Faculty, Staff Summer Reading Recommendations

As we relax and unwind this summer season, several staff and faculty members were asked for reading recommendations for those who love to get absorbed in a good book.  

Rebecca Olander, an Instructor of English, recommended several books of poetry, as she is currently making her way through her summer list of chapbooks, small publications of around 40 pages. These chapbooks are all authored by women. You can find more recommendations on Olander's Instagram, @rholanderpoet.

Bone Wishing—Tara Flint, 2022. “A book of sea glass, salt water, China shards, wishbones, drowning, human chains, disease, friendship, siblings, the eighties, borscht, and the body.”

Mother Kingdom—Andrea Deeken, 2021. “A book of mothers, daughters, fathers, arrowheads, coming out, trauma, borscht, Catholicism, Missouri, shadows, nature, summer, and blown dandelions.”

A Net To Catch My Body In Its Weaving—Kate Farris, 2021. “A book of cancer, mortality, scars, scans, marriage, bodies, bells, love, baldness, bravery, Emily Dickinson, roots, puppets, and palimpsests.”

Anna M. Boutin-Cooper, research and instruction librarian, recommended a romance novel based on her love for deep, emotional reading experiences.

The Dead Romantics—Ashley Poston, 2022. “When I think of summer reading, my mind immediately goes to one of my favorite genres, romance,” she said. “There has been a flurry of new and exciting romance publications lately, but I'd like to recommend one from last year that has stuck with me.  In The Dead Romantics, the author tells the story of disillusioned romance ghostwriter Florence Day, called back to her hometown to help bury her beloved father. While it's not exactly your typical beach read (if you're anything like me, there will be tears!), Poston crafts a beautiful tale with a flair of magical realism that literature lovers and ghost story aficionados alike will enjoy.”

Olivia Torres, copywriter and content specialist in the Marketing, Communication, and Branding office, listed a book of poetry and the first novel in a fantasy trilogy as her recommendations.

Time Is A Mother—Ocean Vuong, 2022. “Vuong, a resident of Northampton and professor at UMASS, maintains his incredible depth and ingenuity in this narrative which explores the death of his mother. Famous for his experimentation with space and form, his poignant imagery is both elusive but somehow familiar all at once.” 

Mistborn—Brandon Sanderson, 2006. “Sanderson is a safe choice for any lover of fantasy and adventure. His prose is concise enough to understand, but also imaginative and fully capable of yanking readers into his incredible world-building. Mistborn is about destiny, subjugation, freedom, and the unbelievable struggles which come when pursuing the latter. This series is chock-full of magic and mystery, ultimately urging readers to confront their own belief in fate.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Freeman, chief of staff in the Office of the President recommended an exciting crime-thriller piece for this summer.

Blood Grove—Walter Mosely, 2021. “I always think a Walter Mosely novel makes for great summer reading if you enjoy murder mysteries,” Dr. Freeman said. “His fast-paced novels are structured with short chapters so you can pick them up as time allows - a good feature for busy readers. His Easy Rawlins detective series is a fascinating take on social justice issues and race in Los Angeles. I particularly like Blood Grove, set in the Summer of '69 and dealing with the fallout of the Vietnam War.