By Hannah Haney | Echo
Summer is coming-and with it, extensive boredom. Stave off the dog days of summer with books recommended by some of Taylor's English professors.Colleen Warren's picks:
"A Mercy" by Toni Morrison
This is the story of a slave named Florens, a Native American named Lina and their parallel encounters with smallpox in New England in 1692. Although it is one of Morrison's most recent novels, like her other works it deals with the early roots of slavery and racism from a woman's perspective.
"Writing From the Center" by Scott Russell Sanders
Written in the style of Henry David Thoreau, Sanders presents a collection of essays about the Indiana landscape Taylor students see every day. "I would recommend it is because he's from Indiana and because he writes really beautifully about the landscape here," Warren said. "A lot of times we think Indiana . . . has nothing to offer: it's plain, it's ugly . . . (but) he finds beauty in that.
Nancy Dayton's picks:
"Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth" by Chris Ware
If graphic novels are more your style, Dayton recommends this one about a middle-aged man, Jimmy, who meets his father for the first time. The plotline is paralleled by the story of Jimmy's grandfather and his relationship with Jimmy's great-grandfather. Yet another story is told, with Jimmy as a lonely child with divorced parents. All the storylines leave you wondering what is real and what is fantasy.
"The Cloister Walk" by Kathleen Norris
In this narrative, Norris describes the two years she spent in a monastery in Minnesota. Not only does she open readers' eyes to the life of the monastics, but she also shows the beauty of solitude, liturgy and other aspects of monastic life.
Dan Bowman's picks:
"A Wreath for Emmett Till" by Marilyn Nelson
This book of poetry consists of 15 linked sonnets. The last sonnet is made up of the first lines of the previous 14. The sonnets tell the story of a young African-American boy from the Deep South who was killed in the early civil rights movement. The first letter of each line of the last sonnet spells out "RIP Emmett Till."
"Beneath the Wheel" by Hermann Hesse
This a coming-of-age story, but an atypical one: It's an early look at a coming-of-age event in a culture that doesn't celebrate such moments. It describes the life of a young boy attending a seminary school, but is focused more on his academics than on his growth as a person.
"I love that moment when we move from innocence to experience and when we grow into the adult world," Bowman said. This is a dark tale, and good reminder for all of us, as it warns us of the dangers of focusing solely on our education and not on our growth as individuals.
You can't fail with these golden recommendations from Taylor's resident experts. So, go to the library or bookstore and grab a title from this list. Then get your sunglasses and a blanket and head outside to enjoy a good read in the sun.
