What's On Your Bookshelf? What UC Deans Are Reading

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
“I have intended to read Carol Shields’ The Stone Diaries since it was first published in Canada in 1993, and subsequently received the Governor General’s Award in Canadian fiction. With the untimely passing this year of this remarkable Canadian/American novelist, I am finally making time to read a fascinating story of a Canadian woman whose life spans the 20th century.”
Dean Karen L. Gould, McMicken College of Arts & Sciences

 

Chinoiserie by Dawn Jacobson
“I’ve always been fascinated by evidence of how the mind works. Most especially, I’m interested in how artists and designers tap real and imaginary worlds for their creations. Jacobson’s book gives readers a look at the history of a European stylistic tradition, called “chinoiserie”. This Western style has its roots in the Far East. Dating back to before the 17th c., European contact with Cathay (what we now call China) resulted in a huge import industry of oriental goods, such as lacquer, ivory, silk, and porcelains. Europeans involved in creative industries were very much inspired by the visual aesthetic of oriental goods. Their imaginations were fueled by tales of these distant lands and Eastern cultural practices. It should come as no surprise that such fascination led Europeans to create new visual expressions in the 17th century. Perhaps what is surprising is that the impact of the East on Western visual culture continues to this day.”
Dean Judith Smith Koroscik, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning

 

Good to Great by Jim Collins
“I was interested in reading Good to Great because I had read a review of it that detailed the in-depth research that Collins had undertaken to determine why some companies become such outstanding performers. The book is very insightful and causes one to question some of our basic assumptions about why some organizations become super successful while others continue to be just ‘good’.”
Dean David H. Devier, Clermont College

 

 

 

Salt, A World History by Mark Kurlansky
“This is a history book with a unique perspective. Its thesis is that salt - its discovery, refinement, transportation and use in preserving food - was one of the dominant themes in human history. It traces the impact of salt on the development of culture, trade, economics, and politics from the earliest of human civilizations. This is a fascinating story because technology has made salt so accessible that it is difficult to comprehend how critical was this commodity in past eons. I have also gained a new appreciation for anchovies.”
Dean Stephen T. Kowel, College of Engineering

 

 

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
“I have heard much about this book and have read about its impact on American society and culture. I have always wanted to read it because of its literary and social importance, so I decided to read it this summer and just recently finished it. It is a unique book that should be read by all Americans.”
Dean Daniel Acosta, Jr., College of Pharmacy

Finders Keepers: Selected Prose 1971-2001 by Seamus Heaney
“Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has published a series of essays spanning
30 years of his career. I enjoy reading a poet’s prose. The language itself is rich and I believe that reading a poet’s prose frequently helps the reader understand the poet’s poetry.

Finders Keepers delivers on both counts. The book also discusses Heaney’s life as a teacher. Heaney regularly teaches at Harvard and in Ireland and his essays reflect not only his childhood, his upbringing, and themes of his poetry, but also the nature of poet as professor. His insights on teaching are valuable for all of us regardless of academic discipline.”
Dean Joseph P. Tomain, College of Law

 

 

Roosevelt’s Secret War by Joseph Persico
“History is an avocation of mine and this is one of many history books I’ve read over the summer.
It has given me a better perspective on the President’s Office, on Roosevelt’s character, and on espionage and inter-service rivalries during WWII.”
Dean Richard S. Newrock, College of Applied Science

 

 

 

 

The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
“The subtitle of the book says is all - Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. Even after participating in management training programs, I enjoy reading about different perspectives on achieving one’s personal best. This particular volume provides a description of the Corporate Athlete Training System, which seems to be a metaphor for high-performing people and organizations. As I begin my new position, in a new city and new academic culture with few familiar support systems, I thought this book would be a meaningful contribution to my mental and emotional preparation for the transition.”
Dean Dolores Y. Straker, Raymond Walters College

 

 

Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol
“This book provides insights for faculty in higher education that the current decade promises the most diverse, and possibly, the least prepared entering student population.”
Dean Elizabeth C. King, College of Allied Health Sciences

 

 

 

 

City of Glass by Paul Auster
“Essayist, screenwriter, novelist, and translator Paul Auster’s City of Glass, like his The Book of Illusions, has characters who become the subjects of their own pursuits. In City of Glass (part of Auster’s “New York Trilogy”), a man who writes detective stories tracks down suspects who use his own name and appear to be...himself. I have always found Auster’s writing to be at once tight and ethereal. His essays are probingly revealing. City of Glass is what Raymond Chandler would have written had he been Franz Kafka.”
Dean Douglas A. Lowry, College-Conservatory of Music

 

 

The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
“Most of Robinson’s novels, including his highly acclaimed Mars trilogy, raise provocative environmental issues. The Years of Rice and Salt goes in a different direction. It’s an alternative history of the last seven centuries that explores how the world might have developed differently if the Black Plague had wiped out the Judeo-Christian world, leaving Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religions. In the process, the book raises interesting questions about the similarities and differences in the world’s great religions.”
Dean Frederick A. Russ, College of Business

 

 

Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
“I recently re-read Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner, my favorite contemporary novelist. Brookner creates compelling and sometimes maddening characters who linger in your mind. Happily this modern-day writer in the tradition of Henry James and Edith Wharton has many novels to be savored, especially Hotel du Lac.”
Dean Victoria A. Montavon, University Libraries

 

 

 

 

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (5th book in the series)
“For me, you don’t have to be a kid or a wizard to appreciate Harry Potter and all his friends. I find this book filled with wonderful, sly humor. The characters are impressively three dimensional and move along seamlessly through the narrative. I would recommend the entire series to gain full appreciation of Harry Potter and an understanding of new terminology. Start with the first book, The Sorcerer’s Stone.”
Dean Andrea R. Lindell, College of Nursing

 

 

What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert Wolke
As my skills as a cook have grown, my interest in cookbooks has changed. I have grown tired of books that are just a collection of recipes. I now look for books that focus on cooking techniques and approaches. By understanding the foundations and mechanics of cooking, I am able to combine approaches to create dishes without recipes. I understand the “theory of the dish” and am able to play with the parameters to create a unique taste. What Einstein Told His Cook is a book on the physical properties of cooking. It explains the physical reasons why cooking practices work or don’t work, for example, why yeast makes bread rise, the difference between baking soda and baking powder, why buttering the pan works, how non-stick pans work, and more.
Dean Lawrence J. Johnson, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services

 

 

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
“This is the perfect fantasy book where the absurd is presented in a deadpan reading style about the destruction of the Earth and its relative unimportance to the rest of the galaxy. It is a classic from the 70s and needs to be savored for those moments when you wish to put stress behind you and immerse yourself in the absurd.”
Dean William J. Martin II, College of Medicine