What We Are Reading: Winter, 2021

Recommended by anonymous student.
Genre: Self help, self improvement, psychology

Recommended by an anonymous student.
Genre: Future Dystopian

Recommended by student Sowghandhi Umashankar, Biology major.

Recommended by Amber Johnson, COB
A solid page-turner that is grounded in historical events, about a spy network run by women during WWI.
Genre: Historical Fiction

Recommended by MSIP student Pooja Patel.
"The numbers are staggering: over the past twenty years in Chicago, 14,033 people have been killed and another roughly 60,000 wounded by gunfire. What does that do to the spirit of individuals and community? Drawing on his decades of experience, Alex Kotlowitz set out to chronicle one summer in the city, writing about individuals who have emerged from the violence and whose stories capture the capacity--and the breaking point--of the human heart and soul."

Recommended by an anonymous student.
Genre: Fiction

Recommended by Librarian Janet Forde
A second anonymous submission recommends it as "an enjoyable read."

Recommended by Librarian Joan Hopkins:
Any book where the heroine is a librarian must be good, right?
Genre: Historical fiction

Recommended by Business student, Tom Wilcoxon and also by Dr. Georgeen Polyak, Department of Public Health.
This is a fantastic book that provides insight on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Native land ethics. This is a must-read for anybody who pays attention to our current environmental issues.
Dr. Polyak adds that it is "especially good as audiblespecially good as audible".
Genre: Native ecological writing

Submitted by an anonymous student.
It's about a group of men who read romance books in order to understand their significant others.

Kent Carrico:
Louis Warren explores Gilded Age America coming to terms with its historic legacy through the "authentic" lens of William F. Cody and the Wild West Show. A huge national and international hit, the Wild West Show was seen as a genuine interpretation of 19th century American frontier expansion and resolution. The correlations between many of the narratives of the Gilded Age and contemporary America are remarkable for what they show many Americans have never really learned: an honest interpretation of the truth of our Nation.

Recommended by Dr. Robert McCarthy, Department of Biological Sciences.
This book presents a balanced history of the founding of the United State - warts and all. The price is right (free). Volume 1 covers prehistory to 1877, Volume 2 covers 1878 to 2018.

Dr. Pat Somers, MCP
Explicit in describing the horrors of racism/caste historically and its evidence in the present day. Outstanding.
Genre: Nonfiction

Recommended by Librarian Sarah Kurpiel

Recommended by an anonymous student.
Crime and Punishment is the best investigation into what happens when you believe in the notion that there's nothing divine about the individual. If you believe morals and ethics are arbitrary this is a must read for you.

Recommended by student Samantha Jendreas
Genre: Fiction

Recommended by Librarian/Archivist Jill Walker.
A retelling of the Siix Swans fairy tale. The first in a series. Great read for lovers of historical fiction and fairy tell retellings.

Recommended by MSIP student Pooja Patel.
"There is a thirty-five-year difference in life expectancy between the healthiest and wealthiest and the poorest and sickest American neighborhoods. It doesn't need to be this way; such divisions are not inevitable. Ansell lays bare the structural violence, the racism, economic exploitation, and discrimination that is really to blame."

Recommended by Dr. Sandhya Verma

Recommended by Dr. David Rubush, Department of Chemistry.
It is a wonderful and thought provoking novel that takes place in Moscow after the Bolshevik revolution.

Librarian Joan Hopkins:
A real page-turner centered around the sinking of the Lusitania. I also found it interesting that 3 authors collaborated to create this intreaguing thriller.
Genre: Historical fiction

An anonymous librarian: I got interested in the eternal question of is there a God discussed by physicists and biologists. The blurb for this book said that it was a good history of the development of creation. I have read a few pages, and ponder about every paragraph. Slow reading.

Anonymous Faculty/Staff
Genre: Memoir

Recommended by student Victoria Alvarado.
I recently picked this reading because I am someone who sees the world through "rose-colored glasses"--at least that's what I like to think. I would have read it in one sitting if it weren't for all the assignments we already have for the semester haha!

Librarian Janet Forde:
Fictional story of the 13 Century Beguines

Recommended by an anonymous student.
Genre: Nonfiction crime

Recommended by Librarian Sarah Kurpiel

Dr. Pat Somers, MCP
Meticulously researched, poetically written, fascinating subject.
Genre: Biography

Recommended by anonymous Faculty/Staff

Recommended by Librarian Janet Forde

Anonymous Faculty/Staff
I'm rereading the 20 book series about Jack Aubrey (captain in the Royal Navy) and Stephen Maturin (ship's surgeon, naturalist, and intelligence agent), set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Genre: Historical Fiction

Recommended by Librarian Janet Forde:
A 28 day challenge to looking at myself deeply
Click on title to access the e-book version.

Dr. Pat Somers - MCP
Richly descriptive, skillfully crafted tales with intricate plot lines. Great character development.
Genre: Fantasy/magic/alternate realities

Recommended by Marie Francois, Director, Departmental & Grants Accounting

Librarian Swati Wagh:
Love Ireland. This novel is set in Ireland.

Recommended by Librarian Janet Ford

Recommended by Dr. Julie Cowgill, Criminal Justice - Mesa

Recommended by an anonymous student.
Genre: Historical, LGBT

Dr. Pat Somers, MCP
Richly descriptive, skillfully crafted tales with intricate plot lines. Great character development.
Genre: Fantasy/magic/alternate realities

Recommended by an anonymous student.
Genre: True crime

Dr. Pat Somers, MCP
Identical African American light-skinned twin sisters - one who lived her life passing as white, the other who did not. Excellent.
Genre: Fiction

Dr. Pat Somers, MCP
The title says it all. Written by a professional researcher who grew up in the South attending a Christian church. Highly informative.
Genre: Non-fiction/memoir