Summer - Ready, Set, Read
Summer is just around the corner. In Hawaii this may mean beaches, long airplane rides, or simply more time to read. I asked the faculty and staff for suggestions of books that they enjoyed reading and would recommend to others. The recent responses are listed here. For other suggestions, visit my earlier entries.
Lee, Chang-rae. A Gesture Life. 1999. [F Lee]
Chang-rae Lee will be spending some time on campus next year so I picked up A Gesture Life to see what his books were like and I loved it. In the book, Franklin Hata is a Japanese man of Korean birth living in suburban New York. The dual stories are of Franklin's relationship with his teenage daughter and flashbacks to his love for a Korean comfort woman.
-Deb Peterson
Nazario, Sonia. Enrique's Journey. 2006. [305.23 N23]
Regardless of where a person stands on the issue of illegal immigration, Enrique's Journey puts a face and a name to some of the people who choose to come to the United States illegally. The author describes the experiences of Central American children who travel miles riding the railcars at great risk of personal injury, robbery, and rape in an attempt to find their mothers who left them behind. The author actually rode the rails herself to more fully understand what these children go through to get to mothers or fathers living in the United States.
-Deb Peterson
Connor, James. Kepler's Witch: an Astronomer's Discovery of Cosmic Order amid Religious War, Political Intrigue, and the Heresy Trial of his Mother. Harper San Francisco, 2004.[B K44co]
Johannes Kepler was a brilliant mathematician who figured out that the orbits of the planets are ellipses, not circles. He made his remarkable discoveries over a lifetime of great personal difficulties, including religious persecution, the death of his first wife and a number of his children, and the trial of his mother as a witch. Sounds depressing, but this is an enjoyable biography and an interesting glimpse of 1600's Europe.
-Susan Clark
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner 2003. [F Hosseini]
A wonderful book about the politics of Afghanistan during the last days of monarchy, and just before the Russians invade the country. Perhaps even more powerful is the unique relationship between an Afghan boy and his Hazara servant. A must read page turner you won't be able to put down!
-Adam Reid
Note: See other comments for this book in the Spring Break Reads.
Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical Thinking 2005. [B D563]
This book captivated me with Joan Didion's deep expression describing the loss of her
husband. It is beautifully written and very soulful.
-Kathleen Thomas
Note: See earlier comments in Summer Reading Suggestions.
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell. 2006. [On order]
Left to Tell is the story of a young woman's experience during the Rwandan Holocaust. I needed to read this book to understand what happened during this tragic time. The fact that Immaculee's faith in God strengthens through this horrible situation is inspiring.
-Kathleen Thomas
Walls, Jeanette. The Glass Castle. 2005. [On order]
The Glass Castle reveals the life of children living in poverty in the United States. It also is an amazing story about the strength of children. The Walls children survive their very difficult situation and develop into strong individuals.
-Kathleen Thomas
Pollen, Michael. The Botany of Desire. 2001. [306.4 P76]
I recommend "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollen. It's a book about 4 human desires and how they shaped the evolution of plants; then how the plants, in turn, shaped the social evolution of us humans. Apples, tulips, pot and potatoes = sweetness, beauty, intoxication and power.
-Mike Bassford
Bryson, Bill. I'm a Stranger Here Myself. 1999.
"I'm a stranger here myself" by Bill Bryson is hilarious.
-Hanno Adams
Russell, Mary Doria. The Sparrow.1997. [F Russell]
I love THE SPARROW, by Mary Doria Russell. It's a bit of a hybrid, futuristic humanitic story about Jesuit who find alien life on another planet. I know, you're already onboard! But it is one the most moving pieces I have ever read about the search for God.
-Christopher Obenchain
Albom, Mitch. for one more day. 2006.
Mitch Albom (the auther of "Tuesdays with Morrie") wrote another great book called "for one more day" (all lower case letters). If you're into lighter reading, this is a great book. I'm going to plagiarize the back of the book now:
"If you had the chance, just one chance, to go back and fix what you did wrong in life, would you take it? And if you did, would you be big enough to stand it? Mitch Albom, in this new book, once again demonstrates why he is one of my favorite writers: a fearless explorer of the wishful and magical, he is also a devout believer in the power of love."
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" comes out in July...I'm pretty sure it will be a popular one, too :)
-Lee Young-Kingsbury
Reread all of the Harry Potters before the new one comes out in July
then read the new one in July.
-Jack Belli
Obama, Barak. The Audacity of Hope. 2006. [PUN 973 Ob1]
I have been reading Barak Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" and am two-thirds done. It is cogent, intelligent, and gracefully written - a lesson in civics, integrity, and common sense - highly critical of either/or, absolutist thinking, reifying instead inclusiveness, argument, and compromise. A truly worthy read.
-Joe Tsujimoto
Note: I listened to The Audacity of Hope on Cooke Library's sound version (CDs) and enjoyed it also. Barrack Obama narrates it himself which adds to the experience. I love listening to audio books as I walk. [PUN 973 Ob1 SC112] -Deb Peterson
Kooser, Ted. Delights & Shadows. 2004. [811 K833]
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, "Delights & Shadows," by the former U.S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser, is a delight to read. Many poems are especially appealing, perhaps, to people getting on in their years (like our faculty). His poems, as Kooser defines poetry, are "A record of discovery," of pleasure, so much allied to beauty. Highly conscious of inclusiveness, Kooser, as local poet Joe Stanton says, "would fix or remove things that create obstacles for his reader." Sometimes accused of being too simple, he is simply quiet, his art subtle. "After Years" is one of my favorites:
Today from a distance, I saw you
walking away, and without a sound
the glittering face of a glacier
slid into the sea. An ancient oak
fell in the Cumberlands, holding only
a handful of leaves, and an old woman
scattering corn to her chickens looked up
for an instant. At the other side
of the galaxy, a star thirty-five times
the size of our own sun exploded
and vanished, leaving a small green spot
on the astronomer's retina
as he stood in the great open dome
of my heart with no one to tell.
-Joe Tsujimoto
Sheffield, Rob. Love is a Mix Tape. 2007. [On order]
i just read an amazing book that i thought you all might enjoy. it's one of those rare books that is really a quick read but it lasts with you and is simultaneously light and of substance. like lan wong's meyer lemon panacotta. the book is called "love is a mix tape" by Rob Sheffield who, in my opinion, has been Rolling Stone Magazine's funniest and smartest writer for about ten years now. This is his first book. It's just so good. He tells the sad, beautiful story of the life and death of his wife using the mix tapes they made for each other as the structure of the book. It's a great read, funny, sad, and full of music.
-Tim Dyke