About the Community of Readers

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Established in 2007 by the Leatherby Libraries, the Community of Readers is the summer reading program for Chapman University. This program is open to everyone who has borrowing privileges at the Leatherby Libraries and a current library account, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Members select books from the Leatherby Libraries and receive prizes upon submission of their first review. The only requirement is that books must be obtained through the Leatherby Libraries.

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Thursday, August 17, 2023

 

Title Nightcrawling
Author Leila Mottley
Location Other
Rating Highly Recommended
Book Review Nightcrawling follows a young girl forced by circumstance to enter the dark world of sex work in Oakland, CA. She is eventually pulled into a tangled web of police scandals, becoming a star witness (and primary victim) of the crimes of the local police.

It is an extremely heavy read, but I highly recommend it. Mottley moves the reader through horrifying moments with dreamlike escapes through memories of childhood and simpler times. She invites the reader to immerse themselves into the neighborhoods of marginalized communities, showcasing the good and the bad and humanizing their struggles.

This book is necessary reading.  
Submitted By Mercedes Milner
Department or Major Event Operations
Status Staff
Chapman Email milner@chapman.edu

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

 

Title Midnight Sun
Author Stephenie Meyer
Call Number PS3613.E979 M53 2020
Location 3rd Floor Muth
Rating Highly Recommended
Book Review If you liked the "Twilight" series, then this book is a must read since it is all from Edward's perspective. Very interesting and does fill in the gaps of his thoughts and his feeling towards those he loves: Bella and his family, the Cullens.
Submitted By Anna Carpintero
Department or Major Leatherby Libraries
Status Staff
Chapman Email carpintero@chapman.edu

 

Title Sylvia & Aki
Author Winifred Conkling
Call Number PS3553.O48974 S95 2011
Location 3rd Floor Education
Rating Highly Recommended
Book Review This children's novel is based on the story of my friend's aunt Aki. My friend, and friend of the library, is Janice Munemitsu of the Munemitsu family who leased their farm during WWII (when they were incarcerated in internment camps) to the famous Mendez family of the Mendez v. Westminster case, which desegregated OC Mexican-only schools---and later later influenced CA state and U.S. federal desegregation. The story follows Aki and Sylvia Mendez on their friendship as children. This is a great book which teaches children about the injustice of racism. The fictional liberties were a bit much to those who know the real history, but this is effective in telling a complicated history in a simple way to children.
Submitted By Annie Tang
Department or Major Leatherby Libraries
Status Staff
Chapman Email awtang@chapman.edu

Monday, August 14, 2023

 
Title The Wisdom of Wolves
Author Jim and Jamie Dutcher
Location Other
Rating Recommended
Book Review Jim and Jamie Dutcher are some of the most famous wolf experts in North America, and this book focuses on their time with the Sawtooth Wolf Pack. Starting as a film project for Jim in the 90s, he managed to get permits for a massive wolf enclosure in a national park to film wolves in their natural habitat. (This was right before wolves were reintroduced to the U.S.) Jim and Jamie would live with the wolves for years and would become vital individuals in the wolf knowledge world. This book is a collection of journal entries and memories about their time with this pack.
Submitted By Caylin Schmenk
Department or Major Leatherby Libraries
Status Staff
Chapman Email schmenk@chapman.edu
 
     

 

Title The Wisdom of Wolves
Author Jim and Jamie Dutcher
Location Other
Rating Recommended
Book Review Jim and Jamie Dutcher are some of the most famous wolf experts in North America, and this book focuses on their time with the Sawtooth Wolf Pack. Starting as a film project for Jim in the 90s, he managed to get permits for a massive wolf enclosure in a national park to film wolves in their natural habitat. (This was right before wolves were reintroduced to the U.S.) Jim and Jamie would live with the wolves for years and would become vital individuals in the wolf knowledge world. This book is a collection of journal entries and memories about their time with this pack.
Submitted By Caylin Schmenk
Department or Major Leatherby Libraries
Status Staff
Chapman Email schmenk@chapman.edu

 

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Title Your craft as a teaching librarian: using acting skills to create a dynamic presence
Author Jeff Sundquist, Julie Artman, Douglas R. Dechow.
Call Number eBook
Location Ebook
Rating Highly Recommended
Book Review This is an excellent book for any instruction librarian. There are many fantastic practical tips for becoming more comfortable and effective as a teaching librarian. The subject that stuck with me the most was about developing one’s “teacher identity” using characterization and role-playing. I will use this concept in the future when coaching new librarians as a strategy to gain confidence in the classroom.
Submitted By Taylor Greene
Department or Major Leatherby Libraries
Status Staff
Chapman Email tgreene@chapman.edu

 

Title Slow AF Run Club; The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants To Run
Author Martinus Evans
Call Number n/a
Location Other
Rating Recommended
Book Review Even though I’m not really new to running, I am kind of slow, and, more importantly, I love reading running books that feature stories of people’s relationships with running. This book is a mix of personal narrative and practical running advice with a strong emphasis on encouraging all running—especially those who might consider themselves non-traditional types. I wish I’d had this book when I started out running; it anticipates so many questions new runners have and offers encouragement and, most importantly, humor. If you’re thinking of beginning running or enjoy reading runners’ perspectives, I would recommend it.
Submitted By Taylor Greene
Department or Major Leatherby Libraries
Status Staff
Chapman Email tgreene@chapman.edu

 

Title The Nickel Boys
Author Colson Whitehead
Call Number PS3573.H4768N532019
Location 2nd Floor Social Sciences
Rating Highly Recommended
Book Review Although a work of fiction Whitehead's story of a young black boy on his way to college hitches a ride in a stolen car and both he and the driver were sentenced. Ellwood went to Nickel to be reformed. The Nickel campus was based on Dozzier School for boys in Marianna, Florida. Disguised as a reform school, this prison beat out the spirit of defenseless kids. Inmates were tortured and many killed and buried on property. NPR later did a feature on the school after it was closed, and the high tech equipment being used by archeologists to detect graves. NPR interviewed some of the survivors willing to talk, who are now in their late 60s.  
Submitted By Annalisa Goode
Department or Major Law School
Status Staff
Chapman Email agoode@chapman.edu

 

Title The Horse Dancer
Author Jojo Moyes
Location Other
Rating Recommended
Book Review If you believe in the kindness of others, happy endings, and love horses, you will enjoy this exciting story of a young girl, her grandfather, her horse, and her foster family. Sarah's horse was trained by her grandfather in France. And trained for France's Cadre Noir Academy: The School of equestrian excellence. Check it out on YouTube if you are curious. Sarah believes she must travel to France from England to the academy to fulfill her grandfather's dream. The story highlights England and France's rich rural tradtitions.
Submitted By Annalisa Goode
Department or Major Law School
Status Staff
Chapman Email agoode@chapman.edu

 

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

 

Title The Awakening
Author Kate Chopin
Call Number PS 1294.C63A 6434 1995
Location 2nd Floor Humanities
Rating Highly Recommended
Book Review An early feminist novel published in 1899. Edna is 28YO and is married with two kids to a wealthy business man. The story takes us to Louisiana on the Gulf Coast for a family vacation where she meets Robert. An innocent friendship grows and he says good bye because he loves her and cannot have her. Edna and her family return to New Orleans and she reexamines her life and begins to recall her freedom as a girl and soon begins ignore house management, and child rearing, to paint, see friends, take long walks solo. She sends her kids to the grandmothers, and her husband leaves for NY for business. She recovers her independence and embraces love and lovers but never forgets Robert. She returns to the vacation spot and takes a solo swim and is overcome with weakness as the ocean pulls her under where no one can every own her again.
Submitted By Annalisa Goode
Department or Major Law School
Status Staff
Chapman Email agoode@chapman.edu

Thursday, July 20, 2023

 

Title The Annotated She
Author H. Rider Haggard
Call Number PR 4731.S6 1991
Location 2nd Floor Fine Art
Rating Somewhat Recommended
Book Review A fantasy and science fiction epic journey about an orphaned boy, Leo, growing up in the care of his father's good friend from  Oxford University. On his 25th birthday a letter is delivered to the boy with instructions to find his true home and ancestors. The challenge takes him, his "uncle" and a servant to Zanzibar and Tunisia to the place of his ancestors birth where he finds She Who Must be Obeyed. 'She' keeps her face covered because all who look upon her fall in love with her. And cannot control their emotions. She is waiting for her own true love to return to her. And many events enfold as the trio travel toward "She" including deaths, bigotry, and love. The ill travelers find shelter and come upon mute slaves of She, and are almost killed for being strangers. It's soon determined that Leo is her long lost love returned to her and offers him immortality. He cannot refuse as he has gazed upon her beauty and is transfixed. Well, this para normal, fantasy ends with the duo returning to the England and writing their memoirs of their exploits in faraway and exotic lands.
Submitted By Annalisa Goode
Department or Major Law School
Status Staff
Chapman Email agoode

 

Title Pillars of the Earth
Author Ken Follet
Call Number PR6056.O45 P55 1989
Location 2nd Floor Humanities
Rating Highly Recommended
Book Review Anyone who is interested in historical fiction should read Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth. The story is set in 11th century medieval England and follows the life of Tom Builder. As his surname suggests, his occupation is that of a builder, but at the present moment, he is out of a job. Having no savings and no work to do, Tom is forced to drag his family of four through the brutal English countryside as he embarks on his bitter quest to find employment. Finally, the kind-hearted but devout prior of Kingsbridge Priory, named Philip, takes on Tom for the ultimate job: the construction of a cathedral. As Tom and Philips' destinies become forever intertwined, their joint quest is marred by black-hearted bishops and ruthless earls who want to see the demise of Kingsbridge for a variety of political, economic, spiritual, and outright selfish reasons. Pillars of the Earth is a work that grounds the reader in the there and then. One feels the hunger of a family subsisting on meager horsebread, the agony of a princess whose castle has just been besieged and upended, the cruelty of an innocent man struck down on behalf of the crown. Pillars of the Earth is the first book in Follet's Kingsbridge series and is an excellent work for the novice armchair historian or the curious reader looking for a new world to get sucked into alike.
Submitted By Jacob Zamore
Department or Major Fowler School of Engineering
Status Student
Chapman Email zamore@chapman.edu

 

Title A Court of Silver Flames
Author Sarah J. Maas
Location Other
Rating Somewhat Recommended
Book Review This is the fourth book in the ACOTAR series. Unlike the first three books, this book is about a different character and her trauma and healing after the War in the last book. The first half of the book was slow, repetitive, and could have been chopped in half. The second half improved and I realized it was because it started to parallel what happens in the first three books. So even though I liked that part, it felt cheap to almost copy and paste (and as a result was predictable). 3.5 out of 5. Only read it if you read the series, but you don't read the series for this book.
Submitted By Caylin Schmenk
Department or Major Leatherby Libraries
Status Staff
Chapman Email schmenk@chapman.edu