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What were some of your favorite books/TV shows from this summer?

Posted on June 16, 2014 by


Welcome back! The Nobles community shares some of their top picks for books and TV shows that they read/watched over the summer. Greg Croak ’06, Director of Graduate Affairs: “In preparation for the release of the newest installment of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, Guardians of the Galaxy, I read the classic six-comic story arc The Infinity Gauntlet. It is one of Marvel’s most epic, classic story lines, involving hundreds of superheroes teaming up to take down the evil Thanos, who is a growing threat to the Cinematic Universe.”   Dean of Enrollment Management Jen Hines: “My new TV obsession – The Strain on FX. It’s post-apocalyptic, vampires and zombies all rolled up into one! (And I happen to have it on good authority that our wonderful librarians just ordered the books the series is based on :-)”   Admission Officer Brooke Asnis: “The movie “Chef”. Uplifting, hilarious, inspiring. The grilled cheese scene and the Cuban sandwiches will make your mouth water.  I hurried home after to recreate the three-cheese grilled cheese, and my kids and I devoured it!”   Director of Communications Heather Sullivan: The Headmaster’s Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene “Set at a New England boarding school, The Headmaster’s Wife explores loss, love and legacy —an intriguing use of an unreliable narrator, too.”   Science Teacher David Strasburger: The Good Lord Bird (James McBride) “The gleeful comedy is what hooked me in this farcical reimagining of John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, but I came away with new curiosity about that historical moment and its key players, and new questions about the power of slavery to pervert human relations.”   Assistant Director of Communications Kim Neal: Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent “A bleak but brilliant historical fiction novel by a young Australian author, about the the final six months in the life of the last woman sentenced to capital punishment in Iceland. It unravels the mystery of the murder for which she’s sentenced, and explores the relationships she forges in her dwindling days.  TV: (Okay, I am years behind, but yay for Hulu!) ‘Friday Night Lights.’ I’m hooked on the character development and the cult(ure) of football in Texas.”   Medhanit Felleke ’17 “I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and loved it! It was relatable (of course, to a fangirl like me) and absolutely adorable. I also read Paper Towns by John Green and it was amazing, as expected of John Green.”   Science Teacher Ross Henderson: “I read All the Light We Cannot See this summer. Best book I’ve read in a long time.  A beautifully written and beautifully crafted story that takes place in France and Germany in WWII.”   English Teacher Thomas Forteith: “Elmore Leonard died last spring, and I felt so guilty that I had never read one of his noir crime thrillers. I picked up Swag this summer. Grimly funny and very 70’s! I want to read Rum Punch next, the book that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown.”   History Teacher Don Allard: “In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides. True story of 1870’s Arctic expedition by the USS Jeannette.”   Math Teacher Eric Nguyen: Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story, by Dame Daphne Sheldrick “This is a moving memoir about Sheldrick’s relationships — those with the people around her, and those with the many animals who came into her care — as she strove to perfect the art of saving elephants, rhinos, and other baby animals in the Kenyan wild.” Hal Koerner’s Field Guide to Ultrarunning: Training for an Ultramarathon, from 50K to 100 Miles and Beyond, by Hal Koerner “Hal Koerner’s vast experience in the realm of ultrarunning makes this a must-read for anyone interested in testing one’s physical limits.”   Art Teacher Lisa Jacobson: “’Breaking Bad’ is keeping me up at night! It’s the darkest show I’ve ever watched, but it is so entertaining and well done. I am currently reading the novel, Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is the best book I’ve read in a while. Not only is it well written, but it’s a thoughtful, funny, revealing novel about race and nationality. (Can that really be true?) The background scene is a hair braiding salon in which the protagonist recalls her past including love, family and her immigration. A great book.”   History Teacher Fred Hollister: “Catching up on ‘Homeland,’ waiting for the return of ‘Newsroom,’ continue to like ‘The Divide,’ and enjoyed the short summer run of the ‘Innocent Initiative’ (originally called ‘The Divide’ also). Enjoyed reading Twisted (high school drama with some great twists) and I Am Malala (good day-to-day picture of the actions of the Taliban as they try to slowly but surely impose their will on the day to day life of, in this case, Pakistanis), as well as some classics on experiencing war up close: A Rumor of War (Philip Caputo/Vietnam), The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien/Vietnam) and War (Sebastain Junger/Afghanistan).”   Music Teacher Paul Lieberman: The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublett. “A fascinating, deeply researched, and eye-opening narrative of the roles of France, Spain, England, and Africa in the creation of the unique culture of New Orleans and its music–from Bamboula to Funk–through the horrors of the slave trade.”   Business Office Associate Mary Wallace: “I read several books this summer. The one that stands out was A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner. It is a captivating story about two women, both of whom survived unspeakable tragedies in Manhattan, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Their lives are separated by 100 years, but connected through their terrible losses and a colorful scarf.”   Librarian and Cheesecake Enthusiast Emily Tragert: “One of my favorite books this summer was A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.  When a Canadian writer finds a diary washed up on the shore near her house, she becomes engrossed in finding the diary’s author, a Japanese girl named Nao, as increasingly strange events begin to make her question her own reality. It’s a beautiful, mysterious book about faith, fate and the purpose of existence.”   Librarian Talya “reads way too many books” Sokoll “This summer I went on a road trip and had the opportunity to sit and read for many, many hours as my intrepid co-pilot navigated the Canadian Rockies. To that end, I read 25 books.  Some of my favorites were: Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews and Rethinking Normal by Katie Hill These two memoirs tell of Andrews and Hills experiences as transgender teens. They both transitioned around the same time and met each other and fell in love. Both of these memoirs vividly tell the incredible and moving stories of their authors and are a must-read. Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King This is an amazing, bizarre book about a girl, Glory O’Brien, and her reluctance to plan for her future after graduating high school. All that changes when she drinks a liquified bat and is suddenly able, when she looks into a person’s eyes, see their entire history and future, including the future of what will happen to the world. And she does not like what she sees. The Family by David Laskin This fantastic nonfiction history, recommended to me by Mr.  Michael Denning, tells the tale of a Jewish scribe in 1850’s Russia and what becomes of his descendants.  Humorous, informative and sometimes heartbreaking, this book is impossible to put down.”   Spoorthi Balu ‘17: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie – This was a great mystery with a surprising end. The Black List by Brad Thor – A fun thriller about how someone added Scot Harvath’s name to a government black list, and he has to figure out what is going on while avoiding government teams dispatched to kill him. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown – A fast-pace, thrilling read about the Illuminati.”   Librarian Erin “World’s #1 fan of Shiba Inus” Twohig: “As promised, from my summer’s reading to-do list, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Dan Barber’s The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food. If you are a fan of Michael Pollan, then this book is for you.


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