Fri May 26, 2017
At the start of the spring 2017 semester, we invited students, faculty, staff and other visitors to Mann Library to let us know of any good books they had read over winter break. Our community came through with selection of titles that’s as eclectic as it is long, running the gamut from a delightfully philosophical bit of Victorian-era science fiction to edgy analysis of the murky machinations at work in the financial sector meltdown of 2008 (the latter now also a major motion picture, but as one reader assured us, the book is even better than the movie!). It was such fun to get to know a little more about the people that we see at this this library from the perspective of the books they are reading.
With the close of a busy academic year now behind us, the prospect of some good summer reading lies ahead. For those who may be casting about for good additions to their summer reading list, we happily pass along the suggestions–and the fun mini-reviews–that our patrons so gamely shared with us. If, as British playwright Alan Bennett says, “a book is a device to ignite the imagination,” we think our list below will do its part to add fuel to one deliciously fiery summer.
Good Reads Recommended by Mann Library Lovers:
| Title | Author | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Memoir – Biography – Autobiography | ||
| Chapter and Verse | Bernard Sumner | Great autobio of a self-taught celebrity UK musician |
| All Things Great and Small | James Herriot | kind of rambling, but really sweet, touching personal memoir from a vet! |
| Between the World and Me | Ta-Nehisi Coates | An excellent commentary on race relations in the U.S. |
| The Log from the Sea of Cortez | John Steinbeck | Great! |
| Nicotine | Gregor Hens | About addiction–yet interesting and comforting |
| On Her Trail | John Dickerson | Easy read about Jane Dickerson. |
| Skyfaring | Mark Vanhoenacker | Inspiring and beautiful poetic prose about being a pilot. |
| Non-Fiction | ||
| All the Birds in the Sky | Charlie Jane Anders | Eek! We need to get our crap together re: climate change because magic’s not going to save us! |
| At the Existentialist Café | Sarah Bakewell | Super interesting history/philosophy read |
| The Big Short | Michael Lewis | Very interesting take on how unregulated swaps can alter the financial structure of our country. Better than the movie. Read it! |
| Braiding Sweetgrass | Robin Wall Kibberer | Each chapter is like receiving a good hug |
| Braintrust | Patricia S. Churchland | Very insightful and shrewd in its critique of how neuroscientists attempt to explain the biological origins of morality. |
| Case in Point | Mark P. Cosentino | really informative; seriously helpful job interview prep |
| Cod | Mark Kurlansky | Excellent historical review of the science of fisheries management (or not) for this important species! |
| Emperor of All Maladie: A Biography of Cancer | Siddhartha Mukherjee | |
| The Four Agreements | Don Miguel Ruiz | Amazing book that changes your life if you are willing to accept all of that information. |
| The Genius of Birds | Jennifer Ackerman | Or, why birds are awesome |
| Girls & Sex | Peggy Orenstein | It was very educational and changed my perspective on how women should be portrayed in media. |
| Grain Brain | David Perlmutter | Good book on how diet affects your brain and mood |
| The Handmade Marketplace | Kari Chapin | It’s very helpful for those who want to start their own craft business. |
| A Lover’s Discourse | Roland Barthes | Very insightful! Very relatable to modern love. |
| Into Thin Air | Jon Krakauer | Incredible book, Jon Krakauer is one of my favorite writers! |
| Lords of the Harvest | Daniel Charles | Good account of the discovery of history-making tech |
| The New Jim Crow | Michelle Alexander | A very insightful book that all should read |
| On Photography | Susan Sontag | This is a book that engages with the complexity of the world by challenging perceptions and meanings. |
| Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space | Carl Sagan | It shows how small we really are. |
| Settle for More | Megyn Kelly | Very inspiring; we can overcome tough times when we focus on bettering ourselves |
| The Spirit Catches You & You Fall Down | Anne Fadiman | Humbling, cultural competenc/understanding in healthcare |
| Start With “Why” | Simon Sinek | I agree with his deep insight, especially the relationship between the brain and inspiration |
| Stocks for the Long Run | Jeremy J. Siegel | very practical information |
| Thinking Fast and Slow | Daniel Kahneman | fascinating insights on human behavior, delivered in a conversational writing style |
| The Wayfinder | Wade Davis | Awesome lecture (he gave a talk in the fall–life-changing) |
| Weapons of Math Destruction | Cathy O’Neil | good–definitely worth a read. Quick. Gave me insight into something not related to my field. |
| Fiction | ||
| 1984 | George Orwell | Perfect foreshadowing |
| 1Q84 | Haruki Murakami | Reflexious: a story unfolds in mirrors |
| Anansi Boys | Neil Gaiman | Awesome! Neil Gaiman is the best! |
| Borne | Jeff van der Meer | absurdist sci-fi warm fuzzy apocalyptic fiction |
| The Brothers Karamazov | Fyodor Dostoevsky | Brilliant philosophical treatise on the perils of Western thought and the nature of crime and sin |
| Le chat du Rabbin | Joann Sfar | Great book on religious tolerance |
| Cinnamon & Gunpowder | Eli Brown | Swashbuckling, mouthwatering fun! |
| Cirque Du Freak | Darren Shan | great story great series |
| The Clay Girl | Tucker | Interesting perspective from small child to adult; excellent but strange imagery |
| The Complete Stories | Clarice Lispector | The best surrealist author who does short stories that are beautifully arresting. |
| Crime and Punishment | Fyodor Dostoevsky | you get immersed in the tension. Got headaches at parts! |
| Cryptonomicon | Neal Stephenson | I really enjoyed the contorted ways of describing events and conditions. Fun and interesting though a little long by the end. |
| A Dirty Job | Christopher Moore | funny and somewhat introspective |
| A Dog’s Purpose | W. Bruce Cameron | Great fiction for 1st time dog owners (should be required reading). |
| Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? | Philip K. Dick | A solid read |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | Very interesting and suspenseful! |
| A Fine Balance | Rohinton Mistry | Heartbraking display of the depths of human compassion–set in India |
| Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions | Edwin Abbott | It was a cool 19th century philosophical take at judging our ignorance. |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | Incredible–it feels surreal that the sun’s still shining after reading it! |
| Galapagos | Kurt Vonnegut | Great satire on evolution! |
| Giovanni’s Room | James Baldwin | a really beautiful insight on the intersection of sexuality, love, and intimacy |
| Girl on the Train | Paula Hawkins | creepy, thrilling |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Stieg Larsson | Exciting, thought-provoking and interesting |
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | good read but kinda sad in the end |
| Harry Potter | J. K. Rowling | Amazing Series. Wish there were more |
| Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | J. K. Rowling | good read |
| The Help | Kathryn Stockett | Great! Real characters and well-put humor |
| Herland | Charlotte Perkins Gilman | Interesting, about feminism and agroecology from the beginning of the 20th century and in novel form |
| How To Be Both | Ali Smith | spectacular, mind-bending |
| Jingo | Terry Pratchett | Funny, a good dose of satire |
| Kindred | Octavia Butler | Brilliant exploration of the realities and ehtics of existence during slavery in the south |
| The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | moving, immediate, tragic, beautiful |
| A Little Life | Hanya Yanagihara | Thought-provoking, painfully beautiful and sad. Heartbraking and amazing |
| Leviathan wakes | James S. A. Corey | Futuristic sci-fi set in space with great prose and portrayal of how colonization, politics, and survival play out |
| Lolita | Vladimir Nabokov | Teaches us how it’s possible to empathize with someone even when their actions are morally wrong according to society |
| A Man Called Ove | Fredrik Backman | Heartwarming. Better than the movie because it was more real. |
| The Man Who Was Thursday | G. K. Chesterton | Fun, exciting, not completely predictable |
| Milk & Honey | Rupi Kaur | Amazing, emotional, relatable poetry |
| Le Misanthrope | Moliere | A great satire/comedic play on hypocrisy in society |
| Moominpappa At Sea | Tove Jansson | humanity in animal form |
| Nerve | Jeanne Ryan | Interesting, dark, and a general warning of our acceptance of the digital world |
| Neverwhere | Neil Gaiman | Dark, funny fantasy about the “real” London Underground. Read it long ago, loved it even more this time. |
| Portrait of Dorian Gray | Oscar Wilde | OW must have really liked art; it was an odd read |
| Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | James Joyce | Good take on religion, but not as humorous or involved as Ulysses |
| Raven boys | Maggie Stiefvater | A nice supernatural book that is easy to read and very entertaining |
| Re: Jane | Patricia Park | It was a fresh take on Jane Eyre! |
| Room | Emma Donoghue | Insightful. I saw everything from the perspective of a 5-year-old, which was awesome |
| A Room of One’s Own | Virginia Woolf | AMAZING! Early feminist themes, very relevant given politics today |
| The Running Mann | Stephen King | I liked the pacing. Very Stephen King |
| Scrappy Little Nobody | Anna Kendrick | Adulting memoir via Hollywood |
| Sea of Poppies | Amitav Ghosh | Loved it! Challenging to read the dialect included by author. A beautiful read. |
| The Skin I’m In | Sharon G. Flake | Loved it. A good coming-of-age book. |
| The Slow Regard of Silent Things | Patrick Rothfuss | “For the people who are not quite right (occasionally)” |
| Small Great Things | Jodi Picoult | Great book for encouraging discussions on race |
| The Sound and the Fury | William Faulkner | A beautifully-written, if extremely hard to interpret, internal saga of a family’s demise |
| Stardust | Neil Gaiman | Proof that fairytales can be for adults too–made me feel ten years old again! |
| Station Eleven | Emily St. John Mandel | inventive, post-modern |
| The Steady Running of the Hour | Justin Go | Cheesy with a poor ending but entertaining regardless |
| A Study in Scarlet | Arthur Conan Doyle | Much better than the BBC series! |
| Sweetbitter | Stephanie Danler | Rich; sped through it because I liked it so much |
| Tender is the Night | F. Scott Fitzgerald | poetic, dreamlike |
| The Who and the What: A Play | Ayad Akhtar | Incredibly moving and captivating! Characters really draw you in! |
| The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle | Haruki Murakami | A Rollercoaster of a Plot; definitely read it! |
| Thousandth Floor | Katherine McGee | scifi fantasy, really cool |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | love |
| We, the Drowned | Karsten Jensen | A cross of Moby Dick and 100 years of Solitude–absolutely brilliant |
| Who Fears Death | Nnedi Okorafor | Magical and surreal |