Before summer becomes a distant memory, the library would like to know what you read over the summer.
Share with us the title, author, and a brief description of the material you read, including what you thought of it.
Please include your name and email address if you'd like to be put into a random drawing for two movie tickets or a Starbucks gift card.
CONTEST NOW EXTENDED!
Entries will be accepted until Friday, September 30 @ 2 pm.
All students, faculty, staff, and administrators of LPC are eligible to enter.
Happy reading!
~LPC Librarians
This summer, I was totally hooked on The Hunger Games trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins.
ReplyDeleteA physicist friend of mine had recommended them to me and I thought that if a physicist is recommending young adult books to me, they must be worth checking out. Thankfully, the LPC library had all three books available for check-out over the summer.
The Hunger Games is a fictional story of a post-war, dystopian North America, now called Panem. Since the end of the war 75 years ago, Panem has had an annual tradition of selecting one boy and one girl from each of its twelve districts to compete in a battle to the death, televised for all of Panem to see; like a gladiator-style Olympics. The heroine of the story is a 16 year old girl named Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is thrust into the games when she volunteers to take her little sister's place.
Though stories with brutal killings and gruesome details are not usually the kind of material I enjoy reading, I couldn't put these books down. In fact, many a night I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning because I just had to find out was going to happen next. In fact, I was kind of sad when I finished the third book, knowing that was the end of the series. Now, I look forward to the film versions slated for theaters starting in March 2012. I highly recommend these books!
The Hunger Games books are available for checkout from the LPC Library:
The Hunger Games: PZ7 C6837 HUN 2008
Catching Fire: PZ7 C6837 CAT 2009
Mockingjay: PZ7 C6837 MOC 2010
~Angela Amaya
LPC Librarian
I read 2 historical fictions: "Half Broke Horses" by Jeannette Walls [about her grandmother's life in Texas and New Mexico mainly, circa 1900-1920's/ she was a teacher and an early airplane pilot!]; and I am reading "The Spanish Queen of Henry the Eighth" by __? (it's at home). I bought this book for $8 at the SF Library resale shop, it's so interesting that even though I thought I knew everything about Catherine of Aragon, I can't put it down.
ReplyDelete-Sharon Gach
LPC President's Office
Wow! My summer was full of reading, but one highlight definitely stood out. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon is a marvelous book, set in England, about the adventures of a 15-year-old autistic boy. The author spent years working with autistic (or "Asperger's" or "Autistic-spectrum" children and through first-person narrative captures the world view, and day-to-day struggles, of his character, and, I imagine, many autistic people like him.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful story that is not only entertaining and emotionally evocative, but also educational.
Read it--you'll love the story, and it will give you insight into this difficult, but fascinating, condition.
I read Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosney (WWII in France). I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect, but the book was poorly written & had weak character development.
ReplyDeleteThe book I most enjoyed this summer was Pat Conroy's South of Broad. I appreciate his humor & his ability to make me feel like I am in South Carolina. Excellent character development.
I also read Lisa Scottoline's Running from the Law. A mystery what requires no thinking at all but I like her Italian American characters.
I'm half way through Jess Winfield's My Name is Will Sex, Drugs & Shakespeare. So far so good. Will Shakespeare is a grad student at UCSC & the other half of the book is about his namesake. Happy reading.
Teri Ann Bengiveno
History Department
I read Dolly Parton's favorite book, The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. I was reading an article about Dolly Parton while back in TN and in her interview she talked about this great book. It was about an Irish girl that came to live with the house staff that ran the kitchen in the main house. The little girl grew up with the help and then became the main woman in the big house. It was so ironic as we toured Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello and saw the The House Kitchen as well as Mt. Vernon. It couldn't have come at a better time while tour in the East. It is a great book to read!
ReplyDeleteI read The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. The book was originally written in 1962 and describes the origins of WWI, along with the strategies, personalities, and effects of the first month of the war. What I found most interesting was the German leadership's mindset that it should become an empire and the rationale the Germans provided for the atrocities committed by their militiary. And to think, after they lost the war, only 30 years passed before they thought the same way again and committed even greater atrocities!
ReplyDeleteI just finished a mystery, "Purple Cane Road" by James Lee Burke. I have read many of his books. They include a lot of social and historical commentaries relating to life in Cajun Louisiana. He is the most interesting regional mystery writer I have come across. His themes are thought provoking, not just a detective thriller.
ReplyDeleteI have also read, "Ring of Fire II", a short story collection edited by Eric Flint. This is one of a series of books in his Science Fiction / Alternative History series that started with the novel, "1632". It is sort of adicting, but you have to start with "1632" to understand all the interweaving plot lines. Basically a small West Virginia coal mining town is involved in a cosmic accident which sends it back to 17th century Central Europe, where they have to learn how to survive the "30 Year War". So modern American values and technology have to stand up to and learn to live with the values, technology, and religous bigotry of the 17th century.
Tom Fuller
Horticulture Instructor
Duma Key
ReplyDeleteStephen King
Edgar suffers a brain injury and arm amputation in work accident. Goes to the Florida Keys to get away from his crumbling family life. Paranormal events cause him to paint . . . . brilliantly. Loved the story line . . . . especially when Wireman, his friend down the beach, says "Do the day and let the day do you."
Great to share! J
Julie Thornburg
Administrative Assistant to the Dean
Student-Staff Liaison / Office Specialist
Student Services
I read Ann Patchett's Run because a friend of mine had an extra copy from her book group. It's about a family steeped in Boston history and politics. I didn't like it as well as Bel Canto, but it was still enjoyable, and sent me on an Ann Patchett kick. Next was The Magician's Assistant, about what defines family and family relationships, then Truth and Beauty, a true story about her friendship with the writer Lucy Grealey. Now I'm reading Lucy Grealey's Autobiography of a Face, about her childhood as a cancer survivor with a disfigured face and how that experience informs her life choices.
ReplyDeleteVicky Austin
Adjunct Faculty
Computer Information Systems
Just finished In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin - Erik Larson's latest work about the first American Ambassador to Nazi Germany. It is set during Hitler's ascension to power 1933-1937 and is a fascinating "inside" look at how this came to pass. The book is told primarily from the perspectives of William Dodd and his daughter, Martha.
ReplyDeleteInitially a very engaging and fast read but it did slow down a bit for me towards the end. Very interesting to see how social politics played a role in America's leaders unwillingness to confront what was happening in Germany at this time - Dodd, being an outsider from "the pretty good club", was not able to be taken seriously.
A good addition for anyone interested in this time period.
I loved A Singular Woman, the story of Barack Obama's remarkable mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. Janny Scott fills in all the details that were missing in Barack Obama's own book, Dreams of My Father. Ann Dunham was a complex woman who made interesting choices throughout her life, and sadly died very young. Her influence on our President is evident in many large and small ways. This book also gives a great look at how anthropologists work, and the fascinating culture of Indonesia, where Ann devoted her time to understanding the cottage industries of the area.
ReplyDeleteCarol Edson
cedson@laspositascollege.edu
I read "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman", Jon Krakauer's account of Pat Tillman, the NFL Football Star who gave up millions of dollars playing sports in the US to join his brother in the US Army Rangers fighting for the US in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Tillman ultimately died as a result of friendly fire, and Krakauer provides meticulous details in analyzing the whole story, which ultimately was very sad in its outcome. Krakauer also wrote "Into Thin Air" about a failed Mt Everest expedition in the mid 1990s.
ReplyDeleteKeith Level
klevel@laspositascollege.edu
I read "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. It is a compelling tale of an unnamed who who doesn't want to try green eggs and ham but is hounded by a persistent who named Sam to try the delicacy. I haven't reached the end, but am told that the author throws in a surprise twist to the plot that will blow my mind.
ReplyDeleteAfter I finish, I plan on reading "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" also by Dr Seuss.
Tom Dodge
tdodge@laspositascollege.edu
I started in June, but finished right before school started: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960). I have to say it has to be one of the best books ever written.
ReplyDeleteThe story develops at a quiet pace but every detail of it is painstakingly painting the pictures of Scout's family, neighbors, teacher, best friends, and the social order and social disorder inside a 1930's Alabama town re-enacting the class structure, gender roles, and racial injustice of the Jim Crow south. Every detail put into describing friendships, fascinations (of their reclusive neighbor Boo Radley), and the children's innocent confusions about what is right and wrong. The confusion comes from a two-tier system of justice that applies differently to people of different races and genders. Social class, education, and stereotyping are part of the story of Scout's and Scout's brother's coming of age in a southern town.
One interesting piece is when Scout is in school learning about what is happening in Europe by the hands of the Nazi's for whom her teacher uses a current event news item to teach about prejudice and discrimination. It is not lost on Scout that her teacher seemed not at all troubled by the uneven access to justice in her own town (Scout's neighbor's, teachers, and peers all take this injustice as normal and correct)while she conversely seemed quite troubled about the treatment of Jews in Europe.
The story, told from the point of view of a child, allows for unabashed inquiry into every aspect of society and a thorough examination of the world before one feels “set in her ways.”
Every sentence was well crafted. I found myself writing essays in my head nearly every chapter on the layers that were opened up using all that earlier detail. Even the morbid fascination about Boo Radley is returned to as Scout and her family negotiates the rugged social landscape of the American South.
Theresa Murray, anthropology
tmurray@laspositascollege.edu
In July I loaned my copy of "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini to my 19-year-old daughter and as soon as she finished it I re-read it and we launched into many discussions. I'm using the book in my Basic Skills English class (thanks to Elena Cole's recommendation), so I wanted my daughter to be a test-case since she is the same age of most of my students. (BTW, you MUST read "Kite Runner" if you haven't.)
ReplyDeleteI also read "The Postmistress" by Sarah Blake and didn't love it. Oh it was okay, I guess, but not as powerful as "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave.
I topped off my summer with Michael Krasny's "Spiritual Envy," a great book that touches on so much about critical thinking and the pursuit of faith. If you like Krasny on KQED FM's Forum, you'll love this book.
I read 2000 children's books over the summer. Some of my favorites were "Bed Hogs" by Kelly S. DiPucchio illustrated by Howard Fine, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom“ by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, “A Good Day” by Kevin Henkes, and “Owen” also by Henkes.
ReplyDeleteI also read “Scar Tissue”, a biography by Red Hot Chili Peppers front man Anthony Kiedis (not recommended for children!). The statement “Sex Drugs and Rock & Roll” is an understatement in this book! I am a huge fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and knew Mr. Kiedis had a difficult childhood, but did not realize how bad it was until reading this book. I highly recommend “Scar Tissue” if you are a Red Hot Chili Pepper fan and if you are not it is still an interesting read.
This summer I read "Three Cups Of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is the story of how Greg was nursed to health by the inhabitants of a small village along the Himilayas of Pakistan. In appreciation and love for the people, he begins to pool resources together to help build the people schools. Over the course of decades, he has built schools all over the area helping the people in hopes of a better quality of life.
ReplyDeletejoselyn_perez13@yahoo.com
I read so many books Its hard to narrow down. I just got throught reading The Gaurdian Series by Keri Arthur. Its about a lady named Riley Jenson who has joined a special task force to police the unhuman populations, She is part vampire and part werewolf so she can do some really awesome things and she always gets her bad guy.
ReplyDeleteJillian Jewell
jewelljillian@yahoo.com
I read "84 Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff and it was wonderful. It's a charming collection of letters between a penniless writer and a charming bookshop owner. I recommend it for a light read if you love books but you're a busy bee like me! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKaren Reiswig
karen.reiswig@gmail.com
I received a Kindle (gasp) for Christmas, so I used the summer to download and read a variety of (free) books. I love H.G. Wells and was pleased to find a variety of his books. I especially enjoyed reading "The Food of the Gods," and "In the Days of the Comet." Although they are classified as science fiction, they were surprisingly wonderful social commentaries.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I am reading "The Mysterious Island" by Jules Verne, who is one of my favorite authors. Books by Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, James Fenimore Cooper, and Jack London are also downloaded and waiting to be read.
If you enjoy social commentary in a science fiction setting, I'd recommend H.G. Wells "In the Days of the Comet."
Vicki Pabley
vpabley@laspositascollege.edu
This summer I was enthralled by the book "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by Eugene B. Sledge. Arguably one of the greatest combat memoirs ever written, it is Sledge's personal accounts of his service with the 1st Marine Division in the Pacific Theater in World War II and the horrors of war he faced in the Battles of Peleliu and Okinawa.
ReplyDeleteBeginning with his time boot camp at Camp Elliot, Sledge chronicles his journeys through the sweltering heat and savagery Peleliu and there the loss of close buddies and Captain A. Haldane (whom the book is dedicated to) to the choking mud of Okinawa where the lives of soldier and civilian alike were tragically claimed.
Based on notes and details written into the margins of a bible he carried with him through Peleliu and Okinawa, Sledge describes his life as a marine infantryman with a graphic richness in detail and scope that few historical accounts rival save "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose, the account of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne in Europe.
"With the Old Breed" was later utilized as part of the core source material for the HBO miniseries: The Pacific.
One remark that stood out to my eyes was "It is so detailed, it could give the weak-minded P.T.S.D."
1scott.mew@gmail.com
1. Rock the Casbah: Rage &Rebellion Across the Islamic World (Robin Wright, 2011: Simon & Schuster)
ReplyDeleteI really liked this book; it compiles a lot of information regarding the protests in the Middle East, handling it country by country. After that, she writes about the “new” generation coming into their own and how they are accomplishing the huge task of reformulating their governments, keeping their faith, both political and spiritual, while simultaneously creating a new body politic.
The second and third sections discusses the different avenues through which a new paradigm is being established: art, comedy, movies (old & new), and writing of all forms. It’s about the struggle to remain true to their heritage and progressing on their own terms, pathways, and time.
2. Mrs. Lincoln: A Life (Catherine Clinton, 2009: Harper /Perennial)
Obviously this is about Mary Todd Lincoln, of which I knew little. What I found fascinating was the backdrop in which her life was played out. On a certain level one knows about how women were taught/meant to live their lives, but reading about hers was interesting. The author seems to leave no stone unturned, even addressing many of the rumors, myths, and gossip that circulated around Mrs. Lincoln. Some are put to rest and where Mrs. Lincoln deserved to called out for her behaviours, Clinton saw to it. Without having read too much regarding the Lincolns, it appears that the author gave Mrs. Lincoln a very human examination, warts and all.
Suann Shumaker
Economics Instructor
3. Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in 15th Century Florence (Tim Parks,,2005: Norton)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great book on the origins of early banking, politics, money, religion, art, guilt, and power all wrapped up in an intrigue-loaded package. There is religious theory and persecution, the upheaval of power lost and power regained, the intricacies of Jewish men whose only occupation allowed was the handling of money, which was a sin, and navigating all those who wanted to earn and spend more money (ie the various Popes). Hunt does a good job sorting all this out in an engaging, historical, educational, and entertaining manner.
4.Madame Pompadour: A Life (Evelyn Lever, 2000: St. Martins)
Arguably one of the powerful mistresses in history, this was a good, non-high-lightable read*). While I am not an historian, it seems as if the book was accurate (as it can be), but I liked the aspect of learning what goes on behind-the-scenes/throne.
Suann Shumaker
Economics Instructor
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot, 2011: Broadway Paperbacks)
ReplyDeleteThis book was fascinating on many levels: science, technology, poverty, racism, opportunity, and hope. Despite some critics complaints of not enough science, I thought it was just about right. There is a lot of historical narrative, but I think it works well with the events, culture, and of the times, Mrs. Lacks’ life, and the various medical ethics (or lack thereof). On the one hand, it is a blast to the past about our racial injustices; on the other hand, it also points to the amazing contribution of Mrs. Lacks and the partnership of science (even if she didn’t know and wasn’t asked). Most of those past times and events ended badly; at least she has a positive , global legacy.
6. Wreck Ashore : U.S. Life-Saving Service: Legendary Heroes of the Great Lakes (Frederick Stonehouse, 1994: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc)
That this was recommended reading for a workshop I attended this summer in no diminishes this significant history of the men who mostly volunteered to save people, ships, cargo and lives on the Great Lakes. The first life-saving group was formed in 1786 and continues to this day as the Coast Guard. As their mission is the same, the technology is not. The “surfmen” are true heroes and little known beyond the Great Lakes. There was a specially selected group of senior students from Evanston University in Illinois tasked for one year as part of the civic duty. It was an honor to be selected, but formal training was minimal at best and under the worst possible conditions. The general motto for all the surfmen was: You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” The book as some terrific pictures of boats, knots, portraits, and maps.
Suann Shumaker
Economics Instructor
7. Ghost Ships, Gales & Forgotten Tales: True Adventures on the Great Lakes (Wes Oleszewski, 1995: Avery Color Studios)
ReplyDeleteBased on facts, human sightings, and actual occurrences, this book is interesting for its niche. While probably not for everyone, I liked it; humanity is interesting and how we act under pressure and bad times is always enlightening. It was humbling to read the stuff people are made of and what fantastic potential we all have.
8. The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (Leonard Shlain, 1998: Penguin Compass)
I LOVED this book. The premise is that with the introduction of the linear alphabet , and along with it, the process of reading and writing, we see the demise of the feminine (nurturing, birth, growth, art) and the balance between male and female. Shlain begins with the physiology of the brain, its reconfiguration (right-to-left) with speech and writing. The first couple of chapters are about human intellectual development (mind, eyes, verbal, etc) which sets the stage for the sweeping historical march through time. As the emphasis of the brain develops away from its right/feminine, image based cultures to its right/male alphabet, word societies, he begins with language forms, and follows the evolution of those from the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, Muslims, the Dark Ages, Mary Magdalene, the Reformation, etc. I particularly liked the various “creation myths” and how they changed from a male/female “couple” to just a male. (as an aside, when I visited South Dakota this summer and read the creation story of the Lakota Indians, every tribe member came from a male. There were absolutely no females mentioned in this story and it was a children’s book).
Even if you disagree with Shlain’s premise, this book has a lot of history in one place; the Roman/Greek myths, the Dark Ages (particularly interesting), Jesus, Confucius, Mohammed; almost every major event, society, and spiritual/religious figure is here. If nothing else, it’s a great rapid read of cultural world history. This is not a male-bashing book, nor is it anti-literacy. It is about recognizing a perceived imbalance and its implications and reinstating that balance between all that the feminine brings to the stage and all that the male brings as well. With the “over-emphasized, over-developed” left brain, we have let (or relegated to backstage) all the strengths/weaknesses of our right brains. Shlain argues that in doing so, we have paid a high price. We now have the intellectual and humanitarian cognizance and responsibility to live up to our highest potential. (***** very high light-able!)
Suann Shumaker
Economics Instructor
WOW Susan, you are an avid reader!!
ReplyDelete<<8. The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (Leonard Shlain, 1998: Penguin Compass) >>
Sounds insanely interested! I will get it over the holiday break! (Theresa Murray, anthropology)
<<5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot, 2011: Broadway Paperbacks)>>
I read this over last winter break and I agree it has a good balance of history/science explaining the enormous contribution to science Mrs. Lacks (unknowingly) made when her cervical cancer cells were harvested and reproduced. This "breakthrough" initiated and accelerated medical research on a global scale in the mid-20th century while her family remained impoverished and without adequate medical care or even the education to understand what had happened to their mother's cells! Was a nice personal account but a bit in the form of a mystery novel from real life social history.
(Theresa Murray, anthropology)