Although summer is a great time to catch up on that "must-read" book list, most Americans aren't reading books. A recently released study by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) found that less than half of the adult population now reads literature.
Douglas Raybeck, professor of anthropology, was interviewed by The Christian Science Monitor (July 12, 2004) about the NEA study. He told the reporter, "reading simply feels less important. … A few generations ago, the whole idea of literacy was something parents thought to be terribly important because not everyone was literate. Now literacy is taken for granted."
Raybeck continued, "Technology now 'meets people halfway,' demanding less and less literacy as chores once completed through written correspondence can be done at the sound of a voice or the click of a mouse."
The Hamilton community, as one might expect, is bucking the trend. ATH asked a few employees to share what they are delving into this summer.
Some joking responses to the request for "what are you reading this summer?" came from Tori Palmer, personnel services coordinator, who said she is too busy because she is wearing the "campus phone directory proofing crown" and from several others who said they were too busy reading e-mails to read books… to which we can all relate.
So, on your next day off, consider turning off your computer and picking up a book.
Carolee Kogut, office assistant, physical plant
"I've been reading the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverini -- the latest is The Quilter's Legacy. They're about women and history and families. I've also read Runaway Quilt and Round Robin." According to Publishers Weekly, "Chiaverini's fifth and best Elm Creek Quilts novel again stitches together a patchwork of American life … [Chiaverini] approaches but never succumbs to sentimentality and keeps her account of hunts for antique quilts from becoming too predictable. She remains a keener observer of subtleties in quilts than in people, and more adept at capturing friendship than romance, but her gift for visual imagery (Abigail going down with the Titanic; Eleanor's quilts recast as wearable art) and gentle humor (a museum exhibit's explanation of one quilt's origins) blend seamlessly into prose that, like the needlework she portrays, proves intricate, lovely, comforting and uniquely American."
Peter Rabinowitz, professor of comparative literature
"This summer, I've been working my way through Douglas R. Hofstadter's Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern. Published 20 years ago, the book consists largely of inquisitive columns that first appeared in Scientific American—and although the essays are only loosely connected, they do manage to point up links among such disparate subjects as self-referentiality, Chopin's piano music, Rubik's cube, The National Enquirer, quantitative literacy, artificial intelligence, sexist language, genetics and typefaces. The tone is often whimsical (as readers of Gödel, Escher, Bach know, Hofstadter is a great admirer of Lewis Carroll), but the intellectual nourishment is consistently rich."
Beth Tegart, editorial assistant
Chasing Shakespeares, Sarah Smith
"Two American grad students research/rehash the standard Bard of Avon fraud theories with a new twist. This is a literary mystery for anglophiles as well as Shakespeare fans. It's an entertaining, clue-filled, intellectual romp through London with a touch of romance and plenty of Elizabethan history."
Four to Score, Janet Evanovich
"Another hilarious adventure of Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter. Once again, gun-toting Granny Mazur, Lula, the ex-hooker, and sexy cop Joe Morelli are along for the ride, as the intrepid bondswoman searches for a missing waitress and some suspicious love letters."
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books, Azar Nafisi
"This is a gripping and insightful account of an Iranian professor who resigns from a University of Tehran position, and secretly teaches forbidden classic Western literature to seven women who were her former students. Interwoven with their discussions of Nabokov, Austen and Fitzgerald is the political fervor of present-day Iran and rule under the Ayatollah. A fascinating look at the power of literature."
Sharon Topi, administrator in the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center 
Time Stops for No Mouse, Michael Hoeye
"This is actually a children's book, geared to older readers (9+), but a fun read for anyone who liked the Redwall books, the Rescuers or Stuart Little. The main character in this novel is an unassuming watchmaker mouse (Hermux Tantamoq) who, in the process of investigating the mysterious disappearance of the lovely aviatix Linka Perflinger (mouse--female, of course), is inadvertently caught up in a sinister and mysterious plot involving an evil plastic surgeon (mole), a gang of nefarious lab rats and a wealthy, artsy cosmetics tycoon. Hoeye's novel has all the elements of a good mystery or adventure tale, is clever and scary enough to interest older readers and is full of interesting, well-drawn characters and places."
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Carl Sagan
"This nonfiction book by one of my favorite (and unfortunately, deceased) scientists examines such pseudoscientific topics as alien abduction, faith healings, channeling and so forth, in a rational, yet respectful way. As eloquent, interesting, well-supported and approachable as his other books."
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach
"An unusual book on a taboo subject --just what happens to our bodies when we no longer occupy them? Roach covers such topics as body snatching and early human dissection, human decay and how people choose to deal with human remains, the use of cadavers as crash test dummies and in the military, and several urban myths among other things. Sounds like a morbid book, but it is a fascinating read. Roach is a tremendous journalist, whose writing style is both witty and reverent. I couldn't put this book down; it was very compelling in its strange way."
Kristin Strohmeyer, reference librarian, coordinator of library instruction, Burke Library
"I am reading Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen, available in the Burke Library Browsing Room G 420.M2 B47 2003 as soon as I finish it. It's the story of how Magellan attempted to circumnavigate the globe in the early 1500s, but ended up going fairly nuts and being killed by natives. The author includes a great deal of information not previously available in English, with a lot of back story on the Spanish and Portuguese governments and why they kept so many secrets from each other during the age of exploration. Using the diary of one of the crew, Bergreen paints a vivid picture of the voyage and what the crew encountered, and why Magellan was doomed from the start. Not exactly mindless beach-reading, but pretty cool stuff!
"For mindless beach-reading, I've also recently read I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson. It's the story of a working mother of two small children, her stay-at-home husband, their marriage and how she barely keeps it all together. An honest, poignant and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny tale of the modern working woman/super mom."
Dean Abelon, executive director, Western Region and alumni secretary
"First is Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton, which I divided into three separately-read sections. The book needs no comment from me, other than I am glad to have read it. Anyone intimidated by its size may want to devise his or her own work-around." (Chernow will be speaking at Hamilton on September 30 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel)
"Between those sections, I read:
The Last Best League, Jim Collins's story of the 2002 Chatham Athletics of the legendary Cape Cod Baseball League. It's a gentle look at the college players on the Chatham'As', a number of whom are on the threshold of multi-million dollar professional careers; the league's history; and the residents of Chatham.
"Without Fail, one of Lee Child's series of thrillers featuring Jack Reacher. After 13 years of service with the U.S. Army's Military Police, Reacher is an independent contractor. In Without Fail, Reacher works with the Secret Service to stop an aggressive effort to assassinate a vice president-elect. Child's dialogue is tight; the story fast-moving.
"Boon Island by Kenneth Roberts was this summer's pass at going home to Maine. The historical novel is an account of the December 1710 shipwreck of the galley Nottingham on barren Boon Island, located six miles off York, Maine. It's tough going--no Hurricane Island confidence-builder or Survivor episode. A very quick read, this late work of Roberts has a number of moralistic observations scattered throughout.
"Right now, I'm moving through The Dogs of Riga, the second in Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series. At least seven of these Swedish-language mysteries have been translated into English. They were enthusiastically recommended by my bookies, although I found the first one (Faceless Killers) to plod somewhat. The Dogs of Riga begins at a comfortable pace, which hopefully will continue.
"And patiently waiting in the on-deck circle is Leigh Montville's Ted Williams."
