Gleeson Gleanings

As the school year winds down and the temperature rises, thoughts turn and hearts yearn for long days at the beach slathered with sunscreen, book in hand. We had a good time promoting summer reading last week at the Spring Fling/Stress Less Day festivities in Harney Plaza. Kudos to Reference/Electronic Resources Librarian Sherise Kimura for coordinating the library’s successful participation for the second semester in a row! Cooling off in the shade of our beach umbrellas and nibbling chocolates, students perused our reading recommendations and lined up to write in their own favorite reads. We had to run off a second printing of our recommended Summer Reading list! Who says print is dead?

Below are additional recommendations generated by students at the Spring Fling and at the Davies Forum National Library Week display in the library over the last month. Most of the titles, we’re happy to say, are already in the library’s collection and we’ll look into ordering the others.

Please feel free to recommend your favorites in the comments below.

Spring Fling celebrants recommend these Summer Reading picks:

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielziewski (recommended by Jenn)

Falling Leaves: a True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah (recommended by Uzuma)

Books by Ayn Rand including The Fountainhead and Anthem (recommended by Freddy G. and others – “Regardless of whether or not you agree with Ayn Rand’s objectivist philosophy, the novel has a captivating, thought-provoking plot with characters that speak volumes about human nature.”— comments Maria D.)

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano (recommended by Freddy G.)

Working in the Dark: Reflections of a Poet of the Barrio by Jimmy Santiago Baca (recommended by Freddy G.)

Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov

Phantom by Susan Kay (recommended by Cheryl M.)

War Is a Force that Gives us Meaning by Chris Hedges (recommended by Kathe B.: “anti-war”)

Three books by Paolo Coelho: Eleven Minutes, The Alchemist, and Veronika Decides to Die (recommended by Carlos A.)

The Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards (recommended by Sheila M.)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (recommended by Sheila M.)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (recommended by Tannaz A. and others)

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

Twilight, Breaking Dawn, and others by Stephenie Meyer (recommended by Anna and Michelle)

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (recommended by Anna)

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (recommended by Anna)

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max

On the Road by Jack Kerouac (recommended by Alissa)

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July (recommended by Rachel)

One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights by Kenji Yoshino (recommended by Cameron C.)

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (recommended by Martha)

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone (recommended by Eva)

The Magus by John Fowles (recommended by Theresa)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (recommended by Sophie) (I love this book too!—ed.)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Monkey Business (which one? – hmm)

Ordinary People by Judith Guest

The Clown by Heinrich Böll ((recommended by Crista Y.)

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck (recommended by Jessica C. and Oprah!)

And visitors to the Reading Fort added these favorites to the Digital Literacy class recommendations:

The Heart is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers – “It’s on Oprah’s Book Club. And it’s really good.”

Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton – “A reflection on human nature by a Trappist/Benedictine monk who was very aware of the times he lived in. It is a perfect, fun, and very relevant read for our days as a “Bystander!”

The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov – “more than 60 short stories – simply amazing prose.”

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby – “Great book about Futbol… I mean soccer. Very entertaining!”

The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Peaceful Warrior books by Dan Millman.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson — “Great ‘unwilling hero’ story of how one person can make a difference – plus a good education about Afghani and Pakistani culture! With appendix on how we can make a difference.”

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller – “Funniest book ever written. Read it if you like sarcasm.”

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon – “I laughed and cried while reading this book.”

Ann Veronica: a Modern Love Story by H.G. Wells – “Quite good, although I hope the SITC movie doesn’t end the same way!”

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson– “eye opening.”

Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse – “It’s, well, it’s a ‘coming of age’ book I guess, about a kid discovering the world, thinking about who he is, exploring the world of artist/intellectual. Great. Makes one not feel alone.”

If You Give A Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff — “All about consequences”

Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovskii – “Single greatest book about filmmaking/editing.”

The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis – “Tragic, human science fiction about loneliness and isolation and the horrors of the world. Very beautiful.”

Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams – “Just a good book.”

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn — “It will change your life and the way you view… everything and everyone. Man learns from gorilla (Ishmael). AMAZING. Easy to read too.

Creepy Susie: And 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children by Angus Oblong – “It’s quirky and funny in a strange way.”

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini — It’s a beautiful story that really spoke to the heart – it was raw and it had something pure about it.”

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón – “Modern Gothic novel full of romance & intrigue & awesome descriptions of Barcelona!”

Marchlands by Karla Kuban – “About what’s still sacred in our country.”

The Education of Little Tree by Carter Forrest “This book will change your life. About a young boy raised by his Cherokee grandparents in the mountains of Tennessee.”

Continue reading “Drift away with these summer reading recommendations”