Welcome to the Hamline University
Alumni Summer Reading Page!
The following is a sampling of books recommended for our alumni by members of the Hamline community. We hope you enjoy this list, and welcome your suggestions for additions.
How Soccer Explains the World:
An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
by Franklin Foer
Fernando Delgado, Dean of the College
of Liberal Arts, says this book is “a quick
and easy read, perfect for summer, but also
presents provocative examples about globalization and various local challenges to
community and in-group and out-group
relations.”
Telling
by Patricia Weaver Francisco
Deborah Keenan, Professor for the
Graduate School of Liberal Studies,
says “this book, written by one of our
Hamline colleagues, has remained steadily
in print for almost ten years – in fact, it is
coming up on its tenth year anniversary…
As Pat says, the mystery was: how to write
a book about a subject no one wants to
read about – she took the challenge, and
wrote a stunning, moving, and thoughtful
book about rape and recovery. The book
is personal, political, healing, and wise.”
Coming Through Slaughter
by Michael Ondaatje
Deborah Keenan also suggests this book,
and says “all Ondaatje's books are worth
reading several times – this is one of my
favorites, set in New Orleans, leaning on
scant historical records about Buddy Bolden,
an early jazz great, Ondaatje makes a
world come to life.”
Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep
by editors Walton and Harper.
Deborah Keenan's choice for an
anthology, she calls this book “a brilliant
selection of well-known, barely known,
should-be-known African American poets.
Fabulous poems, beautifully presented.”
Watershed
by Percival Everett
Michael Reynolds, Assistant Professor
of English for the CLA, calls this novel a
“Western/detective novel about water rights,
Indian political resistance, a corrupted FBI,
and a black hydrologist trying to find his
way around – and ultimately reaffirming his
sense of self in – that struggle. The novel
has a political bite, but evades simplified
ideologies; it has a crisp doozy of a plot, but
offers up just as many pleasures in Everett's
precise knuckled prose.”
I Feel Bad About My Neck and
Other Thoughts on Being A Woman
by Norah Ephron
Betsy Radtke, Associate Vice President
of Alumni Relations, says, “this is a great,
quick summer read. The book is hilarious
and true!"
Eat, Pray, Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Betsy Radtke calls this book, "a wonderful
look at the author, Elizabeth Gilbert, who
has just gone through a difficult divorce.
She takes a year to 'find herself' and
divides her year between Italy (to seek the
pleasure of the language and the food),
India (to practice prayer and devotion), and
Indonesia (to hopefully find a lifelong
balance between pleasure and devotion).
She's got an incredible sense of self-
deprecating humor while recounting her
cultural and emotional journey."
The Amazing Adventures of
Kavalier and Clay
by Michael Chabon
Barbara Elvecrog, Assistant Professor
and Director of Alumni Relations for the
Graduate School of Education,
recommends the Pulitzer-prize winning novel
and says, “I loved the book and found it to be
a fascinating mix of history and fantasy
and quirky romance.”
Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates
and the Story of the New China
by John Pomfret
Teri Tomaszkiewicz, Associate Vice
President for Development, says of
this book, "The author, now a prize-winning
journalist, was a student at Nanjing
University in 1981... The personal stories
of his classmates offer an uncensored
picture of what living through the cultural
revolution was like."
About Alice
by Calvin Trillin
Of this book, Teri Tomaszkiewicz says,
"There is no greater love letter to one's
spouse than Bud's tribute to Alice. Simply
leaves you in awe."
Traveling Mercies: Some
Thoughts on Faith
by Anne Lamott
Teri Tomaszkiewicz calls this "an engaging
and honest account of the author's journey
to become more faithful. Worth reading
every year to remind one of the journey, not
the destination."
The Children in Room E4:
American Education on Trial
by Susan Eaton
Teri Tomaszkiewicz recommends this
book because it "is a sobering and
convincing account reminding us that
inequality still exists in the classroom,
especially in inner-city classrooms. As we
head into another national election, this
book serves as a reminder that children
deserve a safe place to learn."
The Knitting Circle
by Ann Hood
Sylvia Salas ’77 suggests this book
"about a group of women of different ages,
different backgrounds, and different beliefs
who come together as a result of loss in
their lives. Little by little both the reader
and the women in the knitting circle come
to learn about each other and their personal
ordeals and, through the act of comforting
each other, begin to heal and find new hope
in living."
A Long Way Gone:
Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by Ishmael Beah
Christopher Hoven ’85 says of this book,
"Ishmael Beah has written an incredible war
story. The atrocities he committed as a boy
soldier are beyond breathless. What he
experienced and how he recovered are a
testament to human endurance and healing.
As readers, we are fortunate Ishmael is a
young, articulate, intelligent writer who will
dazzle us for decades."
Make a suggestion!
Do you have a favorite book you would like to share with Hamline alumni, faculty, staff, and friends? Please email Catherine with the author, title, and a brief description and your pick will be added to this list.
