucky, like I did when I discussed, learned totally different perspectives by the others who read. It's a fantastic book club, summer read.

 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett--This book has gained steady momentum since coming out last year. The author truly captures the Southern way of life, right down to the language, and at times can be laugh out loud funny, and as well as sad and heartbreaking. Each chapter is a different character voice that weave together to form an incredible story. Highly recommend!

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay--A different take on the World War 2/Holocaust era, it deals with the French occupation, and a little known event called Vel' d'Hiv. The story goes back and forth between 1942 and present day, and offers a heart wrenching take on loss and the destruction that family secrets can have, even across time. I read this book literally in 24 hours. I could not put it down.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo--This book is marked as a childrens' book, however, like so many others, has messages within that speak directly to the grown- ups. A little less magical or whimsical than The Velveteen Rabbit, but still manages to touch you from within, and give a lesson simply on the power of love.

Blindness by Jose Saramago--I read this book over a decade ago, and have read it again for two different book clubs. This book was unlike any book I had ever read, both in content and style of writing. It takes you to a place that is raw and emotional, and asks the reader to consider what would happen if society were to completely breakdown, where all rules are broken, and what happens when individuals are taken to the very brink of humanity. It is captivating yet sometimes difficult to read because of its content, but it will leave the reader repeatedly asking the question "what if...?" and remind us how easy it is to take for granted the societal structure and comforts that we are so used to.

The Puzzle King by Betsey Carter--Just a really interesting and well crafted story based on the authors own ancestors--the puzzle king itself can mean so many different things as you journey throughout 30 years during a Hitler regime and how the tentacles of that occupation reached German Jews in the US, the struggle to fit in, despite enormous wealth, and the fact that not everything is as it seems. Another fascinating story from that time period.


Compiled and edited by Sarah Potter, Bookstore Director, 5/11

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2010 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

Welcome!

I welcome you to the 14th Annual Bates College Store Non-required Reading List, or Good Reads for Leisure Moments XIV. As in the past, this list includes submissions from across the Bates College community.

Receiving three or more recommendations on the 14th annual list:

  • The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
  • Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout '77)
  • Stieg Larsson trilogy
  • Still Alice (Lisa Genova '92)

Per usual, submissions are listed alphabetically by submitter's surname. We apologize for overcrowding, typographical and grammatical errors or other misrepresentations.

Enjoy! — Sarah Potter '77, College Store director

•   •   •

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

This is an entertaining mystery, whose quirky 11-year-old investigator, Flavia deLuce, will have you laughing out loud (wait until you see what she does with the poison ivy oil she distills in her chemistry lab...). Apparently, it's the first in a series, and while I might not read every one, this one is a hoot.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I'm sure this will appear on many people's list of books they have enjoyed this year. This is a story of America in the 60's - as the civil rights movement becomes part of every evening's national news. It is written from the perspective of several black maids who are encouraged to tell their stories in a book written by a young Southern woman (white, college grad, naive, a little lost, and redeemingly good-hearted). The juxtapositions of human kindness and cruelty, Northern and Southern prejudices, and the naiveté of youth and the wisdom of age are spellbinding. A fabulous read that will keep you interested and thinking about where you were "then."

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer

This is billed as the story of a boy whose father is killed in the September 11 tragedy. It is that, but it is much more about human emotion and the way the heart survives and heals in the face of incomprehensible loss. Set in New York in the 1990's, the book also flashes back to the bombing of Dresden in World War II, as told by the boy's paternal grandparents. It is a testimony to survival and abiding love. Don't let this description scare you away. While it deals with heavy stuff, there is humor and lightness as well, and it will leave you in a good place.

Lee Abrahamsen, Associate Professor of Biology

•   •   •

Don't Start the Revolution Without Me by Jesse Ventura

A "shoot from the hip," honest, non-partisan politician lets us into his political experiences and encounters to see just how far we've come from the original foundations of this country. He offers plans on how to right the ship, including a lot of things people just take for granted nowadays that our founding forefathers would have found simply atrocious. The book is written during his journey from Minnesota to Mexico (where he now lives) and about all the places, things and people along the way that force him to reminisce about his political career. A very passionate man with refreshing, yet simple political views encourages people to stand up to the government in a democratic way and tell them to STOP THE COURSE (as opposed to our last president's motto of "Stay the course"). That is, if the people still actually have the power to stand up to the government...

Jonathan Anctil , 2nd shift Custodian (Olin Arts)

•   •   •

The Stieg Larsson trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon TattooThe Girl Who Played with Fireand The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Nail-biting thrillers with a great female protagonist.

Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed

A fascinating read about the bankers at the heart of decision-making during the Great Depression.

The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy by Charles Fishman

A highly readable analysis of Wal-Mart's impact on the world.

Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir, Associate Professor of Politics

•   •   •

Joe Coomer's A Pocketful of Names -- one of the best novels I've read in years. (Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God and Apologizing to Dogs were both good, too)

Anything by Kate Atkinson, but especially When Will There be Good News? and Case Histories-- grim but amazing.

Zoe Sharp's Charlie Fox series -- kickass woman bodyguard is the heroine...

For anyone with kids around, Owl Moon is a beauty. And Dr. Seuss's lesser-known My Many-Colored Days.

Anna Bartel, Friend

•   •   •

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a must-read. If you were around in the 50's-60's it brings back a lot of historical memories. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry and sometimes you do both at the same time.

Jane Bedard, Admissions Office Specialist

•   •   •

Evidence (Beacon Press, 2009)

Mary Oliver's latest book of poetry, is lively and suggests that her more overtly religious tone is quieting down a bit, making room for more holy and surprising visitations.

God: Stories (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998), edited by Michael Curtis, is a collection of short stories, good ones, by good writers such as James Baldwin, Flannery O'Conner, Alice Munro, and John Updike.

Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community (Oxford, 2009), by Social Psychologist Kenneth Gergen, is his latest appeal for a radical reconsideration of the self as sufficient unto its....self.

Bill Blaine-Wallace, Multifaith Chaplain

•   •   •

I'm Here if You Need Me:  A True Story by Kate Braestrup

Victoria Blaine Wallace, Wife of the chaplain and friend of the college!

•   •   •

The Race for the Triple Crown, Joe Drape

This summer, Disney brings its version of the Secretariat story to the movies with its adaption of Bill Nack's excellent Secretariat: The Making of a Champion. As a primer, Joe Drape's The Race for the Triple Crown, about the 2000 campaign, gives a good sense of the hoopla and intensity surrounding this part of American thoroughbred racing. While American racing is increasingly disconnected from the average person's understanding or experience, the sport's stories remain no less compelling and, in a sense, pure — at least when compared with all the other highly packaged sports-entertainment crap we're fed.

Jay Burns, editor, Bates Magazine

•   •   •

My Enemy's Cradle by Sarah Young

A historical-fiction about the WWII Lebensborn, maternity home for Aryan girls carrying German babies and Cyrla, Jewish girl who takes shelter in the most notorious Lebensborn. Once inside, she learns if she gives birth in the Lebensborn, her child will be taken from her and given to the father or the child will be "destroyed" when she is discovered to not be of pure blood.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Twin brothers - Marion and Shiva Stone - are orphaned in childbirth in a mission hospital in Addis Ababa, Africa during the political upheaval of Ethiopia's revolution.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

An unforgettable, extraordinary story set Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s about black maids and the white women for whom they work.

Anne Marie Byrne, Staff Assistant—Dean of Students Office

•   •   •

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer

It's about learning to live the life you are meant to live and that wants to be lived in you, compared to living a life that has (without your consent or even awareness) been imposed on you through any of a number of avenues, such as education, media, family expectations, and the like.

Ned Carr, Assistant Treasurer

•   •   •

East of the Sun, by Julia Gregson

A novel about women traveling from England to India in the early 1900's, some to find husbands, all somewhat naive about what lies ahead. Not really a book about India, but a good read about these women's lives and the way they intertwine.

Light on Snow, by Anita Shreve

I liked this one by Anita Shreve. I have found some of her books to be hit or miss (didn't likeChange of Altitude much), but this one was a very good read. A father and daughter live in the middle of nowhere as the father cuts himself off from his feelings and others after tragedy. Then they find an abandoned baby and must deal with the feelings it brings up, the mother's sudden presence, and a detective's search for answers.

Delta Wedding, by Eudora Welty

A gentle, slow moving story about a southern family set in the early 1900's (?) about a young girl who goes to be with extended family as they prepare for a wedding. It is more of a portrait than a compelling narrative, a story that unfolds through the characterizations of people set in a particular place and time. An interesting read, but you can't be expecting a dramatic plot line. It's a novel of place, time and character.

Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie

A very sad book that takes the protagonist from the bombings of Japan, where she loses her fiance, to India, and then to Pakistan, New York and Afganistan (after 9/11). It tells the tale of survival of the spirit through horrors, and of the complications of family and relationships. I really liked this story, although it got a bit long toward the end.

Haunting Bombay, by Shilpa Agarwal

A funny, poignant, and somewhat surreal book about a ghost that haunts a family. Set in India, seen through the eyes of a young girl.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See

A poignant story set in 19th c China, about a friendship that is bound by -- and fractured by -- the tight bindings of tradition, as tightly wrapped as the bindings of their feet. An interesting read! I enjoyed this book a lot.

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout

I can't recall if I mentioned this one on last year's list, but it's worth another mention in any case. This wonderful book won the Pulitzer Prize and is written by a Bates grad! It is a series of short stories that center around the same town and in particular touch on one woman's life, Olive, who is sometimes harsh, sometimes gentle, sometimes mean, sometimes kind. She makes at least a cameo appearance in each story, and the basic "line" throughout follows her character, loosely. I like the way the story is

unassuming yet makes a strong sketch of character, of lives interwoven, sometimes randomly, of imperfection. An interesting read.

The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt

I am still reading this one – you can pick it up and put it down easily, as there is no real central "plot line." It's a nonfiction story of the author's trip to Venice and his own journalistic investigation into an opera house fire, but it is primarily a book filled with eccentric, charming, theatrical and colorful characters! And a fine portrait of the city of Venice as well that becomes a character in its own right, with anecdotal vignettes that bring the city to life. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I do!

Paths of Glory, by Jeffrey Archer

I confess I've yet to read beyond the 5th page of this, because my son is reading it right now. But it seems like a very good read – a novel based on the life/quest of George Mallory who may or may not have been the first person to reach the top of Everest. The speculative aspect, combined with the real sense of history (his body was actually discovered in 1999), makes this story a fascinating exploration of what might have happened. And you can google Mallory and find all sorts of additional documentation, photos, and maps.

The Bone series, by Jeff Smith

These are not only kids' books, they are graphic novels, not the type I'd typically add to a "must read" list! But these are so clever and fun that anyone with kids between the ages of, say, 9 onward, should read these! They are funny and endearing. The first one is Out of Boneville and the series continues from there. My kids and I have thoroughly enjoyed these books, and we are making our way through the series.

Anita Charles, Lecturer in Education

•   •   •

Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone

Kristen Cloutier, HCCP, Assistant Director of Center Operations

•   •   •

Here are two books-one I've read, one I haven't (yet):

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (read it, loved it)

Walking in Circles Before Lying Down by Merrill Markoe (picked it up at the store, wanted to buy it; decided to get it at the library; have to pay fines first.)

Daphne Comeau, Administrative Assistant - Annual Giving

•   •   •

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

I just finished this extraordinary novel, interlocking stories of a motley, surprising crew of New Yorkers on the day that Phillipe Petit tight-rope walked between the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan. The characters are amazing, Colum McCann's spirit is compassionate and wise. He has a wonderful way with voices and language.

Home by Marilynne Robinson is brilliant. This is a gripping revisitation of some of the characters from her earlier Gilead, but you can read it as a separate novel. It's an American version of the Prodigal Son, with a prodigal daughter as well.... amazing ending, that made me reconsider the whole novel, 1950's America, and why the characters had acted as they did.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Bleak, bleak, bleak - but an amazingly realized vision of a world we hope never to see: a father and his son on the road in a post apocalyptic landscape. The relationship between the father and son is wonderfully tender, and it's also an incredible novel of place - the lower Appalachian mountains once the climate has been completely screwed up. I couldn't put it down.... and if it sounds crazy to read this during the summer, I'll just say (no spoiler alert) that it's ultimately a profoundly affirmative work of the imagination.

Jane Costlow, Professor of Russian

•   •   •

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

An astounding memoir of the author's childhood of transiency and poverty, and the challenge of understanding her parents' choice to live the way they did.

Marianne Nolan Cowan, Director of Bates Networks and Regional Outreach

•   •   •

I really liked Pocketful of Names by Joe Coomer

Karen Daigler, Assistant Director of Med Studies, Career Services

•   •   •

The Deportees and Other Stories by Roddy Doyle

I found Doyle's characters and prose lively and charming like all his books.

Sylvia Deschaine, Academic Admin. Assistant, Psychology

•   •   •

Here are some books I've enjoyed this year:

Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks

Still Alice, Lisa Genova

Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres

The Island at the Center of the World, Russell Shorto

Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Homer and Langley, E. L. Doctorow

Marty Deschaines, Asst. Director for Community Volunteerism and Student Leadership Development, HCCP

•   •   •

Exile is a political thriller by Richard Patterson which engages the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a fictional trial for an accused Palestinian political assassin being defended by her former lover, a Jewish-American lawyer.

Patterson does an excellent job of explaining the history and describing the real life in Israel and the occupied territories.

A good love story, blended in with suspense and history. The plot is non-stop exciting from beginning to end.

Exile is a story of intrigue, conspiracy and a fatalistic love between two people whose cultures separates them in a timeless void.

Donna Duval, Administrative Assistant, Leadership Gifts

•   •   •

For the Sci-fi experience I just re-read the Landover Series by Terry Brooks.

For the mystery buffs, Donna Andrews - Murder with Puffins, was a fast read and takes place on Monhegan Island.

Also any of the J.S. Borthwick, books with the Maine locations and her characters of Sarah Deane and Alex McKenzie are enjoyable.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, has me hooked to the point that I carry it with me, so I can read whenever I can. All the books in the series are a big read, with over 800 pages.

Can't wait to see what others are reading.

Melinda Emerson, ILS Purchasing, Sales and Accounting Specialist

•   •   •

Richard Holmes-- The Age of Wonder

(Herschel, Banks, Davies, balloons across the Channel! Science in the Romantic Age! Brilliant.)

Nicholson Baker-- The Anthologist (novel); (poignant travails of a minor poet.)

Justin Tussing-- The Best People in the World (novel);

(a runaway comes of age in VT with back-to-the-landers, early 70s.)

Sarah Manguso-- Two Kinds of Decay (illness memoir-- sharp insight, striking formal conception.)

Don Paterson-- (3 books, poetry) Landing LightRainBest Thought, Worst Thought

Wendy Cope-- (poetry) Serious Concerns

Derek Walcott-- (poetry) White Egrets

Jonathan Skinner-- (poetry) With Naked Foot

Jason Brown-- (stories) Why The Devil Chose New England For His Work

Rob Farnsworth, Senior Lecturer-English

•   •   •

My book club read these three books and we all LOVED them.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grisson

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anita Farnum, Security and Campus Safety

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

Johie Farrar, Assistant Dean of Admissions

The Shack by William Young

This was an excellent book!

Jeannine Ferron, Accounting Assistant

•   •   •

How about Old Filth [by Jane Gardam, Whitbred Award winner]? Just finished it, and enjoyed it.

From The New Yorker:This mordantly funny novel examines the life of Sir Edward Feathers, a desiccated barrister known to colleagues and friends as Old Filth (the nickname stands for "Failed in London Try Hong Kong"). After a lucrative career in Asia, Filth settles into retirement in Dorset. With anatomical precision, Gardam reveals that, contrary to appearances, Sir Edward's life is seething with incident: a "raj orphan," whose mother died when he was born and whose father took no notice of him, he was shipped from Malaysia to Wales (cheaper than England) and entrusted to a foster mother who was cruel to him. What happened in the years before he settled into school, and was casually adopted by his best friend's kindly English country family, haunts, corrodes, and quickens Filth's heart; Gardam's prose is so economical that no moment she describes is either gratuitous or wasted.

Joan Fischer, Leadership Gifts Officer

•   •   •

Anita Shreve's Change in Altitude.

Rae Garcelon, Class of 1962, Former Alumni Director

•   •   •

The book that the Maine [Bates Alumni] book club did last week was fantastic:

The Help [Stockett].

Leigh Graham, Assistant Director of Alumni and Parent Programs

I have been reading two books about the War of 1812, a much neglected part of our history. The first for genealogy (because I had an ancestor stationed there during the war), Blockhouse and Battery: A History of Fort Edgecomb by Joshua Smith.

The second for town history, Strange Fatality: The Battle of Stoney Creek, 1813 by James Elliott, because it features two founders of the Town of Monmouth, Henry Dearborn and John Chandler. Both well researched and well written. They won the battle but lost their general!

On a completely different note, I am enjoying Madeleine Albright's memoir Madame Secretary, having worked with Senator Muskie's papers at the Muskie Archives. She was one of his staff people, and her account of the "dirty tricks" perpetrated by Segretti is one of the highlights.

Lois Griffiths, Retired staff member, Class of 1951

•   •   •

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Precious by Sapphire

Lorraine Groves, Bookstore Sales Floor Supervisor

•   •   •

I just finished Martha Grimes' Dakota, which I had been meaning to read last summer--pretty good.

Elaine Hansen, President

•   •   •

Murder on a Midsummer Night, Kerry Greenwood

Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mysteries have been short, light reads until now. While certainly not literature, Midsummer Night takes it up more than a notch both in length and content. I had to read it twice, spending hours, the second time, looking up references to art genres, artists, paintings, wall paper (Who knew that wall paper was a serious art form?), plays, playwrights and antiquities. I never did figure out why Dulac blue, which appeared throughout, was significant, nor why she deliberately misled the reader regarding the origin of a particular gold artifact. The usual murder mystery elements, greed, jealousy and subterfuge, are there, along with silly things like a butler named Butler, but Midsummer Night is worth more than a "skim" read.

Jim Hart, Programmer/Analyst, ILS

•   •   •

Giddins, Gary : Jazz , W.W. Norton & Co., c2009

SUMMARY    History of jazz that explains what jazz is, where it came from, and who created it and why, all within the broader context of American life and culture. Emphasizing its African American roots, Jazz traces the history of the music over the last hundred years. From ragtime and blues to the international craze for swing, from the heated protests of the avant-garde to the radical diversity of today's artists, Jazz describes the travails and triumphs of musical innovators struggling for work, respect, and cultural acceptance set against the backdrop of American history, commerce, and politics. With vibrant photographs by legendary jazz chronicler Herman Leonard, Jazz is also an arresting visual history of a century of music.

The above summary is from the catalog record; my own "review" is that this is very well written and covers up to the recent past. The most interesting feature is the detailed musical analysis of selected recordings--analysis that a non-musician (like me) can understand and follow as s/he listens to the record. This illuminates and deepens the appreciation of both favorite tunes and unfamiliar music. One of the better jazz books of recent years.

Tom Hayward, Humanities Reference Librarian

•   •   •

Here's my recommendation: Leo Tolstoy, "The Cossacks" and "Hadji Murad." Both are short stories and published in The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Short Stories in the Oxford World Classics series. I rediscovered Tolstoy by reading them. More importantly, I realized how much the current history of the area north of Iran was actually related to the Russian expansion into that region in the nineteenth century.

Atsuko Hirai, Kazushige Hirasawa Professor of History

•   •   •

A few books about Asia:

Ted Morgan, Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu that Led America into the Vietnam War

In this thoroughly researched 700-page book, Morgan, a Pulitzer Prize winner, balances painful portraits of the months-long battle with detailed accounts of how American foreign policy was gradually pulled into the collapse of French colonialism. Like many books by Westerners about Vietnam, the Vietnamese except for Ho Chi Minh and General Giap almost completely disappear into the background, despite that almost half the forces fighting on the French side at Dien Bien Phu were Vietnamese.

Karl Marlantes, Matterhorn

A powerful Vietnam war novel by a former Marine officer, 35 years in the writing is a monumental attempt at self-healing, perhaps likely to become a war classic.

Leslie T. Chang, Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

A reporter's look (Chang was a WSJ writer) at the immense social transformations caused by the migrations of millions of young women to the factory cities and their dormitories. The book is also for Chang a "Roots" experience, as she traces her own family roots to a rural northern village near the Great Wall. Three great China books in one marriage: Chang's husband is Peter Hessler, author of the equally well-written River Town and Oracle Bones.

James Bradley, The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War

Bradley, the acclaimed author of Flags of our Fathers, may be stretching his luck with this book. Theodore Roosevelt sent his Secretary of State and future President William Howard Taft with a Congressional delegation and his daughter Alice on a cruise to Hawaii and Asia. It was presented to the press as a good will junket, but Taft secretly negotiated treaties in Korea, Japan, China and the Philippines that negatively affected later Asian history.

Two chilling books about explorers in South America:

Candice Millard, River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Faced with political loss, Roosevelt's impulse was often to charge into some grand adventure, on San Juan Hill, in North Dakota, or in this book, in a terribly misconceived expedition to follow an unexplored river through the heart of interior Brazil. That any of them survived is a miracle.

David Grann, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

The author, a talented New Yorker journalist with little jungle experience, found a set of diaries of the early 20th century British explorer Percy Fawcett and resolved to follow his track to find the lost Indian empire the Spaniards called Eldorado. Grann barely survived; Fawcett and his son were never found.

Bill Hiss '66, Executive Director for International Advancement and Lecturer in Asian Studies

•   •   •

There is a series of books by JD Robb. It is the Lt. Dallas Homicide detective series. They may not appeal to everyone, but the rapport between the characters is great, and I have loved and read all in the series. I eagerly await each new book as they come out (not fast enough for me). So, hope this helps. Don't be turned off by the NAMES of the books and not for the faint at heart as the subject IS murder, but if a reader can get beyond that fact, the characters MORE than make up for the subject matter.

Naked in Death

Glory in Death

Immortal in Death

Rapture in Death

Ceremony in Death

Vengeance in Death

Holiday in Death

Conspiracy in Death

Loyalty in Death

...and more!

Joan Houston, Administrative Assistant, Facility Services

•   •   •

It didn't seem like I'd read any books except garden catalogues for quite a while, but I thought of one that I read this year and loved. Again this year I'm touting Bernd Heinrich, who has written a number of books that are just scientific enough for me to learn something and have just enough human interest to really grab me emotionally. The book I read most recently really got to me emotionally. It's called, The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology, and it's a biography of his father, Gerd Heinrich, who made important but little-recognized contributions to the field of biology, and a memoir of the author's childhood.

After his father's death, Bernd found himself drawn to the task of piecing together Gerd's life, from his childhood on a family estate in Poland, through the family's dangerous (and incredibly suspenseful) escape in the wake of World War II and re-settlement in Western Maine, to the painful and frustrating wrangles Bernd and his father engaged in as Bernd found his own way in his father's field. Permeating the book is Gerd's absolute obsession with the study and identification of different species of parasitical ichneumon wasps. He spent his life hunting down specimens of these wasps, identifying their species or prompting the identification of a new species, and adding them to his collection. Also at the core of the book is the disappointment and pain felt by both father and son in their dealings with each other. Ultimately, they were much more alike than different, and much more closely bound together than I think either of them thought. I found the book deeply moving -- to see how Bernd finally came to walk in his father's shoes and see Gerd on Gerd's own terms is very sad at times, but sad in that way that feels almost good as your heart opens to another human being or beings.

Sue Hubley, Senior Researcher, College Advancement

•   •   •

For those who are puzzled by what happened in the nation's financial markets, two very readable, non-technical accounts (almost summer reading!) are:

Andrew Sorkin - Too Big to Fail

Michael Lewis - The Big Short (author of The Blind Side, of Sandra Bullock fame)

Jim Hughes, Thomas Sowell Professor of Economics

•   •   •

I'd recommend Lords of Finance (Liaquat Ahamed), which is about the central bankers who made the Great Depression possible - if you enjoyed 13 BankersEconned or Bailout Nation, you'll like this one.

The Ghost Map (Steven Johnstone), gives the history of how London detected and defeated cholera outbreaks in the early Victorian period.  At one level this book is and reads like a detective story.  At another level the book considers the question of how the organization of information shapes the kind of information we can imagine and discover - and how and why the way we organize information changes.

Conspirata: A Novel of Ancient Rome. (Robert Harris). The title says it all.  If you likedImperium (and if you didn't, I'm sure there's a 12 step group to help you), you'll love Conspirata- set in the year that Cicero was consul.

Margaret Imber, Associate Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies

•   •   •

Three unforgettable books I borrowed from Ladd Library in 2009-10:

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, is the story of Syrian-born contractor Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who chose to stay in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, hoping to protect his property and the lives of others. He lived to regret it.

In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s by Clayborne Carson, an essential history of the remarkable young organizers of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who led a revolution and laid the groundwork for future U.S. protest movements.

Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits by Linda Gordon paints a portrait of an artist whose photographic icons grew out of her strengths as well as her weaknesses. And she had plenty of both.

Phyllis Graber Jensen, Senior Staff Writer and Photographer

•   •   •

Here are a few random selections, things I read over the course of this year that I enjoyed and also happen to remember...

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie: this novel follows generations of a family from Nagasaki during WWII to India to Pakistan to NYC and Afghanistan during 2001, weaving a beautiful multi-generational family saga with a nuanced geopolitical commentary that highlights colonial power and privilege.

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb: a very different sort of multi-generational family saga set within real events, not quite as beautifully written as Burnt Shadows in my opinion, but still a very engrossing read; it follows a fictional couple who both teach high school at Columbine High, tracing their family stories back and forward from the 1999 shooting.

Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin: this tell-all about the 2008 U.S. presidential election isn't the sort of book I typically read, because I prefer to read fiction when I'm not reading sociology/gender studies, but it was lent to me by a Bates alum who had purchased it in an airport and said he couldn't put it down; I too found it a pretty addictive read, both in the political analysis and the gossipy details about Obama, Edwards, Clinton, McCain, and Palin.

Radical Ambition: C. Wright Mills, the Left, and American Social Thought by Daniel Geary: if you like intellectual history, I recommend this biography of mid-20th century sociologist and public intellectual C. Wright Mills, which explores the thinkers and schools of thought that influenced Mills both as an academic and a political figure (and argues that Mills was less detached from the academy than he is often considered now). It's a good read for anyone interested in Mills in particular, but also for those with a broader interest in leftist politics in the mid-20th century, as it traces Mills' changing perspective on such politics (in the U.S. and internationally) across the decades of his relatively short career.

Emily Kane, Professor of Sociology

•   •   •

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is the best book I have read in years. As I suspect most of you know (given the amount of legitimate praise it has received, e.g., Man Booker prize for 2009), it is an historical novel of Cromwell's life/role during the reign of Henry VIII, is wonderfully written, and humanizes Cromwell and the various players.

John Kelsey, Professor of Psychology

•   •   •

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

A Kingsolver fan, I loved this book while I was reading it and then I was resentful afterward because she makes growing her own vegetables, making her own cheese, raising her own meat, and on and on, look so easy--the Martha Stewart of the eating-local movement. Then I felt guilty: Do I dare to eat a peach if it was shipped from the South? (apologies to T.S.Eliot) I'm over it now and have incorporated those practices that I can into my day-to-day life. I have recommended this book to others.

Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout, Bates '77

Wonderful group of stories about people who seem so real set in an area that's so familiar.

Digging to America by Anne Tyler

I had sworn off Ann Tyler for a while because her characters were getting too quirky for me, but I highly recommend this book about two families who adopt daughters from Korea and their different approaches to assimilation into a new place and retention of cultural and ethnic heritage.

Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

A life-affirming novel about four people living in Sarajevo during the siege: a cellist who plays outside on the street for 22 days in memory of citizens who were killed by a bomb while they waited in a breadline, the sniper who is ordered to protect him, and two men who are trying to

accomplish basic tasks like buying food and hauling drinking water not knowing if they will survive the bullets and bombs that are destroying their city.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A different look at war and its effects by people who survived Nazi occupation on their island in the English Channel and the author who wants to write about it. Told through a series of letters to and from different people, the characters are endearing and the story keeps you engaged.

Here and Nowhere Else by Jane Brox

One of a trilogy of memoirs about a family farm and apple orchard in Massachusetts and how the family members handle the transfer of ownership and management to the next generation. The book is beautifully written and heart-breaking in parts, especially when Brox candidly reveals her love of the farm and her frustration with family members as they confront the inevitable.

Margo H. Knight, Director of Advancement Research

•   •   •

All the World's a Grave. A New Play by William Shakespeare by John Reed

Laura Warholic or, The Sexual Intellectual by Alexander Theroux

Jesus-Shock by Peter Kreeft

My Losing Season by Pat Conroy

Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster by Paul Ingrassia

Churchill by Paul Johnson

Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater

•   •   •

The Hiding Man: a Biography of Donald Barthelme - Tracy Daugherty (St. Martin's Press, 2009)

A fascinating peek into the literary world of the 60's and 70's.

The Farmer's Daughter - Jim Harrison (Grove Press, 2010)

The master returns, and with Brown Dog.

Jim Lamontagne, Ladd Library Assistant, Cataloging

•   •   •

Shattered by Karen Robards

Maureen Lessard, Bates employee spouse

•   •   •

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Wonderful novel set in Ethiopia on the grounds of a hospital serving the poor. Verghese opens window after window onto lives of people who will become part of your extended family. A physician, Abraham Verghese is well known for his work of non-fiction, My Own Country. At over 600 pages, this isn't a quick read, but I didn't want it to end!

Rebecca Lovett, Assistant Bookstore Manager

•   •   •

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (author of the also highly recommended Black Swan Green!)

Cloud Atlas is simply amazing. "Mitchell's virtuosic novel presents six narratives that evoke an array of genres, from Melvillean high-seas drama to California noir and dystopian fantasy." (new yorker)

Perhaps previously recommended (?), The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker.

Bill Low, Curator, Museum of Art

•   •   •

Siri Hustvedt, What I Loved (very sad, beware)

Rosina Lippi, The Homestead (FABULOUS!)

Molly Gloss, The Hearts of Horses

David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, probably the most amazing book I've read in a long time

Stieg Larsson's trilogy

Kathy Low, Professor of Psychology

•   •   •

187 Reasons Mexicanos Can't Cross the Border: Undocuments 1971-2007 by Juan Felipe Herrera

"A hybrid collection of texts written and performed on the road, from Mexico City to San Francisco, from Central America to central California, illustrated throughout with photos and artwork. Rants, manifestos, newspaper cutups, street theater, anti-lectures, love poems, and riffs tell the story of what it's like to live outlaw and brown in the United States."

The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait by Frida Kahlo

"Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1919- 1954) kept this haunting journal during the last decade of her life, preoccupied with death, beset by declining health, isolation and repeated surgical operations resulting from the bus accident that severely damaged her spine, pelvic bones, right leg and right foot at the age of 18. This facsimile edition reproduces her handwritten, colored-ink entries and accompanying self-portraits, sketches, doodles and paintings, which fuse surrealism, pre-Columbian gods and myths, biomorphic forms, animal-human hybrids, archetypal symbols."

Varieties of Exile (New York Review Books Classics Series) by Mavis Gallant

"Mavis Gallant - winner of the Rea Award for the Short Story - is the modern master of what Henry James called the international story, the fine-grained evocation of the quandaries of people who, from choice or necessity, have no place to call home. The complexity and uncertainty of the idea of home are very much at issue in the stories Gallant writes about Canada, her home country."

Photography Degree Zero: Reflections on Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida by Geoffrey Batchen

"Roland Barthes's 1980 book Camera Lucida is perhaps the most influential book ever published on photography. The terms studium and punctum, coined by Barthes for two different ways of responding to photographs, are part of the standard lexicon for discussions of photography; Barthes's understanding of photographic time and the relationship he forges between photography and death have been invoked countless times in photographic discourse; and the current interest in vernacular photographs and the ubiquity of subjective, even novelistic, ways of writing about photography both owe something to Barthes. Photography Degree Zero, the first anthology of writings on Camera Lucida, goes beyond the usual critical orthodoxies to offer a range of perspectives on Barthes's important book."

The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen

"Elizabeth Bowen's portrait of a young woman's coming of age in a brutalized time and place, where the ordinariness of life floats like music over the impending doom of history. In 1920, at their country home in County Cork, Sir Richard Naylor and his wife, Lady Myra, and their friends maintain a skeptical attitude toward the events going on around them, but behind the facade of tennis parties and army camp dances, all know that the end is approaching—the end of British rule in the south of Ireland and the demise of a way of life that had survived for centuries. Their niece, Lois Farquar, attempts to live her own life and gain her own freedoms from the very class that her elders are vainly defending. The Last September depicts the tensions between love and the longing for freedom, between tradition and the terrifying prospect of independence, both political and spiritual."

The Foster's Market Cookbook: Favorite Recipes for Morning, Noon, and Night by Sara Foster

"In the tradition of the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Foster has put together favorite recipes featured at her two Foster's Markets (where she prepares and sells seasonal dishes) in Durham and Chapel Hill, N.C. Much of the food is simple and depends on fresh, quality ingredients enhanced by herbs and spices for its success. Starting with a wide selection of muffins and breads, such as the moist Granny Foster's Banana Walnut Bread, the book covers a range of breakfast and brunch dishes before moving on to soups, stews, chilies and the more traditional sandwiches, spreads and snacks of a gourmet market store.  Enhanced with photos and scattered sidebar tips, the book is well designed and user-friendly, making it a welcome addition for those who plan their meals with the seasons."

Perrin Lumbert, Library Assistant – Interlibrary Loan

•   •   •

Making Ideas Happen, by Scott Belsky

http://the99percent.com/book

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

http://tinyurl.com/cxl95x

Drive-The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

http://tinyurl.com/2b8b4tv

Ethan Dahlin Magoon, Online Media Producer, CMR

•   •   •

Last Night in Twisted River, John Irving

Irving's 12th and latest, is set in New England and actually begins on a tributary of the Androscoggin, where a young logger dies in a log jam. The story begun in a logging camp flows downriver to Boston, follows a cook and his son through the restaurants of Boston, Brattleboro and Toronto, running from a crime that no one may know was even committed. Or, was it? Oh yes, there are bears and tattoos, too...wheat else would you expect?

Reading the Forested Landscape, Tom Wessels.

When I think I know something about land use history, I go back to this book and learn something new. Tom Wessels is a master of interpreting the signs left behind: how an old stone wall reveals which side was the pasture, and which the crop field; how the trees tell you when the fields were used and for what, and what the soil is like underneath. A field trip in a book, and a wonderful companion to read before and after a walk in the nearby woods.

The Poacher's Son, Paul Doiron. Can I recommend a book I haven't quite had the opportunity to read yet? Why not? It's had great reviews, and Paul, the author, friend and editor-in-chief of DownEast magazine, has been talking about his first novel for years. It has just come out, and my copy is on its way. I know it's going to be good. He has crafted a mystery set in the Spencer Lake area of Northern Maine near Jackman, incorporating some tales of the real prisoner-of-war camp set up there in the 40's, and drawing from stories of a mutual friend who used to be doctor to the logging camps. Can't wait to read this suspenseful thriller from a real place I once loved to visit.

Here's an addendum to my blurb about Paul Doiron's The Poacher's Son

I just finished reading the book. Hard to put down; the stuff that all-nighters are made of. The last two lines say it all: "People disappoint you so often. I hardly knew how to react when they surpassed all your hopes." This is a keeper. Read it.

Judy Marden, Bates retiree, Class of 1966

•   •   •

...may already be on the list, but The Help by Katherine Stockett and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell are what I have enjoyed recently.

Also, The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent was very good!

Melani McGuire, Compensation and Classification Manager

•   •   •

 

*** This list has been truncated.  To download the full list, please follow this link. ***

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2009 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

Welcome!

I welcome you to the 13th Annual Bates College Store Non-required Reading List, or Good Reads for Leisure Moments XIII. As in the past, this list includes submissions from across the Bates College community. Enjoy! — Sarah Potter '77, College Store director

•    •    •

Brother Fish by Bryce Courtenay
A good story about prisoners of war during the Korean conflict, racism and the strength of friendships. I actually listened to this one in audio form, and the reader was superb as well. A good one for a long car trip. The Great Influenza by John Barry Everything you EVER wanted to know about the flu epidemic of 1918. An absolutely fascinating story of the pandemic that killed more than 40 million people - the reason why we are so terrified of the emergence of H1N1. A good story that is well written and interesting (from a virology geek's point of view)-a very accessible account of how one virus changed history.

Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab by Christine Montross
David Cummisky told me about this book a while ago and I finally read it this year. It was written when Ms. Montross was a first year medical student, dissecting her cadaver in the gross anatomy lab. Her prose is really beautiful. Whether she is describing her own thoughts about her right to violate the body of another, the high personal price one pays to navigate a medical education, or the glistening dura mater that covers the brain, the writing is equally compelling. I was really captivated (good call, Dave!). The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett OK, it takes me a while to get to some of these "classics". This is another one that I'm listening to on my iPod - I am hooked on listening to audiobooks in the car and on airplanes. So far I like it, and although it's a little contrived, I like the details in this historical fiction about the building of the Kingsbury cathedral in 12th century England. It's not so complex that I forget to get off the turnpike....

Lee Abrahamson, Associate Professor of Biology

•    •    •

My reading has been eclectic: A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (Nicholas Drayson) was very fun: a love story in postcolonial Nairobi with interesting politics; School of Essential Ingredients: not my favorite, but a light, sweet food- and-relationships novel; Peace Like a River (Leif Enger): beautiful story of a family's struggles with faith, integrity, and the law in the upper midwest, gorgeously written; Emotionally Weird (Kate Atkinson): took me two readings to "get" it, but a very clever, fun, bizarre literary adventure — stories within stories; Metzger's Dog (Thomas Perry): rather hilarious heist-and-murder sort — surprisingly clever and lots of fun, though I usually enjoy stories more when there's a character I can really admire; (also The Island by Perry —same critique); Dick Francis novels — any of them — good fun around/involving the British horse-racing scene. Read too many, though, and you end up speaking and writing a little funny. Len is reading The Life You Can Save — Peter Singer — and loving it. It's an intellectual argument for increased philanthropy from individuals — giving consistently, because of justice and reason, rather than sporadically out of pity. He's also enjoyed The Starfish and the Spider andHere Comes Everybody, both about new organizational models of leadership, usually technologically mediated. And he worked through Breach of Faith which is about Katrina, though it was heavy.

Anna Bartel, Associate Director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships (and her husband, Len!)

•    •    •

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

Jim Bauer, Director of Network and Infrastructure Services, ILS

•    •    •

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch....should be a "must read" requirement for everyone. Very inspiring... Knit Two by Kate Jacobs.....sequel to The Friday Night Knitting Club, if you read the first book, reading this is like catching up with old friends.

Jane Bedard, Admissions Office Specialist

•    •    •

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
Fascinating historical fiction about life in a quarantined leprosy settlement. The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin A perfect summer read that takes place at a fishing camp in rural Maine. The Double Bind by Chis Bohjalian A psychological drama with a twist - you'll want to read it twice. Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors Historical fiction about the building of the Taj Mahal.

Kristen Belka, Associate Dean of Admissions

•    •    •

Finding Beauty in a Broken World, Terry Tempest Williams, Pantheon
A beautiful read indeed. For example: "A mosaic is a conversation between what is broken." There is, in the middle, an approximately 100-page exercise in what first feels like tedium and monotony. Then I got it! Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Thomas Merton, Doubleday Still remarkably fresh and relevant after almost 40 years. A Mercy, Toni Morrison, Knopf The language of an earlier South caught and kept my curiosity.

Bill Blaine-Wallace, Multifaith Chaplain

•    •    •

Robert Whiting, You Gotta have Wa (1989). This is a fascinating account of how America's pasttime changed/evolved in Japan to be more compatible with the culture as it was in the 70s and 80s. A great read for anyone with an interest in baseball or Japan. Julie Norem, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking. (2001). If you've ever been disgusted by someone telling you to "not worry so much" or "look on the bright side," then you may be a defensive pessimist. Norem argues that this may actually be a good thing for many people, as it can help them deal with what might otherwise be overwhelming anxiety. Moreover, she argues that for some people, being defensively pessimistic is better than being optimistic! This is an interesting book that turns the positive psychology movement on its head.

Helen Boucher, Assistant Professor of Psychology

•    •    •

Matthew Kelly: The Rhythm of Life
An easy read for those who seek to get their emotional life in order. The author is best known for his public speaking and motivational skills. He has many other titles as well that cover other subjects. It is an easy and wonderful read. These titles are also available on cds.

Jane Boyle, Library Assistant, ILS

•    •    •

Here are a few children's books that are/have been popular at our house. Ellison the Elephant by Eric Drachman A wonderful story about self-confidence and perseverance that you will want to read over and over again. The accompanying CD is priceless. The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard by B.G. Hennessy A great book for little ones interested in dinosaurs. Dinosaur facts woven into a cute story that even includes lima beans. Do Like a Duck Does! by Judy Hindley The rhyming makes this a really fun book to read. Dig, Dig, Digging by Margaret Mayo An entertaining book for those fascinated by big machines such as bulldozers, tractors and firetrucks.

Heather Bumps, Assistant to the President

•    •    •

As The Earth Turns, Gladys Hasty Carroll '25, D.Lit '45
In one of the interviews that Pulitzer-winning author Elizabeth Strout '77 gave recently, she told Maine Public Broadcasting that it wasn't until she moved to New York, where people assume that all the New England states are all the same, that she began to focus on her own Maine background in her writing, with great success. That made me think about Carroll's most famous book, 1933's "As the Earth Turns" — about inland Maine farm life — which faded then rebounded in critical approval in the 1990s as people began to value the sense of place in Carroll's writing. It's a good lesson.

H. Jay Burns, Editor Bates Magazine

•    •    •

Magazines: Mother Jones, Mental Floss

Books: The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You: A Guide to Self-Diagnosis for Hypochondriacs by Knock Knock; The Phantom Tollbooth by Justin Norton; Poor People by William T. Vollmann

Anne Marie Byrne, Staff Assistant-Dean of Students Office

•    •    •

The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri I really liked this book! An interesting blend of Indian culture and contemporary life in Bombay, with the mythical world of the gods. The story loosely follows the death of Vishnu, a man who lives in an apartment hallway. We learn of the inhabitants of the building, while Vishnu goes in and out of delirium and/or death "truths." A clever combination and the characters are built well.

The Glass Castle: A Memoir, by Jeanette Walls This is an excellent book and a page-turner! It ranks right up there with Angela's Ashes — and I think I like this one better. A true story of a girl's horrific childhood. Told with humor and insight. My 12 yr old started reading this book "accidentally" and couldn't put it down until he had finished it. A Mercy, by Toni Morrison Since this is one of my all-time favorite authors, I have trouble saying anything negative about her most recent book. A friend ordered it for me as soon as it became available, and I finished in a couple of days. It was a satisfying read, wonderfully written. A bit shorter than I would have liked. I think she could have beefed out some of the characterization and depth more, but it was a good read. Not as good as Beloved, but that would be hard to compete with.

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, by Sebastian Junger
I guess I'm behind the rest of the world in reading this book, and no, I haven't seen the movie! The book was a thriller — kept me turning pages to find out what would happen next. It's told in intricate detail, sometimes more than I wanted, esp about the ships and the ocean statistics. It's not a "typical" book for me, but I liked it more than I thought I might. I kept dreaming about it, and I kept feeling like I was actually in the book at times, esp when the process of drowning is described. Now I guess I need to rent the movie! (Don't give away the ending... Oh yeah, the ship goes down.)

The Pilot’s Wife, by Anita Shreve I'm on a bit of an Anita Shreve kick. This book didn't disappoint. I like her writing style and her sense of the perverse. She takes the reader through the unfolding of a terrible discovery that keeps you turning pages. She takes the ordinary and makes it strange, and the strange ordinary.

Sea Glass, by Anita Shreve Again, another story where the reader gets pulled in bit by bit and washed out to sea with the unraveling of truths and deceptions! I didn't like the ending — seemed very abrupt and too wrapped up, but maybe the abruptness is part of the point.

Testimony, by Anita Shreve This book is dark, intense, and disturbing. Through multiple viewpoints, we see the cause and effect of one terrible moment caught on video — what led up to it is just as troubling as what happened afterward. This book is well written — and despite the darkness was hard to put down. But I warn you, it’s a bit on the weird side.

Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer I thought I would like this book more than I did, but it was a good read. By about the 3rd page, I was already sick to death of one of the narrator's overdone butchered English and smug crassness. But of course that sets you up for lots of change in the character as the book evolves. The book is about a young man who goes searching for the woman who saved his grandfather during WWII. The first-person narrator who opens the book is a "foil" of sorts, as the chapters from different viewpoints interweave with each other. One thing I really liked about this story was its nuances of what's real and what's fiction. The Ukrainian narrator alludes to shifting and "inventing" parts of the story, and some of the "historical" chapters by the other narrator are clearly fanciful.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer
Unlike his other book, this one was a definite win! I couldn't put it down and finished it in two days. I love the blend of narration, the puzzling out that the reader needs to do, the innocent child-narrator, and the story that presents one tale of the aftermath of 9-11 without overdoing the drama. I love the characters that the boy meets in his journey, and I enjoyed the mystery of the key. Nothing seems to turn out as you want it to, and yet it all does seem to resolve itself. Some of the book is quite unrealistic — a mom allowing her 9 yr old boy to wander the streets of NY for hours on end?? Improbable at best. A 103 yr old man who is able to participate in some of those hours-long wanderings? Again, not likely. Esp when he more or less disappears later. (Oops, was that a spoiler??) But I don't mind suspending my disbelief for a great book!

The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer
I am just finishing up this book and have really liked it! It is somewhat-loosely based on the author's childhood experience of her father's imprisonment in Iran, and the family's subsequent escape. This story follows the lives of individuals in one family caught in the middle of a revolution. It's well-crafted, and you get inside the perspectives of the father in prison, the mother's helplessness, the young daughter's subversive activity of her own (and accompanying guilt), and the older son's passivity living in New York.

Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery Series, by Charlaine Harris (Dead Until Dark; Living Dead in Dallas; Club Dead; and other novels in the series)
Okay, DON’T LAUGH!! Yes, this is a human-in-love-with-a-vampire book, and no it's not my typical read! So, if you're done laughing yourself out of your chair that I'm reading a whole series about a girl who loves a vampire, let me explain... A good friend recommended it, and I started reading them and found that the story line was lighthearted in an odd sort of way. Surprises along the way, and some fun, refreshing characters. The tone is very light, and there is absolutely nothing serious about these books. They are the ones I bring when I'm exercising on the treadmill and need something relatively mindless. I'm starting to get fond of these characters now. Kind of like a soap opera... (Note: I’m part way through the 6th or 7th one now and have to confess to growing weary of them. I give them 2 out of 5 stars. Fun, but after a while they become — dare I say it? — "deadly.")

Anita Charles, Lecturer in Education

•    •    •

Some "light" summer reading! Peter Thomson, Sacred Sea: A Journey to Baikal. Read it and pretend you're coming with the Bates FSA to Russia! Lyrical and quirky and informative about Baikal and Siberia and Russia. By the former producer of Living on Earth. Thoughtful consideration about what it means to be an environmental journalist.

Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb out of Darkness. There were moments when I wasn't sure that Karen Armstrong ever had ANY friends - but all in all I found this an interesting account, and a more personal approach to some of her work on various religious traditions.

Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate. This is the War and Peace of the 20th century, only it's actually better. Without Tolstoy's ponderous philosophizing. Grossman was the most famous Soviet war reporter, his mother murdered by the Nazis in their invasion of the western Soviet Union. His novel takes on a vast cast of characters, interlinked by their connections to the Battle of Stalingrad. It's a novel about ideology and individual lives, but also about the Holocaust, state control of science, art and freedom and incredible heroism. My FYS loved it!

Anything by Andrei Platonov that you can get your hands on - but only if it's translated by Robert Chandler. Chandler is an AMAZING translator. And Platonov is the great unsung Russian writer of the 20th century, finally coming into his own. He was a true believer, an engineer who became a writer, with an uncanny ability to register the odd distortions of vision and verbiage that went along with the revolution. His prose is a kind of heartbreaking grotesque mysticism...The collection entitled Soul is a good place to start.

Jane Costlow, Professor of Russian

•    •    •

I think Still Alice by Bates' own Lisa Genova '92 is the best read I've had this year. This is a fantastic novel that brings you into the life of an Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease patient - and beautifully demonstrates the struggles of the patient, her family and colleagues. There's enough humor to make it light, and you just fall in love with the patient and her family.

Marianne Cowan, Associate Director of Alumni and Parent Programs

•    •    •

An excellent summer book is: Phyllis Rose -Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages

David Cummiskey, Professor of Philosophy

•    •    •

These are quite diverse suggestions but since I turned 50 on Tuesday, my memory only serves my most recent reads. Marrying Mozart was a good historical fiction and Marley and Me couldn't be lighter. If you are a fan of nutty dogs it is pretty funny!

Karen Daigler, Assistant Director of Medical Studies

The first two are Swedish authors: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson Firewallby Henning Mankell Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (yea Bates!!) Champlain's Dream(non-fiction) by David Hackett Fisher

Jerry Davis, Class of 1961

•    •    •

How the Irish Saved Civilization, The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill. Finally, now everyone knows why I am so proud of being Irish!

Sylvia Deschaine, Academic Administrative Assistant - Pettengill

•    •    •

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver; The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon; Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams; The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls; Divided Minds by Carolyn Spiro and Pamela Wagner; Home by Marilynne Robinson; Three Cups of Teaby Greg Mortenson and David Relin; The World Without Us by Alan Weisman; The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga; Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali; Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

Marty Deschaines, Asst. Dir. For Community Volunteerism and Student LeadershipDevelopment, HCCP

•    •    •

Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers is probably already on your list, but I just finished it an enjoyed it immensely.

Carol Dilley, Director of Dance

•    •    •

Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a fascinating novel about the lives of two women (lao tang) who wrote to each other over many years in the Chinese women's language, nushu. Lijia Zhang's Socialism Is Great! is a memoir about growing as a worker in the "New China." Xiolu Guo. Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, novel about an unmarried young woman's life in contemporary Beijing is an interesting read, but her A Concise English Dictionary for Lovers is a better choice for those who have less time to read. This novel describes the cultural differences a Chinese woman encounters when she moves to the U.K., but it also focuses as much on the English and Chinese language as on her experiences. As the book progresses, the reader actually "sees" her fluency in English develop. And finally for those who are interested in schools and teaching,Relentless Pursuit by Donna Foote summarizes the history of Teach for America as it profiles the experiences of first-year teachers in Los Angeles. Engaging and thought-provoking read.

Anne Dodd, Senior Lecturer in Education

•    •    •

I'd like to recommend A Cargo of Women: Susannah Watson and the convicts of the Princess Royal by Babette Smith. It tracks 99 women who arrived in Australia in 1825 after being sentenced to "transport" in England and Wales. Some of them received life sentences for very minor crimes. It should be great reading for anyone with an interest in crime and punishment or Australia in general!

Amy Bradfield Douglass, Associate Professor of Psychology

•    •    •

I recently discovered a gem; a very poetically written little novella called Welcome to Our Hillbrow, by Phaswane Mpe, set in contemporary times in a township of Johannesburg. I used it in a class this year, along with Benjamin Kwachye's The Clothes of Nakedness, set in contemporary Accra. I highly recommend either or both, though you are on notice: don't expect any familiar "North Atlantic" sensibility here, rather, be ready to encounter a distinctive moral universe!

Elizabeth Eames, Associate Professor of Anthropology

•    •    •

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
A classic. Don't let the movie with Leo and Kate scare you off! It's intense, well written and will make your head spin... The Underground City by H.L Humes A big book that takes a bit of time to read. A fascinating, detailed novel set in France during and after WWII from the perspective of an American special ops soldier.

Johie Farrar, Assistant Dean of Admissions

•    •    •

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert; Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah; The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir by Victoria Rowell.

Heidi Gagnon, Advancement

•    •    •

I have enjoyed re-reading some of the late Tony Hillerman's mysteries, set in the desert Southwest, with Navajo Tribal Policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Some of the most recent are The First EagleThe Sinister Pig, and Hunting Badger. The characters are very appealing, and the setting really takes the reader into the Native American cultures of Arizona and New Mexico. We will miss him.

Lois Griffiths, retired staff member, Class of 1951

•    •    •

Two Rivers, by T. Greenwood. Suspense, love, and betrayal told in flashbacks is the story of a widowed father his daughter and an orphan. Setting is in the late 60’s in a small town, Harper has trouble dealing with a vicious act that happened while in his teens. Nice gentle mystery that kept me entertained. Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian. Psychological thriller about a social worker and the homeless. There are characters brought in from the Great Gatsby era. I couldn’t tell if this was fact or fiction. I liked this authors book Midwives better but this was worth reading also. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Ms. Strout is a Bates alumna and now a Pulitzer Prize winner! How can you not read this novel? It is a collection of short stories of people from a small town in Maine. You get insight of Olive in almost every chapter as she tries to understand herself and her life in painfully honest ways.

Lorraine Groves, Bookstore Sales Floor Supervisor

•    •    •

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic — and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. If you’re an alum who loved Professor Herzig’s courses, this book will make you wish you could return to discuss it in one of her seminars.

Bridget Harr, Institutional Research Assistant

•    •    •

Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, The Three Trillion Dollar War
As a response to an administration that would not even include war costs in the normal yearly budgets, the Nobel-Prize-winning economist makes the case for calculating the real costs of the Iraq war, including such items as equipment replacement and lost income with life-long medical care for the tens of thousands of American wounded and brain-injured.

Margaret S. Creighton, The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History
Elegantly written, a different view of the battle we think we know all about, looking at the experiences of women, Blacks and immigrants at Gettysburg.

David Wroblewski, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.
This is a remarkable first novel (where has this guy been for 30 years, we wonder), somewhat reminiscent of another strong first novel, Charles Frazier's civil war saga, Cold Mountain. Wroblewski has written a powerful story around an inauspicious plot line, a mute boy whose family raises thoroughbred and well-trained dogs in rural northern Michigan. It is a kind of Hamlet story, with family betrayals and mis-communications, largely told from inside the mute boy's head and through lots of interaction with the dogs, a real trick for a writer.

William H. Tucker '67, The Cattell Controversy: Race, Science and Ideology.
Full disclosure: Bill Tucker was my Bates roommate and is one of my oldest friends. A psych prof at Rutgers, he has written three well-argued (and for a non-scholar, readable) books around the broad theme of individuals or organizations that claim to be doing unbiased social science when in fact they are advancing racist, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic or eugenic causes. His previous books,The Science and Politics of Racial Research and The Funding of Scientific Racism: Wickliffe Draper and the Pioneer Fund, were in some ways fascinating scholarly detective stories — they traced the hidden agendas of organizations that claimed scholarly purity. This new book on Raymond Cattell, a leading 20th century psychologist often regarded as the father of personality trait measurement, traces the scholarly dismay when Cattell, the author of hundreds of books, articles and standardized instruments for measuring personality, was found to be the author of a series of publications on racial segregation and eugenics.

Two books and a related film on India: Bapsi Dishwa, Cracking India
A remarkable novel about a Parsee girl from an upper-class family caught in the swirling chaos of the partition of colonial India in the late 1940’s into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The partition of India as part of the end of the British empire created not only great suffering and violence, but one of the largest migrations in human history, with about 12 million people moving to get across national and religious boundaries that had not existed until the partition. Deepa Mehta's powerful film "Earth" is based on Cracking India. It is reasonably unusual to find a film and the novel on which it is based that are both top shelf, but true in this case.

Alex Von Tunzelman, Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire
A substantial book on the last months of the British empire in India, with fascinating portraits of some of the 20th century's major personalities. Gandhi, Nehru and the Muslim leader Jinnah were all trying to deal with the last British Viceroy, the royally incompetent "Dickie" Mountbatten and his socialite but surprisingly brave and very independent wife, Edwina, whose personal/political relationship with Nehru was a most unexpected facet of the withdrawal of Britain from their empire.

Bill Hiss '66, Vice President for External Affairs

•    •    •

David Hackett Fischer, Champlain's Dream
A sweeping full-length biography of Samuel de Champlain, the explorer and founder of Quebec. Dozens of voyages to North America. A slice of history of France and North America. Mark Paul Richard, Loyal but French: The Negotiation of Identity by French-Canadian Descendants in the United States

A history of Franco Americans in Lewiston, Maine, from 1850 to 2007, who subscribed to neither survivance (maintaining their separateness) nor assimilation (erasing their heritage). They accomplished acculturation, becoming Americans, but retaining for a long time their identity. Tom Vanderbilt, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)

The human psychology of dealing with traffic. Considers the variation in different places in the U. S., as well as the world. Treats questions such as whether you should merge early or late when a lane is closed ahead. Quotes statistics that show "dangerous" narrow streets with distractions are safer than "efficient" thoroughfares like Russell Street (but maybe we knew this already).

Doug Hodgkin, Professor Emeritus of Political Science

•    •    •

I have been meaning to send you this, excellent book about college girls who's identity got switched unintentionally at an accident scene where one died and one nearly so, months of recuperation... Mistaken Identity by Don and Susie VanRyn and Newell, Colleen, and Whitney Cerak.

The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch, I may have put this on last year's list, but it is worth repeating. It is so inspirational, it's a must! Not for everyone, but I love the series by J.D. Robb, Lt. Eve. Dallas, Homicide books, great if you love crime drama!! Happy reading...

Joan Houston, Administrative Assistant, Facility Services

•    •    •

I'm enjoying biologist Bernd Heinrich's Summer World: A Season of Bounty very much, though I think it should be titled, "Bug World: A Season of Bounty." I thought there would be more about flowers, other plant life, and mammals, but much of the book concentrates on moths, wasps, caterpillars, and other insects and their alternate forms. But that's fine, because it's fascinating! There's also some great stuff on why male wood frogs all sing together, when only one really needs to in order for them all to attract females. And he answers the question: Why do hummingbirds come north before many of the nectar-bearing flowers bloom? After I finish this book, I'm going to start in on his others. There are enough to keep me going for quite a while. He lives in Vermont, with a camp in Western Maine, and is a graduate of the University of Maine.

Sue Hubley, Senior Researcher, College Advancement

•    •    •

The Man Who Loved China, by Simon Winchester
The Control of Nature by John McPhee
This book has been around for awhile, but affected my thinking more than about any other.

Jim Hughes, Thomas Sowell Professor of Economics

•    •    •

I'd like to suggest Water Dogs by Lewis Robinson. A novel based in Maine.
Amy Jaffe, Career Counselor

•    •    •

Guy Delisle's graphic novel Burma Chronicles eloquently portrays daily life in Myanmar, the official name of Burma since 1989 when a militaristic government seized power. Canadian animator Delisle joins his French wife who works for the humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and their infant son for a year in this tightly controlled Southeast Asian nation. Humorous and observant, Delisle's treatment demonstrates that drawings with text can match solo prose, no sweat. Give me a comic book, please.

Phyllis Graber Jensen, Senior Staff Writer and Photographer

•    •    •

For fans of Patrick O'Brian's and C. S. Forester's naval adventure fiction try the collection of short stories edited by Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of Sea Battles, 2001. I laugh to tears with David Remnick's and Henry Finder's Fierce Pajamas. These are the best humor from the "New Yorker" magazine. A terrific new history of the Christian and Islamic struggle for the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages is Stephen O'Shea's Sea of Faith, 2006.

Michael Jones, Christian A. Johnson Professor of History

•    •    •

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill, a book we read aloud to each other, is a powerful story of a young, intelligent, literate woman who is sold into slavery at the age of 12, and who is obsessed with being free and returning to her native village in West Africa for the rest of her life. We followed her through about sixty years of her life on three continents, with all the hardship, prejudice, and soul-wrenching pain of enslavement, which is often complicated by her abilities and intelligence which she must hide from her masters. Freedom does come decades later, but it is a freedom in a world where only the force of her will and personality keep her surviving. The ignorance of even the "good" whites to the implications and cruelty of slavery become a vehicle for her to further her goal, but only as a tool of the abolitionists and often at the cost of her personal dignity. (To a white authority figure who insists that she has "profited by being enslaved" and vehemently deny's slavery's cruel branding, she bares her old breast to show the brand she was given at 12.) Lawrence Hill has written a breathtaking book and created Aminata Diallo, a remarkable woman.

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres was a wonderful book, and I enjoyed it as much as a previous book of de Bernieres, Corelli's Mandolin. Both books deal with the everyday experiences of the life of civilians during a war. "Birds" takes place in Turkey at the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of the modern Turkish state. Greeks and Turks, some of each of whom are either Muslim or Christian, and most of whom happily rely on each other's religions when it suits their needs (Muslim woman concerned for her soldier son asks her friend to "light a candle to the Virgin for me"), live together in simplicity and peace until WWI starts far away in Europe. Turks and Greeks are forced to choose sides in a war that has nothing to do with them. And then religion and nationalism imposed by others starts ethnic cleansing, forcing Greeks who don't speak Greek to leave Turkey for Greece, where they are shunned, and Turks are forced from Greece to Turkey. The small town life and ambiance is destroyed, the friends and fellow citizens scattered, and no one has a clue about what it is all about. A poignant, anti-war story, and for me a reminiscence of my time in Turkey and Greece. I recommend this book to anyone who still thinks that war is an answer to any problems, and to all who think that Muslims and Christians can't live in peace and harmony together.

Laura Juraska , Associate Librarian for Reference Services
Richard Fochtmann

•    •    •

My suggestion for summer reading is: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (translated from the French). It is tender and funny, and a sly critique of French social conventions.

Leila Kawar, Visiting Instructor in Politics

•    •    •

I have just finished reading the new autobiography by Harold Varmus, The Art and Politics of Science. Dr. Varmus was the director of NIH under Clinton and the co-winner of the Nobel Prize in 1989 for his work on oncogenes, and he is now the director the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The book is a generally well written summary of his career and his opinions of and his involvement in the major health issues of our day. Written for a general audience, I learned a lot about retroviruses, oncogenes, stem cells, Congress, pharmaceutical companies, publishing companies, and open access journals.

John E. Kelsey, Professor of Psychology

•    •    •

Here are two suggestions for the book list, each arguably a "coming of age" story but from distinctly different cultural contexts and literary styles: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (2006) Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (1920)

Nancy Koven, Assistant Professor of Psychology

•    •    •

Home by Marilynne Robinson; Memorial Day by Vince Flynn; Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo; American Babylon by Richard John Neuhaus; Christ the Lord by Anne Rice.

Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater

•    •    •

The English Major by Jim Harrison (N.Y., Grove Press, 2008)
Works by this modern master now come fewer and farther between, sparser and at times even less erudite than previous writings, but nonetheless still brilliant: here an academician in mid-life crisis roams the western landscape with a younger woman.

Dark summit: the true story of Everest's most controversial season by Nick Heil (N.Y., Henry Holt, 2008)
Could things on our highest mountain get any worse after the 1996 disaster (see Into thin air)? Well, ten years later, in a world that is as ever totally unforgiving to careless humans, risky expeditions and unscrupulous outfitters have done it: eleven deaths, two abandonments, and recriminations galore.

Jim Lamontagne, Ladd Library Assistant, Cataloging

•    •    •

What is the What? by Dave Eggers, and if I have never given you this before, and even if I have,Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry, by Elizabeth McCracken

Peter Lasagna, Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach

•    •    •

I'm on a mystery jag. Margery Allingham's brilliant Albert Campion mysteries. A real delight. And, Akunin's two different mystery/detective series. Great distractions.

Kathy Low, Professor of Psychology

•    •    •

Book of Embraces (Eduardo Galeano); L'Assommoir (Emile Zola); Design in the Age of Darwin: From William Morris to Frank Lloyd Wright; (Stephen Eisenman)

End of the World Book: A Novel (Alistair McCartney) The Night Watch (Sarah Waters)

Perrin Lumbert, Library Assistant-Interlibrary Loan

•    •    •

Grown Up Digital by Dan Tapscott. Here's a link to the book's site.

Ethan Dahlin Magoon, Online Media Producer, CMR

•    •    •

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
This is the intriguing story of Trond, an aging, grieving man living in a self-inflicted isolation. He has given up his former life for a solitary existence partially out of a life-long yearning to be left alone, but mostly out of grief for the sudden death of his wife. But when he realizes that his new neighbor is a figure from his past it triggers a host of feelings and memories that Trond has been trying to avoid for a long time, and in flashbacks we are taken back with him to the summer of his fifteenth year — a summer that forever altered the course of his life. Beautifully written and memorable!

Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende

Based almost entirely on the life of Ines Suarez who lived from 1507 to 1580, this is the historical fictional account of life in the 16th century and the birth of a nation. I love Allende’s wonderful descriptions and just as in her book, Zorro, she brings her characters to life. Poor and nearly destitute, Ines had a rough life in Spain. Alone because her husband has left to make his fortune in the new world she eventually sets out to search for him. When she arrives Ines learns he has been killed. Determined to make a new life for herself Ines decides to remain in the new colony. She eventually meets Don Pedro de Valdivia, field marshal of Francisco Pizarro. Together they undertake the founding of the country of Chile. You will not be able to put this book down!

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
The book starts when the main character, Towner, receives a call from her brother telling her that her 80-something-year-old Great Aunt, a lace reader, is missing and she must return home to Salem, Massachusetts. The reading of lace had been a tradition of the all the women in their family, and Towner was no exception. Although she wants no part of it anymore, she loves her aunt and feels she has to face her bad memories and go home. Towner returns after being away for over 15 years and is immediately immersed in all the troubles of the past. It is interesting to follow the writing of author Barry as she writes through the eyes of Towner, who sometimes lives in her dreams of the past. The story moves quickly as you try to determine if what Towner is thinking is real, or the memories from childhood twisted over time. Interesting information about lace reading and lots of surprises in this book!

Mary Main, Director of Human Resources

•    •    •

This year, my three personal favorites are recent reads: Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout
I finished it just before her Pulitzer Prize was announced, and was happily surprised that she received recognition for a really special book. All through the book, I felt: "I know these people. I know this town—maybe better than the people I really know, and the town where I really live." But what I can't understand is how a young woman from the Class of 1977 knows how it feels to be as old as the characters she creates.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 60's—as seen through the stories of black "maids" in upperclass white households, written by a young white woman who has grown up in the culture and encourages the middle-aged women to tell her their stories. The stories are powerful, chilling, and especially shocking to me, as a college student from the 60's. Perhaps reading it then would have made me more of an activist.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
A book of letters, written in the aftermath of World War II, about the residents of Guernsey, and a writer who comes to the island by a chance connection. Her involvement with characters who grow real though their letters and telegrams weaves a heartwarming story of love, quiet heroism, friendship, and loyalty over time.

Judy Marden, Bates Retiree and Class of '66

•    •    •

History: A Novel by Elsa Morante. Trans. by W, Weaver
Set in WWII in Italy, Morante explores the intersection between individual lives and the larger forces of political events in a way that is utterly compelling and authentic. Never preachy, Morante forces us to see that we are always subject to political forces, even when we don't want to be. Morante herself went into hiding from the Germans during WWII in the mountains south of Rome. She won several awards for her novels and is one of Italy's premier authors.

Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy by Eric G. Wilson
He came and spoke here. His book celebrates those moments when we are not quite right with the world and our lives, and when we are compelled to reflect and generate new ideas and new ways of being in the world.

Lisa Maurizio, Associate Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies

•    •    •

The Oregon Files are a group of novels written by author Clive Cussler and co-author Craig Dirigo and later co-author Jack Du Brul. The books follow the mysterious "Corporation" and its leader Juan Cabrillo. Juan Cabrillo is Chairman of the Corporation, a special US Government-sponsored group that operates out of a ship called Oregon, a marvel of scientific research equipment bristling with state-of-the-art weaponry - but disguised as a heap of junk. Cabrillo and his crew of mercenaries with a conscience are able to cross the high seas in their 'rusting' tub unmolested, seeking out those beyond the arms of the law and dealing out justice to any who would plot chaos on a global scale. The Oregon Files series currently consists of 6 books: Golden Buddha (2004), Sacred Stone (2004), Dark Watch (2005), Skeleton Coast (2006), Plague Ship(2008) and Corsair (2009).

Karen McArthur, Systems Administrator, ILS

•    •    •

My favorite book this year was Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was probably on last year's recommended list. I also liked Loving Frank: A Novel by Nancy Horan, "a historically imagined novel that is at once fully versed in the facts and unafraid of weaving those truths into a story that dares to explore the unanswered questions of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney's love story." In line with our Bates year of contemplating food, I recommend Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp (I love every book by Kingsolver) and, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. Here if you need me: A true story by Kate Braestrup. A wonderful memoir by the chaplain to the Maine Warden Service.

Laurie McConnell, Academic Administrative Assistant , Carnegie lobby desk,

•    •    •

I'm not one who usually reads autobiographies, but I recently picked up the book, What's It All About by Michael Caine. His writing style is friendly and conversational, as though he is telling his story face to face with the reader. His story as a struggling actor making it into the limelight of celebrity carries you on a personal journey that is laced with comedy and sadness. With the pending release of yet another acclaimed movie, one may be interested to learn what life experiences made him the person and actor that he is today.

Monica McCusker, Office Coordinator-College Store

•    •    •

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie — One of the best books I have read in recent memory. An engaging story, memorable characters, and a dynamic writing style. And the extreme controversy surrounding the novel only makes it more appealing! A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry — This is a story about India in the 70s, during the State of Emergency. Four strangers are thrown together and are forced to live together and grow, learn, and develop together during troubling times. A very moving and deeply emotional story. The Brother Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky — A very long, very interesting Russian novel centering on the four Karamazov brothers and the murder of their father. It combines courtroom drama with mystery with many musings on man's place in the world and the existence (or lack thereof) of God. Gripping and powerful! Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan — A story that centers on a fateful trip to Burma. Narrated by the ghost of the trip organizer who dies before the trip commences. This book includes a lot of historical fact regarding Burma. A very engaging and interesting read. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver—This book is about a family of missionaries who are working in the Congo. Each chapter is narrated by a different daughter. Another book that integrates the actual history of the Congo and its post-colonial history.

Andrew McGeehan, Housing Coordinator and Residence Life Assistant

•    •    •

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2004)
Only 247 pages, this was a surprisingly rich and welcome meditation each night. Really fine, spare writing. Readers are transported to a small town in 1950s Iowa, where we get to intimately understand John Ames, an old Congregationalist minister with a young second wife and a six-year-old son. Ames is dying of heart disease, and he is crafting a family history and memoir to leave behind for his boy. At the same time, he is feeling conflicted about how much he should say to his wife about a friend's son who left Gilead in disgrace but recently returned, befriending and bonding with his wife and son. It is truly wonderful how the author gets inside the head of this 80-year-old man and shares his thoughts as he is approaches the end of life, and the peace he wants to make with life. (This novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2005.)

Bryan McNulty, Director, Communications and Media Relations

•    •    •

The Gathering by Anne Enright - The Irish family can be a rich trove of sadness, and Enright mines it as few can. The Art of Strategy by Dixit and Nalebuff - Game theory offers myriad strategic insights. Here those insights are illustrated with examples from everyday life, business, and sport. An easy introduction to better strategic thinking.

Michael Murray, Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics

•    •    •

Here are some great books I've read lately: Thinking In Pictures: My Life with Autism(Expanded Edition), by Temple Grandin — A very interesting perspective on the world. I learned things in this book — about animals, about the different ways people think, about 'disorders,' and so much more — which, I think, will forever influence my own perspective on the world. It certainly has defended my desire for lots of hugs (or squeeze machines) — you'll know what I mean if you read the book! Water for Elephants, but Sara Gruen — This book sweeps you up, right along with its protagonist, onto the traveling circus train.

Boy's Life, by Robert McCammon — This book is filled with the magic of being young but also the realities of change and the passing of time. It takes place in a small, Alabama town, but every chapter is action and imagination-packed, from shoot-outs to dinosaurs. McCammon encourages nostalgia in the reader, not only for the innocence of childhood, but that time in history, not too long ago, in which people were sure that "the world'll always need milkmen." But he also plays close attention to the darker facts of life (and death), using clever metaphor and skilled writing to blur the lines between fact and fiction, and to ask us to question the need for this distinction in the first place. Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan — This might be a cliche choice, but, more than any other book, this has made me rethink my lifestyle. I like that Pollan not only presents the problems with our current food consumption, but offers more efficient solutions. The book is full of wellthought-out points and counter-points which force you to chew on your own daily decisions, as well as lots of tasty factoids. I just fine Pollan's writing so persuasive, and yet so honest and common-sensical.

Aubrey Nelson, Americorp VISTA

•    •    •

Leo Lerman, The Grand Surprise: The Journals of Leo Lerman. Knopf, 2007
Tab Hunter with Eddie Muller, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star. Algonquin Books, 2005
Bob Morris, Assisted Loving: True Tales of Double Dating with My Dad. Harper, 2008
Max Birkbeck, Deconstructing Sammy (Davis, Jr.): Music, Money, Madness, and the MobAmistad, 2008.
Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger (A Novel). The Free Press, 2008

Charles Nero, Associate Professor of Rhetoric

•    •    •

Two novels I enjoyed this year: The Swarm by Frank Schätzing is a big, fat thriller for readers who love science as well as speculation about alien forms of intelligence. If you don’t enjoy science fiction, you might still enjoy this thriller because the alien form of intelligence turns out to share the planet with us. The story explores possible outcomes of our unsustainable ways of treating the world’s bodies of water.

Mr. Emerson’s Wife by Bates graduate Anne Belding Brown is a fictional imagining of the life of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s second wife, Lydia(n). She was a fascinating member of the transcendental circle, who may or may not have reacted to Emerson’s request that she modify her common name to the less common Lydian, as Brown has her do. But whether she spoke up or not, we understand something about the shape of the marriage to come.

Georgia Nigro, Professor of Psychology

•    •    •

The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel
A short read, certainly a summer beach read. Angela tells her hilarious stories of being broke in college. Great comical detail and a fun read.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
You probably already have this suggestion, as it was a big seller this year. But this is an excellent book and a great graduation gift! Highly recommended.

The New Kings of Nonfiction - Edited & Introduced by Ira Glass (NPR's "This American Life")
A great collection of short non-fiction stories by popular names such as Malcolm Caldwell and Chuck Klosterman.

Sara Noyes, Residence Life and Student Activities Assistant

•    •    •

The Air We Breathe, by the great Andrea Barrett, is a brilliant, transcendent book. Written in the first person plural (go figure, but for a reason), it chronicles the lives of inmates at a New York TB sanitorium, hitting on class, immigration, anarchism, women in science, public health, power, and of course love, deception, healing landscapes, big meals, revenge: this book has everything! Go immediately to the College Store and buy it! The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery is a very different book but has some of the same themes about class, knowledge, and humanity. Its protagonist is the concierge of a swanky apartment building in Paris who is compelled to hide her formidable intellect, till she is discovered by two other outsiders. A great book about why it matters to educate yourself. And I did read and love Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout ’77, long before it won the Pulitzer Prize. Life in a small Maine town told in a series of precise and unnerving stories. Liz Strout has an uncanny ability to make you love and loathe a character at the same time: so lifelike!

Kerry O’Brien, Assistant Dean of the Faculty

•    •    •

I wish I could remember the others I've read this year, but those are ones that stand out to me. The Latehomecomer, A Hmong Family Memoir, by Kao Kalia Yang The author is a young woman, not too much older than our students when she wrote this. She writes beautifully about her experiences as her family is resettled in Minnesota after the Vietnam War. I Remember Warm Rain, Telling Room's Story House Project This is a collection of writings by immigrant and refugee teens living in the Portland area. It is a very quick read that provides a glimpse into the lives of these young adults as they begin to make their ways here. Godmother, The Secret Cinderella Story, by Carolyn Turgeon This is the Cinderella story from her fairy godmother's point of view. It is an interesting take on the story, one you don't expect at all. It would be a great choice for a book group. On the darker side, though.

Karen A. Palin, Lecturer in Biology

•    •    •

Here are two novels I'm very excited about: Steven Galloway, The Cellist of Sarajevo Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies

Jim Parakilas, Music, James L. Moody Family Professor of Performing Arts

•    •    •

I recommend The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall. It is the story of an autumn's adventures of a very quirky family of four young (ages 4-12) sisters and their dad. The characters are marvelous: quirky, like I said, and some nerdy, some obstinate, all well-meaning and very accepting of one another. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments.

Liz McCabe Park, Director, Maine Campus Compact

•    •    •

I'm just finishing up Wally Lamb's newest novel, The Hour I First Believed. I gave it to Ian, who loved Lamb's previous novel, I Know this Much is True, for Christmas. He recommended I read it but be prepared. It's not for everyone, and it brings in the Columbine tragedy and images thereof in a big way, but if you like Lamb's other books, you should like it. I still think I like his previous one better. I also have been reading..."They were very beautiful. Such things are" : memoirs for change from Dadaab, Kenya and Lewiston, Maine, which I've enjoyed very much. In a different genre, Julian was telling me about the wellknown juvenile fiction novel Holes, by Louis Sachar, which I had come upon in one of my cleaning forays. I knew the other 2 kids had read it and that a movie had been made of it, but he piqued my curiosity, so I read it, quickly of course (a treat in itself). I liked it!
Ian and Julian are Carole's sons  — Editor.

Carole Parker, Library Assistant-Acquisitions

•    •    •

I would like to recommend Kenneth Roberts' novel Lydia Bailey. With action ranging from New England in the early 1800's, to Haiti during Toussaint L'Ouverture's rebellion, to the Barbary Coast, this novel is fairly typical of Roberts' style. It is a little bit detective story, a lot of adventure and a little bit of romance, extensively researched with plenty of historical details.

Heather L'Hommedieu Perreault, Assistant Director, Financial Offices

 

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2008 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

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

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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 BartelAssociate 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 '75Database 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 SaidBug FuneralSnipe HuntA 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 Placethe 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 Transformationthe 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 Citya 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 GodI Heard God Laughing (Hafiz); The Subject Tonight is Love (Hafiz)
Powerful books by Toltec Master, Don Miquel Ruiz: The Four AgreementsThe Mastery of Love;The Voice of KnowledgePrayers - 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

***

*** This list has been truncated.  To download the full list, please follow this link. ***

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2006 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

Each spring, the College Store solicits from members of the Bates community their suggestions for good summer reads:

Lee Abrahamsen, Associate Professor of Biology:

Blink   — The Power of Thinking WithoutThinking by Malcolm Gladwell
This very engaging book explores the value of making decisions in a moment — in the blink of an eye. Some part intuition, some part experience, and some part keen observation, Gladwell shows us how (and why) our split-second decisions are often just as useful as the decisions we obsess over. Gladwell has written for the New Yorker and the Washington Post, and his style is clear and connected. I enjoyed this one, and am looking forward to reading his other best-seller, The Tipping Point.

•  •  •

Martin Andrucki, Charles A. Dana Professor of Theater:

 

Just finished rereading J. Conrad's Secret Agent, a deeply ironic vision of suicide bombers, circa 1890, written in 1907. Read it and see how little has changed.

Also, G. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, another thriller about nihilists, same era as the Conrad novel, equally relevant.

•  •  •

Aslaug Asgeirsdottir, Assistant Professor of Political Science:

A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana by Haven Kimmel

A delightful book about an unusual child. Very funny.

Appetite for Life: A Biography of Julia Child by Noel Riley Fitch
Great book about a fascinating woman whose career began in earnest in her 50s.

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now by Gordon Livingston Well the title says it all. Livingston has some interesting observations about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie
A biography about a Togolese man who reads about Greenland as a young boy and is determined to visit the frozen tundra of the north.

•  •  •

Pam Baker, Helen A. Papaioanou Professor of Biology:

One I really liked was City of Djinns by a British travel writer named William Dalrymple. It was the best portrayal of the Delhi we were living in as any we came across.

•  •  •

Anna Bartel, Associate Director, Harward Center for Community Partnerships:

I've been reading lately:
Gail Godwin's Evensong
Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow
Jane Austen out my ears
Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti mysteries (set in Venice; much fun)
Len [Anna’s spouse] has been reading Seth Godin, especially All Marketers Are Liars.

•  •  •

Terry Beckmann, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer:

Mary Higgins Clark: Two Girls in Blue

•  •  •

Sarah Bernard, Programmer Analyst:

I would like to recommend Pocketful of Names by Joe Coomer (a Maine author). A very enjoyable read about an artist who inherits an island on the coast of Maine from her (great?) uncle. Great beach reading!

•  •  •

Jane Boyle, Library Assistant, Public Service:

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

•  •  •
Dennis Brown, Office of College Advancement:

The Mermaid's Chair, Sue Monk Kidd

An enjoyable, relatively light and imaginative read that offers perspective and insights into the dynamics of long-term relationships and how they grow or die.
When Religion Becomes Evil, Charles Kimball

A timely distillation by an ordained Baptist minister and noted academic theologian of his decades of experience and observations of the inherent dangers in fundamentalist approaches to Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religions.

•  •  •

Marita Bryant, Assistant in Instruction in Geology:

Roadside Geology of Maine by D. W. Caldwell

Engel in Tiefflug by Heite Gerbig

This is a mystery series set in post-war Berlin, an interesting series if you are into Berlin and read German.

•  •  •

Ann Bushmiller '79, Trustee:

Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner

Made me want to cook!

•  •  •

Sean Campbell, Director of Leadership Giving:

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

I read it last summer — LOVED it.

•  •  •

Ned Carr, Assistant Treasurer:

Gift of the Jews by Thomas Cahill

It's about how the ancient Jews, through the development of a moral and legal code of conduct (Ten Commandments et al.), really set the tone and many of the specific details for the Western world's present-day moral, ethical, and legal framework.

•  •  •

James Charlesworth, Bookstore Stock Assistant:

First, a couple Maine things:

Fair, Clear, and Terrible by Shirley Nelson

This non-fiction chronicles the Shiloh movement — a Christian-fundamentalist sect, the remnants of whose decrepit fortress still stand on the sand hills above the Androscoggin River in Durham. What makes the story interesting (aside from the local stuff and the megalomaniac at its center) is the personal approach: the author’s parents spent their adolescence as members of the group and met at the compound just after the turn of the century. (And no, this is not a shameless pitch to get people to buy the lovely hardcover copies on display at the college store for the astonishing price of only $9.95.)

We’re All in This Together by Owen King

I’m happy to be the first person ever to recommend this book without mentioning it’s by the son of Stephen King. (Oops.) The short stories that comprise the second half aren’t so hot, but the novella that kicks it off is pretty special. Set in Maine, it tells the story of George, teenage son of a single mother and grandson of a union organizer obsessed with the 2000 election. Anthony Doerr put it best when he called it “hilarious and frequently bizarre but always — somehow — deeply sincere.” And, I think it’s getting ready to come out in paperback.

Some other older stuff I just got around to recently:

Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

If you’re suspicious of any novel capable of spawning a big-trailer movie starring Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz, good for you. But don’t blame Louis if his book got Hollywood-ed. This one has all of his trademark humor and pathos and strangeness, and, unlike some of his other stuff, he manages to keep it all together right to the end.

Salt by Earl Lovelace

This one had me from the opening sentence: “Two months after they hanged his brother Gregoire, king of the Dreadnoughts band, and Louis and Nanton and Man Man, the other three leaders of African secret societies, who Hislop the governor claimed to be ringleaders of an insurrection that had a plan, according to the testimony of a mad white woman, to use the cover of the festivities of Christmas day to massacre the white and free coloured people of the island, Jo-Jo’s great-grandfather, Guinea John, with his black jacket on and a price of two hundred pounds sterling on his head, made his way to the East Coast, mounted the cliff at Mananilla, put two corn cobs under his armpits and flew away to Africa....” (Actually, that’s only the first half of the first sentence, but my fingers got tired.)

The Fall of a Sparrow by Robert Hellenga.

Hellenga seems to know a little bit about everything from classical literature to the blues, from Plato to NATO. Here he pulls it all together to tell the story of a Midwest classics professor overcoming the senseless death of his oldest daughter in an Italian terrorist bombing. (He also has a new novel out in hardcover called Philosophy Made Simple.)

Last but not least, I’ll also pre-recommend two new novels coming out in the fall:

A new one by Jane Hamilton, author of Map of the World, and Short History of a Prince, among others. And the new one by Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander, who’s kept us waiting for a while.

•  •  •

Margaret Creighton, Professor of History:

I have been listening to audio books and haven’t done much reading lately that I would recommend. However, my mother often recommends to others Saturday by Ian McEwan.

•  •  •

Marty Deschaines, Volunteer Office Coordinator:

March by Geraldine Brooks

Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson
Abide with Me, Elizabeth Strout '77
The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger, Lois Lowry
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling

•  •  •

Vicky Devlin, Vice President for Advancement:

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

I was conflicted about wanting to read this book, but it was a gift so I decided to soldier through. Grief is not an easy topic. It is an amazing book; Didion is a magical thinker.

The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr

While this is non-fiction, it reads like a detective story. It is the story of the discovery of a lost Carravaggio. The characters alone make it a book that is difficult not to read in one sitting.

Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout '77

A beautifiully written novel set in small town Shirley Falls, Maine. A minister suffers through a personal crisis that changes not just him but his entire congregation.

The Lobster Coast by Colin Woodard

A crash course about the geology, settlement, social history, triumphs and challenges of life on the Maine coast. A great book of insights and information for someone "from away."

•  •  •

Elaine Dumont, Dining Services:

Anything by Tom Robbins!

•  •  •

Ken Emerson, Associate Director of Human Resources:

I submit for my wife Melinda two books she read this past year by Michael Ondaatje. In the Skin of a Lion which is a predecessor book to his more famousThe English Patient. She did not know he was the author of the English Patient when she read In the Skin of a Lion and was pleasantly surprised when The English Patient carried on the tale.

Also, anyone enjoying outdoor adventure would find Nevada Barr's mysteries featuring the exploits of National Park Ranger/sleuth Anna Pigeon to be an easy fun read. However, I'm told that herHard Truth novel was somewhat of a disturbing departure from her usual yarn.

•  •  •

Melinda Emerson [spouse of Ken and submitting for herself!]:

Just wanted to add a book to the "Must Read" list, if it hasn't been put there already. It’s called The Travelers Gift, by Andy Andrews. A great story and an even GREATER lesson, we could all take to heart. My father in-law gave it to us for Christmas.

Paul Farnsworth, Project Manager, Facility Services:

Give Me a Break by John Stossel

1776 by David McCullough (like this one hasn't shown up on your lists)

The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

Applied Economics by Thomas Sowell (The Bates library has this one)

Through a Howling Wilderness by Thomas Desjardin (I'm biased on this one. I went to high school with Tom. Tom's recent presentation at the Lewiston Public Library was very good.)

•  •  •

Rob Farnsworth, Visiting Assistant Professor of English:

William Trevor,The Story of Lucy Gault (short novel)
Alice Munro, Runaway; Selected Stories (short stories)

John Banville, Athena (novel)
Tobias Wolff, Old School (novel)
Peter Carey, My Life As A Fake (novel)
Brian Turner, Here, Bullet (poems)** excellent, vivid work by an Iraq and Bosnia vet Kay Ryan,Niagara River (poems)
Seamus Heaney, District and Circle (poems) due out in the US soon.
Andrea Barrett, Servants of the Map (stories)

•  •  •

Sylvia Frederico, Assistant Professor of English:

I liked Elizabeth Strout's Abide with Me

•  •  •

Erin Foster Zsiga, Assistant Dean of Students:

My book is one I read to my 22-month-old son every night. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Nightby Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. It is a rhyming story about going to bed. These authors also writeHow Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Room and How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food.

•  •  •

Rebecca Fraser-Thill, Visiting Instructor in Psychology:

Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
A startling story collection. Particularly remarkable are her use of ordinary details that typically go unnoticed but that tell so much about character. My personal favorite is the first story, “A Temporary Matter,” about a couple’s life after having a still-born child. Remarkably, painfully rendered.

To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
I revisited this classic for a reading series in my local library and I’m so glad that I did. To find such a pitch-perfect voice, depth of character, and resonance of theme in a book that’s also a true page-turner is, in my opinion, all too rare. This is a book worth revisiting every few years.

Any Bitter Thing
, Monica Wood
This novel about a woman who reexamines her past after being hit in a hit-and-run is captivating because of its structure (it moves backward in time while simultaneously moving forward) and the realistically flawed characters. Monica is a Portland-based writer with whom (full disclosure) I’ve taken classes, but I honestly would’ve loved this novel whether I knew her or not. A compelling, quick read.

Dog, Michelle Herman
A cute, short novel about a quirky professor who gets a dog. Not much more than that happens in the novel, but it’s a fun, quick read. And it’s short enough that I almost didn’t notice that nothing happens. Besides, can a book based around a dog really be all that bad? (Wait — don’t answer that!)

•  •  •

Rebecca Gilden, Mellon Learning Associate:

Fiction:
The Brothers K by David James Duncan
Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (I've read it 4 times!)
Nonfiction:
Katz on Dogs by Jon Katz

•  •  •

Lois Griffiths '51:

All of my favorite books this year have a Maine twist!

1491: New Revelations of America Before Columbus by Charles Mann has a segment about northeast native culture, although it covers the whole hemisphere with fascinating new insights.

The Lobster Coast by Colin Woodard is a human and natural history of the lobster industry, told by a native son, a real storyteller.

Through a Howling Wilderness by Tom Desjardin is a masterful retelling of the story of the Arnold Expedition to Quebec in 1775, based on the mens' journals, and garnering uniformly glowing reviews (and his mother works for Bates!)

Voyage of Archangell by James Rosier, annotated by David C. Morey, puts a new spin of the question of which river George Weymouth ascended in 1605, the Penobscot, the St. George or the Kennebec.

And it all happened here!

•  •  •

Lorraine Groves, Sales Floor Supervisor, College Store:

Daughters of the Earth by Carolyn Niethammer

Chronology of the native American Women past and present. Explores their lives and legends. Reads like rich tapestry!

Abram's Daughters a series of 5 books written by Beverly Lewis starting with THE COVENANT, THE BETRAYAL, THE SACRIFICE, THE PRODIGAL, and ends with THE REVELATION. Go right into the heart of the Amish in Lancaster County. Bittersweet with some suspense and romance.

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

Very interesting and good story!

Pineland’s Past by Richard Kimball

Wonderful piece of history right in our back yard!

•  •  •

Ned Harwood, Associate Professor of Art & Visual Culture:

Cat from Hue by John Laurence

Laurence was a reporter for CBS in Vietnam.

Any of Robert Goddard’s mysteries.

•  •  •

Tamara Heligman, Maine Campus Compact:

If on a Winters Night a Travelerby Italo Calvino
The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

•  •  •

Leslie Hill, Associate Professor of Political Science:

For relaxing reading, anything by Alexander McCall Smith or Janet Evanovich. The audio version of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver was fabulous.

•  •  •

Bill Hiss '66, Vice President for External Affairs:

Getting ready to teach a First Year Seminar involving Vietnam and going to Vietnam with our family this spring to let our adopted daughter Jessie see her home country, I have been reading a lot of Vietnamese fiction. A great deal has happened in the last two decades; perhaps since few Americans are aware of modern Vietnamese fiction, this can be a kind of beginner's punch-list. Only with the arrival of the French in the 1850's did the Vietnamese begin to write in forms other than poetry and in Vietnamese instead of Chinese. Then after over a century of literary repression by the French and communists, there was an explosion of wonderful fiction starting in the 1980's as the economic and cultural lids began to come off. Most of this work has only been translated into English in the last decade, and while some of it is about war (the Vietnamese fought five back-to-back wars from the late 1930's through early 1980's, including the "American war"), much deals with the complex and fascinating transformation of a feudal oligarchy with an emperor through the wars into the attempt to create a pure communist economy, and now into a cautious evolution into an international market economy.

Dumb Luck, Vu Trong Phung

Regarded as a Vietnamese classic, banned in Vietnam until 1986, a funny satire of the rage for modernization and aping of the French in the late Colonial era.
Duong Tu Huong: Beyond Illusions, Memories of Pure Spring, Novel Without a Name, and Paradise of the Blind

Four expertly written novels about the last century in Vietnam, a loose series that are far more than historical novels, but collectively cover most of the time since WWII in Vietnam.

The Stars, The Earth, The River, Le Minh Khue

14 stories, some harrowing, from an author who was a girl sapper in a youth brigade. Written in the language of a patriotic soldier, but with painful and touching humor.

A Time Far Past, Le Luu

Beautifully written winner of the national prize for fiction in Vietnam, widely read there, and often cited as the most authentic, in that lots of the Vietnamese have experienced the book's description of the movement of the son of a Confucian scholar in rural Vietnam through war service to trying to adapt to the postwar world of urban Hanoi.

The Sorrow of War, Bau Ninh

Fictional account of a young soldier in war, with brutal detail and great sorrow. Of 500 men in the author’s brigade, he was one of 10 survivors.

Behind the Red Mist, Ho Anh Thai

Short stories dealing with the transformation of life in post-war Vietnam.

The Women on the Island, Ho Anh Thai

Dark humor about the bizarre economic redevelopment projects that tried to put people to work after the wars.

The General Retires and Other Stories andCrossing the River, Nguyen Huy Thiep Stories by a rural writer with a deft hand--a kind of Vietnamese Faulkner who focuses on the world he knows well.

And three anthologies:

Vietnam: A Traveler's Literary Companion, John Balaban and Nguyen Qui Duc, eds. Seventeen short stories, organized around the geography of Vietnam: the jungles, villages, rivers, Hanoi, HCM City, etc.

Night, Again: Contemporary Fiction from Vietnam, Linh Kinh, ed.

A collection of short fiction, some by authors living in Vietnam, but also including several ex-pats living elsewhere. Like the African-American literary diaspora in France in the early 20th century, a part of Vietnamese fiction is from writers who left for other countries, by choice or necessity.

The Light of the Capital: Three Modern Vietnamese Classics, Greg and Monique Lockhard, edoitors and translators

Two pieces of urban reportage and 1 autobiography. Interesting reading, but more essays on Vietnamese history or culture than fiction.

•  •  •

Kimberly Hokanson, Director of Alumni and Parent Programs:

Pretending that it was work-related, I dug into Abide with Me, by Bates' own Elizabeth Strout '77. Loved it. (Also liked Liz's first book, Amy & Isabel, but like the new one better). Also recommend anything by Elizabeth Berg. For women approaching the half-century mark, I particularly recommend reading The Pull of the Moon. Also enjoyed Range of Motion, but would have read it at a less hormonally-influenced time of the month if I'd had more of an idea what it was about. Very heart wrenching.

•  •  •

Jim Hughes, Thomas Sowell Professor of Economics:

Mao: The Unknown Storyby Jung Chang and Jon Halliday
Anything but neutral, the authors spent over a decade combing archives and conducting interviews to write this biography of Chairman Mao. The compilation of information is impressive, and the work will change anyone's view of the Great Helmsman's role in China's history.
Not beach reading, or even light reading, but a thoroughly engaging read for those who like history.

John Illig, Men's and Women's Squash Coach:

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

1,000-plus pages of ingenious mayhem; set in the future, largely in Boston, in a time when even the calendar years themselves have corporate sponsors, such as 2012, "The Year of the Depends Adult Undergarment." Mind-boggling stuff. Not bad for a Williams College grad.

Sorry for shameless self-promos but I need the sales:

Pacific Dream, by John Illig

Review: editor D.W.St.John: "Unflinchingly honest, vividly told, funny, true, fascinating, exciting - - Pacific Dream is all these things. It's the best book I've read this year and I'll never forget it. John writes with a candor that's shockingly fresh and real." Review: Maine Sunday Telegram 8/7/05 L. Ferriss: "A fascinating, thought-provoking book that ranks with the very best literature on long-distance hiking." A narrative account of 2,657-mile Pacific Crest Trail hike. Book is available with reviews on Amazon; is also available 24 hours/day over the telephone at Book Clearing House: 1 (800) 431-1579.

Green Tunnel, by John Illig

Review: John Hanson Mitchell (Ceremonial Time; Trespassing; Living at the End of Time): "Just in time to counteract Bill Bryson's lumbering 'A Walk in the Woods,' here is a book by a guy who actually made it through. John Illig is light on his feet and writes with tripping prose." A narrative account of 2,147-mile Appalachian Trail hike (book formerly published by Windswept House as 'Trail Ways, Path Wise' - now out of print). Book is available with reviews on Amazon; is also available 24 hours/day over the telephone at Book Clearing House: 1 (800) 431-1579.

•  •  •

Rachel Jacques, Assistant to the VP for ILS:

Beauman: Kate Remembered

Julia Child-My Life in France

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

•  •  •

Phyllis Graber Jensen, staff writer and photographer:

Phone Ringsby Stephen Dixon
I was drawn to this novel by its cover but expected nothing. Once reading, I was swept off my feet. After a phone call in which he learns of his older brother's unexpected death, the aging narrator reminisces seemingly at random about their lives together. A series of tales about siblings and family over the course of a lifetime, Phone Rings overflows with exquisite emotion.

•  •  •

Charles Kovacs, Director of Career Services:

Hand-Me-Down Dreams. How Families Influence Our Career Paths and How We Can Reclaim Them. Mary H. Jacobsen. Three River Press, New York, NY

One of the more persistent issues in career counseling is the presence of the ‘gray eminence’ of family expectations. Students often express what their parents and family expect of them in terms of jobs, graduate schools, careers, and life. On occasion, some students express what their family expects them to major in! Clearly, students’ parents and families’ love and want only the best for the young folks in their lives. However, those expectations and hopes are often expressed in terms of what students ‘ought’ and ‘must’ do, become, think, and act. Living one’s own life is never easy; it is especially hard if you are living out another’s ideas and dreams.

Mary H. Jacobsen, a psychotherapist and career counselor, presents in some outstanding insights into the transference of generational expectations and the negative effects they can have in a young person’s life. She explains the dynamic of feeling trapped or disappointed in a career or job when one tries to live up to your “family’s wishes, rather than your own natural talents, interests, and passions.” She also touches on critical topics such as: identifying a family system and web of relationships, breaking the cycle, sibling order and gender, family values and how they work for and against us, overcoming beliefs that block change and personal success, and an outstanding section on reclaiming your career.

This book really should be required reading for every parent of a college age son or daughter or anyone who may feel the internal distress of an unhappy job. Or as a Wall Street Journal reviewer put it: “Any reader who has drifted into an unsatisfying career is likely to experience several shocks of recognition here, and to pick up helpful hints.”

10 Things Employers Want You to Learn In College. The Know-How You Need to Succeed. Bill Coplin. Ten Speed Press, Berkely, CA
It comes as no surprise that Bates graduates do well in the world of advanced studies and work: The Bates education experience and training has a profound relevancy. Bill Coplin is the director and professor of the public affairs program at Syracuse University. He identified in his book those core qualities that a college educated individual can offer to an employer. Coplin has developed a skills-based liberal arts curricular for over 30 years and has through his research and verified methodology identified 10 crucial skills groups: work ethic, physical performance, speaking, writing, teamwork, influencing people, research, number crunching, critical thinking, and problem solving. It was a delight to see the skills, work habits, and motivations the Bates curriculum instills affirmed in Colpin’s book.

Type Talk at Work. How 16 Personality Types Determine Your Success on the Job. Otto Kroeger, Janet M. Thusesen, and Hile Rutledge. Dell Publishing, New York, NY
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator [MBTI] is the most widely-used style preference behavior scales in the world. We offer students the option of this diagnostic information gathering instrument through confidential counseling and interpretation. Based upon the personality theories of Karl Jung, the MBTI captures the essential comfort zones of an individual’s way of being energized, taking in and processing information, and engaging the world. The unique combination of ones’ preferences results in a profile with proven behavioral relations to academics, communication needs, management styles, and a host of other critical performance expressions. Kroeger and his team focus on the work styles of the MBTI and gives one of the best analysis of type in the work place. He expresses the unique dynamic of the MBTI typologies, their needs, natural expressions, and potential strengths and weaknesses. Within the workplace he covers for each profile such issues as: leadership, team building, and problem solving styles, conflict resolution, goal setting, time management, hiring and firing, ethics, stress management, and sales. Additionally, he offers in-depth profiles of all 16 types with specific emphasis on their workplace contributions, pathways to professional growth, leadership qualities, and team spirit.

•  •  •

Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater:

The Second World War, Winston Churchill

The Presence of the Future, George Eldon Ladd

•  •  •

Jim Lamontagne, Library Assistant-Cataloging:

A tragic honesty: the life and work of Richard Yates/ Blake Bailey
A chilling look at the troubled life of a forgotten American novelist of the 60?s-80?s. Alcoholic and manic-depressive, a Fitzgeraldian disciple with a post-WWII outlook, Yates observed middle-class angst in America in relative obscurity with only occasional critical acclaim. This thorough bio may continue a well-deserved career re-evaluation that has begun already with re-issues of works such as Revolutionary Road and Easter Parade.

•  •  •

Charlotte Lehmann, Research Technician in Geology:

Wanderlust: The Story of Walking by Rebecca Solnit

Holy Clues-The Gospel According to Sherlock Holmes by Stephen Kendrick

What the Bleep Do We Know!? By William Arntz et al

•  •  •

Lynne Lewis, Associate Professor of Economics:

I have recently read, Marley and Me. And while it is very light reading it is immensely enjoyable for a dog lover.

•  •  •

Becky Lovett, Assistant Bookstore Manager:

I recommend two books of the pioneer West: Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart gives a remarkable view of the challenges, joys and sorrows experienced by homesteaders during the early twentieth century. And from a fictional point-of-view, Willa Cather’s My Antoniatakes you to Nebraska during the same time period. Cather’s descriptions of the weather and landscapes that defined daily life, as well as the immigrants struggling to manage, are so real that you feel the grit in your eyes.

•  •  •

Bill Low, Assistant Curator, Museum of Art:

Snow by Orhan Pamuk

A Turkish poet who spent 12 years as a political exile in Germany witnesses firsthand the clash between radical Islam and Western ideals in this enigmatically beautiful novel.

March by Geraldine Brooks

Brooks's luminous second novel imagines the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.

Kathy Low, Professor of Psychology:

March, by Geraldine Brooks

Fforde's trilogy: The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, Well of Lost Plots

Elizabeth Strout, Abide with Me

•  •  •

Judy Marden '66, Director, Bates Morse Mountain/Shortridge:

One of my Baxter-in-winter buddies let me take Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief after he was finished; a story of the MacDonald clan that settled on Cape Breton Island. It inspires me to go back to that lovely land for a visit --or farther, to find a few roots in Scotland.

Just re-read Kenn Kauffman's Kingbird Highway. Kenn took off to go birding at the age of 16--dropped out of high school, and followed his passion. His mantra: "Any day could be a special day, and you just had to get outside and see..." Now, an author of many books, he teaches at Maine Audubon's Hog Island Camp for part of the summer. Sometimes he leads groups to Morse Mountain. And maybe, if I get outside on just the right day, I will finally meet him.

I still love murder mysteries as candy, and one of the best this year is Tami Hoag's Kill the Messenger. Ever wonder what being a bike messenger might feel like? Great descriptions of urban and suburban chases!
Well, one of these days, my dream is to make my most interesting book, my own diary!

•  •  •

Maggie Maurer-Fazio, Associate Dean of the Faculty:

Two books on China:
River Town by Peter Hessler
China Candid: The people on the People's Republic by Sang Ye
Also:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

•  •  •

Lisa Maurizio, Associate Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies:

I recommend Sacred Country by Rose Tremain.

Sigrid Nunez: A Feather on the Breadth of God
Kate Atkinson: Human Croquet

•  •  •

Laurie McConnell, Area Coordinator, Carnegie Science:

The Dive from Clausen's Pierby Ann Packer
Emotional roller coaster! Moral complexity. From the jacket: "How much do we owe the people we love? Is it a sign of strength or weakness to walk away from someone in need? Carrie Bell is 23 years old, engaged to her high school sweetheart and has had the same 'best friend' forever when her fiance is paralyzed in a diving accident. She has lived her entire life in Madison, Wisconsin and had lately been finding this life suffocating. But now, leaving seems unforgivable." Carrie's response to this dilemma makes you delve into your innermost feelings and keeps you wondering how you might react. And, of course, there is no right or wrong answer. But there is inner turmoil no matter what you decide. Provocative!

•  •  •

David McCullough, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at Commencement, offered titles in his address:

For your summer list let me recommend just three, none long, all marvelous: Wind, Sand and Stars, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, about the pioneer days in aviation and about responsibility as the core of morality; The Lives of a Cell, by Lewis Thomas, which is about fish and bats and social insects, birdsong, and the miracle of language; and read the funny, very wise essay on the devil and his ways called The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis.

•  •  •

Monica McCusker, Office Coordinator, College Store:

Cold Sassy Treeby Olive Ann Burns
I read this book as a "relief" book between a series of books I was reading and was genuinely refreshed by Ms. Burns' way of writing. It's a coming-of-age story as told by a young man living in the small town of Cold Sassy Tree, Georgia, in the early 1900's. With a keen knack for story-telling, he describes events in his family life with a focus on the personal interactions and aspirations of his patriarchal grandfather whose independent way of thinking and philosophies on life are passed on to his grandson. The author writes in the vernacular of the characters and I found myself "thinking southern" as I read. Having lived in the southern part of the country during parts of my life, I could relate to the slang and way of thinking of the people in the story. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an easy and enjoyable story.

•  •  •

Chris McDowell, Assistant Professor of Theater:

Books I like, in no particular order:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The story of an inflexible Baptist minister and his wife and four daughters who travel to the Congo on the eve of its revolution and independence. The book is told from the point of view of the women in the family.

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Brilliant theatrical language in two parallel stories set 150+ years apart in the same English country house. The story of a young girl in the early 19th century who has an amazing grasp of theoretical mathematics and physics.

The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
Not his best known work, but a very sensitive story about a Christian family in Goa.

The Master and Margherita by Mikhail Bulgakov
An early Russian surrealist novel about the Devil's visit to Moscow, Pontius Pilate and his dog, and a woman who turns herself into a witch for the love of a writer.

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
The story of a family of "genetically engineered" sideshow freaks. Very dark and bizarre, but hard to put down.

What's Bred in the Bone
by Robertson Davies
The life and career of a Canadian art forger. Part of a larger trilogy by Davies (the master of trilogies), all involving the fine and performing arts.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
A comic look at the Apolocalypse (no, really!). For anyone who knows the writing of Terry Prachett (the author of the Discworld series), this book has all of his wit, but is set here on earth. Neil Gaiman is also known as the author of the graphic novel series The Sandman.

•  •  •

Bryan McNulty, Director of Communication and Media Relations:

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, by Walter Isaacson. (Paperback came out in 2004.)

Of all the Founders, I think that Franklin would be the least distressed by time travel to the present day. He was amazingly multifaceted, and had such a modern and practical approach to life. He was a skeptic and world-class scientist, an entrepreneur and editorial spinmeister. Most fortuitously for the new country, he was brilliant and wise in crafting compromise, and in building French support for the United States. All of this and a great sense of humor. This is the American historical figure that I would most like to invite to a party.

Testament of Youth, by Vera Brittain

This was written in 1933, but it's new to me. Brittain turned 18 in 1914, and she writes about her youth through 1925. I am not halfway through the book, but I find it fascinating to see World War I through the lens of her life, with all of its intensity, love and loss. There was certainly a more pronounced societal naiveté about the glory of war for king, kaiser and country. But we still go on making bad choices, don't we?

•  •  •

Jessica Mellen, Residence Life & Student Activities Assistant:
Novels:
Plum Island by Nelson Demille--a great thriller
Sloppy Firsts; Second Helpings; Charmed Thirds-- an ongoing series by Megan McCafferty--great for anybody with teenage daughters or any woman who remembers that awkward phase of life! Chick lit at its snarky best.
Lily White by Susan Isaacs--simply wonderful--about family and how they come in all forms.
A Widow for One Year by John Irving--I think one of his less-well read novels, but I really enjoyed it.

Nonfiction:
Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach--absolutely wonderful--one of my favorites.
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love by Jill Conner Browne--hysterical. I actually laughed out loud through most of the book--chronicles the adventures of some self-made queens in Mississippi, and includes recipes for some of the most delicious and fattening things EVER.
The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal by Jared Diamond--a very interesting look at why we do the things we do, and how close we really are to chimps!
Bone Voyage: A Journey into Forensic Anthropology by Stanley Rhine--true forensic tales, anybody who loves CSI/Bones/that genre of TV would find it super interesting.

•  •  •

Erika Millstein, Biology Research Assistant:

Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer
Ian McEwan, Atonement

•  •  •

Michael Murray, Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics:

Handling Sinby Michael Malone - A rollicking, somewhat surreal road-trip and redemption novel.

Mountains Beyond Mountain: the Paul Farmer Story - The inspirational story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a man who would cure the world. Farmer's unorthodox pursuit of better medical care for the indigent of the world is fascinatingly well told by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi - an enlightening window into women's lives in revolutionary Iran and the nourishment that literature can furnish to hungry souls.

Econometrics: A Modern Introduction by Michael Murray - a drug-free soporific to put on your bedside table.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss - Never has understanding grammar been so much fun.

•  •  •

Dan Nein, Assistant Director of Facility Services:

Outdoor Life

Maine Sportsman

Northland Journal

All magazines—

 

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2005 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

Each spring, the College Store solicits from members of the Bates community their suggestions for good summer reads:

Paula Jean Schlax, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry:

…Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. This was a fascinating story about Kafka, a 15-year-old boy who runs away from home and ends up at a small private library and Nakata, a strange old man who has a connection to Kafka and the people he meets. The story delves in and out of time and dream type reality. The prose, even in translation, is great.

Harbor by Lorraine Adams. This story is about an illegal immigrant from Algeria and his experiences. He is accused of being a terrorist (because of his associations with others that conduct illegal activities). His interactions with others are intriguing.

Mirrormask: Script book by Dave Mckean and Neil Gaiman. It is the storyboard and script of an upcoming movie by (Jim) Henson films. Dave McKean's storyboards are so interesting that I enjoy looking at it and reading it.

Andrew White, Director of Academic Technology:

The busier I get at home and work, the more I read--go figure.

The Baroque Cycle--Neal Stephenson
A tale told across 3 volumes and over 2700 pages. I could say it's about the origins of our modern economic system in Baroque Europe-but it's really a fantastic, picaresque adventure story which blends Newton, Leibniz, Louis XIV, piracy, European aristocracy, Peter the Great, voyages round the world, and cross-dressing into a rollicking read. You can go deep or stay on the surface. Either way it's a blast.

Gilead and Housekeeping--both by Marilynne Robinson

Housekeeping has always stayed on my reread shelf. It reads like a single breath. Reading Gilead is like reading a prayer.

Buddha in the World--Pankaj Mishra
A somewhat disjointed, but enjoyable overview of the Buddha's legacy.

One Man's Wilderness--Sam Keith
Touted during endless PBS beg-athons, this reconstruction of Dick Proenneke's journals of his time near Lake Clark, Alaska fuels the wanderlust of those of us trapped behind our desks.

How Soon is Never?--Marc Spitz
A great read for us Reagan-era adolescents. A primer for saving your life by reuniting your favorite band.

Lobster Coast--Colin Woodward
Entertaining cultural history of the Maine coast, useful for those of us perpetually from away. It explains a lot.

Laura Faure, Director of Bates Dance Festival:

Time Traveler's Wife (by Audrey Niffenegger) and The Kite Runner (by Khaled Hosseini). Both were excellent.

Elizabeth Eames, Associate Professor of Anthropology:

Finally got around to Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver--been meaning to read it for ages--I thought the first three-quarters were inspired and brilliant. (Even though it went on a bit too long, it was all in all enlightening, poetic and evocative).

Alli Lambert, Coordinator of Alumni and Parent Programs:

Night Fall by Nelson Demille...finished it in one day! A fast and funny read.

Gene Wiemers, Vice President for Information and Library Services and Librarian:

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, by Tracy Kidder. Out in paperback from Random House in 2004. Required reading for the human race. I'm interested in it because it shows that it is possible to be an effective professional one person at a time, and at the same time influence political systems, national, and international policy. Some Bates readers will remember Farmer's visit here several years ago, and many will have read Kidder's other books. Kidder wrote this book as a first person narrative, which some readers may find jarring. In a recent visit to Maine, he said that he used this approach in order to keep Farmer on a human and personal scale, as his accomplishments are so great that a third person narrative might make Farmer seem unbelievable.

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, by Philip Gourevitch. The 1998 book available in paperback from Picador. You may not think about the Rwandan genocide as summer reading. Many readers may have been put off by the topic, which makes this book of value to this list many years after it was published. Don't let the subject matter stop you. This is a gripping, dispassionate and compelling account of how human beings can instigate, accept, witness and ignore unspeakably inhuman acts. It reminds you that it can happen here. A very good and very important reading experience.

Charles Kovacs, Director of Career Services:

Getting a job is really a job; it involves as much, possibly more, time, energy, effort, and skills than a nine to five occupation. More, job hunting hurts: loss of self-esteem, wages, identity, and status. Yep, unemployment can be a bummer, for the first time, job seeker no less than the seasoned professional. Consequently, there is a proliferation of books, web sites, newsletters, self-help guides, and multi-media materials aimed at making the transition a bit less painful. After a while, the literature in the field resembles variations on predictable themes, like the “gothic” novels of pulp fiction fame. It was refreshing to discover that a recent book returned to a provocative technique that has not been covered in the literature for a while and is most deserving of another serious review.

Brian Graham’s new monograph, Get Hired Fast! Tap the Hidden Job Market in 15 Days, [Adams Media, Avon, MA, 2005] recommends that the older techniques – cover letters, resumes, email spam “blasts” of your documents, web postings, and networking – are too time-consuming and less effective, especially the technology over-kill approach. Graham advises a simple, direct, and seemingly swift approach: identify the key contact in any organization, do research on the organization, target appropriate companies, and execute a professional scripted phone call. If this is done in a focused manner, he states, you could see results in 15 days.

While this sounds too good to be true, it does work. The catch: focus, time, and intentional effort. Graham’s style is direct, clear and exact, just what you would expect from a successful founder of an executive search firm with major clients. Especially useful is his chapter on scripted calling. His advice there is particularly useful for the neophyte and experienced job hunter.

Guy Kawaski is perhaps best know for his work with Apple Computer as their corporate “evangelist” and the positive effect wrought through an intentional and enthusiastic expression of a product. He has published many popular and substantial books, is a motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. His most recent book, The Art of the Start. The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything [Portfolio/Penguin, New York, 2004] provides the reader with a great benchmarking tool for starting any new venture be that a company, family, career, or writing a book.

In 11 chapters, Kawaski presents his distilled experience, insights, and sense of the phases of new venture development: starting, positing, pitching, business plan crafting, bootstrapping, recruiting, capital raising, partnering, branding, and rainmaking. His last chapter is perhaps his best – he recommends reading that chapter first – on “The Art of Being a Mensch.” Essentially, if you are not engaged in your new venture for anything less than being ethical, decent, and admirable, your success – or failure – will never satisfy or lead to a higher level of personhood. I was struck with the resonance of his admonition with aspects of the Bates philosophy: “The three foundations of menschhood are helping lots of people, doing what is right, and paying back society – simple concepts that are hard to implement.” He inspires too: “When telescopes work, everyone is an astronomer, and the world is full of stars. When they don't, everyone whips out their microscopes, and the world is full of flaws.”

This easy to read book will delight, entertain, and inform your next great venture. It is a funny, witty, and delightful book and if you want to check out his corresponding web site for a taste of it try http://www.artofthestart.com. Just be sure you focus your telescope, not your microscope, as you start your new venture.

Jim Hart, Academic Technology Project Manager:

I often like mysteries by British authors, especially the series that feature a central cast of characters through a number of books. In that vein are the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayers. While the early ones are good to excellent mysteries, the Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane books are even more interesting. They interlace a sophisticated love story into a series of 4 mysteries. Sayers' command of dialogue in these books is outstanding and, sometimes, memorable. She conveys so much without having to tell the reader overtly what the characters are thinking and feeling.

The books are: Strong PoisonHave His CarcaseGaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon.

Do read them in that order. While the mysteries in each stand alone, the progress of the romance between the two protagonists moves in a continuum through them.

Sarah Strong, Associate Professor of Japanese

I recommend Ceremony by Leslie Silko. Written in the 1970s and set in northern New Mexico, it tells a story of recovery from the trauma of war. Healing comes in multiple ways but especially through the power of traditional stories of the Laguna Pueblo people and Navaho ceremonies. There are lots of cool desert springs, warm sandstone cliffs, rhythmic voices and wise animals. The narrative thread is both engaging and complex. I really like this book.

Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater:

Will in the World. How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

Father Joe. The Man Who Saved My Soul by Tony Hendra

Right Turns. Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life by Michael Medved

Gilead. A Novel by Marilynne Robinson

Sawyer Sylvester, Professor of Sociology:

John Adams by David McCullough is an immensely readable biography of the quintessential New Englander and second president of the United States, without whose efforts there probably would not be a United States. If this book rekindles your interest in early American history, you might also enjoy Joseph Ellis’s Founding Brothers and Alden Vaughan’s The Puritan Heritage in America.

A Solitude of Space is a collection of paintings by Thomas Crotty. I suppose it’s not necessary to have been born and raised in Maine to like Crotty’s spare, cold, silent landscapes—but it helps. For those not fortunate, go alone to a place like “Backyard Winter South”, “Wolf’s Neck Pasture” or—especially—“Frost Gully, New Snow”, take a deep breath of the frozen air, and listen.

Oxymoronica by Marty Grothe is a little collection of those pithy sayings with the snap of illogic at the end. One from a church bulletin is: “The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer Conference includes meals.”

Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, with some suspension of critical faculties, is a romp. P.D. James’s The Murder Room is a solid read, requiring no such suspension.

In an age enamored of alternative medicine, Dangerous Garden by David Stuart is a sober reminder of the double edge to herbal remedies.

Sailing the Wine Dark Sea is the fourth in Thomas Cahill’s “Hinges of History” series, and a book-long paean to ancient Greek culture—including its language which he says had a word for just about everything. Hebrew, by contrast, was a language of silences, and Latin, “a language ideal for recordkeeping.” That last is a bit harsh, I think.

Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky is the story of a college student who, in order to gain a “sociological view of Jewish history,” takes a course in Yiddish and soon discovers that there are very few Yiddish books. This is because such books in America are rapidly being lost, abandoned, or destroyed. The author begins a country-wide rescue, raiding attics and dumpsters, and finally establishing the National Yiddish Book Center.

Anthony Shostak, Education Coordinator/Museum of Art:

The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq
This tale of two half-brothers encompasses genetic engineering, wife swapping, and the consequences of growing up motherless.

Platform by Michel Houellebecq
This homage to Camus focuses on how sexual tourism and religious intolerance change the life of a middle-aged French bureaucrat.

Sylvia Federico, Resident Learning Associate/Classical and Medieval Studies:

I recently read, and thoroughly enjoyed, Jonathan Lethem's novel titled Motherless Brooklyn. It's about a detective with Tourette's syndrome, set in contemporary New York.

Leigh Weisenburger, Assistant Dean of Admissions:

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingslover

Camille by Alexandre Dumas

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

11 Minutes by Paulo Coehlo

The Big House by George Howe Colt

Rob Farnsworth, Lecturer in English:

I recommend: Ian McEwan's new novel Saturday, skillfully done and quite absorbing/disturbing; John Banville's strange novel Athena; William Trevor's novel pathetique The Story of Lucy Gault;Botanies of Desire by Michael Pollan, engagingly written horticultural and cultural musings in four chapters concerning respectively the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato; and for those still picking up thin volumes of verse, of whom I wish there were many more, poetry: by James Richardson--Interglacial: New & Selected Poems; by Glyn Maxwell--The Nerve and The Boys At Twilight: Poems 1990-95; by Sydney Lea--Ghost Pain.

Roxanne Prichard, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology:

Oryx & Crake- Margart Atwood

Maggie Maurer-Fazio, Associate Professor of Economics/Associate Dean of the Faculty:

Books that I read this year and would recommend are:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Michael Haddon

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Karen McArthur, Systems Administrator/ILS:

For those of you who enjoy a bit of humor, I recently read Yiddish with Dick and Jane by Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman. It's very enjoyable! And it has a Yiddish index in the back that helps you figure out that childhood mystery ... What "Bobe" was saying?

Ray Potter, Environmental Health and Safety Specialist:

I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
I was looking for some answers. I hoped to gain some understanding of today’s college student. I found more questions. I don’t know whether the novel is an accurate reflection of Wolfe’s research or a serious case of literary and “older generation” exaggeration. There seems to be a convergence of what I have observed and what Wolfe writes but it’s not clear how widespread the behaviors are in the population.

Anyway, it’s an interesting tale of one young woman’s painful maturing process in the first six months of college. It’s not a good read for a parent sending a teenager off for the first time. The end product of this process is not thoroughly likable. It might make one consider home schooling at the collegiate level.

Ice Hunt by James Rollins
For sheer escapism featuring science fiction, international intrigue, marriage rebuilding under extreme circumstances with a side order of Navy Special Forces, this is the book for you. Rollins seems to have a formula which he sticks to in his books but if you’re not looking for great literature, it’s a good entertaining read. This tale takes place in the extreme northern hemisphere beginning in the Alaskan wilderness and proceeding to a research station buried in the ice above the arctic circle. There are prehistoric creatures, a favorite of Rollins, evil scientists, a wolf, an Alaskan Fish & Wildlife agent and an Alaskan law enforcement person. All these characters are wrapped up into a compelling adventure that’s pretty hard to put down. Other books by Rollins that might be of interest: ExcavationSubterranean, and Amazonia.

Jack Whyte has written a series of books that put a new, and perhaps more believable spin on the Arthurian legend. He starts with Roman legionnaires in the fifth century and weaves an earthy and fascinating story of how Arthur and his knights may have evolved. There are characters of all kinds: likable, despicable, endearing, lovable, creative, bellicose. I liked the new Merlin, a real, clever person, not a wizard. It’s a great series and I’m not sure we’ve come to the end yet. There was a new book released in hardcover in November 2004. The titles, including the newest are: The SkystoneThe Singing SwordThe Eagles BroodThe Saxon ShoreThe Fort at River’s Bend,The Sorcerer: MetamorphosisUther, and The Lance Thrower.

Bill Hiss, Vice President for External Affairs:

Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization. A lovely slender volume to cover eons of history, this book tells how the Irish monks copied the classics and Biblical texts during the Dark Ages when the books were being lost almost everywhere else. Gracefully and sympathetically written, hopping nimbly about the Western and Middle Eastern world over centuries, it is a rewarding short read about what we owe the Irish and especially the unpromising, isolated Irish monasteries, from which no one then alive would have expected much in the way of cultural contributions.

Dallas Murphy, Rounding the Horn. A well-written history and sailing tour of Cape Horn, with its hideously difficult weather and seas, and some fascinating portraits of who ended up there, by choice or literal accident. A good summer read, perhaps an amalgam of "The Perfect Storm" and Patrick O'Brien's wonderful sea novels.

William H. Tucker '67, The Funding of Scientific Racism: Wickliffe Draper and the Pioneer Fund. Bill Tucker, a professor of psychology at Rutgers, has written a powerful scholarly account of how a wealthy man funded a foundation--The Pioneer Fund--which for decades has surreptitiously funded much of the very worst racist research to try to establish the genetic superiority of the Nordic races and influence public policy against any forms of civil rights or opportunity for non-whites.

Charles E. Clark '51, Bates Through the Years: An Illustrated History. Charlie Clark, an emeritus professor of New England history at UNH, was commissioned by Bates to prepare a volume of topical essays on the history of Bates as part of the Sesquicentennial celebrations. Written with an eye for detail and some humor, the book deals with major facets of Bates--the Presidents, the faculty, the curriculum, student life--and is illustrated with many dozens of wonderful photographs from Bates history over the decades. The book will be published for the opening of College in the fall.

Michael Shapiro, The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, the Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together. Another good summer read, on the last season the Dodgers played at Ebbets Field before moving to Los Angeles. It is certainly for baseball aficionados, but also for those interested in the social and political history of the 1950's. The collection of very fallible players have survived as cult heroes: Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella. But the equally engrossing story is the political battle between team owner Walter O'Malley and city planning czar Robert Moses over whether the Dodgers could build a new stadium in Brooklyn--imagine a time when public housing and transportation was a higher priority for tax dollars than a professional sports stadium!

Jane K. Frizzell, Network Services Administrator:

May I recommend Eric Garcia (Matchstick Men) and his 3 book series about the dinosaurs who walk amongst us. Anonymous RexCasual Rex and Hot and Sweaty Rex are lots of fun to read. They are adult detective mysteries, and Garcia is a good writer. The writing is the best part along with the humor, strange plots and absurd situations. Dinosaurs are not extinct, just in hiding. You may not know it, but many of the people you see every day are actually dinosaurs in sophisticated people suits. They have a sub-culture that helps keep their secret, can get inebriated when exposed to sage and oregano and have great senses of humor.

Kimberly Hokanson, Director of Alumni and Parent Programs:

Paranoia, by Joseph Finder
A great story of corporate espionage--easy reading, lots of suspense to keep you turning the pages. Added bonus for me--Joe was my expository writing teacher way back in graduate school, at which point he was writing his first novel!

Holly Lasagna, Service Learning Program Coordinator:

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Even though I have been so busy that I don't get to do much reading these days, this book was great to pick up, read one of the stories and then come back to it at any point. She has an incredible eye for the detail that defines a person, relationship, life. Great subtle commentary on the immigrant experience.

Sue Hubley, Senior Researcher/Office of College Advancement:

This is my first time submitting a book. I've meant to other years, but got sidetracked and never did. But right now I'm reading a book that I'm finding so powerful that I just had to submit it. It's titled, At Hell's Gate, and the author is Claude Anshin Thomas, a Soto Zen Buddhist monk. He was in Maine a couple of weeks ago to publicize the book and to do daylong retreats on mindfulness, and I attended one of those retreats. He was a soldier who went to Vietnam believing the war was right, was severely traumatized by what he saw and did there, came back, had a breakdown, and has spent years trying to achieve peace inside and to atone for his actions. He experienced a complete turnaround, believes that war and violence are wrong, and is trying to spread the message that violence -- and peace and compassion as well -- begin inside each of us.

The book is absolutely compelling, from my point of view. It's not light reading, though. It was published in 2004 by Shambhala Publications.

Sagaree Sengupta, Lecturer, Asian Studies:

Books I have read that would make good summer reading:

Pico Iyer, The Lady and the Monk

Monica Ali, Brick Lane

Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence

Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf (yeah, on a stormy day at the shore!)

There is some great English poetry from India, but I'm afraid they'd be hard for people to get their hands on. Names of poets:

Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
Jayanta Mahapatra

The book I really want to read this summer:

Suketu Mehta, Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found (non-fic).

Bonnie Shulman, Associate Professor of Mathematics:

Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff--I know it's "trendy" and all the rage in some political circles, but I STILL want to recommend this book by an academic linguist, written for a more general audience. He boils down some principles about "framing" (marketing?) one's issues and values to get them across to a larger public. Some have criticized the book as touting form over substance ("it's all spin"), but I do NOT think that is what he is saying. Many of us were perplexed in the last election cycle about how and why we were ineffective at communicating with others, especially about "values." This book helps one to understand some of the dynamics that might be going on, and, ultimately is a primer on how to communicate respectfully with those with whom you might disagree. A good antidote to polarizing rhetoric!

Wild Steps of Heaven by Victor Villasenor--Second book in the series after Rain of Gold, but I would read this one first. It's the history of the paternal branch of "la familia" telling the story of his grandfather's life as a young boy in Mexico, during the Revolution. A little reminiscent of the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the sometimes quite violent scenes are tempered by passion, faith, and love. It is a great summer read.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore
How to describe this book? It's not easy...but trust me, you will laugh out loud from page 1! As a parody of Monster Who Ate New York (Godzilla) type fiction, it is a real send-up! But there is more--characters like a stoned constable, a pharmacist with a fish-fetish, a bartender with more "augmented" (artificial) body parts than her originals, and more. I know it sounds weird (wired?) but it's even weirder than it sounds, and 100 times as funny!

Michael Sargent, Assistant Professor of Psychology:

Amsterdam, by Ian McEwaw
As is typical for McEwan, this novel begins with a great deal of rich character development, which continues for a while, until something dreadful happens. If you like dry, witty banter and also have a dark sense of humor, you're likely to enjoy this book. It's a quick read too. Once you've finished, if you're in the mood for more McEwan, I also recommend The Comfort of Strangers.

Tanisha Scottham, College Advancement:

Isabel Allende’s newest book Zorro: A Novel looks like a good read!

Anita Charles, Instructor/Dept. of Education:

Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Pulitzer-Prize-winning collection of short stories featuring families from India integrating into American culture. I do not recommend, however, her later novel The Namesake. Guess she doesn't do longer fiction as well as she does short stories.

Beloved, by Toni Morrison
One of my all-time favorite books. I could read it over and over, and it would definitely be one I'd want if I were stranded on a desert isle. It's not an "easy" read, but it's beautifully written and thematically deep.

The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner
It's like a puzzle that you get to put together as you read, with many moments of sudden realizations. Faulkner's influence on Toni Morrison is evident in the previously-mentioned book. This is another book worth reading a few times.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, by Tolkien
Yes, okay, I'm behind the 8-ball on these and probably the last person on earth finally reading them, but I am thoroughly enjoying the language and the story. I am reading them bit by bit with my boys, ages 9 and 11.

Don't forget to revisit Shakespeare! Some great ones to read or reread would include Twelfth NightOthello, and of course Macbeth and Hamlet.

City of the Beasts, by I. Allende
This is actually a Young Adult coming-of-age novel about a 15-year-old boy who takes a trip into the Amazon with his grandmother, while his mother faces cancer back at home. It's a wonderful novel by a wonderful author.

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
Another Young Adult coming-of-age novel, this one about a girl who travels by car with her grandparents to try to discover more about her mother.

Lois Griffiths, Alumna and Retiree:

My favorite book this year was Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, recommended by my granddaughter - I read it last fall, and still think about it often.

It is set in Oxford in the near future, when scientists are perfecting a time travel method, and the same Oxfordshire area in the fourteenth century. The modern academic scene contrasts ironically with the 1300's.

If you have ever wondered what it would really be like to go back there, especially with a chance of never returning, try this!

Jack Pribram, Professor of Physics:

Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, 2003
Fiction. A good story line narrated by a British teenager with autism and special math skills. The book is beautifully constructed and gives the reader a sense of the logic this boy uses as he negotiates life with his parents and neighbors. Think a young Rain Man with different skills and personality. A fast read.

Simon Winchester, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883, 2003
An account of one of the greatest volcanic explosions of all time and the impact on the people of Indonesia and the world. The first event to be reported almost instantaneously around the earth because of the recent completion of the laying of telegraph lines. Winchester is an experienced writer [The Professor and the Madman] whose training is in geology. He also brings in the history of Dutch colonialism. The December tsunami renewed interest in Krakatoa.

Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, 2003.
The magic was the Chicago's world fair (the white city) of 1893, the murder and madness were the unnoticed disappearances due to a serial killer. The parallel stories of lead architect and the killer make for a good narrative, even when you'd rather not read about deaths. Larson gives a good sense of the incredible effort to put the fair together by the major architects of the day, of parts of America before 1900, and of Chicago coming into its own as a major city.

Ruth Wilson, Alumna and Retiree:

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss.
Right down and editor’s “alley.”

One Man’s Meat by E.B. White
Reprise with one of my favorite writers.

Madam Secretary, a memoir by Madeleine Albright
What a woman! Should be on everyone’s reading list.

Abe by Richard Slotkin
Interesting, probably somewhat fictional, good account of Lincoln’s early days.

Numerous mysteries by P.D. James, Elizabeth Peters, Anne Perry, and the Laurie King series about retirement years of Sherlock Holmes sleuthing with his wife.

Ellen Peters, Institutional Planning and Analysis:

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A beautifully written book about the intersection of a boy's emotional development and war-torn Afghanistan.

Odd Girl Out: the Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons
A ground breaking study of the passive bullying of girls.

Under the Banner of Heaven : A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
An admittedly biased account of fundamentalist Mormonism, sprinkled with history.

Postville:A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America by Stephen G. Bloom
About the influx of a group of Orthodox Jews into a rural Iowa community.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
An old classic I'd never read and am delighted to have finally found the time to pick up...a telling book about a girl's coming of age in a working poor family a century ago.

Zach Potter, Bookstore:

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man by James Weldon Johnson
Great, classic stories depicting the “passing” between black and white society and the main characters’ finding of themselves within these societies.

Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo
Great story. Even better that the movie with Paul Newman.

Pat Meader, Local Bibliophile:

March Cost, The Year of the Yield

J.B.Priestly, The Good Companions

Margery Allingham’s The Estate of the Beckoning Lady

Lillian Beckwith’s The Hills are Lonely

Margery Sharpe: Britannia Mews

Most of these entertaining reads will be out of print but perhaps you can find them at your local library! They are worth the hunt. If you can’t find them, anything by Elizabeth Berg is good.

Carole Parker, Library Assistant/Acquisitions:

I got 2 new books for Christmas, and I actually got to read them. Bob Dylan's Chronicles I is great if you're a Dylan fan; it reads very much like he sings. Frieda Hughes' release of Sylvia Plath's Ariel: The Restored Edition: A Facsimile of Plath's Manuscript, Reinstating Her Original Selection and Arrangement was interesting for its history together with her fine poetry.

Lorraine Groves, Bookstore:

The only suggestion I have is The Power of NOW by Eckhart Tolle. Visit your inner self for a transforming experience.

Debbie and Dick Williamson, Charles A. Dana Professor of French:

Ron McLarty, The Memory of Running. Why does Smithy Ide, an overweight, chain-smoking 43 yr old, drunk go on a cross-country bike ride?

Michael Sanders, Families of the Vine. Sanders from Brunswick, Maine and the author of From Here, You Can't See Paris, presents the insider's view of winemaking in Southwestern France.

Victor Hugo, The Toilers of the Sea. In French, Les Travailleurs de lamer, this novel by Hugo is as profound and as challening as Moby Dick. Great beach reading.

And we are sure that this one will appear on other lists:

Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner.

Erica Rand, Professor of Art and Visual Culture:

I recommend the novel Crybaby Butch (Firebrand Books, 2004) by Judith Frank. It's a great read about gender, generation, dyke identities, and adult literacy.

Claire Schmoll, Administrative Assistant to the President:

Trace by Patricia Cornwell is the most recent book I’ve read.

Laura Juraska, Associate College Librarian for Reference Services:

Master Butcher Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
If you've not read anything by Louise Erdrich, this is a good place to start because she is at her best once again in this story weaving together tales of life and love like no other.

Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
What is striking about this book is that the narrators in most of these stories are women, Vietnamese women. How an American male author can write in the feminine voice, about the feelings and experiences of the Vietnamese diaspora here in America, is what amazed me. Butler has written a beautiful, sensitive collection of stories about their lives past and present. Not like any novel or collection of stories written after the war that you have read. It won, and deserves, the Pulitzer Prize.

Lusty Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore
The author of "Coyote Blue" has done it again. Moore has a way with putting words together that often brings a chuckle. He is irreverent, given to the absurd, and has an imagination that catches one unawares and makes one shake one's head at the preposterousness that just seems to flow out of his mind - yet it all makes sense in the context of the story. Can't imagine what it would be like to live with someone whose synapses are so twisted, but it sure was fun reading it.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
I finally got around to this revived classic and found that one of the best ways to enter is through this wonderful audiobook edition. The story and language come to life through the artful interpretation and reading of Michele-Denise Woods.

John Harrison, Associate College Librarian for Collection Development:

Two extremes, both wonderful in their way:

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

The Stories of John Cheever

Anne Thompson, Professor of English

Brick Lane, by Monica Ali
This novel tells of the life of a Bangladeshi woman in an arranged marriage, in a community of Bangladeshi in London. It's a wonderful read, both serious and funny, and also illuminating about a culture with which I was completely unfamiliar. Recommended to me both by a Bates professor and a Bangladeshi undergraduate, so you know it must be good.

The Spiral Staircase, by Karen Armstrong
The spiritual autobiography of a woman who spent seven years as a Catholic nun, beginning when she was seventeen, and has now become an authority on all the world religions. I think what I liked best about this book was the tracing of her journey from her initial complete disaffection and indeed hostility to Catholicism, to her current profound engagement with and respect for all religious and spiritual traditions, though without committing herself to a conventional belief in any.

Kerry O'Brien, Dean of the Faculty's Office:

The Plot against America, by Philip Roth
By far my favorite read of the year. Roth places his own family in an alternate-history scenario, as seen through his own 9-year-old eyes: what if Nazi-sympathizer Charles Lindbergh had become president in the 1940s? The ominous anti-Semitic escalation is harrowing, as what was one thought to be impossible begins to unfold. The family is wrenched apart as they take various sides; the broader message is a warning about the dangers of chummy, plain-spoken ideologues in the White House and their catastrophic influence on clueless Americans.

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
It's astonishing that this book was written by someone who was barely out of his teens. It's at once hilarious and tragic, crossing back and forth across several centuries as it depicts life and death in Jewish shtetls and a present-day American's search for the truth about his family's near-annihilation in the Holocaust. Maybe the person who gets most enlightened is the Ukrainian translator-tour guide coming to terms with the past, his family's complicity, and the future.

Another chronological moving target is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.
Weird as it got sometimes, I could not put this book down. Talk about love standing the test of time: could you stand it if your husband disappeared for days on end, genetically predisposed to time-travel, only to reappear naked and beat up in the stacks of the library?

Runaway by Alice Munro
Alice Munro is amazing at capturing the lives of women, which are filled with traps and opportunities. Her stories are like tiny epic novels, huge in scope, yet she has cut away all the extra junk: perfectly distilled.

Lorelei Purrington, Area Coordinator:

A Painted House by John Grisham
A Novel written about rural Arkansas in 1952 and a little boy, Luke, who lives with his parents and grandparents in a house that’s never been painted. They hire a truck-load of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest the cotton. Luke sees and hears things that he never should. Excellent book, which I loved and could not put down!

Joy Comes in the Morning by Jonathan Rosen
A novel about a woman rabbi who has passionate contradictions, doubts and desires and who searches for something sacred in the midst of modern chaos. Wonderfully written.

An Enduring Love, My Life with the Shah by Farah Pahlavi
A memoir about the empress, Farah Pahlavi, wife of the last emperor of Iran—Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi and her devotion to social and cultural causes. Farah tells the heart-wrenching story of love she had for a man and his country during a tragic national struggle. Terrific book along with being very informational.

Good Harbor by Anita Daiment
A quick read about a new friendship that empowers two women going through personal challenges in their lives. Very realistic and touching.

Victorine by Catherine Texier
A story of adventure and self discovery of a woman’s struggle between duty and independence, tradition and freedom, longing and regret as she looks back at her life told by her great granddaughter. Very enjoyable read.

Sue Martin, Assistant Director of Center for Service Learning:

Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
An unlikely topic- teaching a dog to talk- that turns into a great book.

Taft by Ann Patchett
I keep hoping one of her books will come up to Bel Canto. This one doesn't but it's entertaining.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushie
A wonderful book I just got around to this year.

Unless by Carol Shields
The struggles of watching young adult children lead their own lives.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Hadden
I kept ignoring it because I thought it was overrated, but it was intriguing.

John Adams by David McCullough
I'm reading it in sections and really enjoy the integration of original letters, journals, etc.

Laurie Henderson, Director of Office Services:

Mental-pause...and other midlife laughs by Laura Jensen Walker
Good simple and fun read. Looking at your mother's face in the mirror? Or forgetting simple words for the common things, like husband and sink? If subzero temperatures are suddenly pleasant, this is a good "been there, done that" book.

Phillips' Treasure of Humorous Quotations, Bob Phillips
What can I say, a quote a day keeps me happy.

Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
Great quick read. David has a unique sense of humor recalling many childhood and adolescent memories.

Jane Costlow, Professor of Russian:

Mary Gordon's new novel Pearl took me a while to get into - her narrator's voice was off-putting at first; but I was glad to have persevered - this is a mother/daughter story in which the study-abroad year ends with Pearl (the daughter) staging a hunger strike in front of the American embassy in Dublin. Many of Gordon's persistent themes are here - women's relationships to Catholicism, to their bodies, and to each other. And perhaps the naivete of Americans meddling in other folks' politics?

Gilead is an extraordinary book - an elderly protestant minister's long letter to his very young son, about the history of the family, which is also a history of religiously-grounded protest against slavery. A wonderful, wonderful book, with a gentle voice and great wisdom.

Finally - short stories by Alice Munroe, who is quite simply an AMAZING writer. Just read her Friendship, Hateship, Courtship.... (there's more but I'll get it wrong). Her evocation of character is extraordinary - the lives of women in Canada in a generation just on the cusp of feminism - written with wit and insight into the ways in which people do marvelous things with lives that are in many ways constrained.

Leslie Hill, Associate Professor of Political Science:

Turtle Baby: A Mystery Novel by Abigail Padgett
I found this a good read because the detective was a flawed character.

Jill Reich, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty:

I fear my reading habits are rather prosaic - but perhaps there are others among us who seek calm in their good reads. My favorites from the past year are: Joseph Ellis' George Washington and R. Chernov's Alexander Hamilton.

Michael Hanrahan, Assistant Director and Instruction Coordinator, ILS:

Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux
Recounts overland journey form Cairo to Cape Town. Quite a good read!

Denise A. Begin, Staff Assistant/Dean of the Faculty’s Office:

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, by John Gray.
A first-year marriage manual!

Kirk Read, Associate Professor of French:

Arabian Jazz by Diana Abu-Jaber, family sadness and humor and hijinx among Lebanese immigrants in Upstate New York

In Search of Time Past by Proust. Just bathe in the first volume if that's all you have time for. At 3500 pages total, your French professor would understand. Extra credit for the original, A la recherche du temps perdu. Great summer reading. Torpor, angst, poetic prose, the most gorgeous impressionistic prose imaginable.

Testament of Devotion, Thomas Kelly for the spiritual questers, Quaker, Christian.

Annie Lamott, Plan B: Further thoughts on faith; more spiritual questing, great sense of humor, hilarious, christian.

 

*** This list has been truncated.  To download the full list, please follow this link. ***

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2004 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

Each spring, the College Store solicits from members of the Bates community their suggestions for good summer reads:

Selected Poems 1950-1985 and His Lifelines: Selected Poems 1950-1999, both by Philip Booth
The first book of poems of the Castine resident are as consistently modest as the poet himself, who declines public attention at every opportunity - modest, yes, but lit from the inside because of the clean, hardworking words he always chooses. Although the latter book is out of print, it can be found online or perhaps in your favorite out-of-the-way used bookstore. It incorporates much ofRelations, however, and includes poems from his other collections - probably the more sensible buy.
— Judith Robbins, Learning Associate, Dean of Faculty’s Office

The Half-Life of Happiness
(novel), by Jon Casey
The Big House (non-fiction/memoir), by George Howe Colt
Tar, Repair, Flesh & Blood (poems), or any other book by C.K. Williams
The Invention of Clouds (science/history), by Richard Hamblyn
— Rob Farnsworth, Lecturer in English

Jung: A Biography, by Deirdre Bair
If you are interested in the history or psychology, analytical psychology in particular, Carl G. Jung, and/or issues that surround him, i.e., the Jungfrauen, anti-feminism, anti-Semitism, or the conflict between Jung and Freud, this is a must read. It’s an extremely well-documented look into the life of Jung by a biographer who was given incredible access.
Ms. Bair spent years documenting the personal papers of many of the people who were there with Jung, surrounding him as his life progressed. To my knowledge, hers is the only biography of Jung to be written by someone who did not have a psychological ax to grind, or who comes from either the Jungian or Freudian camps (I know, that’s redundant).
I came away from this book with the first picture of C.G. Jung as a very human being with many foibles, as well as a good look at the humanity of him and many of those in his life. My hat is off to a truly great biographer.
— Richard Fochtmann, partner of Laura Juraska, Associate College Librarian for Reference Services

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen
An interesting take on an interesting family, and a very enjoyable read.
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
I’ve just started it, but I like the way it is written, and I’m eager to get back to it.
The East End Plays, by George Walker
For those who like to read plays, this series of very dark comedies is intriguing.
— Ellen Peters, Associate Director for Institutional Research

The Liberated Bride, by A.B. Yehoshua
The author is a magnificent storyteller who ponders the personal and political in unforgettable ways.
— Phyllis Graber Jensen, Senior Staff Writer and Photographer

My reading this year has been devoted to reading lesser known books by great writers. Among my favorites are the following:
A Mother’s Recompense, by Edith Wharton
A book about a mother and daughter, it’s full of tension and love.
A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy
This is harder to read, but very fulfilling.
The Master Butcher’s Club, by Louise Erdich
I also loved this book. It was almost impossible to put down, and I was very sad to finish it. I wanted it to go on and on.
From Here You Can’t See Paris: Seasons of a French Village and Its Restaurant, by Michael S. Sanders
Dick Williamson recommended this final selection, an account of a Maine family’s year in a remote French village. If you love France and cooking, it is a fabulous book.
— Vicky Devlin, Vice President for College Advancement

Harvard Yard and Back Bay, both by William Martin
A long historical college novel, Harvard Yard wraps around you and pulls you into the lives of the people (both real and fictional) who built Harvard. It will have special meaning for those who have spent their lives in academia, and who may have fantasized about writing the comprehensive novel about Bates...
If you like Martin’s style and want more, try his earlier novel, Back Bay, which involves some of the same characters as the city of Boston developed. A sidelight for me was the realization that Back Bay was once a saltmarsh—just reinforcing how many of our Eastern coastal saltmarshes have been filled and destroyed in the name of progress since European settlers came to North America. “Waste-land” indeed!
On an entirely different note:
The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World, by Marti Olsen Laney
At last, somebody understood!
— Judy Marden, Director, Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area

Digital Fortess, by Dan Brown
One of the other books from the author of The DaVinci Code, this was also very good.
The Eight, by Katherine Neville
This is excellent too.
— Jim Bauer, Director, Information and Library Services

I know it’s somewhat disreputable for a person working in the library to have such a...let’s just say “challenge free” little list, but this is what I like to read!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
This is Book Five in the ‘Harry Potter’ series. What can I say? You probably got this one on just about everyone’s list!
The Golden CompassThe Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, from the ‘Dark Materials’ trilogy, all by Philip Pullman
I might love them more than Harry Potter! It’s hard to decide since there are only the three.
The Path of Daggers, by Robert Jordan
This is Book Eight in the ‘Wheel of Time’ series. I’m falling a little behind with this series with all these kids’ books stealing my attention. This is a great fantasy series, very complex, with a cast of hundreds that you get to know very well.
A Wrinkle in TimeA Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, all by Madeline L’Engle
These are old school favorites of mine, but I really enjoyed re-reading them last Fall.
Baseball by the Rules, by Glen Waggoner et al.
Copyright 1987, it’s not the most recent, but is still one of the most fun anecdotal tomes around.
— Brenda Reynolds, Library Assistant, Public Services (Audio)

The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship, by David Halberstam
Ted Williams is ill in Florida; three Red Sox friends—Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Bobby Doerr—want to visit. This is the story of the trip and the reminiscing about their parallel careers, especially on the great Red Sox teams of the 1940s. An easy and enjoyable read.
Spies, by Michael Frayn
A delightful novel with a serious backdrop. Children in World War II Britain try to help the cause by spying in their neighborhood while everyday life and school go on. Beautifully written with a light touch.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon
A novel based on the comic book craze of the late 1930s and early 1940s, it centers around two fascinating young cousins and their entry into the world of creating comic book characters. Starting in Prague and then moving to New York City, it’s deeply evocative of those cities at that time and then as World War II intrudes. The first two-thirds of the book is terrific; the last third is quite different.
The Perfect Mile, by Neal Bascomb
The story can be summed up as three athletes, one goal, and less than four minutes to achieve it. Just published, it should be a good tale, being the background and story of Roger Bannister, John Landy, and Wes Santee and their efforts to break the four-minute mile in 1954.
— Jack Pribram, Professor of Physics

Lost Nation, by Jeffrey Lent
A rather (okay, very) grim and bloody but wonderfully written story of life on the margins of the New Hampshire frontier. A man fleeing his past and the young prostitute he won in a card game move to rural New Hampshire and set up shop. Its themes include community, struggle, and ultimately, love and forgiveness... not a light beach book, but a rewarding read.
Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses, by Bruce Feiler
An American journalist decides to literally walk in the footsteps of Moses and the biblical giants depicted in the Five Books of Moses. Traveling with Israeli archeologist Avner Goren, Bruce Feiler visits historic biblical sites in Egypt, Jordan, and throughout the Middle East—the possible site of Noah’s Ark, where Moses crossed the Red Sea, the monastery where the burning bush grows—and writes about what he sees, how he connects this land to the stories in The Bible, and how he can (or cannot) connect this land to God. I learned a lot reading this book last summer, and still find myself thinking about it almost a year later.
Jenny and the Cat Club: A Collection of Favorite Stories About Jenny Linsky, by Esther Averill
For those young (and younger) readers on the list, my five-year-old adores these stories. Jenny Linsky is a small, slightly timid black cat with a bright red scarf. These very sweet (but not saccharine) stories are about her adventures with the neighborhood cats and their Cat Club. For example, the cats must do something special to gain membership, and Jenn can ice skate beautifully. I don’t mind reading them over and over and over and over...
— Stephanie Richards, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology

Blood Brothers, by Elias Chacour
This is a deeply moving and wonderfully told autobiographical account of the life of a Palestinian Christian who is a Melkite Catholic priest and works for peace and reconciliation. He was designated “Man of the Year” in Israel in 2001.
— Mehrene Larudee, Visiting Associate Professor of Economics

Liverpool Lullaby, by Anne Baker
I don’t have enough time to read... or I do, but I don’t. Anyway, I got this novel, a fantasy “what if” story about The Beatles, as a Christmas present for my husband, John Smedley. He hasn’t read it, but when I broke my arm, I did. I don’t know as I’d label it “phenomenal,” but I think it’d be fun for Beatles fans.
Rosie, by Ann Lamott
This is an older novel which I enjoyed. I’d recommend any of the author’s books.
Love, by Toni Morrison
I’m currently reading this, and enjoying it.
— Carole Parker, Library Assistant, Acquisitions

Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan
I was desperate for reading material one day, and pulled this out of my middle schooler’s backpack, thinking I was getting some juvenile lefty moralistic dreck. But it turned out to be one of the most captivating books I’ve read this past year! It’s both a tender sendup of teenage angst-filled romance and an off-the-wall image of what high school would be if sexuality weren’t taken so seriously and could stretch to accomodate us all. It’s funny— very, and though middle school students can certainly read it, I think adults will appreciate it even more!
— Liz McCabe Park, Director, Maine Campus Compact

Walking ShadowSmall Vices, and Hush Money, all by Robert Parker
Three of the excellent ‘Spenser’ novels, the last involves murder, blackmail, and skullduggery on a tenure committee.
Uniform Justice, by Donna Leon
Her newest novel, it features Commissario Brunetti of the police in Venice, Italy.
The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
Library: An Unquiet History, by Nathan Battles
A rare book librarian at Harvard, Battles has written an intricate history of the library as a social institution.
The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World, by Guillaume de Laubier
This is perhaps the most beautiful collection of photographs of libraries.
The Bowmen of England, by Donald Featherstone
This is a history of the English longbow—a weapon so technically superior to any other at the time of its use and made more so by its being in the hands of English yeomanry.
God’s Secretaries, by Adam Nicholson
Nicholson describes the scholars who produced the King James Bible as a “...group of near anonymous divines, muddled, drunk, self-serving, ambitious, ruthless, obsequious, pedantic, and flawed...; but who, nonetheless, put The Bible into language that was ‘boisterous, elegant, subtle, majestic, finely nuanced, sonorous, and musical...’”
— Sawyer Sylvester, Professor of Sociology

At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig, by John Gimlette
Ever been to Paraguay? Ever heard of Paraguay? This is a delightful, amusing, irreverent but affectionate tour and history combo by an English tour writer. I feel I really know Paraguay now. I am almost convinced that a visit would be worthwhile. Almost! If you have any Latin-America-philiac sentiments, you will enjoy Gimlette’s explorations of this country that was a haven for many WW II bad guys, that took on Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia all at once—leaving a 10-1 female to male population ratio after the war, that suffered through some of the most ludicrous dictatorships in Western hemisphere history.
— Dick Wagner, Professor of Psychology

The Shape of WaterVoice of the ViolinThe Snack Thief, and The Terracotta Dog, all by Andrea Camilleri
These titles are the English translations of works by Italian novelist Andrea Camilleri, and I recommend anything by him. Camilleri’s mysteries starring the blunt, intuitive Inspector Montalbano are fast-paced, earthy, and very funny. I find the insights into Sicilian culture particularly engaging. The books are popular in Europe, and poet Stephen Sartarelli is translating the series for the Anglophone readership, even providing helpful endnotes.
— Doug Hubley, Staff Writer, Office of Communications and Media Relations

Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman, by Alice Steinbach
For pure summer entertainment, I recommend this delightful travel/memoir by the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist from The Baltimore Sun. Engaging characters, fine wines, and a bit of romance, although I honestly don’t recall exactly which European cities she visited!
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, by Lorna Landvik
When I want a book to give me humor, humanity, and close-to-home truths, I read Lorna Landvik. This novel takes five women through nearly forty years—and focuses on the value and saving grace of friendships.
Selected Writings, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
To keep my brain cells active, I am reading an old Modern Library version of this book. Unlike in my undergraduate days, I am trying to absorb theses writings in a measured and thoughtful way. From the dust jacket: “These selections span Emerson’s career as author and traveling lecturer, and chart his evolving thought: the concepts of the “oversoul,” individualism without egotism, and antimaterialism; a belief in intuition, independence, and “the splendid labyrinth of one’s own perceptions.”
— Sarah Potter, Bookstore Director

Journey Back to Eden: My Life and Times Among the Desert Fathers
, by Mark Gruber, O.S.B.
— Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater

Anything by Nora Roberts! Guilty summer reading! Meant for leisurely summer days at the beach or in the pool (floating on an inner tube, drink in the other hand).
— Kathy Peters, Costume Shop Supervisor

A Noble Radiance
and Uniform Justice, both by Donna Leon
I’ve enjoyed reading these mysteries set in Venice.
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri and The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazard
These two novels by Lahiri and Hazard also stand out. Both authors write so effectively to create believable worlds with unforgettable characters.
— Becky Lovett, Assistant Manager, Bates College Store

Foe
, by J.M. Coetzee
This is a modernization of the Crusoe ale by the Nobel-winning South African author. HisDusklands is also a gem.
The Well of Lost Plots
, by Jason Ffordes
The third installment in the ‘Thursday Next’ series... more from Bookworld, where grammasites and text runners roam, and literary characters come quite alive.
— Jim Lamontagne, Library Assistant - Cataloging

Dream of Scipio
, by Iain Pears
This book is a lyrical mediation on the way small things can shape history. Through three layers of stories, Pears links together the development of early Christianity in Roman Provence, the Aligensian Crusades, and World War II. It’s a book to savor slowly, and to think about long afterwards for its insights into how someone can start out with good motivations and still cause unmitigated disaster and suffering. (For something lighter from Pears, try any of his ‘Jonathan Argyll’ mysteries, which are smart and amusing.)
City of the Mind, by Penelope Lively
A lovely book, it’s haunted by the layers of history in modern London. Lively makes much of the everyday in this quiet, but satisfying novel.
Knitting Without Tears and Knitter’s Almanac, both by Elizabeth Simmermann
These two classics for knitters are well-written and a pleasure to read, along with being full of useful ideas, suggestions and projects.
— Rose A. Pruiksma, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music

Daniel Deronda, by George Elliot
Since I am a faithful follower of the Bookstore’s Non-Required Reading List, I read this pick. Because it’s a million pages long (and wonderful), I scarcely read anything else!
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
This is the “favorite book” of an uncanny number of people I know. Best of times, worst of times, Paris, London, love, death, revolution, militant knitting, far, far better things—it’s all here and is, as they say, “well worth reading.”
That Old Ace in the Hole, by Annie Proulx
This is a great book. Here Proulx intertwines the psyches of the Texas panhandle with the land itself, through a host of deadpan locals, carpetbaggers, and hogs.
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
It tells two parallel stories: one, of the design, short life, and meaning of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893; and the other, of the antics of a creepy serial killer on the loose nearby. The ambigious and fraught story of the fair was tale enough for me...
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory McGuire
A political satire in a fully honed world of Oz in which the witch was really just misunderstood, it gives you her point of view.
— Kerry O’Brien, Assistant Dean of the Faculty

Here’s a handful of favorites from the past year:
Prague, by Arthur Phillips
This novel’s an intelligent and witty examination of the life of young American expats in Budapest in 1990.
The History Man, by Malcolm Bradbury
Published in the early ’70s, it’s a wickedly funny portrait of an academic hustler at a British university in the late ’60s.
Carnage and Culture, by Victor Davis Hanson
It examines how the particulars of Western culture affected the practice of warfare in 10 crucial battles, from antiquity to the twentieth century.
Life at the Bottom, by Theodore Dalrymple
A physician uses essays to reflect on his experiences treating the “underclass” in a British prison.
Michaelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, by Ross King
It’s an absorbing and informative account of the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
The Adolescent, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The least known (to me, anyhow) of his big novels, it’s a great study in father-son tensions.
Prejudices, by Robert Nisbet
These are sharp little essays on a wide variety of central intellectual topics.
Some new plays worth reading:
Ten Unknowns, by Jon Robin Baitz
Topdog/Underdog, by Susan Lori Parks
The Late Henry Moss, by Sam Shepard
— Martin Andrucki, Charles A. Dana Professor of Theater

Some of my favorite reads this year came from family and friends’ suggestions.
Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult
This is a murder mystery with a fascinating portrait of Amish culture. Thank you, sister-in-law Sue!
Open House, by Elizabeth Berg
From my friend Elaine came this suggestion of a delightful story on how to rebuild a life after divorce, with humor, of course.
Praise the Human Season, by Don Robertson
I’d like to share a secret with all of you. If you look closely at faces in the Den while a person is reading, you can pick up a lot of “good reads.” Praise the Human Season was one of those, and it was one of the most delightful books I have read in a long time.
Printed in 1974, it’s a timeless and wonderful story of a man and the family, friends, and acquaintances that made up his life. The script is so well done as told in past and present form. We can all relate to the characters and that made it ordinary but so real. If you love the English language, you will treasure this story. Watching Lorelei Purrington reading this book made it a ‘must’ for me! Thank you, Lorelei, for sharing this wonderful novel.
— Lorraine Groves, Sales Floor Supervisor, Bates College Store

Out of Gas, by Daniel Goodstein
Out of Gas looks at the world’s supply of oil and the environmental impacts of using fossil fuels. This includes some nice descriptive science for non-specialists. For more detail on the history of the fossil fuel era we’re in, try The Prize by Daniel Yergin. The book selections don’t need to be necessarily comforting, I assume.
— John Smedley, Professor of Physics

The first two books are fairly recent; the third one older, tried and true.
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
Three Junes, by Julia Glass
Animal Kingdom, by Barbara Kingsolver
— Sheri Kunovich, Visiting Instructor of Sociology

This year’s reading list has an escapist bent; no surprise, given the Maine winter and the state of the world.
The Golden CompassThe Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy, all by Philip Pullman
A rollicking mix of fantasy, science fiction, and mysticism—far better than ‘Harry Potter.’
The Eyre AffairLost in a Good BookThe Well of Lost Plots, and Something Rotten, all by Jasper Fforde
Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Jane Tennison... a promising new literary/horror detective series.
In the Bleak Midwinter, by Julia Spencer Fleming
The first entry in a new crime series set in a decaying upstate New York mill town. The author lives and writes in Portland.
The Great Influenza, by John Barry
Fascinating study of the great flu epidemic of 1918-1919. You’ll never forgo that flu shot again! The story encompasses the professionalism of medicine and the policial climate leading up to our entry into World War II. The Wilson administration and our current government have much in common, surprisingly.
Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri
These stories glow from within and stay with you long after. One of the best collections I have ever read.
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri
This novel about a Bengali family’s journey to and within America more than lives up to the promise of the author’s debut.
Passage to India, by E.M. Forster
I found this book when sorting through a box of graduate school texts. Hopelessly oldfashioned, but beautifully executed.
Undaunted, by Stephen Ambrose
If you can get past the purple prose, this story of the Lewis and Clark expedition is a great adventure story and a sad blueprint for our invasion of the continent.
The Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, by Stephen Puleo
A look at class issues and corporate malfeasance in the early twentieth-century Boston. Fascinating read.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Beautifully written. As an adolescent autistic boy, the narrator takes everything at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange and irresponsible behavior of the adults around him. Read this book.
— Andrew White, Director of Academic Technology Services

Here are a few, some old, some more recent:
Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller
There’s a brand-new follow-up to this memoir that I have yet to read— Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier.
The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay
An oldie but goodie!
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Tme, by Mark Haddon
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Another memoir and an amazing story.
— Liz Sheehan, Assistant Curator, Museum of Art

My annual reading list is perhaps even a little longer than usual, but here goes.
A new generation of books—e-books, downloaded from Palm Digital Media and read on my Palm handheld PDA:
Inside the Tornado, by Geoffrey A. Moore
The author provides highly useful guidelines for moving products beyond early adopters and into the lucrative mainstream market,providing strategy lessons needed for introducing high technology products in the 21st century.
Angel’s Flight, by Michael Connelly
The man most hated by the LAPD has been found murdered and Harry Bosch is chosen to head the investigation. A gripping and suspenseful murder mystery.
Star Trek: The New Frontiers, Books 1-4, all by Peter David
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun takes command of the U.S.S. Excalibur, which is manned by Starfleet’s best and brightest, including some old friends from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Chronospace, by Allen Steele
The crew of the time ship Oberon, investigating the destruction of the Hindenburg, replaces two of its passengers with 24th-century chrononauts and then gets lost in a parallel universe. Their mistake will be felt by every single human being...
Why America Slept, by Gerald Posner
A thorough and detailed investigation into anti-American terrorist activity leading up to the 9/11/2001 attacks, and the missed opportunities to thwart them. “The story of the years leading up to 9/11 is the story of what might have been, and also serves as a call to the defense of America’s future. Since 9/11, one important question has persisted: What was really going on behind the scenes with intelligence services and government leaders during the time preceding the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks? After an 18-
month investigation that uncovered explosive new evidence through interviews and in classified documents, Gerald Posner reveals much previously undisclosed information.”
Prey, by Michael Crichton
A release of deadly, and seemingly intelligent, nano-organism in a desert research laboratory threatens to spread into populated areas.
God’s Debris, by Scott Adams
Written by ‘Dilbert’ comic creator Scott Adams, God’s Debris is not like anything you’ve read before. On the surface it’s an engaging fictional story about an old man who knows the answers to literally all of the “Big Mysteries” in life—everything from God to gravity to the bizarre qualities of the speed of light. The old man even explains how they all fit neatly together. Adams uses what he calls “the skeptic’s trick,” along with some hypnosis techniques (he is a trained hypnotist) to make the old man’s fictional explanation of reality so simple and believable that you’ll have fun trying to figure out what’s wrong with it.
Below are some “old-fashioned” printed books recently read, or works in progress. Some were passed by in my youth, but seem to be coming back into vogue, either via media productions, or politics. Others were read out of just plain curiousity about what I missed “back then.”
Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.Salinger
The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, both by Ayn Rand
The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring, both by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Silent Takeover, by Noreena Hartz
This explains how multinational corporations are now running foreign policy and international affairs utilizing their dominant economic power.
— Gary Dawbin, Programmer/Analyst

There are a couple of historical books I recommend:
Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle, by Michael K. Jones
It retells the story of the Battle of Bosworth with some very intriguing new ideas.
The Perfect Prince, by Anne Wroe
A long detailed portrait of the so-called Perkin Warbeck, this book delves into the story of whether or not he was the younger of the “princes in the tower.”
Master and Commander, by Patrick O’Brian
When my oldest son strongly recommended the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, I saw it twice and really liked it. Then I started reading some of the novels it was based on. So far I have read five, and plan to read some more. I recommend reading the first one (Master and Commander) first, as that sets up the meeting and characters of the two friends, but they can be read in almost any order after that. The little details of 18th-century life in the British Navy are beautifully portrayed.
— Lois Griffiths, Alumna and Retiree

My suggestion for the list this summer is a series of fiction:
The No. 1 Ladies Detective AgencyTears of the GiraffeMorality for Beautiful GirlsThe Kalahari Typing School for Men, and most recently, The Full Cupboard of Life, all by Alexander McCall Smith
I liked some more than others but have enjoyed them all. In particular, I recommend listening to these on tape. The narrator, Lisette Lecat has a wonderful voice and a special way of reading that I think has much to do with my enjoyment of these stories. It has been a new form for me; I hope others will enjoy the experience.
— Jill Reich, Dean of the Faculty

The Once and Future King
, by T.H. White
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser
— Marc Johnson, Associate Director of Alumni and Parent Programs

Angels and Demons
, by Dan Brown
I just finished reading this. If it’s not on your list already, it should be. It was a great read. I lost a lot of sleep staying up late in the night to read as I couldn’t put it down.
— Terry Beckmann, VP for Finance and Administration and Treasurer

The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
The DaVinci Code is a good read. Maybe everyone’s already read it as it has been on the best sellers lists for quite awhile.
— Shirley Govindasamy, Payroll Manager

Here are the ones I will suggest. I read a lot of books, but these are the ones I remember flying through!
For leisure and fun:
Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri
As good as everyone said it was!
Pattern of Recognition, by William Gibson
More of a mystery, not really science fiction.
The Crazed, by Ha Jin
I liked this more than his book Waiting.
Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane
One of the best mysteries I have read in awhile—great character development. Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller
Recommended last year by many, it was a quick and interesting read.
For all young adults:
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke
City of the Beasts, by Isabel Allende
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, by Kate Dicamillo
— Paula Schlax, Assistant Professor of Chemistry

The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
I actually have not done a lot of reading this year, but did greatly enjoy The DaVinci Code.
Murder in the Rough, by Judy S. Borthwick
It’s light reading, but enjoyable because it’s set in Maine and they mention all the local landmarks, Bates, and other items unique to Maine.
— Ken Emerson, Assistant Director of Human Resources

How Would You Move Mt. Fuji? Microsoft’s Cult of the Puzzle - How the World’s Smartest Company Selects the Most Creative Thinkers
, by William Poundstone
Ostensibly about the puzzle-oriented interviewing of job candidates at Microsoft, this non-fiction book actually covers much more, including interesting historical perspectives on measuring intelligence and predicting future success.
The Body on the Beach, and Death on the Downs, both by Simon Brett
I’ve always liked Simon Brett’s mystery series about Charles Paris, the bumbling and perpetually “resting” actor. His new series features an unlikely pair of women investigating bodies in the small seaside village of Fethering. The characters in the The Body on the Beach and Death on the Downs are very different characters, but just as much fun.
— Anne Williams, Professor of Economics

The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
I’m sure I won’t be the only one to recommend this book, but I found it a really fun read, riveting, a pageturner—all that was promised! Being a mathematician, I especially enjoyed the cryptographic sleuthing and the way the pieces of the puzzle/mystery came together. I hear that the “prequel”— Angels and Demons—by the same author is even better!
Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
This is a book lover’s book, and really a ‘must read’ for anyone who belongs to a book club, or wishes they did (probably all the readers of this list!). The author, a writer and professor of literature in Iran (now at Johns Hopkins) tells the story of a group of women—she and seven of her favorite students—who met in secret every week for two years to discuss fiction: works by Henry James, Jane Austin, Vladamir Nabokov, and more.
Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand
I saw the movie on a transcontinental plane ride, and wasn’t all that keen on reading the book, but my husband convinced me, and I’m glad he did! The movie covers about one percent of what is in the book. A moving tale of courage, perseverance, love, and triumph over adversity.
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser
I read The Jungle in sixth grade, and I thought it was gross and awful, but that was then and this is now, right? Think again! Beware, you may never want to eat a hamburger (or any other processed food) again, after reading this book. A thorough, well documented look at the fast food industry and the horrifying labor practices, health hazards, agricultural devastation, and the way it manipulates the eating and buying habits of entire populations. I was surprised and pleased to learn it was on the New York Times’ Best Seller List for many weeks.
— Bonnie Shulman, Associate Professor of Mathematics

I’m recommending two “older” books this year:
The Case of the Journeying Boy, by Michael Innes
Even though in theory I will read any piece of trash after a day of brain work, I find I can’t read thrillers that aren’t well written. I’ve just reread this classic Innes and it has to be one of the best ever of the genre. He writes like an angel, and the suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. Plot involves boy fleeing to Ireland from would-be kidnappers because of his father’s fame as a nuclear physicist.
The Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson
I’d like to introduce Persephone Books to some new readers, in the hope that some of you will become as enthusiastic as I am about their elegantly produced reprints of books from the first half of the 20th century. You can find out more about them by going to their website at:http://web.archive.org/web/20041023213324/http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/.
Meanwhile, though, I recommend Miss Pettigrew as one of the world’s most charming escapist reads, described by Persephone as follows: "Miss Guinevere Pettigrew, a spinster who has led a sheltered life, is sent to the wrong address by an employment agency. Instead of finding a fraught mother with a fractious brood, she encounters glamorous nightclub singer Miss LaFosse who 'had as many male admirers as Miss Pettigrew had
had children to watch over in her long years as governess.' A fish out of water, Miss Pettigrew proves equal to the task of sorting out this flighty young thing’s life, deftly disposing of the cocaine (shocking then as now) which she finds in her bathroom. It is an enchanting version of Cinderella, an escape into laughter and joyful fantasy...the sheer fun, the light-heartedness...feels closer to a Fred Astaire film than anything else I can think of."
— Anne Thompson, Professor of English / Euterpe B. Dukakis Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies

The DaVinci Code
, by Dan Brown
It’s a must-read. However, make sure you allow adequate time to read the entire thing in a short period of time, because it is truly a “I couldn’t put it down” book.
Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown
Once you get bit by the DaVinci Code bug, it’s hard not to get another fix of Dan Brown’s writing!
The 5 People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom
A lovely, uplifting little book—a short but meaningful read.
— Kimberly Hokanson, Director of Alumni and Parent Programs

The Extraordinary Tide: New Poetry by American Women, Susan Aizenberg and Erin Belieu, eds.
Fighting the Lamb’s War: Skirmishes with the American Empire, by Phillip Berrigan (with Fred A. Wilcox)
Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization of Higher Education, by Derek Bok
The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith, by Marcus Borg
Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings, by Pema Chodron
Credo, by William Sloane Coffin
The Wisdom of Solitude: A Zen Retreat in the Woods, Jane Dobsiz
The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage, by Paul Elie
Same-Sex Marriage? A Christian Ethical Analysis, by Marvin Ellison
Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, by Atul Gawande
Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living, by Peter J. Gomes
The Painted Bed, by Donald Hall
Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World, by Thich Nhat Hanh
Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, by Elaine Pagels
War Talk, by Arundhati Roy
The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of War, by Elisabeth Sifton
Early Morning: Remembering My Father, by Kim Stafford
Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen, by Shunryu Suzuki
— Kerry Maloney, College Chaplain

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
, by Wayne Johnston
Johnston’s historical fiction focuses on the premier responsible for Newfoundland joining Canada in 1949. It weaves together the history of the island with the character of the premier in an interesting way.
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters, by Mark Dunn
This one is an interesting take on censorship and unchecked authority of the government.
— Aslaug Asgeirsdottir, Assistant Professor of Political Science

For the summer list may I suggest the following:
Sacred Hunger, by Barry Unsworth
Nehanda and The Stone Virgins, both by Zimbabwean novelist Yvonne Vera
— Sue E. Houchins, Associate Professor of African American Studies

Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn
Dunn seems to enjoy himself hugely with language while at the same time spinning social commentary about the dangers of limiting speech.
Endurance, by Caroline Alexander
This is another story I truly love and think everyone should read. It’s the amazing tale of Shackleton’s survival in Antarctica for 20 months without any loss of life, accompanied by Hurley’s beautiful black and white photographs. Puts all my problems in perspective! I love this story and this book so much.
— Anna Broome, Lecturer in Political Science

A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
A rich, yet simple, tale of life in India soon after the partition of India and Pakistan. Good for a week’s vacation.
Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri
A fine collection of short stories.
— Michael Murray, Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics

Politics, Adam Thirlwell
Amusing reading in preparation for the election blitz in the fall. But certainly not just politics in the strict sense.
Something to Declare, by Julian Barnes
Enlightening essays by an Englishman on the French during this anniversary of the “Entente cordiale.”
The Cheating Culture, by David Callahan
It’s happening not just at Bates!
Unveiling Traditions: Postcolonial Islam in a Polycentric World, by Anouar Majid
By a colleague from the University of New England who wants to diminish cultural misunderstanding.
— Dick Williamson, Charles A. Dana Professor of French

Why I Am Not A Muslim, by Ibn Warraq
Warraq, writing under a pseudonym to protect himself from the consequences of apostasy, clearly defines fundamental flaws in one of the world’s largest religions, from adherence to the Koran to systematized misogyny. The writing is lucid, rational, and is a welcome counterpoint to cultural relativism.
Why I am Not a Christian, by Bertrand Russell
Not as relentless as Warraq (it is more an essay than a book), but worth a read.
— Anthony Shostak, Education Coordinator, Museum of Art

 

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2003 Summer Reading List

Sarah Potter

Each spring, the College Store solicits from members of the Bates community their suggestions for good summer reads:

Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks.
Engrossing novel, set in England 1666 during an outbreak of plague. Makes great use of language of the period and is in the tradition of picaresque tales, like Moll Flanders.
Blood Doctor, by Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell). I take the risk of recommending a book I'm still reading because Rendell is such a good mystery writer. Her Barbara Vine series tends to be darker and more disturbing than her Wexford mysteries. This book follows two story lines--the research of a biographer into the life of his great grandfather (the blood doctor of the title), and the move to do away with heredity peerage in Parliament.
The 3,000-Mile Garden, by Leslie Land. I came late to this collection of letters exchanged between two gardeners. Leslie Land, then gardening in Maine, and her British friend (whose name escapes my addled and aged brain) exchanged letters over several years, discussing their gardens, struggles against encroachments on London's park squares, recipes, love and life. I read these letters over breakfast in the dead of this past winter--they got me through the worst of it.
And finally, for those who enjoy well-written books on gardens and gardening, I recommend Louise Beebe Wilder, who wrote between 1908 and 1935. A number of her books are available in reprint or in used editions. Many of the great standards in garden writing are by British authors, who contend(ed) with the mild (zone 7) climate of the UK. Wilder was an American, fully aware of the demands of gardening in our much more extreme climate(s). For the power of her descriptions alone, I'd recommend her works.
— Joyce Seligman, Director of the Writing Workshop

My Year of Meats, by Ruth Ozeki.
— Leslie Winston, Visiting Assistant Professor of Japanese

The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx
Message in a Bottle, by Nicholas Sparks
The Redemption of Sarah Cain, by Beverly Lewis
Who Moved My Cheese? , by Spencer, M.D. Johnson
Self Help, by Lorrie Moore
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy
— Simone Marie Henderson, Government Documents Library Assistant

Anything by Nelson DeMille is a must-read. He writes crime fiction that usually revolves around the government and the military. His most recognizable book is probably The General's Daughter, because it was made into a film with John Travolta. However, while that is a great book (and of course, the book is much better than the movie), I do not think it is his best. My favorites are TheCharm School and The Lion's Game. His books are fast paced, edge-of-your-seat page-turners, perfect for the summer. The Talbot Odyssey is another great one, and like The Charm School, tells a tale of Russia-U.S. relations during the cold war days of of the 1980s. Happy reading!
— Kristen Andersen, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Good Poems, collected and with an introduction by Garrison Keillor. "The Writer's Almanac" on public radio is part of my morning ritual, and this collection of short, accessible poems is a nice companion.
The Hours , by Michael Cunningham.
After all the fuss about the movie, I needed to read this and am glad I did in conjunction with rereading Mrs. Dalloway.
The Painted Bed, by Donald Hall. Poems about the death of his wife, poet Jane Kenyon, and his life without her.
And, for the beach, I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother, by Allison Pearson. Marred by a fairy-tale ending, it still has drop-dead funny moments -- such as the opening scene, which finds the heroine "distressing" store-bought goodies to take to the school bake sale so that they'll look homemade. Ouch! Too close to home!
Also for the beach (but cover it up with a towel so no one can see what you're reading), Martha Inc : The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, by Christopher M. Byron. Meow, meow.
— Beth Sheppard, Director,,Office of Alumni Relations

Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond
A fine example of the synthesis of science, history, and anthropology for the general reader. Makes a nice companion read for The Botany of Desire. You'll never look at an ear of corn the same way again.
Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie
A history of modern India and Pakistan filtered through the lens of fantasy, Bollywood style.
Whale Rider, by Witi Ihimaera
A familiar coming of age story, integrated with Maori creation myths. Read it before you see the film adaptation.
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller
Unforgettable scenes and thoroughly unlikable characters.
— Andrew White, Director of Academic Technology Services

The Brothers of Gwyneddquartet, the Heaven Tree Trilogy all of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, by Ellis Peters. I had read a few of these before, but wanted to read them again as well as try some new ones - she creates a compelling vision of 12th century Shropshire.
A Painted House, and The Client, by John Grisham
All of his books have a jaded view of the legal profession, but the plots are page-turners, and his childhood memories are compelling.
Peter Loon, by Van Reid
The author lives and works in the Damariscotta area. This is a historical novel of a teen-age boy in the War of 1812 era, living in the wilderness and then discovering the wider world. It has the most amazing description of traveling through the woods at night, in a "world lit only by fire."
— Lois Griffiths, Alumna and Retiree

Well, of course I would have suggested Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett as my absolute number one pick of the year, but was advised by the editors that EVERYONE will be suggesting Bel Canto. So I will refrain from gushing (but you MUST read it!).
Two less recent books but haunting and thoughtful: In the Fall, by Jeffrey Lent (begins in the Civil War and traces a biracial family across three generations) and Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (amazing journey on foot but also through two people's lives during the Civil War).
My favorite not so new book by far was The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx, a corker of a book about redemption amidst the kelp in Newfoundland.
The Hours, by Michael Cunningham (How did a man write this book about the ways women are defined by others and by themselves?).
In the really-not-so-new literary classics department, just finished Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis, which I had never read. You've got to love any book that uses terms like "swell" and "for the love of Mike" - and don't we all KNOW Babbitt himself?
Also read: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, by Alexandra Fuller. A memoir of growing up in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and Malawi and in the years when white farmers in Africa were losing their century-old grip on the continent. Amazing, I highly recommend.
In the children's lit dept, I recommend many by Raold Dahl, but especially Esio Trot, a love story;The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, in which goodness triumphs over greed; The BFG, in which goodness prevails over everything.
My next book is Three Junes by Julia Glass.
— Kerry O’Brien, Assistant Dean of the Faculty

For Children:
The Worst Band in the Universe, by Graeme Base explores a planet where music is censored and something happens to those who don't conform. The lyrical text and detailed illustrations are absorbing, as the exiled bands battle for their right to create music. A music CD is also included with a diverse collection of original songs.
— Andrea L'Hommedieu, Muskie Oral History Project

Seabiscuit: An American Legend, by Laura Hillenbrand
Read it before the July movie. Others have recommended this before; it's a great story and reads like a novel.
Trains of thought: Memories of a stateless youth, by Victor Brombert
Beautifully written memoir of life in Paris as a teenager in the 1930's followed by escape to the United States and back to Europe to serve in the US armed forces. Brombert is an emeritus professor at Princeton.
— Jack Pribram, Professor of Physics

Robert Cowley, Ed., No End Save Victory. Essays on W.W.II by 46 authors, some historians, some participants. A good book to read a chapter at a time or in any order. A helpful reminder for all of us who think of wars as having a few weeks duration.
John Adams, by David McCullough. 650 pages , arguably a fine read for the uninitiated into the Adams family or interested in the "life and times" approach, and less satisfying for a serious reader of revolutionary history. The voluminous Adams correspondence is partly due to John and Abigail spending about half their married life apart, as he helped invent America, and she, while providing him with constant political and moral advice, somehow kept farm, family and finances afloat for years at a time.
Personal History, by Katherine Graham. Published in 1997, it is a powerful and revealing book by a most honest journalist who was front and center at many of the important events of the 20th century. Born to privilege in 1917, she took over the Washington Post after her husband's suicide, and built the paper into a national institution. Annoying for name dropping of the famous, but admirable for her unflinching telling of painful experiences, both her own and the country's.
After the Fall, by Jeffrey Lent. A five-star historical novel that follows four generations of a farm family in rural Vermont, after the son comes home from the Civil War with a wife who is an escaped slave. Beautifully written, with subtle and complex characters.
— Bill Hiss, Vice President for External and Alumni Affairs

These five short science fiction novels include clever revelations about the experience of consciousness, the soul, emotions, and individual rights, mostly as related to artificial intelligence and/or technology-based reality.
Archangel Protocol and Fallen Host, by Lyda Morehouse
In a complex, technology-dependent society, cybernetic manifestations take on lives and missions of their own. Humans socialize with angels, electronic page-identities assist humans against psychotic hackers, AI's discover "self," and rebellions bear fruit in freedom.
Technogenesis, by Syne Mitchell
An outcast from the plugged-in world discovers that the Net's human controllers are neither fair nor completely sane - and are possibly being controlled by an AI, the Net-consciousness itself.
Vectors, by Michael Kube-McDowell
A neuroscientist researches the existence of the human soul by utilizing "virtual reality" technology to map personalities and, finally, to explore the concept of reincarnation.
Body Electric, by Susan Squires
A hacker-turned-legit computer programmer creates an AI who must upload into a human body to survive. When electronic impulses trigger conscious emotion during the crisis, their love converts from virtual to real reality.
— Theresa L. Arita, Secretary, Development Services & Corporate and Foundation Relations

The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives, by Zbigniew Brzezinski.
For those among you who share my "shock and awe" and incredulity at this administration’s Middle East actions and apparent policy priorities, here is the definitive statement of rationale, including a blueprint that proposes a clear set of highest priority US actions and goals. That Brzezinski wrote this short, readable tome in 1997 as a parting gift to his foreign service "students" and colleagues and that it accurately "predicts" our nation's policies and actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, China and the Koreas over the past 3 years is just plain spooky. Whatever my opinion of the man and his politics, his command of historic and current geopolitical and geostrategic imperatives of global alliances and nation states is breathtaking. If you have a fairly strong interest in the topic, this can be beach reading. Honest!
Andorra, by Peter Cameron. A light, romantic mystery that is pleasant and easy reading with a surprising twist at the end.
— Dennis Brown, Director of Leadership and Planned Giving

Mysteries, Romances and Adventures: a wide selection is found in Lane's Hall Lunch Room on the ground floor. I have read many of these and new selections appear now and then.
RealSimple’: a magazine that features ways to simplify your life/home/body/soul. Lots of great information and relaxing to read. Even my fiance will pick it up now and then.
Sports Illustrated: my fiance gets this one but I do pick it up and read some of the interesting articles. This magazine is not just sport facts but also the human side of sports.
The Lewiston SunJournal - read it everyday to keep up with the local news and the Portland Paper on Sunday especially for the comics (it has different ones than the SunJournal).
— Denise Schreiber, Secretary, Dean of the Faculty’s Office

I'd recommend a book I just read after hearing a review on NPR. It's called Leaving Mother Lake: A girlhood at the edge of the world, by Yang Erche Namu and Christine Mathieu. It's about a Moso woman in China who leaves her remote village to embark on a singing career. Very interesting perspective on her culture (in which there is no such thing as marriage) and her transition between her village and more industrialized settings.
— Amy Bradfield, Assistant Professor of Psychology

This year, in my reading I have looked for well written and books about the resilience of the human spirit. My favorites are:
The Secret Life of Bees and Bel Canto
Both are remarkable for their subtlety and character development. I would recommend reading them slowly and savoring them. I felt very alone after finishing them; it was hard to start another book because I knew that it couldn't be nearly as good.
Another must read--The Map of Love. It's a wonderful book, a story within a story and a look at Islamic Egypt in the 19th century and today.
— Vicky Devlin, Vice President for Development

I highly recommend:
This Present Darkness: Piercing the Darkness; The Prophet; and The Visitation, all by Frank Peretti
A Day Late and a Dollar Short, by Terry McMillan
— Monica Parker, Technology Support Specialist

I will be the 28th person to recommend Atonement, by Ian McEwan which is one of my new favorite books about forgiveness, atonement (strange...) and really good on the inner mind of a confused, creative and vengeful 13 year old girl. Reminded me of myself. Beautiful writing. I'll be the 290th person to recommend Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett which is about a hostagetaking in a South American country, a diva and the spell she casts on the imprisoned party-goers. The best prose description of music I've read. I think everyone who ever heard of South Park, Fear Factor or Jackass should reread Rabelais's Gargantua (16th century), a man who got bodily humor and satire really well. David Sedaris: Me Talk Pretty One Day and Naked. If you don't like him you're a bad person.
— Kirk Read, Associate Professor of French

The Translator, by John Crowley--A novel set during the Bay of Pigs crisis, involving a college student/poet and her relationship with a visiting Russian poet whose political connections are ambiguous. Beyond being politically timely in its presentation of the various ways the crisis was spun for public consumption and the surveillance and subtle suppression of dissent, this novel is a thoughtful meditation on the act of translation.
Whistling Woman, by A.S. Byatt--The fourth book following the various members of the northern English Potter family through the turbulent sixties--following Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, and Babel Tower.
The Master Butcher's Singing Club, by Louise Erdrich--A multi-faceted novel loosely based on the life of Erdrich's German immigrant grandfather in post WWI America. Erdrich's depiction of life in a small prairie town teems with life, mystery, and the sweetness of the every day.
— Rose A Pruiksma, Music Department

Beethoven’s Hair, by Russell Martin is a sort of mystery, the travels of a lock of hair - Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair - until it comes into the hands of forensic scientists who finally discover the cause of Beethoven’s chronic ill health, deafness, and death.
Mauve, by Simon Garfield is the story of William Perkins, a chemist, who tried to make artificial quinine and ended up making dye - mauve. The color became hugely fashionable, and Perkins stood at the threshold of modern chemistry.
In the Beginning, by Alister McGrath is the history of writing the King James Bible - surely a masterpiece of English literature and one of the few things ever done well by committee. McGrath also demonstrates that it was the product of bitter political strife within the Protestant Reformation in England.
Suspect Identities, by Simon Cole, although slightly redolent of Foucault, is probably the best history of the forensic use of fingerprints. Cole details the gradual acceptance of fingerprinting by the courts to the point of near infallibility - until our own time when DNA analysis has so raised the bar that some now question the very premises on which identification by fingerprints is based.
— Sawyer Sylvester, Professor of Sociology

A lot of my reading this year has been done in the company of children. Looking back, two books jump to mind. The first is called Who Will Comfort Toffle, by Tove Jansson. It is an intricately metered and rhymed book, mind-bogglingly translated from Finnish with beautiful illustrations. It's sort of a Scandinavian version of Dr. Seuss, but with more characterdevelopment. I've read it at least 20 times and haven't tired of it yet.
My second recommendation is much more well known. If you haven't read Oliva, or Oliva Saves the Circus, by Ian Faulkener, you should! It's the story of a sassy and classy pig and all of her big little adventures. Both books are great for the 4 to 84 year old set.
— Alison Hart, Dance Festival

Strong Motion, by Jonathan Franzen
Bel Canto (exceptional)
— Kathy Low, Associate Professor of Psychology

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight,, by Alexandra Fuller.
Somewhat opaque title but a wild truth-is-stranger-than-fiction account of a childhood in Zambia-Zimbabwe.
Yann Martel, Life of Pi. This year's Booker (fiction) Prize and I started it without expecting to like it much, thinking it sounded pretentious and dull. BUT, it turned out to be a very entertaining and imaginative yarn about a shipwrecked youth who spends nearly a year in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Go figure.
Sigh. Some of us never quite grow up so Ursula LeGuin's The Other Wind was kind of a nostaglia trip for the part of me that still loves to reread her Earthsea books. I think this one is really the last and it's a little sad to find Ged and Tenar getting old. It's probably not quite as good as the original trilogy but sometimes it's impossible to read objectively, especially when you've grown to love the characters over time.
— Anne Thompson, Euterpe B. Dukakis Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies

The Heart of the Soul, by Gary Zukav and Linda Francis
Three Club Juggling: An Introduction, by Dick Franco
Mindfulness, by Ellen J. Langer.
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, by Dan Kindlow and Michael Thompson.
The Mathematics of Juggling, by Burkard Polster
The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to recognize it and how to respond, by Patricia Evans.
Healing the Addictive Mind: Freeing Yourself from Addictive Patterns and Relationships, by Lee Jampolsky
Un mundo para Julius, by Alfredo Bryce Echenique,
— David Haines, Professor of Mathematics

Summer in Baden Baden, by Leonid Tsypkin, but you must read Dostoevsky's short work The Gambler.
— Dennis Browne, Associate Professor of Russian

Leading Quietly. An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing, by Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr.
Leadership can be studied but in the final analysis, it must be lived. Courageous risk taking, the larger-than-life tabloid and hero stories, are not discussed in this book. Rather the author takes a look at the "quiet leaders" folks like most of the people we meet every day "... who choose responsible, behind-the-scenes action over public heroism to resolve tough leadership challenges." There are abundant lessons and case examples of quiet leaders in this book. It is easy, and challenging, to realize that we all can be and in fact are called on to be responsible, ethical, moral decision makers every day of our lives. Well written, easy read, and an eye opener.
The Tipping Point. How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell.
The author - a former business and science writer at the Washington Post; currently a staff writer for The New Yorker - takes us on a fascinating journey into the biography of an idea. In essence, according to the Gladwell, "...the best way to understand the emergence of fashion trends, the ebb and flow of crime waves, or...the transformation of unknown books into bestsellers...is to think of them as epidemics." Gladwell traces the evolution of trends as behaviors - virus really that infect and spread - that have predictable growth curves and points. We need just to read the clues each phenomenon presents to understand when at what point it will "tip in" to a trend. The book, like its subject matter, is infectious. Smoothly written with many "ah ha!" discoveries.
— Charles Kovacs, Director of Career Services

The Danish Girl, by David Ebershoff. A "gender bender" with lots of provocative passages about art, love, and some disturbing questions about what constitutes the self. The writing is lyrical and at times stunning. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I'm sure others will also recommend this one. Many people told me to read it, but when they told me what it was about, I resisted: a group of people in a nameless South American country are taken hostage, and bond with their captors. It sounded like it didn't end well (I saw my husband crying when he finished it). But finally, yielding to pressure, I read it. It was as good as everyone said. And THEN I found out it was based on a "true story" (liberties taken, for instance there was no opera singer involved in the actual takeover in Peru). This made the epilogue even more poignant. Finally, let me recommend an old one, Robber Bride, by Margaret Atwood. An absolutely despicable female villain and the havoc she wreaks on the lives of her three "best friends"--I kept thinking, there's going to have to be some redeeming quality in her--but there wasn't!!! Riveting and characters that stick to your ribs long after you've finished reading.
— Bonnie Shulman, Associate Professor of Mathematics

Among the books I have found provocative and engaging this year are the following:
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science, by Atul
Power Politics, by Arundhati Roy
The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy
Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life , by Phillip Simmons
The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance, by Dorothee Soelle
Firebird: A Memoir, by Mark Doty
Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally, by Marcus J. Borg
Small Wonder, by Barbara Kingsolver
Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue, by Paul Woodruff
— Kerry Maloney, College Chaplain

I just finished a book by Margaret George called Mary, Called Magdalene, which is written in the first person (from Mary's perspective) about the life of Mary Magdalene. The author took into account secular history and Biblical history when creating Mary's character. Margaret George has also written other books in the same way - The Autobiography of Henry VIIIMary Queen of Scotland and the Isles and The Memoirs of Cleopatra. All of them were also fabulous.
Another series I've recently read is called the Camulod Chronicles, by Jack Whyte. They are The Sky Stone, The Singing SwordThe Eagle's Brood, The Saxon Shore, The Sorcerer, the Fort at the River's Bend, The Sorcerer, Metamorphosis, and Uther. The books are about 5th century England and the probable "truth" underlying the legends of Merlin, Arthur, and Excalibur. Whyte set out to tell the story in a realistic and feasible historical context. In my opinion, he succeeded.
— Karen McArthur, System Administrator

I read and liked Rivertown by Peter Hessler(sp?). This is about his experiences teaching in China. I liked the book so much that I even gave copies to my dad and my mother-in-law. They can't stand each other, but they both loved the book...it must be good.
— Melinda Harder, Mathematics

I have a suggestion for summer reading--a collection of short stories called Officer Friendly; the author's last name is Robinson, I think, and he lives in Maine. Perhaps someone else has already suggested this.
My favorite story is called "Puckheads," in which high school students (at a school based on NYA) put on a production of "Oliver!" but with some hilarious variations in the plot.
— Lillian Nayder, Associate Professor of English

In a Dark Wood Wandering,by Hella Haasse. This historical novel, set in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, is the story of the life of Charles d'Orleans.
— Anthony Shostak, Education Coordinator~Museum of Art

John Adams,by David McCullough - History - the way it should be.
The Wild Flag, E.B. White - A series of essays on world government.
The Rapids, by Doris Provencher-Faucher - Second novel of Le Quebecois Series. The first was The Virgin Forest. Interesting historical fiction. Great for those interested in the French settlement of Canada.
Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast, Bill Richardson - Reads like a Bibliophiles' Prairie Home Companion.
Anything by Jane Austen - reread every 5 years or so. The longer you live, the more you get out of them.
The Children's Corner:
Not Now Said the Cow, Joanne Oppenheim for grades 1-3, also loved by the preschool set.
One Morning in Maine, Robert McCloskey - Little Sal loses her first tooth.
Scrambled Eggs Super, Dr. Seuss - good for giggly preschoolers.
Ramona Forever, Beverly Cleary - great if you are prepping the kids to be in or attend a wedding.
— Carol Thomas, faculty spouse

I have discovered Kathy Reichs (at the suggestion of my niece) and I have read four of her five books (I have just started the last one). I would recommend her first book, Deja dead, but the others are equally as good (Death du jour, Deadly decisions, Fatal voyage, and Grave secrets). These make for wonderful recreational/vacation reading. The central character, Tempe Brennan, is a forensic anthropologist who teaches at UNCC but also does some work for the Laboratoire de Medecine Legale in Montreal. Tempe, of course, gets caught up in solving murders and it makes for some very suspenseful reading!
— Sarah Bernard, Programmer/Analyst

The Discworld Series, by Terry Pratchett - the first several books in the series are sci-fi/fantasy but they evolve into fiendishly funny satires that leave you chuckling (and thinking) for a long time afterwards. A wonderful cast of characters.
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson - a vivid and compelling story of cryptography, soldiers and hackers in WWII and the present. Three years after reading it some scenes still make me laugh out loud and others still haunt me.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Nobody's Baby but MineHeaven, TexasDream a Little DreamThis Heart of Mine, etc. - intelligent, witty romances. You'll fall in love with her characters.
Nursery Crimes, by Ayelet Waldman - One in a series of "Mommy Track Mysteries" about a stay-at-home mom turned detective. The characters are funny and lovable and the mystery plot is high on twists and low on gore.
The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy - a breathless, riveting adventure and romance all tied up in one incredibly fun package. Enjoyable and accessible.
Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris - a collection of autobiographical essays that left me laughing so hard I was gasping for air.
Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis - a wonderfully written history of the creation of our country and Constitution. I was amazed at Ellis' ability to make the reader feel the uncertainty of the times. Despite my years of schooling in American history I actually found myself wondering "will they be able pull it off?"
— Hilary Rice, Assistant Dean of Admissions

Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics, by Diarmid O'Murchu.
After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path
, by Jack Kornfield.
The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, by Fritjof Capra.
The Fourth Dimension: Toward a Geometry of Higher Reality, by Rudy V.B. Rucker.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, by Edwin A. Abbott.
Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and the Tenth Dimension, by Michio Kaku.

— Jim Fergerson, Director of Insitutional Planning and Analysis

For anyone interested in knowing more about Afghanistan I can suggest West of Kabul and East of New York, by Tamin Ansary. It's a beautifully written book by an Afghan-American who tries to bridge the two cultures. In a much different vein, there's Ted Rall's To Afghanistan and Back. This is about his experiences covering the war in Afghanistan.
— Jan Lee, Audio Supervisor, Ladd Library

Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot
— Cristina Malcolmson, Associate Professor of English

Three books by Peter Kreeft. The full titles are:
Socrates meets Jesus: History's Greatest Questioner Confronts the Claims of Christ
The Best Things in Life: A 20th Century Socrates Looks at Power, Pleasure, Truth and the Good Life
A Refutation of Moral Relativism: Interviews with an Absolutist.
Paul Kuritz, Professor of Theater and Rhetoric

In preparation for #1 grandchild (Ethan Christopher, due May 14th), I have been reading and recording:
Pat the Bunny, by Dorothy Kunhardt
The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams Bianco
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin, Jr./Eric Carle
Goodnight, Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (to match Master Ethan's new little clothes) by Eric Carle
Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney
Sam and the Firefly, by P.D. Eastman
Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney
Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey
The Far-Away Grandma, by Kathleen Haines
— Kathy Haines, Associate Director of Student Financial Services

My favorites this year are the series by Alexander McCall Smith (I think ) that starts with the book called The Number One Ladies Detective Agency. Second is Tears of the Giraffe. Third isMorality for Beautiful Girls.
They are mysteries, but more than that they are vehicles for gentle musings about cultures (Botswana in particular) and life in a changing world.
— Pam Baker, Associate Professor of Biology and Associate Dean of the Faculty

The Passion of Artemisia, by Susan Vreeland.
A novel about a female post-Renaissance painter in Italy. This book is a powerful portrait of woman who challenged the norms for women at the time because of her passion to paint. The author also wrote The Girl in Hyacinth Blue.
Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett.
Who would think that a novel about a diverse group of people held hostage in a vice-president's house somewhere in South America could be so riveting? Instead of terror and hopelessness, though, the reader sees friendship and love develop and "hears" some beautiful music.
— Anne Dodd, Visiting Senior Lecturer in Education

 

Good Poems, selected and introduced by Garrison Keillor.
This is a selection of poems from the Writers Almanac, on NPR every morning. Lots of old familiars and some new ones, too.
Couldn't Keep It to Myself, by Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution. An amazing collection of work that defies easy description.
Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys. Story of a young woman's life as she grows up in the Carribbean and marries an Englishman. Narrated from several points of view. Easy read, engaging writing.
Any work by Alice Hoffman.
— Karen Palin, Lecturer in Biology

After fumbling around with different instruction programs for the Italian language, my wife, Gretchen Schaefer, and I have concluded that Hugo's Italian in Three Months is the best so far. What works for us is its light tone, a nice balance between conversational and grammar exercises, and a pace that convinces one that actual progress is being made. Trade-offs: lax copy-editing and a certain, probably inevitable, superficiality. An Italian-English dictionary and 501 Italian Verbs are good supplements, as is the Learn in Your Car cassette series. (The Hugo is available from Amazon.uk with cassette tapes that are of some use, but are too badly mastered to use in the car, and the price is shocking.) What could be better for a summer in Maine than preparing for a summer in Italy?
— Doug Hubley, Staff Writer, College Relations

Here is a book that gives you a first-hand experience and understanding of how ethnic and religious differences and nationalism destroyed the Balkans and how complicated it is for people like us Americans who might want to "fix it." Christopher Merrill's Only the Nails Remain tells the story of the Balkan wars through lots of brief vignettes of people he meets and works with in Slovenia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Sarajevo and Albania, letting them speak in their own words. He himself was there in a cultural exchange program as a poet, author and teacher of English that got cancelled. The confusion of views that emerge through the leaders and intellectuals, artists and ordinary people that he interviews is astounding. You come out of this reading with a good understanding of the political complexity created by nationalism and ethnicism (if there is such a word) in this part of the world. Each part begins with a brief history of the region in layman's terms, and because it is composed in short vignettes, it can be read in short snippets if, like me, you've only got brief moments for reading each day.
— Robert Allison, Professor of Religion

These four novels I discovered while teaching here on the CBB Cape Town program:
Dance with a Poor Man's Daughter/Jooste
And They Didn't Die/Ngcobo
The Heart of Redness/Mda
Madonna of Excelsior/Mda
— Elizabeth Eames, Associate Professor of Anthropology

PRESIDENTIAL BIOGRAPHIES
The Years of Lyndon JohnsonVolume 1: The Path to Power ;Volume 2: Means of Ascent ; and Volume 3: Master of the Senate , by Robert Caro.
My summer reading project for 2002. You might think that this monumental biography is strictly for LBJ fans, or at least die-hard history fans. Actually, quite the opposite. Caro gives an amazing amount of detailed information and so much historical background, it's a great introduction for the history neophyte. All three books are riveting, but if you were to choose just one Vol 3 would be my recommendation. It opens with a mini-history of the U.S. Senate which every American should read.
Johnson himself comes across as a jerk, but a jerk on a grand scale. Caro's thesis: LBJ was the ultimate lying, scheming, cynical, vote-stealing, power-hungry politician, until the final attainment of power allows him to reveal his humanity. A grand, sweeping, eminently readable political biography.
President Kennedy, by Richard Reeves (1993)
Omnipresent fear of nuclear war; the Berlin wall; Cuba; nuclear test ban treaties; civil rights struggles in the South. The issues here are never boring ... well, until the end, when Kennedy and the book gets bogged down a little too much in Vietnam. Reeves' almost day-by-day "journal" format gives a good sense of Kennedy's almost surreal daily life. In a single day he might have a meeting about a test ban treaty, then one on Vietnam, then a phone conversation with Martin Luther King on civil rights; squeeze in a quick meeting with high school students in-between (including young Bill Clinton), and cap it off at the end of the day with a hot bath for his back and a secret liason with a mistress.
Truman, by David McCullough (1992)
Harry Truman, world's most boring man, is "accidently" thrust into the Presidency during some of the 20th Century's most interesting times. Funny how Republicans love him today, they hated his guts when he was President ...
TRAVEL ESSAY
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going where Captain Cook has gone before (2002) Tony Horwitz
Truly an easy, fun, but informative read. Not a biography of Captain Cook, it is a compelling hybrid of two genres: travelogue and history. It's informative and interesting, while managing to maintain a light touch and breezy style. Not unlike Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods in its mix of breezy humor and serious research. This is exactly the kind of book I would love to write, if I had the talent for it. My only complaint with the book was that I wish Horwitz was a photographer as well as journalist; I wanted to see the places that he visited. After this, I had to read Horwitz' other books:
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the unfinished Civil War The formula of mixing contemporary travelogue with serious historical background again won me over. He has a terrific way of finding out ordinary people's attitudes about big topics such as history, race, oppression, and such, and does it with a deft, even light, touch. Horwitz is the perfect travelling companion, and he manages to ask the probing questions that I wish I was smart enough to ask people when I travel.
Baghdad without a map and other misadventures in Arabia
Although this book seems cobbled together from news reports that did not get published at the time he wrote them, the essays offer an interesting picture of the mix of cultures in Middle East, mostly before the first Gulf War.
One for the road: an outback adventure
Frankly, the Australian outback doesn't offer Horwitz much to go on. It's a whole lotta nothing, although he does his best with what he has. The book would be helped by an amusing sidekick, or at least a more interesting part of the world to visit. That said, it's still a pretty good -- and short -- travelogue of Australia and its people.
HISTORY
Look Away! A history of the Confederate states of America , by William C. Davis. I picked up this book thinking I would give the Confederacy the benefit of the doubt: "hey, this was an experiment where they built a new society and government! They must have had at least some interesting improvements and reforms on the American system." I came away simply depressed at the small-mindedness of the whole enterprise. Davis confirms that the Confederacy really was as bad as you thought it was, maybe even worse. Not only were Confederate ideals bankrupt, even immoral, they were compromised from the start. This book was so depressing that I could not finish it.
FUN
The Nanny Diaries: A Novel , Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus
This best-seller about a NYU student who works as part-time nanny to a Park Avenue family is a really weak book, but a good guilty pleasure. In truth, I could not put it down; it was a wonderful distraction from *ahem* taking care of my own kids over a long Thanksgiving weekend. Definitely recommended if you take care of young children, or if you love to poke fun at the foibles of the ultra-rich.
Live from New York , Tom Shales etc
Absolutely compelling "oral history" of Saturday Night Live, as told by the show's performers, writers, producers, and guests over the years. Especially fun is seeing each of the stars revealed. Who is a major jerk? Who is a sane pragmatist? Who's a whiny insecure crybaby? Which performers were generous, which were screen-hogs? And of course there's all kinds of inside dope on celebrity excesses, drugs, sex, and the like.
FICTION
Empire Falls, byRichard Russo
At first I was blown away by the way Russo can add so much background detail into seemingly meaningless encounters and situations ... but frankly it started to annoy me about halfway through. Every conversation becomes an excuse for a page-and-a-half of expository background detail. And in the end, the characters seemed too calculatedly drawn to be real (our research tells us that most book buyers see themselves as smarter than their jobs, so let's make our main character like that! And we need a hot babe for him to lust after! And a crazy old man for comic relief!). On the other hand, it's by no means a bad book. Russo is truly talented, he just doesn't live up to the hype.
— Ken Zirkel, Web and Systems Coordinator

 

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