Summer Reading Recommendations

Not surprisingly, most of us who work in the library also like to read. And summer is a great time for reading — no assignments, more free time, even more light.  Here is a list of books we thought you might enjoy this summer. If you have any recommendations of your own, leave us a comment!

From Dan Daily:

• The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk by Jennifer Niven
  The Ice Master tells the tragic story of the 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition. Now, the entire Canadian Arctic Expedition was not marked by tragedy, but the Northern Party of the expedition, which was abroad the vessel Karluk suffered much, lost much, and, perhaps, unnecessarily. Jennifer Niven gives us a gripping account of the decisions, mistakes, heroic efforts, and will to survive that characterized the expedition. While most of the Western world plunged into the Great War, the expedition team, under the absentee-direction of the renown explorer and anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson (Stef), launched into the western Canadian Arctic. Not all would come back; some blamed Stef. Niven, whose own story is perhaps not typical of those who write polar history, gives us a fascinating, carefully researched addition to the history of polar exploration. Among the dozen or so books of polar history that sit on my bookshelves, The Ice Master is the best-told tale.

From Anne Mead:

• The Appeal 2008 by John Grisham

From Sherri Langton:

• After the Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart
• Light from Lucas by Bob Vander Plaats
• Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

From Anita Vogel:

• Cosmos Coyote and William the Nice by Jim Heynen
  A young adult fiction selection
• Eat, Pray, Love: One woman’s search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
  See Anita’s review on this
• The Peace Book by Todd Parr
  A wonderfully illustrated children’s book

From Greta Grond

• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  In this novel, an elderly man recalls his days on a circus train. After dropping out of veterinary school during the Depression, the narrator travels with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, caring for the exotic animals. With robust characters — hey, it’s the circus - and a setting so alive and unique, this book is one you will not soon forget.

If you’re interested in delving into one topic this summer, Anita suggests a collection of Karen Armstrong’s writings about comparative religion. These books are all in Ramaker’s collection:

• A history of God: the 4000-year quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
• The battle for God
• Feminist theology: a reader
  Edited by Ann Loades, it contains essays by Armstrong
• Islam: a short history
• Jerusalem: one city, three faiths
• Through the narrow gate

Have a great summer!