English

English Faculty Reading Picks

English

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English Faculty Reading Picks

Each year, the English Department's faculty and staff put out a list of book and media recommendations. Known locally as our "Summer Reading" list but packed with titles to be enjoyed all year round, our suggestions offer something to suit the taste of every reader. Check out our most recent picks below, or scroll down to dive into the archive; each year's list is represented by a sample title and faculty comment. Happy reading!

And if you're interested in reading books written by English faculty, be sure to visit our Faculty Bookshelf.

2015

Leaving the Sea, by Ben Marcus book cover

Bad Monkey, by Carl Hiaasen. "Set in the weirdness that is Southern Florida, this thriller is laugh-out-loud hilarious as the protagonist tries to solve a murder while simultaneously engaging in subterfuge against the McMansion being built next door. " (Cheryl Wanko)
Read the full 2015 list

2014

Leaving the Sea, by Ben Marcus. "Strange, hilarious, and challenging, the stories in this collection provide a really smart gloss on the twenty-first century short story—its history, its present moment, and to some degree its exciting future." (Christopher Merkner)
Read the full 2014 list

2013

Book Was There, by Andrew Piper. "Piper addresses the past and present of reading and does so with a lyrical blending of personal, academic, and tactile experiences." (Eleanor Shevlin)
Read the full 2013 list

2012

Reverend America, by Kris Saknussemm. "Take equal parts Flannery O'Connor, John Steinbeck, Pete Dexter, and Thomas Pynchon, and mix and pour into a road story that moves fast, as a preacher of mixed provenance applies an idiosyncratic gospel of pure love to American culture low and high." (Bill Lalicker)
Read the full 2012 list

2011

Righteous Porkchop, by Nicolette Hahn Niman. "Last summer while traveling, I read Niman's awesomely-titled book about livestock practices in the U.S. and what happens to our food before it gets to our plates. Worth reading for the manure cannons alone." (Gabrielle Halko)
Read the full 2011 list

2010

Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann. "An award-winning novel—and deservedly so—that traces the interconnected lives of several characters in New York City on the day Phillippe Petit walked the wire between the World Trade Center Towers." (Jeff Sommers)
Read the full 2010 list

2009

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. "Part history and part journalism, Roach's book is a witty tour through the uses science has for dead bodies. Sounds gross, I know, but it's actually delightful." (Jen Bacon)
Read the full 2009 list

2008

The Professor's Daughter, by Emily Raboteau. "Beautifully written contemporary fiction dealing with African American identity." (Cortie Ervin)
Read the full 2008 list