Chaparral 2017-2018: 26.2 What Are You Reading?

I recently finished Jill Lepore's The Secret History of Wonder Woman.

The book goes into how Wonder Woman came to grace comic books. What started as a smart attempt to get girls to read comics wound up inspiring a generation of girls and women. 

Rory Cohen
Journalism

N. K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy. The first two books won the 2016 and 2017 Hugo Awards. Fantastic fantasy novels that incorporate race, gender, magic, environmentalism, and humor. Highly recommend! Jessica Groper English

1. A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel, by Amor Towles

2. This book is a pleasure to read.

3. The characters are interesting and engaging. It is the story of a count in Soviet Russia who is under house arrest in a luxury hotel; how interesting could that be? Not only does he develop over time, while keeping his charm and graciousness, but the various people with whom he interacts in the hotel and everyone's life story make it a hard book to put down. The writing is delightful.

Emily Bergman
Library

1. Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta

2. Highly recommend

3. Tom Perrotta’s Mrs. Fletcher is a hilarious, relatable, and all too provocative joyride. I wouldn’t have guessed that reading about the sexual awakening of a middle-aged woman would be such a romp. Side splitting scenes hinged with layered, honest emotion. Loved every page.

Michael Schilf
English

Napoleon: A Life / Andrew Roberts (Penguin Random House: New York, 2014)

If you have any interest at all in learning more about the man behind the myth, this is a must read.

The author has utilized a huge new collection of Napoleon's writings recently made available through the work of the French government. They have now published all 33,000 of his letters, so this is the first work to avail itself of these primary documents created by Napoleon to write a biography—not the writings of contemporaries who often had agendas geared at distorting events and actions because of the severe anti-Napoleonic forces that dominated Europe after his rise and fall. As a result, this is a wholly new insight into this legendary figure. Plus, Andrew Roberts is simply a gifted writer who tells a compelling story.

Roger Bowerman
History

Right now I'm about a fifth of the way into Wool, by Hugh Howey. It's an intense post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel set underground. After the destruction of the atmosphere, humanity has retreated underground. We enter the story after many generations so that none of the characters can remember life above ground, though they can see the destroyed city in the distance via cameras. 

I would recommend it to fans of quality science fiction. 

It's well-written, intense, and creatively imagined. You'll find yourself eager to get back to it to see what happens.

Mike Reed
Geography

I just finished reading News of the World by Paulette Jiles about a girl abducted by Kiowa after her parents and siblings were killed. She is returned only briefly to her kin by a learned news printer/announcer who earns his keep by reading newspaper articles from other countries to early settlers in North America.

I recommend this book because it is very well written with wonderful descriptions and I became readily attached to the two main characters. 

Theresa Lorch
Kinesiology

Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story by Mark Engstrom

If you would rather hang out with Starbuck, rather than at Starbuck's?  If you would rather be in Bilbao, Nantucket or Port Richmond than Glendale?  If you would rather be a Flenser than a Faculty Member, this might be the book for you!

If you or your family are into whales, this is a very good book about how the Royal Ontario Museum got and preserved the skeleton and the heart of a Blue Whale.  This book went with the Royal Ontario Museum's display of their Blue Whale Skeleton, and the Preserved Heart of a Blue Whale.  I believe that you will find it interesting and that your children will also.

Brian Reff
Culinary Arts

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

 I just read and taught The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. I would recommend it as it deals with gender and societal dynamics. Additionally, it addresses the concept of gender neutrality. I taught the book at the 1C level, and I my students really enjoyed it.

Vita Watkins
English