Title | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? |
Author | Philip K. Dick |
Call Number | PS3554.I3 D6 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Somewhat Recommended |
Book Review | I picked this up as a representation of a book published in the year I was born. Having seen the movie Blade Runner many times, I expected something quite different from the book. While they are very loosely tied, the book focused more on Deckard's longing to own a real animal and his detachment when it comes to killing androids. Many allegories to explore and very much like other sci-fi books of the time. Not my favorite. |
Submitted By | Robin Pendergraft |
Department or Major | SCST |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | pendergr@chapman.edu |
About the Community of Readers
- Leatherby Libraries Community of Readers
- 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.
Friday, July 28, 2017
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Title | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
Author | J.K.Rowling |
Call Number | PR 6068.093 H38 2000 c.2 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Summer is a time for visiting old friends and so this summer I decided to reread the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the series. Before Harry returns to school for his 2nd year, a house-elf named Dolby warns him not to go. Once Harry arrives at school, strange things begin to happen and the school is threatened with possible closure. It is up to Harry to solve the mystery. |
Submitted By | Cathy Elliott |
Department or Major | Law Library |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | bias@chapman.edu |
Annie Leibovitz at Work
Title | Annie Leibovitz at work |
Author | Annie Leibovitz |
Call Number | TR680 L376 2008 |
Location | 3rd Floor Science and Technology |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | 1st of all I LOVE ANNIE LEIBOVITZ! She's one of my all time favorite photographers. This book is all about her life from her point of view and it's awesome! She talks about how she started at Rolling Stone and each chapter is some of her most prominent work from the Yoko/Lennon to nudes to OJ Simpson to fashion to well...everything! If you are a fan of her work grab this book. She's had such an amazing interesting life! I want to be her when I grown up. |
Submitted By | Jami McCoy |
Department or Major | Advancement |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | jmccoy@chapman.edu |
Art and Photography
Title | Art and Photography |
Author | Aaron Scharf |
Call Number | N72.P5 S3 1986 |
Location | 2nd Floor Fine Art |
Rating | Somewhat Recommended |
Book Review | This was pretty much a straight up history book about how photography started and how it associates with art. I love photography and have dabbled for years but this was a little too textbook-y for me. There were some interesting tidbits but I felt I had learned about all this in my photo history class years back. |
Submitted By | Jami McCoy |
Department or Major | Advancement |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | jmccoy@chapman.edu |
Blink : The power of thinking without thinking
Title | Blink : The power of thinking without thinking |
Author | Malcolm Gladwell |
Call Number | BF448 .G53 2005 |
Location | 2nd Floor Social Sciences |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Incredibly thought provoking book about the power of the unconscious mind and how it guides our decision-making processes. Malcolm Gladwell includes lots of real world examples and fascinating studies that are engaging, silly and sometimes downright disturbing. Can't wait to read more works by this author! |
Submitted By | Ashley Bloomfield |
Department or Major | Holocaust Memorial Library |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | ambloom@chapman.edu |
The Chemist
Title | The Chemist |
Author | Stephanie Meyer |
Call Number | McNaughton |
Location | 1st Floor McNaughton |
Rating | Recommended |
Book Review | This book has the components of everything I usually love in a novel: secret agents, action and adventure, and a tough female protagonist. While some of the story lines and characters were a tad predictable, I enjoyed the action scenes and even picked up a few handy evasion tips should I ever find myself being chased by a shadowy government agency. |
Submitted By | Ashley Kemp |
Department or Major | Law School |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | akemp@chapman.edu |
Monday, July 24, 2017
Lincoln in the Bardo
Title | Lincoln in the Bardo |
Author | George Saunders |
Location | 1st Floor McNaughton |
Rating | Recommended |
Book Review | The image at the heart of Saunders' concept hooked me: Lincoln, mired in grief after the death of his son, Willie, riding alone in the wee hours of the morning to visit Willie's crypt, where the president would hold his son and talk with him. Saunders builds on the historical truth of this moment to conjure an ongoing conversation among cemetery "residents" waiting to pass from among the living to the afterlife. The novel toggles between historical passages about Lincoln and dialog among those in the Bardo -- the waiting. It's sometimes fantastical, sometimes grim, often gripping and even chilling as those from the upper crust mingle with slaves, slaveholders, abolitionists, criminals, etc. I'm glad I took the journey. |
Submitted By | Dennis Arp |
Department or Major | Strategic Marketing and Communications |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | arp@chapman.edu |
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules
Title | Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules |
Author | David Sedaris |
Call Number | PS648.S5 C47 2005 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Somewhat Recommended |
Book Review | I'm a huge Sedaris fan, but this book is a little different. Each section is his take on different authors and short stories. I prefer his books that detail his life more, but this was certainly a fun read told in the humorous style of Sedaris! |
Submitted By | Jami McCoy |
Department or Major | Advancement |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | jmccoy@chapman.edu |
Friday, July 21, 2017
Praise
Title | Praise |
Author | Robert Hass |
Call Number | PS3558.A725 P7 1979 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Recommended |
Book Review | It’s been almost 40 years and half a dozen books since Praise’s initial publication but it was a real pleasure to see how well the poems hold up in 2017—there’s a timelessness to these poems. At times Haas can be elusive in his meaning—I think I read “Meditation at Lagunitas” five times over—but where evasiveness can be frustrating, in the case of Praise I found it compelling, even playful. I can’t say I know what Haas means exactly in “The idea, for example, that each particular erases/the luminous clarity of a general idea,” but in the same poem Haas provides his own clarity with lines such as, “Longing, we say, because desire is full of endless distances.” Haas’s use of enigmatic lines with ones of crystal clarity make the reading experience one worth digging into, keeping the reader turning the page. A fun read, with many lines resonating Recommended poems include “Songs to Survive the Summer,” “The Image,” and “Sunrise.” |
Submitted By | David Krausman |
Department or Major | Wilkinson College |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | krausman@chapman.edu |
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Long Way Home
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Falling Up: Poems and Drawings
Title | Falling Up: Poems and Drawings |
Author | Shel Silverstein |
Call Number | PS648.S5 CA47 2005 |
Location | 3rd Floor Education |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | So I wasn't aware of the read a book in each library challenge - so here's my Education one! I love Shel Silverstein. Grew up reading his poetry and fell in love. This one is fantastic. A Battle in the Sky is one of my faves. Also loved Cat Jacks. I mean honestly I just loved them all! |
Submitted By | Jami McCoy |
Department or Major | Advancement |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | jmccoy@chapman.edu |
Casanova was a librarian : a light-hearted look at the profession
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Last Days of Night
Title | Last Days of Night |
Author | Graham Moore |
Call Number | McNaughton |
Location | 1st Floor McNaughton |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Edison, Westinghouse, Tesla, and the light bulb: Who invented it? Who owns the patent? Who should profit? Last Days of Night is a superbly written book that chronicles the legal battles between Edison and Westinghouse and gives us a rare look into the past and the lives of the men who shaped our present. |
Submitted By | Cathy Elliott |
Department or Major | Law Library |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | bias@chapman.edu |
Saga, vol 6
Title | Saga, vol 6 |
Author | Brian K Vaughn |
Call Number | PN6728.S225 V38 2012 |
Location | 1st Floor Graphic Novel |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | The last book the library has available and I am already missing the story. It's like the end of a TV season and now I have to wait for fall.... |
Submitted By | Robin Pendergraft |
Department or Major | SCST |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | pendergr@chapman.edu |
Saga, vol 5
Title | Saga, vol 5 |
Author | Brian K Vaughn |
Call Number | PN6728.S225 V38 2012 |
Location | 1st Floor Graphic Novel |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | The story is back on track after the extra darkness of the 4th book. |
Submitted By | Robin Pendergraft |
Department or Major | SCST |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | pendergr@chapman.edu |
Saga, vol 4
Title | Saga, vol 4 |
Author | Brian K Vaughn |
Call Number | PN6728.S225 V38 2012 |
Location | 1st Floor Graphic Novel |
Rating | Recommended |
Book Review | This, the 4th book of the series, lost me a bit, but not enough to stop reading. It was disappointing after such a strong beginning, but only a minor setback. |
Submitted By | Robin Pendergraft |
Department or Major | SCST |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | pendergr@chapman.edu |
Saga, vol 3
Title | Saga, vol 3 |
Author | Brian K Vaughn |
Call Number | PN6728.S225 V38 2012 |
Location | 1st Floor Graphic Novel |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Book 3 - the story continues.... |
Submitted By | Robin Pendergraft |
Department or Major | SCST |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | pendergr@chapman.edu |
Saga, vol 2
Title | Saga, vol 2 |
Author | Brian K Vaughn |
Call Number | PN6728.S225 V38 2012 |
Location | 1st Floor Graphic Novel |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Second book in the series and just as good as the first. The story has me hooked! |
Submitted By | Robin Pendergraft |
Department or Major | SCST |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | pendergr@chapman.edu |
Saga, vol 1
Title | Saga, vol 1 |
Author | Brian K Vaughn |
Call Number | PN6728.S225 V38 2012 |
Location | 1st Floor Graphic Novel |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Wonderful writing - story and dialogue. The artwork is beautiful, but puts the graphic in graphic novels! Very much adult content on this one! I am looking forward to reading the rest of the story. |
Submitted By | Robin Pendergraft |
Department or Major | SCST |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | pendergr@chapman.edu |
Friday, July 14, 2017
Lay Back the Darkness
Title | Lay Back the Darkness |
Author | Edward Hirsch |
Call Number | PS3558.I64 L39 2004 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Somewhat Recommended |
Book Review | Hirsch handles his themes as elegantly as he does his lines. There’s passion and momentum by a deft, graceful hand. The poems are engaging and complex, however; the beauty and complexity tended to keep me at the feeling of an arm’s distance. The vulnerability was certainly there, particularly as the speaker goes into the relationship with his father and religion, though said vulnerability seemed shadowed, or rather, skillfully scaffolder by artful craft. It was an interesting experience having something revealed, and gone (but not forever) with the turning of a corner, to appear around another corner, when you might not expect it. Stand out poems include “Dates,” “Self-Portrait as Eurydice, III,” and “The Widening Sky.” |
Submitted By | David Krausman |
Department or Major | Wilkinson College |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | krausman@chapman.edu |
Thursday, July 13, 2017
The Reformed Librarie-keeper
Title | The Reformed Librarie-keeper |
Author | John Dury ; introduction by Richard H. Popkin and Thomas F. Wright. |
Call Number | Z665 .D9 1983 |
Location | 2nd Floor Social Sciences |
Rating | Somewhat Recommended |
Book Review | First published in the mid 17th century, John Dury's pamphlet details what purpose libraries should serve and how libraries should function. Dury, a Puritan intellectual, believed libraries should increase universal learning and piety of the communities it serves. The short pamphlet is an interesting look into early issues facing libraries at the time which are still facing some today. The pamphlet, plus the introductions which contextualize it, provide a small peak into 17th century England but overall would not be terribly exciting for those who are not interested in library matters. Also, the way it is printed and the 17th century spelling of many words can make it a somewhat difficult read. Ultimately I enjoyed it but would not recommend it unless someone was fascinated by libraries. |
Submitted By | Nicholas D'Andrea |
Department or Major | Leatherby Libraries |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | dandrea@chapman.edu |
Trigger Warning
Title | Trigger Warning |
Author | Neil Gaiman |
Call Number | MCNAUGHTON |
Location | 1st Floor McNaughton |
Rating | Recommended |
Book Review | Neil Gaiman has a certain voice about him when it writes. Very direct. Like a dark story teller. I love it. This collection of short stories is very typical Gaiman and his fascinations for Trigger Warning. He also is so amazing at talking about the small details in things. Puts you right there. |
Submitted By | Jami McCoy |
Department or Major | Advancement |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | jmccoy@chapman.edu |
I Talked with a Zombie
Title | I Talked with a Zombie |
Author | Tom Weaver |
Call Number | PN1995.9.H6 W35 2009 |
Location | 3rd Floor Film and Television |
Rating | Recommended |
Book Review | If you are a fan of vintage horror and sci-fi, this collection of interviews will be a fun trip into the past. Two highlights are the interview with Robert Conrad, star of The Wild, Wild West television show, and James Darren from The Time Tunnel. Conrad's smug self-importance is a fun contrast to Darren's humility, yet both paint pictures of the heyday of sci-fi on TV. |
Submitted By | Lugene Rosen |
Department or Major | Leatherby Libraries |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | lrosen@chapman.edu |
DC: The New Frontier
Title | DC: The New Frontier |
Author | Darwyn Cooke |
Call Number | PN6727.C588 D4 2016 |
Location | 1st Floor Graphic Novel |
Rating | Recommended |
Book Review | Imagine being able to completely reinvent a mythology by yourself. That's essentially what the late Darwyn Cooke did with this book, a complete re-telling of the beginnings of the DC Comics universe. Set with the atomic age as a background, we see the golden age of DC characters meet the silver age characters, as the world stands on the precipice of a New Frontier (as quoted liberally from the incredible JFK speech of the same name). While the story reads like The Right Stuff with superheroes, it's the artwork that is truly the star of the book. Cooke's art style is absolutely rooted in the classic Jack Kirby school, but completely updated and articulated in ways that are hard to describe. Dave Stewart's colors pop (as always), and the story feels like it could've been produced in 1964 or 2005, when it was actually published. Even if you're not a fan of DC comics, do yourself a favor and flip through these pages just to see what I'm talking about. It's so rare to see something so rooted in tradition updated so beautifully. |
Submitted By | Cotton Coslett |
Department or Major | Leatherby Libraries |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | coslett@chapman.edu |
The WhiteTiger
Title | The WhiteTiger |
Author | Aravind Adiga |
Call Number | PR9619.4.A35 W47 2008 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Told through a series of letters to the actual Chinese Premier at the time, this is the story of Balram Halwai, our narrator. Balram comes from India's rural "darkness" and escapes his caste and village to become a driver for wealthy landlords and eventually a wanted criminal. Along the way, Halwai reflects on a variety of topics, including Indian culture, globalism, determinism, and freedom. The book is well written, and in a distinctly Indian dialect. It's informative and entertaining, once you become accustomed to the narrator's sense of storytelling. The story is harrowing at times, and darkly comedic at others, and absolutely worth a read. |
Submitted By | Cotton Coslett |
Department or Major | Leatherby Libraries |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | coslett@chapman.edu |
The Bitter Side of Sweet
Title | The Bitter Side of Sweet |
Author | Tara Sullivan |
Call Number | McNaughton |
Location | 1st Floor McNaughton |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | Fifteen year old Amadou and his little brother Seydou pick cocoa pods on a farm. They are trying to make enough money to buy their freedom and return to their family. Suddenly a young girl, Khadija, is brought into camp and the three of them form a bond. This is their story. A story of child labor, brutality, and finally escape. |
Submitted By | Cathy Elliott |
Department or Major | Law Library |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | bias@chapman.edu |
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Shanghai Girls
Title | Shanghai Girls |
Author | Lisa See |
Call Number | PS3569.E3334 S53 2009 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | This is a story about two sisters born in Shanghai. We join their story when they are young adults in Shanghai in the late 1930s, just before WWII. The girls come from a fairly well off family, but their fate changes drastically when their father gambles away the family money. The story follows them on their journey from being models to being sold as wives to Chinese American business men to pay off their fathers debts. It is a powerful story of how sisters should stick together no matter what happens in their lives. |
Submitted By | Jessica Bower |
Department or Major | Library |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | jbower@chapman.edu |
The Casual Vacancy
Title | The Casual Vacancy |
Author | J.K. Rowling |
Call Number | PR6068.O93 C37 2012 |
Location | 2nd Floor Humanities |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | A gritty, reality check into the lives of people in a small UK town. They each survive within a thin margin of hope, happiness and income, sometimes of their own making. Most passages are dark and ugly, but scary real. |
Submitted By | Annalisa Goode |
Department or Major | l |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | agoode@chapman.edu |
Why Not Me?
Title | Why Not Me? |
Author | Mindy Kaling |
Call Number | MCNAUGHTON |
Location | 1st Floor McNaughton |
Rating | Somewhat Recommended |
Book Review | This felt like I was reading cotton candy. Pink and fluffy, cute with not much substance. While Kaling had some funny observations on life and work in Hollywood, it mostly just felt like I was listening to someone at a cocktail party. Enjoyable light read. |
Submitted By | Rebecca Green |
Department or Major | Schmid College |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | regreen@chapman.edu |
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Title | Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe |
Author | Benjamin Saenz |
Call Number | PS3569.A27 A85 2012 |
Location | 3rd Floor Muth |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | I love this book! I first discovered it as an audiobook because it is read by Lin Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame. His reading was excellent, but when my audiobook was suddenly digitally returned the library at the biggest cliffhanger ever, I was over the moon to find this title at Leatherby. The protagonist is Ari Mendoza, a 15 year old boy in El Paso trying to make sense of his world. He meets Dante, and the story follows the two of them figuring out who they are in a world that is mysterious, but sometimes unkind. This book is achingly beautiful. I loved the characters so much that after I finished the book, I didn't want to read anything else - so I read it a second time. |
Submitted By | Rebecca Green |
Department or Major | Schmid College |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | regreen@chapman.edu |
Friday, July 7, 2017
Peter Halley : paintings 1989-1992
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When You Are Engulfed in Flames
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The Westing Game
Title | The Westing Game |
Author | Ellen Raskin |
Call Number | PS3568.A696 W478 2003 |
Location | 3rd Floor Muth |
Rating | Highly Recommended |
Book Review | The Westing Game is a murder mystery involving the tenants of Sunset Towers. This was one of my favourite books when I was in elementary school, and after rereading it as an adult, it is still as captivating as I remember it being. |
Submitted By | Justine Lim |
Department or Major | Interlibrary Loan |
Status | Staff |
Chapman Email | jlim@gmail.com |
Holidays on Ice
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Norse Mythology
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