BU Wheelock Summer 2022 Reading List
The countdown has begun for the start of the school year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t squeeze in a few more summer reads! We asked around BU Wheelock and got some great recommendations. Check them out below.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
By Muriel Barbery
Who is recommending this?
Dean David Chard
Why are you recommending this book?
I found the book a great way to escape by taking on another character’s consciousness.
Tell us a little bit about the book
This book follows events in the life of a concierge, Renée Michel, whose deliberately concealed intelligence is uncovered by an unstable but intellectually precocious girl named Paloma Josse. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is full of allusions to literary works, music, films, and paintings. It incorporates themes relating to philosophy, class consciousness, and personal conflict.
Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life
By Saleem Ali
Who is recommending this?
TJ McKenna, Lecturer, Science Education
Why are you recommending this book?
This book gives a holistic approach to a search for order as an organizing principle in attempting to make sense of the human experience. As Ali states in his introduction, “The goal here is to stretch that specter of inquiry across the full spectrum of human learning about ordered systems so as to make the quest for sustainability more meaningful in both literal and figurative ways.”
Tell us a little bit about the book
From the book’s description: “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought forth global anxiety about linkages between the environment and society at a fundamental structural level. Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life provides an accessible exposition of the latest foundational knowledge on how natural and social systems science can inform planetary crises. . . . Current debates in politics often present what should constitute a world order while scientists have wrestled with what are fundamental conditions of natural order. Author Saleem H. Ali provides a readable synthesis of these debates with practical guidance for the public with a host of current examples around environmental decision-making by consumers, the government and industry.”
The Margot Affair
By Sanaë Lemoine
Who is recommending this?
Mary Churchill, Associate Dean, Strategic Initiatives & Community Engagement
Why are you recommending this book?
It’s the perfect summer read. Full of great descriptions of Paris.
Tell us a little bit about the book
From the book’s website: “Margot Louve has lived her whole life as a secret. The hidden daughter of a long-standing affair, she exists with her mother in the shadows, living in a small Parisian apartment on the Left Bank.”
My Beloved World
By Sonia Sotomayor
Who is recommending this?
Harriette Scott, Senior Lecturer, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Why are you recommending this book?
It was a relaxing read. It drew me in from the first page. I was inspired, motivated, and developed a great respect and admiration for her as a person and a supreme court justice.
Tell us a little bit about the book:
From the book: U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor “… recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.”
When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail
By Eric Jay Dolin
Who is recommending this?
Don DeRosa, Clinical Associate Professor, Science Education
Why are you recommending this book?
The book provides insight into the early maritime trade of the United States.
Tell us a little bit about the book
Eric Dolan, a local (Marblehead, MA) author has written several well researched books about maritime history. In this book, he weaves the development of the U.S. as a young nation free to trade on its own with the development and growth of the nation.
A Lot of People are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy
By: Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum
Who is recommending this?
Rob Martinelle, Lecturer, Social Studies Education
Why are you recommending this book?
A must-read for understanding what nurtures (and can) combat the conspiratorial mindset that has engulfed the US electorate.
Tell us a little bit about the book
A great history of conspiratorial thinking, its evolution, and the current danger it poses to democracy.
Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language
By: Eufemia Fantetti, Leonarda Carranza, and Ayelet Tsabari
Who is recommending this?
Ashely R. Moore, Assistant Professor, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Why are you recommending this book?
Together, these short, compelling essays from a diverse array of writers connected to Canada explore the complexities of the affective routines we build up around the languages in our lives.
Tell us a little bit about the book
This is an edited collection of writers with a connection to Canada, all ruminating on the complex and fascinating relationships that obtain between language, desire, belonging, and identity.
