The Books of Summer
A Reading List
Here are some ideas for summer reading – books that have been recommended by
faculty, staff, and students of AU. They are organized by title, and if they are in our
library’s collection, you will see the call number. Only books, or books that have then
been made into movies are included.
Those “who loved the book” are listed with the reviewer named first, and the names of
those who also recommend it follow.
Thanks to all participants and to Maryann Krieglstein for getting the ball rolling.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Michael Chabon.
“An utterly engaging read about two cousins in New York City, one newly immigrated
from Czechoslovakia, who take the world of comic book publishing by storm.” (A film is proposed
for 2004). Susan Lausier
The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security. Kevin Mitnick, William L.
Simon. (NF)
Once a convicted high-tech hacker, Mitnick now works as a sought after computer
security expert. He illustrates how susceptible computer systems may be, as when, for instance, a
con artist imitating an IRS agent invaded a database. True crime! Farah Farrukh (student).
Caramelo. Sandra Cisneros.
“I highly recommend [her] latest work. It is a wonderfully inviting story of a young
Latina trying to adapt to the U.S. culture while staying connected to her Mexican heritage.”
Denise Hatcher
(Denis also recommends The House On Mango Street by the same author 813.54 CIS-H).
The Crimson Petal and the White. Michel Faber.
“A rollicking good read about Victorian Great Britain and an unforgettable prostitute
named Sugar.” Susan Lausier
Darwin, His Daughter and Human Evolution. Randal Keynes (NF)
“Keynes, the great-grandson of Darwin, offers here a moving recollection of the eminent
naturalist as first, the devoted, loving family man, and second, as the cranky, idiosyncratic genius
who changed the world.” Susan Lausier
Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expeditions. Charles
Gallenkamp. (10 audiocassette; good for a long drive) (NF)
“Super adventure/biography of Andrews, a Beloit, WI native, who became the leader of
the American Museum paleontological explorations of the Gobi Desert, 1922-1930. He and his
1
fellow scientists found vast fossil treasures of dinosaurs and extinct mammals. Some say he was
the inspiration for Indiana Jones.” Mary Manning
Dune. Frank Herbert. 813.54 HER-DU
“The book distances itself from normal sci-fi tripe with its detailed philosophical and
religious belief system. Also has the requisite action and intrigue that makes for continued
interest, but do not expect this to be light reading.” (Originally published in 1965, it is still going strong,
inspiring several movies and made-for-TV series).
Kevin Apgar
Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Eric Schlosser. 813.47647 Sch
(NF)
“My ‘oh, wow’ book of the decade that I’ve been urging everyone I know to read. It’s a
cultural history of American society and a wake-up call of epic proportions!”
Cheri Campbell, Amy Schlumpf Manion
The First Man in Rome.
The Grass Crown.
Fortune’s Favorites.
Caesar: Let the Dice Fly Colleen McCullough
“All about ancient Rome, well researched, make history come alive.”
Nancy MacTague
Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. Doris Pilkington, Nugi Garimara.
Based on the experiences of three young girls who walked over 1000 miles from the
Moore River forced transportation center to return to their homes and family in East Pilbarra,
Australia.
(A movie (“Rabbit-Proof Fence,” 2002) was based on this novel). “It’s set in Australia and is a true story
about two indigenous sisters who were taken from their family and placed in an orphanage for
rehabilitation. It makes you think about status quo and how easily we can categorize people
based on their skin color or ethnicity. It’s also a testimony to the power of family . . .”
Kasandra McNeil, Meg Bero
If you like this book, try Caprice, A Stockman’s Daughter. Doris Pilkington.
Tells of the lives of three generations of Aboriginal women compelled to live in
accordance with restrictive white values.
The God of Small Things. Arundhati Roy.
It takes place in India. I had to read the first chapter twice to keep everyone straight but
now I can’t put it down. Roy’s style is quite unique and mesmerizing; USA Today described it as
hauntingly wonderful – I agree.” Maryann Krieglstein
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. J.K. Rowling
“I was third on the list in my house; my son Jack and Andy have already finished it.”
Amy Schlumpf Manion, Andi Seifrid
(We have some other Harry Potter books in the library).
John Adams. David McCullough. 973.3092 AdZM (NF)
Acclaimed biography of a “great, troubled and, it seems, overlooked president.”
McCullough compares and contrasts Thomas Jefferson to Adams, and wastes not a word in this
“superb, swiftly moving narrative.” (Kirkus Reviews).
Eric Schwarze
2
In The Time of the Butterflies. Julia Alvarez. 813.54 Alv-e (Spanish edition)
“As typical of her books, I didn’t want to put it down. The (fictionalized story of the
real-life Mirabel sisters, ‘the butterflies,’ who were part of the rebellion against the Trujillo
regime." “It adds a historical perspective to the Dominican Republic.”
Terri Hoehne, Denise Hatcher.
(Also available on video).
The Isles. Norman Davies. (NF)
“It’s a history of the ‘British Isles’ pretty much since the last ice age. Although the book
is hefty, it is not, nor does it pretend to be an ‘exhaustive history’ of the isles - - it does follow at
great length the thread of the development of a national identity [and it] opens up some of that
staggering complexity that lives under the surface of any national story.”
Michael Sawdey
Life of Pi. Yann Martel.
“Best book I’ve read in a long time, [winner of] the Booker prize last year, it’s about a
young Indian boy who is shipwrecked on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. If that’s not enough to
get a reader curious, I don’t know what would! Can’t recommend this one highly enough!”
Dan Hipp
The Little Friend
The Secret History: a Novel. Donna Tartt
“Great characters and wonderfully suspenseful stories.” Susan Lausier
Lost in a Good Book: a Thursday Next Novel.
The Eyre Affair.
The Well of Lost Plots (to be released). Jasper Fforde.
“Featuring protagonist Thursday Next, a detective who has the ability to enter books and
interact with the characters therein. The books have a science fictiony feel to them, but
bibliophiles will enjoy the numerous witty literary allusions.” Amy Schlumpf Manion,
Ray Christiansen, Nancy MacTague. (Library has Lost in a Good Book, 823.92 Ffo-l).
The Lovely Bones. Alice Sebold
“An interesting literary technique (the first-person of a dead person in heaven thing) and
a thought-provoking read.” “Very powerful; about a 14-year-old girl who’s murdered.”
Amy Schlumpf Manion , Kasandra McNeil, Terri Hoehne, Denise Hatcher.
New Grub Street. George Gissing. 823.89 GIS-N
“Characters struggle with the adversities and successes of literary life in Victorian
London. It reminds me of Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga in the way the plot develops. Definitely a
good old book (1926).” Mary Manning
The Poisonwood Bible.
Small Wonders: Essays (NF) Barbara Kingsolver
Beloved: a Novel. 813.54 MOR-B
Song of Solomon. 813.54 MOR-S Toni Morrison
(These are some examples).
“Favorite books? How about favorite authors because any books by Barbara Kingsolver
or Toni Morrison are well worth reading. For lighter reading, any of the Nevada Barr or Faye
Kellerman mysteries are better than two hours in a movie theatre.”
Joyce Ragland
3
A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hanesberry. 812.54 Han
A family desperately struggles to maintain its dignity, self-respect and humanity (Books in
Print). (Originally performed on Broadway in 1959. Available also on video and audiocassette). (Our library also has
the video, VR 812.54 Han-R)
“Enjoy this book!” Kristal Willis (student)
The Red Tent. Anita Diamont. 813.54 Dia-r
Novel based on Biblical Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah. Dinah tells her epic tale as
the daughter of “four mothers,” and as a “daughter through [whom] “the songs, stories, and
wisdom of the mothers and grandmothers are remembered.” (Kirkus Reviews).
Linda Miller
The Secret Life of Bees. Sue Monk Kidd
“It’s 1964, the year of the Civil Rights Act, and in Sylvan, SC, fourteen-year-old Lily is
on the lam, fleeing her abusive father, T. Ray, and the police who battered the family servant,
Rosealeen, for defending her new right to vote. Honey-sweet but never cloying.” (Publishers
Weekly.) “I really liked [this book]!” Linda Miller
To Sing a New Song. Louann Stahl. (NF)
“If you ask a lot of ‘why’ questions, are into philosophy, psychology, chaos theory,
quantum physics, spirituality and so much more you will find this a very good read.”
Maryann Krieglstein
The Sixteen Pleasures. Robert Hellenga
“A librarian goes to Florence after the flood to help restore books at a small convent and
finds a really valuable book that causes all kinds of trouble.”
Nancy MacTague
A Star Called Henry. Roddy Doyle.
“The most impressive work of fiction I have read in the last few years. It is the first of an
Irish trilogy and this author is as powerful as James Joyce. No maudlin, teary Irish story here.
The book is relatively short and it has my highest recommendation.” Mary Daly Lewis
The Sweeter the Juice: a Family Memoir in Black and White. Shirlee Haizlip. (NF)
“Story about one family’s history in the U.S., tracing its roots through the generations. A
fascinating study in race, diversity and how we view ourselves and others.” Terri Hoehne
An Unfinished Life : John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Robert Dallek. (2003) (NF)
Historian Dallek has written a major work exploring the strengths and weaknesses of our
thirty-fifth president. It has been forty years since an in-depth portrait of Kennedy has been
produced; this one is on the best-seller lists. (On order for the library).
Mary Manning
The Victorian Internet: the Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century’s OnLine Pioneers. Tom Standage. 384.109 Sta (NF)
“Read [it] for the second time. The book gives a brief history of the telegraph in mostly
non-technical terms. It is light reading and has some very interesting facts in it. Our internet and
telephone systems in use today use much of the technology discovered in the 1830s by Morse,
Edison, and others. . . . [the] remarkable plot tells the story of the telegraph’s creation and . . .
the visionaries, oddballs, and eccentrics who pioneered it; . . . a fascinating episode in the history
of technology.” Bob Roehrig
4
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. Bill Bryson. (NF)
“He writes very humorous travel memoirs as well as books about language/grammar. He
is American, but lived in England for twenty years, writing for the Times, . . . and has been a
commentator on NPR.” Amy Schlumpf Manion
Amy also recommends by Bryson: The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, Notes
from a Small Island (about England), and In a Sunburned Country (about Australia). His new
book is A Short History of Nearly Everything.
Walkabout. James Vance Marshall. (1971) 828.9934 Mar-W
Two American youngsters find themselves the sole survivors of a plane crash in the
Australian wilds. They are rescued and aided by an Aborigine boy. (The movie/video of the same title is
held at our library VR 791.437 ROE-W).
Michael Sawdey recommends the video. (The youngsters in the film are British and they are alone because
their father commits suicide).
Whale Rider. Witi Ihimaera.
“About the indigenous people of New Zealand. It is about the life of a young girl and
how she leads her people back to have pride in their culture.”
Sue Ross recommends the movie/video based on this book.
Why Buildings Stand Up: the Strength of Architecture.
Why Buildings Fall Down: How Structures Fail. Mario Salvadori.
“ These two make the science and art behind engineering and architecture fun and mostly
easy to understand, and the second one explores the forensics behind well known disasters and
accidents related to planning and or material failures.” Ray Christiansen
Phillips Library
Aurora University
7/2003
5