Chaparral 2021-2022: 30.6 What Are You Reading?

Recently finished James S.A. Corey’s Leviathan Falls, the ninth and last book of the Expanse series. It gives a fitting end the characters, events, and plots of this space soap opera. The Expanse cycle of books and TV series have been the finest examples of what can be accomplished in this genre. Bravo!

John Gerz
Physics

I'm currently reading Ocean Vuong's latest poetry collection Time Is a Mother. Vuong is one of my favorite contemporary poets, as his work is personal, accessible, and skillfully crafted. This collection touches on themes of personal loss, family, and the value of joy. For fans of poetry, this book won't disappoint.

Margaret Lopez
Library

I recently picked up Uprooted: How 3000 Years of Jewish Civilization in the Arab World Vanished Overnight by Lyn Julius, and would recommend it for those interested in lost civilizations and world Jewry. As a Jewish woman of Middle Eastern, North African, and Ethiopian origin, I found the anecdotes and historical research to be informative, as my ancestors are often omitted from discussions dealing with where Jews come from in United States history and political discussions. While I didn't find the information to be new as my family lived it, I thought it was well-synthesized and someone wanting to learn about Jews who are often called "Sephardic" or "Mizrahi" would get a lot out of this work.

Reut Cohen Schorr
Journalism

Reading Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System by Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost. I would recommend it for anyone interested in how the original gaming consoles were made and programmed. This method of programming has not been used since. It was unique to that era.

Zareh Gorjian
Computer Science Information Systems

Two articles: “The Smash-and-Grab Economy” (May/June issue of Mother Jones) and “Who’s to Blame” (May 12 issue of The New York Review of Books)

They both deal with what is happening in the American economy. The first focuses on the predatory actions of the Private Equity people and how they are literally looting enterprises and sectors of the economy, enriching themselves and often leaving wreckage behind.

The second is a review of 3 books dealing with the growing gap between rich and poor and how some groups have found ways to enrich themselves at the expense of others. They talk, for instance, about investors and hedge fund managers who send their company abroad leaving their employees behind with nothing, and the consequences, social and political, of these disasters.

These are important articles that help the reader to begin to understand what is happening to the country economically and politically. Highly recommended.

Jean Lecuyer
Physics