[This is the first post in our three-part series Reflections on a PhD in Literature.] During the time I’ve been involved with the Books We Read project (including this blog), I’ve been working on a PhD in English at Rutgers. Actually, I’ve been working on that PhD for about twice as long as this project … Read More
I recently attended an event celebrating the release of Douglas Stuart’s new novel, Young Mungo. The release was hyped up by a dear friend who introduced me to his work, and I came to realize that Stuart was receiving attention at large. First, Jeremy Denk included Stuart’s debut novel, Shuggie Bain in his reading list … Read More
“Feel like rearranging the deck chairs?” we used to ask in my library when we saw the writing on the wall about its sad demise. It was around that time that I received this wonderful cookbook called Last Dinner on the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner as a gift. To begin with, I … Read More
Rabbit holes are curious things. One moment you click on an article that a social media algorithm tossed onto your feed based on your likes, clicks, and general activity, and three hours later you are an armchair expert in a subject you never paid attention to before. It may be a one-off thing. Maybe your … Read More
When I was an undergraduate, my grandfather gave me a copy of Pogo: We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us. Walt Kelly’s comic collection from 1972 introduced me to graphic stories with a moral aim. The comics mock corporate greed, bureaucratic disconnect and the collective guilt of our society implicated in contributing to … Read More
I had seen positive reviews for Matrix by Lauren Groff, so when I found the book listed in the Recreational Reading Collection, I picked it up. I have been interested in the history of the Middle Ages since high school, and reading historical fiction about the period inspired me to pursue Medieval Studies as one … Read More
With over 1,000 books, the Carr Library Recreational Reading Collection offers a wide variety of genres — something for virtually everyone to read. The collection features some of its own genres that can be found under “Subjects,” which might sound different from the general collection at Rutgers University Libraries. The filters in the left panel, however, … Read More
I don’t think it is a moral slip to feel fatigued by the pandemic after two-plus years of masks and distancing. So why would it be enjoyable to read an off-duty book about this strange time? Is fiction not supposed to give us a break from reality? The quirky style of Our Country Friends makes … Read More
“Food fiction” is a broad genre that can include nuances of other categories such as humor, mystery, romance, history, self-reflection, etc. The list is endless. As a foodie, I’m always interested to see how an author can weave food or cooking into a fictional narrative. Sometimes it can be subtle touches, such as the celebrity … Read More
The Recreational Reading Collection in the Carr Library has more than 1,000 titles written by over a hundred popular bestselling authors in a variety of genres. The list of results can be sorted by authors or titles, as well as filtered by authors shown in the example below. Once in the record, you may want to click … Read More