Summer Reading: Rutgers Faculty and Staff Share the Titles They Can’t Wait to Tackle

Summertime, and the reading is … pure bliss. For many members of the Rutgers community, the coming of June offers the chance to catch up with a beloved author or experiment with a new genre. Rutgers Today checked in with faculty and staff for a look at what tops their summer reading list for 2013.

Savi Bisnath, associate director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership:

I'm looking forward to reading Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie. She's been listed recently by Granta as one of its 20 best young British novelists. The novel was recommended by a friend who described it as a must-read for those of us working on human rights. Burnt Shadows is a story of love and war, spanning several continents – a story of our time. Hello, summer!

Patrick Cogan, operations manager, Kirkpatrick Chapel:

I am currently reading the Sherlock Holmes box set, just published in 2012. With three kids under the age of 13 at home I have very little time to devote to the 1,420 pages of this tome, so I expect it to last a good while. Once that’s completed, I intend to pick up Jenny Larson's Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir). The free sample on my Nook had me quite tickled.

Karen Dentler, assistant dean, School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Honors Program:

I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s new book, Flight Behavior, and The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. Both were great, but my primary recommendation would be the 2013 SAS Honors Program summer reading book, The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon. The book is set in the future and narrated by Lou, a young adult with autism. When a new treatment emerges, Lou has to decide if he wants to undergo the treatment – he likes the way he sees the world, and he wonders how the treatment will impact his identity. The Speed of Dark will also be the basis for our fall 2013 SAS Honors Colloquium course, and its author will speak to our students this fall. More information about the book and our honors program.

Dana Dreibelbis, executive editor-health and medicine, Rutgers University Press:

My goal for the summer is to immerse myself in Novels (News) in Three Lines, by Felix Feneon. It’s a collection of pithy, wry observations that were published over months in a French newspaper early in the 20th century. I'm imagining it as Le Monde meets haiku. Through skillful writing the author manages to provide great insight into human nature, from the sublime to the outrageous to the absurd. It is said to be an unusual but rewarding exploration of life, revealing an era as well as general traits. Should be a good diversion from days of clinical medicine and bioscience.

William FitzGerald, assistant professor of English, Camden:

This summer my wife and I are taking my daughter to England for the first time. With us, we'll also be taking a book by British novelist Kate Atkinson, her Life After Life: A Novel. We enjoy the quirky, faintly macabre tales Atkinson weaves ever since our first trip to England 15 years ago, when we daily tuned into the BBC on the car radio to hear excerpts of Atkinson's breakthrough book Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Life After Life, a fantastic story of multiple births of a single character across the turbulent 20th century, will be excellent company for our trip.

Rita Galen, assistant dean and director of admissions, Rutgers Business School:

I have a one-hour commute each way to Rutgers-Newark and I "read" books on tape. This summer I am looking forward to reading And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini. I actually read his book The Kite Runner in book form, but I really enjoy having books read to me by talented professionals with accents and all. I can't wait to get in the car to and from work to continue listening to a book.  It really alleviates stress when stuck in traffic!

Marianne Gaunt, university librarian:

I’m planning to read two books. Two of Google’s best minds - Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen -- postulating on the future of a networked world should be a fascinating read in their New Digital Age. Maybe we can keep the libraries a step ahead! One of my Rutgers colleagues, Richard Wilson, has written a new book, The Hardtack Diary. Its main character is a university professor and naval intelligence officer who gets involved in political intrigue, the Chinese mafia, a kidnapping, and falls in love with an exotic stranger – gotta read it!

Lisa Klein, professor, materials science and engineering, School of Engineering:

I'm looking forward to reading many books this summer. One in particular is My Beloved World by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. I enjoy reading how strong, successful women arrived at their positions of influence and leadership.

Greg Lastowka, professor of law, Camden:

I just got two new books on video game theory that look great: Jesper Juul's Art of Failure and Greg Costikyan's Uncertainty in Games. But honestly, I am most excited about spending some quality time with my newly purchased copy of The Ashley Book of Knots (first published in 1944). I got interested in knots last summer, and the knotting community says Ashley's book is the bible of knot tying. It is beautifully illustrated and full of knot lore.

Jan Ellen Lewis, acting dean of faculty and professor of history, Newark:

For as long as I can remember, I've celebrated the end of the academic year by binge reading. At the top of this summer's stack of books is Peter Dimock's George Anderson:  Notes for a Love Song in Imperial Time, a novel sort of about the torture of political detainees under the Bush administration but so unlike other novels   – e.g., "bordering on narrative madness (and/or genius)," as Publishers Weekly says –  that reviewers can't find words to describe it. Sounds like a perfect way to start the summer.

Jayne Anne Phillips, author and founding director of the Rutgers-Newark MFA in Creative Writing program:

I plan to read A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki, who will speak at the MFA Program’s Writers at Newark Reading Series in fall 2013. For info on the book: http://www.ruthozeki.com.

Julie Phillips, Sociology, New Brunswick:

Two books top my summer reading list. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking is written by Susan Cain, a self-professed introvert who looks at how society tends to be stacked against the less out-going among us and yet how much they can contribute. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir about an 1,100 mile solo hike to piece her life back together. Looking at the themes of these books, perhaps I’m feeling introspective these days!

Susan Schurman, Professor II and Dean, School of Management and Labor Relations Dean, University College Community:

I am a huge fan of World War II era crime and espionage novels. This summer I plan to read Phillip Kerr’s latest Bernie Gunther novel, A Man without Breath. Kerr’s protagonist is a former Berlin detective and Social Democrat during Weimar famous for catching a serial killer. When the Nazis come to power, Bernie’s eventually conscripted into the SD and, in this installment, is apparently sent to Smolensk where he ends up investigating the brutal murders of thousands of Polish officers at Katyn Woods.  I can’t wait to read it!  I have it on my iphone Kindle just waiting for time because I won’t be able to put it down.