You Should Read....: 2016 - Fiction

Recommended by Marcelle McVorran, Education Studies:

Trinidadian author Earl Lovelace's novel is both sad and funny, and provides astute social commentary on class with Carnival as the backdrop. The Caribbean setting will be just right for warm summer days.

Recommended by Misti Shaw, Music Library:

This funny mystery series stars Ellie, a food- and cat-obsessed interior decorator with a knack for solving quirky mysteries. The series kicks off with The Thin Woman, wherein an overweight Ellie uses a dating service to hire a man who pretends to be her boyfriend for a visit to her eccentric family’s estate. Hijinx ensue (don’t they always?) and Ellie finds herself plunged into a murder mystery.

Recommended by Kate Smanik, Assistant Dean of Students for Spirituality, Service and Social Justice:

Gail Carriger is a novelist who knows how to entertain her audience. Don't expect this book to challenge you, but if you are looking for a fun summer read, and you like paranormal fiction, historical fiction, and/or steampunk this book is a perfect beginning to a series that can keep you entertained through many beautiful days on the beach.

Recommended by Rachel Goldberg, Peace and Conflict Studies:

Ok, I’ll be honest, this has no intellectual merit and is just pure pleasure. The characters are quirky and engaging and the romance and sex are fun. This is written by three different authors, and was how I got into Jennifer Crusie. The hilarious parts are generally hers.

Recommended by Tiffany Hebb, Librarian:

The funniest (& sometimes most touching) book you'll read this summer. Allie Brosh's unique web comic/blog covers topics from childhood to dogs to her struggle with depression, and makes you laugh and feel all the feels.

Recommended by Cindy O'Dell, Art & Art History:

I read this book in graduate school, ages ago, but it still seems magical to me. The book is led by powerful female characters who struggle to find their way in post-occupied Hawaii. I learned about Hawaiian history, contemporary challenges and folklore and culture. I was mesmerized with how the people intersected with the land, and the layering of family identity. It is my favorite book by Davenport.

Recommended by Hannah Viti, Class of 2016:

This book is terrific. Each chapter is a new story and glimpse into the life of a different character. These stories and characters meet in strange, quite riveting ways. This book is filled with music; with stories of aged punk rock stars, their lovers and failures. These are not so average stories of intimacy, relationships, aging and chaos. Author Jennifer Egan utilizes different forms of story telling, and for someone like me, who loves all things unique, I was riveted.

Recommended by Phoebe Migliano, Libraries:

You should read this if.... you like female protagonists, unreliable narrators, and dystopian, post-apocalyptic fiction but without any of that annoying teen romance.

Recommended by Rick Provine, Dean of Libraries:

Set in the grimy 1970's New York City, this first novel from Hallberg rocks from beginning to end. A murder, a wealthy family and a seminal punk band all intertwine into a riveting mystery and a period romp. Some of the best fiction writing I have read in a long time. Literate and well paced and the characters are deep and complex. A hefty but fun read with a riveting climax.

Recommended by Cara Setchell, Dean of Students:

Set in German-occupied France during World War II, The Nightingale is a story of two sisters who independently navigate danger, suffer loss and endure tremendous hardship during World War II. Kristen Hannah beautifully tells the often untold story of the meaningful roles women bravely played during the war and their inspiring strength and enduring will to help others survive. Both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, this story will compel you to read it in one sitting.

Recommended by Deepa Prakash, Political Science:

These are two book that change the way you look at the world. It's almost cliche to say that Lolita is written beautifully but it is. And 1984 is required reading for anyone interested in politics and power.

Recommended by Carrie Klaus: Dean of Faculty, and Modern Languages:

In his scathing portrait of middle-class respectability in fictional Zenith, Ohio, Sinclair Lewis, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930, tells the story of real estate agent George F. Babbitt who begins to wonder if there is something more that he is missing. What lies beyond the well-groomed lawns, the flower gardens, the business lunches, the dinner parties, the Sunday School board? What other kind of life might have been, or might still be, possible?

"Gosh, Dad," his son asks near the end of the novel, "Are you really going to be human?"

Will he? Will you?

Recommended by Claudia Mills, Philosophy:

Guaranteed to be adored by Jane Austen fans, this coming-of-age story of impoverished English sisters living in a ruined castle next door to the estate purchased by wealthy American brothers is narrated by one of literature's most engaging voices, as seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain tries to "capture the castle" in her hilarious, poignant, and altogether enchanting journals.

Recommended by Pedar Foss, Classical Studies:

Why? One word: ‘respect’.

Recommended by Marcelle McVorran, Education Studies:

This novel is a strong commentary on the sad history of the real-life 1937 Parsley Massacre of Haitians in the Dominican Republic, told through the eyes of a young woman named Amabelle, who is trying to escape the violence and reunite with her lover.

Recommended by Jeffrey Dunn, Philosophy:

Born in Buenos Aires in 1899, Jorge Luis Borges is a master of short stories that are memorable, touching, and often interweave with topics in science, logic, and philosophy. This translated collection of his stories is sure to entertain, surprise, and provoke your thinking.

Recommended by Kevin Bugielski, Class of 2016:

A historic classic, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World explores life in a utopian society grappling with the ideas of genetic modification, reproductive technology, and classical conditioning. It has been ranked in the top 100 novels of the 20th century, and its ethically questioning material will make you take a second look at the society we’re in today.