Need a good summer book? Try one a Skidmore community member recommends
![collage of book covers on a green background](/news/2022/images/0708-summer-reading-feature.jpg)
For many Skidmore community members, summer is a time to settle in with a book theyâve been longing to read. Whether that means escaping through science fiction, dreaming with beach reads, expanding perspectives through memoirs and biographies, or researching a topic theyâre passionate about, we were curious to learn whatâs on their shelves.
So we asked: âWhatâs on your summer reading list?â Here are their recommendations.
![âParable of the Sowerâ by Octavia Butler](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/parable-of-sower.jpeg)
âParable of the Sowerâ by Octavia Butler
Recommended by Rachel Roe-Dale, director of the First-Year Experience and professor of mathematics
ââParable of the Sowerâ is a deeply interdisciplinary exploration of empathy and community in a world falling apart. It will leave you thinking in new ways about how we can survive and even flourish in the face of problems bigger than ourselves.â
âParable of the Sowerâ is also this yearâs First-Year Experience summer reading selection.
![âMurderbot Diaries,â a series by Martha Wells](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/murderbot.jpg)
âMurderbot Diaries,â a series by Martha Wells
Recommended by Marta Brunner, college librarian
"This series is written from the perspective of a sentient security robot with human parts. When the initial story opens, we learn that introverted Murderbot has hacked its governor module so it can deviate from the restrictions of its employer: It wants to watch soap operas when it's bored or experiencing social anxiety, which is pretty much all the time given that it has to work with incredibly annoying, super stressful, and perplexingly helpless humans. The stories are sometimes poignant, often hilarious explorations of personhood and social connection.â
![âGiovanniâs Roomâ by James Baldwin](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/giovannis-room.jpg)
âGiovanniâs Roomâ by James Baldwin
Recommended by Chris Arnold â24, student Admissions ambassador
âA masterful piece of fiction, Baldwinâs reputation as one of the best writers of the 20th century rings true in âGiovanniâs Room.â A heartbreaking tale of gay love, Ÿ±łÙâs a must read for queer fiction fans.â
![âWill in the World: Becoming Shakespeareâ by Stephen Greenblatt](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/Will.png)
âWill in the World: Becoming Shakespeareâ by Stephen Greenblatt
Also âFounding Godâs Nation: Reading Exodusâ by Leon Kass
Recommended by Marc Conner, president
âI have upward of 20 books on my bedside table right now ... Ÿ±łÙâs frankly turning into a bit of a safety hazard. One ±őâm especially eager to read this summer is Leon Kassâs recent book, âFounding Godâs Nation: Reading Exodus.â Itâs a massive study of the Book of Exodus that focuses on the notions of nation, people, and place, which seem to me to be very pressing concepts in America today. Another is Stephen Greenblattâs biography of Shakespeare, âWill in the World: Becoming Shakespeare.â Iâve read it several times and always learn more from it. As I prepare to teach the seminar Shakespeare: Comedy and Tragedy this fall semester, Ÿ±łÙâs helping me rethink the plays, the playwright, and what I want to share with students in the course.â
![âNowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhoodâ by Cheryl Diamond](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/nowhere-girl.jpg)
âNowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhoodâ by Cheryl Diamond
Recommended by Megan Mercier MALS â11, director of alumni and volunteer engagement
ââNowhere Girl,â a captivating memoir by Cheryl Diamond about spending her youth on the run, is the current Alumni Book Club selection. The offers the opportunity for members of the Skidmore community to connect virtually with each other over shared readings and interests. Participation in book club is free and completely flexible. Join us!â
![âThe Silent Patientâ by Alex Michaelides](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/silent-patient.jpg)
âThe Silent Patientâ by Alex Michaelides
Recommended by Meghan Nicchi, head athletic trainer
âI always try to take the down time during the summer to get a couple of good books in before things get super busy again. ±őâm partial to the page-turner beach reads that make you think just enough to keep you invested and entertained, but not too much to make it seem like work! âThe Silent Patientâ is a great mystery with a medical undertone, which I am always partial to!â
![âBarbarian Days: A Surfing Lifeâ by William Finnegan](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/barbarian-days.jpg)
âBarbarian Days: A Surfing Lifeâ by William Finnegan
Recommended by Bob Turner, associate professor of environmental studies and sciences and political science
âAs an aspiring surfer, I appreciate Finneganâs obsession with surfing, stories of camaraderie, and the thrill of pushing the edge.â
![âWho Killed Jane Stanford: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a Universityâ by Richard White](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/jane-stanford.jpg)
âWho Killed Jane Stanford: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a Universityâ by Richard White
Recommended by Eric Morser, director of civic engagement and the Bridge Experience and professor of history
âRichard White is one of the best historians working today and someone who has figured out how to wed innovative research and artful prose. The book is a history and a true crime story. White explores the murder of Jane Stanford, who founded Stanford University with her husband, Leland, to tell an intriguing tale of hubris, religious devotion, and personal vendettas in the Gilded Age American West.â
![âThe Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nationâs Upheaval and Racial Reckoningâ by Resmaa Menakem](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/quaking-america.jpeg)
âThe Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nationâs Upheaval and Racial Reckoningâ by Resmaa Menakem
Recommended by Jennifer Mueller, associate professor of sociology and director of the Intergroup Relations Program
âThe book is premised on the idea that we need more than âcognitiveâ political strategies to counter the increasingly antidemocratic and threatening racialized political forces around us. Instead, we need somatic practices that help us temper and condition our bodies so that we can stay present in/with the body in the midst of conflict, more clearly discern when we are âinâ or âoutâ of alignment, work toward healing racialized trauma and internalized dominance, and build a living, embodied, antiracist culture.â
![âThe Judgeâs Listâ by John Grisham](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/judges-list.jpg)
âThe Judgeâs Listâ by John Grisham
Recommended by Robert Resnick '88, Alumni Board of Directors president
â±őâm headed out on a two-week vacation and have the latest from John Grisham in my bag. I enjoy those types of thrillers. They take me outside of the daily grind, and I use reading mostly as an escape.â
![âGold Diggersâ by Sanjena Sathian](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/gold-diggers.jpg)
âGold Diggersâ by Sanjena Sathian
Recommended by Angela Valden, strategic communications editor
â±őâm currently reading âGold Diggers,â an extremely clever, funny, and imaginative novel that follows Indian American teenager Neil Narayan and centers on themes of community, immigrant identity, and the pressures of living up to family and societal expectations and pursuing the American Dream. Described as âa magical realist coming-of-age story,â Ÿ±łÙâs endearing and entertaining, with a very creative twist!â
![âThe Big Rock Candy Mountainâ by Wallace Stegner](/news/2022/images/summer-book-covers/candy-mtn.jpg)
âThe Big Rock Candy Mountainâ by Wallace Stegner
Recommended by Deb Hall, associate professor of art
âThe story follows a constantly moving family through the early 1900s in the upper Midwest, Saskatchewan, Utah, and Nevada. Bo Mason, the protagonist, gets involved in Prohibition activities, and the family endures constant relocation due to money troubles and the law as well as the Spanish flu. It's a dense, descriptive book filled with rich characters and detailed experiences that shed light on a slice of Americaâs social and cultural history.â
âAlso on my summer list are 'Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Futureâ by Ashlee Vance. Like him or not, Musk is a visionary whose ideas are impacting us. Then I plan to read âEager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matterâ by Ben Goldfarb.â