A new school year has begun, yet again, and the textbooks are overflowing on your desk. Sick of reading fact after fact, formula after formula, scholar after scholar? Need a book to read on your own terms? Here are some recognized novels that a few Geneseo residents have suggested for your leisure this fall:
1. The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. Recommended by senior Samantha Smith, this fiction novel tells of a newspaper reporter from upstate New York whose father emigrated from Newfoundland. After his parents' suicide, he moves to his family's homeland and begins to learn about their troubled background while attempting to gain emotional confidence.
2. The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie. Emma Molodetz, a junior English major, strongly suggested her favorite summer read based on its winding love story about the power of rock and roll, and Rushdie's compelling commentary on the human condition inherently residing within.
3. Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. Senior English major Aaron Schwartz suggested this southern gothic novel, a World War II book embodied by grotesque characters and religious themes.
4. Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. Unable to make only one recommendation, Schwartz advocated Pollan's nonfiction novel to those interested in the coevolution of plants in relation to humans.
5. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay. Intrigued by all 10 of the Canadian author's novels, librarian intern Sherry Rhodes encouraged anyone to read this urban fantasy novel that reveals a mythical love story, of a boy who meets an American exchange student while living with his photographer father in southern France.
6. Have Space Suit – Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein. For those interested in science fiction, senior Ki Rieffel suggested a novel detailing the story of a high school student with a strong desire to travel to space.