A Good Book: Recommendations from University Libraries

The Illustrated Version of the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
“This mystery/history surrounds a conspiracy theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and that she is buried in Paris’s Louvre. I can’t say more or it will spoil the suspense. This illustrated version is quite lovely with maps, photographs, paintings, and prints that help to visually tell the story.” (Peggie Welker, Library Administration)

The Known World by Edward P. Jones
“If you like American history and a good story, you’ll love this Pulitzer Prize-winning first novel by Edward Jones. His main character, Henry Townsend, is a farmer and a former slave who happens to own slaves. The story revolves around Henry’s history, his family, and the complications of his life as a black, slave-owning farmer.” (Barb Macke, Reference and Instructional Services)

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
“A very large man with just the right amount of righteous indignation towards everyone and everything, Ignatius J. Reilly is the laziest person on the planet but hilarity ensues when he is forced to get a job because of something his mother has done. Each of the several jobs he ends up taking involves a certain amount of effort that Ignatius is not willing to give. It is amazing how he gets out of doing actual work, or changes the work to become something he can tolerate. There are interesting characters to get to know and this book is soon to be made into a movie. I read it and often laughed out loud at some of the characters and plot twists and turns. I highly recommend this book and as an added bonus it won a Pulitzer Prize.” (Tracy Rebstock, Langsam Library Circulation)

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
“This series consists of three volumes, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Stephen Del Vecchio in Teacher Magazine (January 2001) thematically sums up the trilogy as follows: ‘Pullman’s books are works of great depth and beauty that do not shy from painful truths. But they are also books filled with ideas. Readers should be aware that questions on the nature of being, the existence of God, and the validity of traditional religions are raised in ways that many will find challenging and disturbing’.” (Ted Baldwin, College of Applied Science Library)

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Letham
“Motherless Brooklyn is a hard-boiled detective novel whose mystery intimately affects the main character. The protagonist, Lionel Essrog, must solve the murder of his mentor and boss of the makeshift detective agency where he worked. As will most rough-and-ready detective novels, the book follows an array of sundry characters and bad guys, but Lethem adds a new twist by making Lionel not a cool cucumber, but rather a nervous rambling mess of a man afflicted with Tourette’s Syndrome. Lionel’s outbursts give Lethem an opportunity to flex his verbal acumen and enliven the obstacles Lionel must conquer to accomplish his goal.” (Holly Prochaska, Library Administration)

Other “Good Books” recommended by University Libraries:

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. (Jane Carlin, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning Library)

Dead Cat Bounce: A Deadly Mix of Home Repair and Homicide by Sarah Graves. (Mary Anne McMillan, Library Administration)

First, Break All the Rules. What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. (Barb Macke, Reference and Instructional Services)

Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. (Melissa Cox Norris, Library Administration)

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman. (Victoria A. Montavon, Dean and University Librarian)

Source Index