A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

A Scanner Darkly is a brilliant psychological and philosophical journey dealing with the nature of identity in the backdrop of drug culture. Philip K. Dick intersperses his philosophical musings into an intriguing chase story about users and abusers of the fatal drug Substance D. This richly layered novel will get you thinking not only about human nature, but the function of humans in the larger realm of time and space as well. This is one trip definitely worth taking.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3554.I3 S3 1984
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Highly Recommended

What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers

One of President Doti’s recommendations is What is the What (President Obama also recommends it). Dave Eggers wrote astutely about the very difficult world of the Lost Boys of Sudan and particularly about Valentino Achak Deng. I knew some of the history of Sudan, but I learned many additional facts about the people and their struggles, i.e. along with many others, Achak spent 13 years in refugee camps. That information about dislocated people and refugee camps will be in my consciousness as I now read about the conditions of the camps in Kenya and Pakistan.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3605.G48 W43 2007
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Nancy Gregory, Secretary, Office of the Dean, Argyros School of Business and Economics
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Correspondence of Henry James and Henry Adams, 1877-1914 edited by George Monteiro

Henry Brooks Adams is considered the more educated of this pair, his family more affluent and prominent (yes, *the* (political) Adams family)…and his letters are certainly not dull, but it is Henry James who endears himself to the reader with his ebullient enthusiasm for this friendship and those of their shared acquaintances . His touching sentiments are conveyed with the same flare, style and care he poured into his published works. Nicely compiled; the book commences with a chronological outline of both men’s lives, followed by an introduction familiarizing us with relations and 36 letters, predominantly written by James. Illustrations, a list of letters thought to have once existed due to references in the extant, a bibliography and an index complete the package.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS2123 .A42 1992
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Tracie Hall, Librarian, Law Library
Rating: Recommended

Antigone by Sophocles

As a great dramatist, Sophocles is unparalleled, and Antigone is one of his most notable tragic plays. As the daughter of Oedipus stands firm in her beliefs about what is right and proper regarding the burial of one of her brothers, she rebels against what she feels is an unjust ruling by the current ruler of the Theban family, Creon. As the tragedy unfolds, Creon is left mourning not only Antigone's two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, and his future daughter-in-law Antigone, but also his son, Haemon and his wife, Eurydice.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PA4414.A7.W66 2001
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The History of Mr. Polly by H. G. Wells

Traces a character through much of his life, with increasingly interesting plot lines changing at the turning points in the character’s life. From losing friends, marrying poorly, becoming bitter at doing nothing through life but a lower-middle class business, and a battle with himself and some others around him leads to some choices which pull himself out of his ordinary existence by righting a few wrongs along the way. Very well written “arguments.”

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR 5774 W6 H3 1941
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Brett Fisher, Chair of Library Systems & Technology Division, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian

She has terminal cancer and he has Alzheimer’s. They have been together for over 50 years, and now against medical advice they are taking a cross country trip and going to Disneyland. This delightful book reminds us that life is meant to be enjoyed, not just endured.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Ipcress File by Len Deighton

If you are old enough, you may remember the "very-British" spy movie by that name with Michael Caine. If not, try to read this book, on which the movie was based. The dialogue is funny and there is an appendix that explains the military/spy terminology.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6054.E37 I63 1988
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Isa Lang, Head of Information Services, Law Library
Rating: Recommended

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

With his dog Charley at his side, and a new truck with customized cabin nicknamed the Rocinante, John Steinbeck sets out on a journey to rediscover America. From New England to the Midwest, from the Northwest to the West, and from Texas to the South, Steinbeck writes about the beauty of nature, the people he meets, and the sights he sees as he travels across this great country of ours seeking understanding of our America and the people within. A relaxing and enjoyable read quite different from his many other written works.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: E169.02 .S83 1986
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

When I selected Jane Eyre, I knew I would be revisiting "an old friend" from my teen years. Much to my surprise, not only did I spend a week with a favorite character, the book itself was a gift to Chapman University from a very dear friend of my family! Through a child's eyes I loved Jane for her rebellious spirit and outspokenness. With this read I appreciated Bronte's addressing the inequities of society. It is still at the top of the list of romantic novels with mystery and suspense to keep you turning pages.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR 4167.J3 1942
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Diane Gennuso, Student Teaching Advisor, Antelope Valley Campus
Rating: Highly Recommended

The End of the West by Michael Dickman

I'd seen an article in Poets & Writers about Michael Dickman's and his brother's forthcoming first books and, based on that, ordered both for Leatherby Libraries. I enjoyed The End of the West because of its sounds and pacing. Because it's not overtly narrative or logical, it may not resonate with every reader, but anyone who reads the poems aloud should enjoy them and hear not only their darkness, but also twists of humor. One of the late stanzas captures some of this sound: "Listen to those stitches / splitting open / in the air / above me."

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3604.I299 E53 2009
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Recommended

This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley, author of Devil in a Blue Dress, offers a short, accessible book about how to get your novel from idea to completed manuscript. I'm not convinced that this guide is realistic for people with full-time jobs or children to raise, but he's probably right that a novel doesn't get finished until you prioritize the writing of it. As a poet, I like that he says, "the discipline in poetry is the most demanding" and recommends that fiction writers take poetry workshops.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PN3355 .M68 2007
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Recommended

Curious Attractions: Essays on Fiction Writing by Debra Spark

I read this collection because I'm interested in what creative writers say about creativity and the writing process. Spark blends memoir and a personal essay style with excellent close reading that help me understand what a story is for the writer. I especially like the piece on emotion and sentimentality.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PN3355 .S63 2005
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Highly Recommended

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

There is something about a Murakami book that leaves a resonating impact on my mind, as if multiple layers and meanings lurk behind every word and, if I look hard enough, I will find the key to something beyond the realm of consciousness. Kafka on the Shore is a story about a teenager named Kafka who runs away from home to escape an oedipal prophesy that predicts he will kill his father and sleep with his long lost mother and sister. His life is mysteriously connected to an elderly man who gained the uncanny ability to talk to cats and make it rain fish after he lost consciousness during a school field trip in WWII. What follows is a journey toward human connectedness as the boundaries between the physical and immaterial world blur.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PL856.U673U4813
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Ashley Bloomfield, Program Assistant, Rodgers Center
Rating: Recommended

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale (review #2)

I'm a huge fan of Dean Koontz, James Patterson & John Sandford. I enjoy the mystery-to-be-solved and, even more, I enjoy the author's gradual revelation of a character's motivations and rationale for his actions. The beauty of The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is that it combines all these elements...and it's a true story, from Victorian England. Ms. Summerscale's detailed descriptions of Detective Whicher's investigative efforts (this was at the time when police forces were being formed in England), including investigation of the crime scene, interviewing people familiar with the members of the household in which the crime took place, as well as her diligence in following the lives of the characters well after the conclusion of the trial created an excellent reading experience. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history, suspense, and well-written books!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: HV7911.W426 S86 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kathy Wright, Executive Assistant, Office of the Executive VP & COO
Rating: Highly Recommended

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Murakami grants the reader an almost voyeuristic insight into the world between waking life and dreams, a world that lurks on the edge of consciousness in the hours before dawn breaks in a Tokyo entertainment district. After Dark is a story about two sisters, one a highly acclaimed model and the other a sardonic bookworm who both escape from life in their own unique ways. What follows is a truly mesmerizing look at the way people exist in an almost dream-like state, waiting for the moment that awakens them to their own realities. Beautiful, humorous, insightful-I couldn't put it down and stayed up all night reading it.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PL856.U673A6613
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Ashley Bloomfield, Program Assistant, Rodgers Center
Rating: Highly Recommended

El Pueblo: The Historic Heart of Los Angeles by Jean Bruce Poole and Tevvy Ball

The complex, multiethnic history of the El Pueblo area of Los Angeles is examined from its founding in 1781 to the present day. The text discusses such things as fiestas, barrios, old and new Chinatowns, and the Siqueiros mural, from which much can be learned about the local socio-political history of the 1930s, censorship, and recent efforts in conservation of mural art. Especially useful and interesting are the many photographs and the discussion on historic buildings that can be seen today. This book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys spending time at the Plaza, Olvera Street, the old church, Union Station, and other areas of El Pueblo.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: F869.L86 E4 2002
4th Floor Special Collections Library (Non-circulating - library use only)
Review submitted by: Andrew Tessandori, Cataloging Assistant, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung

A heart rendering and absolutely chilling firsthand account of the depravity and inhumanity inflicted on the Cambodian people from 1975 - 1979. As Saloth Sar (Pol Pot) turned his Khmer soldiers against the citizenry in an attempt to create a Communist agrarian society that would be able to exist without outside intervention, families were left to starve and were brutally tortured and killed in the most heinous manner. This genocide is an important part of world history and should be read about and understood by future generations in order to prevent this kind of insanity from recurring.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: DS554.8.U54 2000
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Roger Bannister and the Four-minute Mile by John Bale

This book explores the myths and legends surrounding the accomplishment of the sub four minute mile. The author gives you some thoughts on the subject and lets you make up your own mind on how the sub four minute mile was really run.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: GV1061.15.B37 B35 2004
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: James McCulloch, Facilities
Rating: Recommended

Poems by Sappho

This translation includes lyrical fragments of poems, and one complete poem to Aphrodite, originally written in the Aiolic dialect by Sappho (Psappho) of Lesbos in the late 5th century B.C. Sappho provides us with an understanding of her views on the gods, virginity, beauty and love found in her relationships and envisioned in her perpsectives during that time period. Not understanding poetry in its deepest sense, yet appreciating the use of language that poets use to construct meaning, I found these poems understandable and direct in their use of language to illustrate the innermost passions and sensuality that Sappho exudes in her poetry.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PA4408.E5.B28 1999
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Croquet Player by H.G. Wells

The story of Mr. Frobisher, croquet player and pampered gentleman, and his rather rambling and short-lived conversations with a Dr. Finchatton and his psychotherapist Dr. Norbert. Acting more as an interested listener than a participatory conversationalist, Mr. Frobisher is drawn into a world of strange and primordial fear that consumes the minds of his newly found acquaintances to the point where these dreaded feelings begin to invade the psyche of Mr. Forbisher and create dreaded feelings of the mysterious village of Cainsmarsh and some of its inhabitants. This is a wonderfully devilish short work that invokes images of dark pasts and even darker futures within the minds of men.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR5774.C7 2004
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Cyclops by Euripides

This is the story of Odysseus and his men, seeking food and supplies, landing near Mt. Etna and trapped in the cave of a Cyclops, a one-eyed being of fearsome strength and ferocity with an appetite for human flesh. With cunning and guile, Odysseus blinds the monster and, with his men, is able to make his escape from the clutches of the drunken Cyclops and flee the island. A satyr play from the early Athenian theatre, and authored by one of the great tragedists of ancient times, this story of Odysseus and the Cyclops has been translated many times over the centuries. However, this particular translation is a poor attempt to translate this play into contemporary American English, and I would encourage those interested in this story to read a more true to form translation, such as the one found in the Loeb Classics (Euripides Volume I) published by Harvard University (available in the 2nd Floor Humanities Library under call number PA3975 .A2 2001).

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PA3975.C9.M39 2001
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Not Recommended

My Lai: A Brief History with Documents by James S. Olson and Randy Roberts

Written from a historian's point of view, this brief and tragic history, along with primary documents and evidence from trials, memoirs, journals, diaries, and Criminal Investigation Records, provides insight into the moral lapse that occurred which led to several hundred men, women and children being brutally murdered by the enlisted men and officers of a US Army unit in a small hamlet in Viet Nam known as My Lai in March of 1968. This book details the reasoning behind the incident, the cover up that followed, and how the lives of the individuals involved were forever changed. One of the great tragedies of a war full of tragic circumstances and outcomes.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: DS557.8.M9 O45 1998
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Once There Was A War by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck once again demonstrates his literary genius and wit in this compilation of brief anecdotes taken from his time as a war correspondent during WWII. Covering American troops in both their travels and their stations in England, Africa, Italy and Sicily, Steinbeck provides the reader with intimate glimpses into the daily lives of soldiers, sailors and airmen, in order to expose the often forgotten humanity still to be found during times of war. A must read for Steinbeck fans!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: D743.S65 1986
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

All My Friends are Going to be Strangers by Larry McMurtry

I’m a fan of Larry McMurtry’s writing and was expecting to enjoy this book. In fact, half way through it I was becoming anxious (and not such a fan), because it was so ridiculous. Maybe people actually behave this way, but I just couldn’t find any reason to continue reading EXCEPT that I love McMurtry and was hoping that he would somehow redeem this book. There was no mystery as to where the title came from. . . this boy in a man’s suit was destined to be friendless and even Larry couldn’t save him.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3563.A319 A79 1981
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Linda Greeley, Research Assistant, Anderson Center for Economic Research
Rating: Not Recommended

Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens

Pride, arrogance, betrayal, and deceit juxtaposed against humility, love, loyalty, and devotion. Paul Dombey is a loathsome, despicable character whose pride and joy is bound up in his son who dies at a young age. Florence, his daughter spends her life trying to win her father's love to no avail...well, there is redemption in the end. The story is like a soap opera with a host of characters and subplots. Dickensian prose does not make for light reading!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR4559 .A1 1998
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Diane Gennuso, Student Teaching Advisor, Antelope Valley Campus
Rating: Somewhat Recommended

An Unknown Woman: A Journey to Self-Discovery by Alice Koller

This unusual and meditative memoir was written in the 1960s when Alice Koller, who received her doctorate in philosophy from Harvard, was thirty-seven. It follows three months of Koller's life when she began to question her relationships with men, the pressures of trying to secure a teaching position at a university, and the meaning of life in general. To begin an intense introspection, she adopts a German shepherd puppy and temporarily rents a home in Nantucket in the winter for solitude and reflection. This memoir will not appeal to all readers, but I found it an honest journey of the seeker in the truest sense.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3561.O398 U5 1983
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Chair of Public Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

Ever wonder about why the English called police “Bobbies,” or about what crimes, criminals, or heroes might have inspired authors…in particular British, 19th century authors, like Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins? If you’re eager for an evening stroll through an unfamiliar neighborhood, to be captivated by lamp lit windows veiled in lace, to wonder at the lives that play out behind ivied stone walls….this book’s for you!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: HV7911.W426 S86 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Tracie Hall, Librarian, Law Library
Rating: Recommended

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Unlike Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row is more like a mural of America in the 1930s, focusing mainly on the quirky characters inhabiting Monterey. It can be compared to a patchwork quilt as Steinbeck jumps from one life to the next and connects them all to Cannery Row in the process. While the book definitely takes you back to a specific place and time, one can relate to the distinct personalities in Cannery Row.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3537.T3234 C2 1946
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Recommended

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is a wonderfully funny and poetic novel about the experiences of a largely female Dominican family during a time of political turmoil. The various stories, told from the points of view of the four Garcia girls, reflect life as immigrants and life as females in two different cultures. Drawing from her own life, Alvarez writes with such authority and good humor that the characters seem to be old friends by the end of your read. Every girl who reads this book can find something to relate to.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3551.L845 H66 1992
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Highly Recommended

The 8th Confession by James Patterson

This is the latest addition to James Patterson’s Women’s Mystery Club. A traveling “meth lab” bus explodes in the middle of town. Rich and famous people are dying and the coroner cannot determine the cause. If you want a quick read that will keep you interested from start to finish, I suggest this book.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith

This is a disappointing sequel to the Talented Mr. Ripley, quite unlike the movie plot and more humdrum too. Tom Ripley has married and is living the life of a country squire in France. There is no longer a reason for him to engage in heinous activities, but he does anyway! The author doesn't tell us why; she is too interested in the gruesome details of his latest cover-up.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558.I366 R56 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Isa Lang, Head of Information Services, Law Library
Rating: Not Recommended

The Book Nobody Read by Owen Gingerich

This highly entertaining description of Gingerich's thirty-year project to create a census of extant copies of Copernicus's de Revolutionibus reinforced two ideas. First, always be ready when your life's work presents itself. Second, the value of meticulous cataloging cannot be overstated.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: QB41 .G38 2004
3rd Floor Science & Technology Library
Review submitted by: Nancy Stenerson Gonzales, Cataloger, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Messenger by Jan Burke

This is a great summertime read...mystery, action and romance, all rolled into one! Authoress Burke gets us involved with each of her characters with a mix of believable dialogue and an economical use of words to help us understand, particularly, Amanda and Tyler's challenges. There was one part of the book where I did scrunch up my nose and think "eewwww!" And, finally, but not necesssarily predictably, Ms. Burke gives a sweet twist to the fairy tale ending of "living happily ever after!"

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Kathy Wright, Executive Assistant, Office of the Executive VP & COO
Rating: Recommended

Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith

This is another in the continuing series of Precious Ramotswe, the "Miss Marple" of Botswana. The big case in this book is for an important "Government Man" that takes Mma Ramotswe out of town, leaving Mma Makutsi in charge, so that she has to solve her first case all by herself. These books are engaging books that keep you turning the pages without stressing your brain. A great "summer" book.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR 6063.C326 M67 2002
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Ann Ryan, Reference Librarian, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber

This autobiography is a selection of very humorous highlights of James Thurber's life. For being written in 1933, it may well have served as several episodes of "Arrested Development," or other such show. The author has a matter-of-fact manner of describing odd events and eccentric people. The book includes a smattering of sketches which enhance the stories nicely. Leaky electricity and ghosts are included, for those interested.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3539 H94 M8 1933
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Brett Fisher, Chair of Library Systems & Technology Division, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Tipping Point: How Little Things can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point, which explores the characteristics of fads, is Gladwell's first book in his line of sociological studies. While it definitely doesn't resonate as well as his other two books, because it does not engage the human element, it will teach you something you probably never paid attention to before. If you read this Gladwell work first, be aware that his other books are much easier to relate to and cover more intriguing subjects.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: HM1033 .G53 2000
1st Floor Reserves (Limited Check-out Period)
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Recommended

Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Anyone interested in how we make decisions should definitely check out Blink. Gladwell uses a mix of science and sociological analysis to explain why we think the way we do. However, Gladwell's style is so unique and free flowing that you will enjoy reading him whether you care about the subject or not. I guarantee Blink will be a great use of your time!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: BF448 .G53 2005
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Highly Recommended

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers is an eye opening experience that makes you think twice about coincidence. Gladwell makes interesting claims about why some people are more successful than others. Whether you completely buy into his well substantiated arguments or not, you will find Outliers a captivating read and social analysis. Read his other books and articles in the New Yorker for even more insight.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: BF637.S8 G533 2008
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Highly Recommended

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

Unlike When You Are Engulfed in Flames, this set of musings by David Sedaris focuses specifically on the humorous tragedies of Sedaris and his family. He is able to take the most comical spin on the most frightening and awkward situations. It is a fairly quick read, but is full of memorable punchlines that leave you more than satisfied.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3569.E314 R47 2004
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Highly Recommended

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Sedaris delivers a series of witty life stories that will have you laughing out loud. However, he touches on many truths about relationships of all kinds, striking a chord with a variety of readers. It is clear that Sedaris had as much fun writing as you will have reading.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3569.E314 W48 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology That Breaks Your Heart by Ruth Behar

This book is a collection of five essays by a University of Michigan anthropology professor. Behar, who is also a poet, believes "anthropology that doesn't break your heart just isn't worth doing anymore" (p. 177). She is concerned about a movement to return anthropology to a science that lacks emotion and a connection to cultures and people being studied. The essays are eloquently written and personal while discussing Behar's own family life, the meaning of "the border," the concept of the Cuban diaspora, and her fieldwork in a northern Spanish village.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: GN346.4 .B44 1996
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Coordinator of Information & Reference Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Look Again by Lisa Scottoline

What would you do if the picture on a missing child brochure was the spitting image of your adopted child? Reporter Ellen Gleeson fights against overwhelming odds to uncover the truth and do what is best for her child. Lisa Scottoline has used her talent as a writer and her legal expertise to produce another winner.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Shining Through by Susan Isaacs

The story was very well written! It contained a mixture of romance, historical fiction, and even some mystery. While slow at times, I found it to have a great and inspiring ending.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3559.S15 S4 1988
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Alli Segal, Program Coordinator for Greek Life
Rating: Recommended

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Based on the global journey (from Spain to Bosnia) of a real book, the Sarajevo Haggadah, this novel follows the intriguing investigations of a book conservator, Dr. Hanna Heath. The initial chapter introduces Hanna in Sarajeva in 1996. The subsequent chapters are flashbacks which tell the reader about people and events as far back as the year 1480. I think the book is well written and an intriguing and plausible fictionalized account of the book’s journey.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR9619.3.B7153 P46 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Nancy Gregory, Secretary, Office of the Dean, Argyros School of Business and Economics
Rating: Recommended

Nature Cure by Richard Mabey

Richard Mabey is probably Britain's foremost nature writer, and in a nation famous for nature enthusiasts and great writers, that's saying a lot. In this memoir, he talks honestly about what happened when he suffered a nervous breakdown and became "an incomprehensible creature adrift...out of kilter with the rest of creation." He details what finally cured him of his black depression: a long, slow immersion in the windswept natural wonders of the Norfolk flatlands, and, little by little, a reconnection with his heart and his passion. Luminous, astonishing writing.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: BF353 .M33 2007
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Mary Platt, Director of Communications
Rating: Highly Recommended

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

This is the first book in Smith's series about Precious Ramotswe, a female private investigator in Botswana, Africa. Mma. Ramotswe regards her profession as being able to help people fix problems in their lives, not just simple fact finding. In this book we meet Precious and her good friend, Rwa. J.L.B. Matekoni; learn about her beloved father; her 'traditional' build; and watch as she set ups her office; hires her secretary, Mma. Makutsi (who achieved a score of 97% at the Botswana Secretarial College); and solves her first cases with only the help of her common sense and her well-thumbed copy of Clovis Andersen's Principles of Private Investigation. We also get to start learning about life in traditional Africa and all its wonders.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6063.C326 N6 2002
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Ann Ryan, Reference Librarian, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Cabbages and Kings by O. Henry

This is written as a glued-together collection of similarly-themed short stories that revolve around a fictional country in South America, political revolution, and several interesting characters that end up in well-written comedic situations. Interestingly described political games form the basis of a mystery of some missing money from one of the previous governments, which is solved over time with several clever twists.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS 2649 .P5 C327 1914
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Brett Fisher, Chair of Library Systems & Technology Division, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Dry by Augusten Burroughs

Written with acerbic wit as biting as a glass of hard liquor, Dry is not your typical book about an alcoholic struggling to overcome addiction. Augusten Burroughs unflinchingly explores his own substance abuse in this memoir about the spiraling cycle of addiction and its effects on his career and personal relationships. Burroughs leads the reader through his intoxication, visits to rehab, relapse and ultimate 'awakening' following his ex-boyfriend's deteriorating health related to HIV. Dry manages to be both comical and disturbing at the same time-a difficult feat indeed.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3552.U745Z465
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Ashley Bloomfield, Program Assistant, Rodgers Center
Rating: Highly Recommended

Boneman's Daughters by Ted Decker

Boneman abducts young women and kills them by breaking their bones. He was apprehended and sent to jail; but did they have the right person? The courts say no. Boneman is back and he has Ryan Evans daughter. What would you do to save a member of your family? Evans must confront this question and others as he races against time to outwit the killer and save his daughter.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Wild Ginger by Anchee Min

This novel explores the devastating and often horrific events of China's Cultural Revolution and the psychology of Maoism on a personal level. Here we see through the eyes of a girl named Maple the life of Wild Ginger, who overcame persecution because of her foreign appearance and questionable background to become a national example of Maoist devotion. Because of Mao's prohibition against love (it is a word not even in the vocabulary of a true proletarian), Wild Ginger inhibits her emotion for a young man who obviously cares for her, and an uncomfortable love triangle develops among this small circle of friends that eventually deeply hurts everyone involved. This powerful story has a truly tragic ending.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3563.I4614 W35 2002
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Andrew Tessandori, Cataloging Assistant, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

A Woman Named Solitude by Andre Schwarz-Bart

In college I took a Caribbean literature class where I discovered Simone Schwarz-Bart's amazing novel The Bridge of Beyond. Because of the impact of that novel, I have always wanted to read A Woman Named Solitude by Andre Schwarz-Bart, Simone's husband. After the discovery of an execution of a woman named Solitude in Guadeloupe in 1802, Schwarz-Bart imagined the life of Solitude and her mother in this experimental work. Dreams, reality, and fairytale-like writing merge together in this unusual creation that reveals the horrors of slavery. A quote by Alice Walker on the cover reads, "A Woman Named Solitude is an unforgettable story; it saves one of the people's heroines who never dreamed she would be saved..."

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PQ2637.C736 1973
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Coordinator of Information & Reference Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

After being enthralled by the movie of that name starring Matt Damon as Ripley, I decided to spend the summer reading the 5 Ripley books. Their author, Patricia Highsmith, was a brilliant, but not famous, crime writer in the mid-20th century. Her study of Ripley and his game in this first volume is so empathetic, it is creepy! Also notable are the 1950s vignettes of the daily lives of young American emigrees in various Italian cities and regions.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558.I366 T33
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Isa Lang, Head of Information Services, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

As I see everywhere big screen surround-sound media players and ubiquitous I-pods and blue-tooths, I find this account of a society that works hard at not having to think prescient and chilling. Are we headed for catastrophe? Is there hope? This short novel certainly gives one pause.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3503.R167 F3 1993
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Nancy Stenerson Gonzales, Cataloger, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended