Faculty Reading Lists: Jennifer Rosato

Admittedly, I saw the movie before I read the book, which was a fabulous love story, but by now I have read the book more often than I have seen the movie! The book only hints at the romantic relationship between her and Denys and instead has many vignettes of her life in Africa. I am always hooked by the first sentence, "I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills," because it so evocative of things that have been had, treasured, and lost.

My grandma (who is a librarian) started a tradition with her grandchildren and bought us all at least one book for Christmas. I've continued that with my kids and this is one of our favorite ones, especially for reading aloud. Kate DiCamillo has an incredible sense of language and brings these wondrous worlds full of emotion and fantasy to life with it. I may actually like this one more than my kids do...

These stories got me hooked on mysteries, which is still my favorite genre. I don't think mysteries get the same recognition as other novels do in terms of great literature but they really do explore what it means to be human and what is right and wrong just as well as other books. Sherlock Holmes is just the first in a long line of books that included not only the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, but Agatha Christie, Ian Rankin, William Kent Krueger, Jo Nesbo, and Oliver Potzsch.

This was one of the books my grandma gave me for Christmas. I have used it over and over and really value what it represents - the ability for a woman (or man) to find accurate information about a woman's body without feeling embarrassed to ask a doctor, parent, or relying on peers or the internet. Every woman should have a copy, especially as a teenager!

This may have been the beginning of the tiny house movement and, while it doesn't specifically advocate "tiny" houses, it makes a great case for spaces that fit your life and are aesthetically pleasing at the same time. Which, quite frankly, requires a person to think about their life and what is important to them in it. This is my go-to book (or any in the series) for a sunny afternoon on the porch with a cup of tea, in part because it's all about dreaming what might be possible.

I'm in the midst of my doctoral program (in Education) and so pleasure reading is rare. However, I am really enjoying these books from the program and what they say about our society and our schools.

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School by Bransford, Brown, & Cocking (eds.) - a wonderful overview of the research behind how people learn with practical suggestions about what works for teachers in supporting student learning.

Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life by Annette Lareau - an ethnographic study of 12 families with a range of socioeconomic status and racial backgrounds that highlights how families support their children's education and interact with educational institutions.

I think I would be left with whatever was in my bag at the time...unfortunately that may be a Data Structures & Algorithms textbook, which may not be so bad as some of the most interesting problems in computer science are in this area and would provide many hours of problem-solving fun.