Fall into Your Favorite Book

Compiled and Presented by Blaire Hiebsch, Senior Evening Library Assistant

A couple of weeks ago we had a question on the white board in Sawyer library asking students what their favorite book is, and it was so cool to see the wide range of books the students loved (some I knew and some I had never heard of). I thought wouldn't it be great if we had some of these books and we could show them off to our students. Sometimes university libraries are seen as just stuffy places to do scholarly research or a place to study but it isn't it nice to know libraries also provide a lot of fun reads as well. Some of these books were chosen because they were listed as being a students favorite books, some are just good reads that everyone should read in their life, and some purely looked intriguing. I tried to pull books that would appeal to a large range of people (and not just historical fiction which is my favorite). I tried show off the library's wide range of books to be enjoyed. With the changing of the season it feels like a good time to curl up with one's favorite hot beverage and a great book... especially now with it being mid-terms time it is an excellent moment for a little self-care and escape into a story.

Here is a list of the titles selected for the display. Click the hyperlink to see if the book is available, or already checked-out.

1. The alchemist / Paulo Coelho; translated by Alan R. Clarke
2. Love in the time ofcholera / Gabriel Garci­a Marquez ; translated from the Spanish by EdithGrossman
3. Atonement: a novel / Ian McEwan
4. The autobiography of Malcolm X / with the assistance of Alex Haley; introduction by M.S. Handler ; epilogue by Alex Haley ; afterword by OssieDavis
5. Beloved : a novel / by Toni Morrison ; [with a new foreword by theauthor]
6. The bone people : a novel / by Keri Hulme
7. The book thief / by Markus Zusak
8. Cat's cradle / Kurt Vonnegut
9. Dracula / Bram Stoker
10. Fight Club / by Chuck Palahniuk
11. Hamilton : the revolution : being thecomplete libretto of the Broadway musical, with a true account of its creation,and concise remarks on hip-hop, the power of stories, and the new America / byLin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
12. The help / Kathryn Stockett
13. High fidelity / Nick Hornby
14. The hobbit, or, There and back again / by J.R.R. Tolkien
15. Magic for beginners / Kelly Link ; illustrated by Shelley Jackson
16. Middlesex / Jeffrey Eugenides
17. Naked / David Sedaris
18. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency / Alexander McCall Smith
19. Pride and prejudice / Jane Austen ; with an introduction byMargaret Drabble ; and a new afterword by Eloisa James
20. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage : a novel /Haruki Murakami ; translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel
21. Something to tell you : a novel / Hanif Kureishi
22. State of fear : a novel / Michael Crichton
23. To kill a mockingbird / Harper Lee
24. Vamped / David Sosnowski
25. Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West : anovel / Gregory Maguire ; illustrations by Douglas Smith

Interesting reading (seriously) on freight, shipping, supply chains, and logistics.

Listed below is a sample of titles that relate to containers and freight shipping. All are available through the Sawyer Library.

The "Handbook of Ocean Container Transport Logistics" is a scholarly reference book, but the others (especially the three print titles) are interesting and relatively quick to read in their entirety.

All of the titles should awaken respect for those who work to transport the items that are at the center of the consumer economy.

Ninety Percent of Everything :
Inside Shipping, The Invisible Industry that Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate.
By Rose George
Sawyer 4th Floor
HE571 .G465 2013

The Box :
How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger.
By Marc Levinson
Sawyer 4th Floor
TA1215 .L47 2006

The Container Principle :
How a Box Changes the Way we Think.
By Alexander Klose ;
translated by Charles Marcrum II
Sawyer New Books
TA1215 .K5813 2015

Box Boats:
How Container Ships Changed the World.
By Brian J. Cudahy
E-BOOK

Handbook of Ocean Container Transport Logistics:
Making Global Supply Chains Effective.
Edited by Chung-Yee Lee, Qiang Meng
E-BOOK

Development of Containerization:
Success Through Vision, Drive and Technology.
By Hans van Ham, Joan Rijsenbrij
E-BOOK

Frank Wedekind and his play "Spring's Awakening"

In coordination with this year's Pioneer Performance Series production of Spring Awakening, the musical, (based on a 19th century German play by Frank Wedekind), and Professor Jay Rosellini's presentation about the original work and Wedekind’s legacy in drama history, the Sawyer Library is highlighting items in the Library's collection related to the play and its German author.

The contemporary production:

• Spring Awakening
  Book and lyrics by Steven Sater ; music by Duncan Sheik. Online access via eBrary.


• Spring Awakening : In the Flesh
  Written by David Cote ; principal photography by Doug Hamilton and Joan Marcus.

The English translation of Wedekind's play:

• Spring's Awakening: Tragedy of Childhood
  By Frank Wedekind; English version and ten notes by Eric Bentley

The original play:

• Frühlings Erwachen : eine Kindertragödie
  Frank Wedekind ; mit einem Nachwort von Georg Hensel

Biography and criticism of Frank Wedekind (1864-1918):

• Frank Wedekind
  By Sol Gittleman


• Frank Wedekind
  by Alan Best

• Twentieth-Century German Dramatists, 1889-1918
  Access book at Gale's Dictionary of Literary Biography Online


• The Playwright & Historical Change; Dramatic Strategies in Brecht, Hauptmann, Kaiser & Wedekind
  By Leroy R. Shaw

German literature and culture:

• The Cambridge Companion to
  Modern German Culture
  View full text via Cambridge Online

Reviews of performances, and articles about the play, from
the New York Times, spanning from 1908 to 2008.

All are available online to Suffolk University students and staff, via
the Historic New York Times database.

• Isherwood, Charles. "Injecting Real Youth into a Youthful show." New York Times (1923-Current file): 1. Sep 15 2008. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• BELLAFANTE, GINIA. "Sex, Repressed and Unleashed." New York Times (1923-Current file): 2. Feb 09 2007. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• Isherwood, Charles. "THEATER REVIEW: A Rock 'n' Roll Heartbeat for German Schoolboys of the 19th Century." New York Times (1923-Current file): 1. Jun 16 2006. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• SISARIO, BEN. "Duncan Sheik." New York Times (1923-Current file): 1. Feb 26 2006. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• Gussow, MEL. "Stage: Juilliard Players do 'Spring Awakening'." New York Times (1923-Current file): 40. Dec 19 1977. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• Funke, LEWIS. "Theater: Wedekind's 'the Awakening of Spring': Sex-Education Sermon at Pocket Theater 1891 Play Conveys Air of a Museum Piece." New York Times (1923-Current file): 50. May 13 1964. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• Gelb, ARTHUR. "Theatre: Dated Sermon: 'Spring's Awakening'Is an Essay on Sex." New York Times (1923-Current file): 30. Oct 10 1955. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• "COURT BARS SEX PLAY: Justice Erlanger Finds "The Awakening of Spring" Unfit for Public." New York Times (1857-1922): 13. May 03 1917. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• "THE AWAKENING OF SPRING": A Tragedy of Childhood by the German Playwright, Frank Wedekind." New York Times (1857-1922): 1. Oct 01 1910. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


• Special Cable to THE NEW,YORK TIMES. "CHILD ACTORS SEEN IN GERMAN SEX PLAY." New York Times (1857-1922): 9. Oct 29 1908. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.

Ideas for Research Papers

Are you looking for ideas for a research paper, which relates in some way to psychology, education, or the study of the brain and its functions? The following book is highly recommended:

"Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain," by Maryanne Wolf.

From the book's back cover: "Reading is a human invention that reflects how the brain rearranges itself to learn something new. In this ambitious, provocative book, Wolf chronicles the remarkable journey of the reading brain not only over the past five thousand years, since writing began, but also over the course of a single child's life, showing in the process why children with dyslexia have reading difficulties and singular gifts."

Change of hours, Wednesday February 5, 2014

Sawyer Library will be closed Wednesday, February 5 due to the snow storm.

A good book to read when flying (or driving) accross the U.S.

Were your holiday travel plans disrupted due to the weather? Next time be prepared for a multi-hour layover, with a long, but good book:

Annals of the Former World, by John McPhee

This book gathers five previously published titles by John McPhee, all devoted to the geology of North America. It is the item to have along when looking out the window on a flight between the east and west coasts of the United States. However, this is not a textbook, rather it is more like being able to hitch along on a road trip across the States, in the company of people who know a lot, and who tell good stories.

Snow Closing: Friday January 3, 2014

Due to the inclement weather, Suffolk University offices, including the Sawyer Library, will closed on Friday, January 3, 2014.

Snow Closing: Thursday January 2, 2014

Due to the inclement weather, Suffolk University offices, including the Sawyer Library, will close at 1:00 pm Thursday, January 2, 2014.

Looking for something to read, or for an idea to follow up on for a research topic? Have a look at some of the titles listed below, by Oliver W. Sacks.

Oliver Sacks, is a neurologist and research scientist, who tells wonderful (true) stories. The Sawyer Library owns several titles authored by Oliver Sacks. Several of his works are based on case studies of his patients. All of his works make for fascinating reading.

The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales.

Seeing Voices : A Journey into the World of the Deaf

Musicophilia : Tales of Music and the Brain

Sawyer Library Hidden Treasure: Europe Since Versailles

This latest unburied 4th floor Sawyer Library gem, Europe Since Versailles, features political cartoons drawn by Sir David Low from the decades between World War I and World War II. During this time of shaky peace, Sir Low's caricatures lambasted world nations and their leaders as their political interactions frequently presaged being sucked into a second world war. So pointed were the critiques against Nazi "governance" in particular, that Adolf Hitler himself placed Sir David Low on a list of people to be rounded up after Germany's conquest over England (Streicher, 6). Fortunately for Low, England never fell to Germany, and he continued designing scathing editorial cartoons, thumbing his nose at Hitler's apoplectic rage. 

In this reprinted edition of Sir David Low's works, Lawrence Streicher has added an introduction, epilogue, and partial bibliography of Low's collected works. Frequent characters in Low's satirical cartoons include: Maxim Litvinov, Neville Chamberlain, Pierre Laval, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Aristide Briand, and Joseph Stalin. Check out this item to chuckle at sharp images depicting the ineffectiveness of politics (my, how things change!), or bemoan the inevitability of civilian pain and suffering at the end of this era.


Image credit: "DAVID LOW (English Cartoonist)" belongs to Flickr user NCMallory. License to use: CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)

Sawyer Library Hidden Treasure: Portrait of an Age

Re-discovered in the Sawyer Library 4th floor collection, Portrait of an Age contains a rich assemblage of un-posed and frequently un-authorized photographs taken by Erich Salomon from the late 1920s to the beginning of WWII. Pictorial historiographer, pioneer in the art of photojournalism, and master of the well-placed hidden camera, Salomon was known among politicians of Europe as “the king of the indiscrete” (66). This collection of Salomon’s candid photos, selected by Han de Vries and Peter Hunter-Salomon, shows political life in action at the League of Nations and throughout Europe, and highlights living scenes among royalty, well-known historical personages of Europe and America, and the every-day person of the era. Notable figures photographed by Salomon include: Albert Einstein, Igor Stravinsky, Arturo Toscanini, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Marlene Dietrich, Upton Sinclair, Duchess of York (Queen Mother Elizabeth) Winston S. Churchill, Benito Mussolini and Klara Zetkin. Check out this item to view through Erich Salomon’s lens the period style, the interactions among rulers and politicos, the action at exclusive royal banquets, and some of daily life during the years between World Wars I and II.

Table of Contents:

• Who was Erich Salomon?
• The epoch of the League of Nations
• Germany in 1930
• Europe and its conferences
• The year in Geneva
• Judges and courts
• Artists, intellectuals, and society
• America in 1930
• A look at France in 1935
• On the eve of World War II

Image credit: Ermanox_img_0794.jpg By Rama (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.0-fr (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/fr/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons