This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Sewanee chapter.
So, lets face it, there’s still 2 weeks left of break, and no matter how great it can be, sometimes binging on Netflix gets old. So what other option can allow you to still be lazy and enjoy being at home? Sometimes reading a good book can be just as good of a time-consumption as Netflix. Professor Gatta told me that “Reading beyond what’s assigned in courses is a great way to keep growing mentally while taking satisfaction in the language and storytelling that good books can offer.” I recently asked the professors of the English Department what they would recommend for pleasure reading, and here are their suggestions as to what would be good for passing time, or “dessert reading” as Professor Tucker phrased it. And in the words of Dean Bruce, “Holiday reading tends to be mental bubblegum: enjoy it, chew it up, but then spit it out because it really has no nutritional value… Enjoy the luxury of knowing that, if you start a book and don’t like it, you don’t have to finish it!”
Virginia Craighill
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
- Drown by Junot Diaz
- This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
- Harry Hole Mysteries by Jo Nesbo
- You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane: a Novel by Neil Gaiman
- Yes Please by Amy Poehler
John Gatta
- “So by way of contemporary fiction, I’d strongly recommend any of Marilynne Robinson’s novels—including her prize-winning Gilead. For me, the beauty of Robinson’s expression makes her a joy to read. She has also been, by the way, an honorary degree recipient here at Sewanee.”
- “A refreshingly offbeat, lesser-known short novel that I’d endorse for reading pleasure—though it isn’t always easy to locate—is Aminata Sow Fall’s The Beggars’ Strike, first published in French some years ago. It’s a witty, fancifully conceived piece of political satire set in West Africa. But it’s timely as well, because it dramatizes a more sympathetic view of Muslims, and of Islamic almsgiving practices in particular, than the current national sport of Islam-slamming would have us suppose.”
- “Finally, let’s mention some poetry. From the time we were children, most of us learned to take special delight in the flow and rhythm of verse. So for anyone looking to do some quiet, leisurely reading in poems that contain plenty of humor, earthy charm, and flashes of insight, I’d recommend the recent collection titled Couldn’t Prove, Had to Promise, by our own Wyatt Prunty.”
Elizabeth Grammer
- “I almost hate to admit it, but I would reread Nathaniel Philbrick’s book In the Heart of the Sea, a work of nonfiction based on the story that inspired Melville to write Moby-Dick and which has just been released as a huge blockbuster movie. Read the book, a real page-turner, which I once read at the beach in one day by not talking to anyone, including my husband, because I could not put it down. Be aware: it could come between you and your family if they want to talk to you and you cannot put the book down. Then see the movie.”
- “And because I love to read nonfiction for pleasure, I recommend The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. I have always been fascinated by this story, having had a great aunt die in 1918, but also because I love to teach Horton Foote’s play 1918, which is about this epidemic. The book is well written and researched, and students of history and science would love it. I learned so much about influenza, the pandemic of 1918 (which accounted for more deaths worldwide than WWI) and about the founding of the great medical schools and research institutes (which were funded to help stop the pandemic) in the United States from this book.”
- “I would reread almost anything by David Sedaris or, better yet, get it on audible.com and listen to him read the pieces to you, though be careful while driving: you could laugh so hard you might not be able to focus on the road. My favorite might be the collection Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.”
- “And in the spirit of the Season, I would recommend the work of Walter Wangerin (National Book Award Winner), especially The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. Believe it or not I also read these at the beach, and I almost wept at parts of The Book of God. I have never read the entire Old Testament, but I’ve read The Book of God, which is a retelling of the entire Bible, written by a man who has a way with words. I loved it.”
John Miller Grammer
- Norwood, Charles Portis. “Forget ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ or anything by David Sedaris; this is the funniest book in the world.”
- Empire of the Summer Moon, S.C. Gwynn. “A big, romantic narrative about Quanah, the last Comanche war chief, Cynthia Ann Parker, the white captive who was his mother, and the Texas Rangers and US Cavalry who pursued them for decades.”
- The New Neighbor: A Novel, Leah Stewart. “A quiet little mystery set right here in Sewanee, by a writer who visits often and knows us well.”
- I Want to Show You More, Jamie Quatro, stories. “Love and lust, faith and doubt, and deep weirdness, all set on nearby Lookout Mountain. Quatro is an updated, Protestant Flannery O’Connor.”
- A Prayer Journal, Flannery O’Connor. “Watch the twenty-year-old writer explore her faith and discover her genius.”
Pamela Macfie
- Elizabeth Strout’s Maine-sharp novel, Olive Kitteridge
- Wallace Stegner’s luminous, spare novel, All the Little Live Things
- Joan Didion’s elegiac memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking
- Donald Hall’s meditation on his wife, poet Jane Kenyon, as they approached her death together, The Best Day the Worst Day: Life with Kane Kenyon
Kelly Malone
- “Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth, which is a sort of spy novel/romance hybrid. He’s also just a great writer–this novel is smart but not so serious and experimental that you’ll feel like you’re doing homework.”
- “Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad (spoiler: the ‘goon squad’ is time).”
- “I tell everyone who likes science fiction to read Nick Harkaway’s The Gone Away World, a post-apocalyptic romp featuring a crack squad of ninja mimes called the School of the Voiceless Dragon.”
- “For those who like fantasy, I recommend Neil Gaiman’s American Gods or Neverwhere: A Novel .”
- “And I’ll re-read any of Jane Austen’s six major novels, with pleasure, when I can’t think of what else to read next.”
Jennifer Michael
- For those who enjoy historical fiction, I recommend Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, set during the reign of Henry VIII.”
John V Reishman
- Home: A Novel by Marylynne Robinson
- Napoleon by Andrew Roberts
- Dead Wake by Eric Larson
- The Secret Cord: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
- The Elizabethan World by Lacey Baldwin Smith
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
Lauryl Tucker
- Between the World and Me by Ta Nahisi-Coates
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
- Abbott Awaits: A Novel by Chris Bachelder
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Kevin Wilson
- “Gold, Fame, Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins: This is an amazing, arresting novel, a love story set amidst the ruins of the American Southwest. Set in the not-to-distant future, drought has rendered most of California uninhabitable, and two lovers, Luz and Ray, find a young child and seek to make their way east. The writing is fantastic, virtuosic, and the wildness of the plot (bandits, sinkholes, a visionary dowser) pulls you through to the end.
- Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones: Set in Atlanta in the 80’s, this novel focuses on James Witherspoon’s two families, one public and one secret. His two daughters meet and become friends, but only one of them knows that they are sisters. It’s a really fascinating portrayal of family, and Jones is one of our best writers, fearless and totally in control of this complex, emotionally-resonant novel.
- Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders: Saunders is perhaps the best short story writer around, and has been for some time. His stories are bizarre and funny and, just when you think he can’t go any further with the strange conceits, he tears your heart out. Despite the often depressing circumstances of the characters, there are few writers as life-affirming, as magical, as Saunders.”
Recommended by Craighill, Reishman, and Tucker — The Children Act by Ian McEwan
Recommended by Gatta and Reishman — Lila: A Novel by Marylynne Robinson
Recommended by Michael and Reishman — All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: “Easily the best book I’ve read this year” (Michael)
Whether you have time to indulge in these great recommendations over break or not, I hope you will check into them sometime in the future!
*HAPPY READING*