2007: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Author: Barbara Kingsolver

Find it in Collins Library!

While locavores have been around longer than 2007, Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle brought the term to wider knowledge, along with Michael Pollan and others.

Kingsolver’s book isn’t just an explanation and polemic about why we should eat locally; it’s also the story of how she and her family manage to do so in a fairly reasonable, manageable way. There are lots of reasons urban chicken coops, beehives and gardens are popular right now, but Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is certainly one inspiration.

2008: The Last Lecture

Author: Jeffrey Zaslow

Find it in Collins Library!

After Randy Pausch was diagnosed with cancer, he gave his “Last Lecture” at Carnegie Mellon University, where he had been a professor. This non-fiction work is based on that talk and includes his words of wisdom and thoughts about life. Pausch’s optimistic outlook on the world and exuberance in life inspired many readers and this book topped bestseller lists worldwide. Not only can you read Pausch’s book, you can also watch the last lecture, courtesy of Carnegie Mellon.

2009: Zeitoun

Author: Dave Eggers

Find it in Collins Library!

A non-fiction account that takes place during one of the defining events of the “aughts”, this book tells the story of a Syrian-American survivor of Hurricane Katrina, and his unlawful arrest and detention following the aftermath of the storm. Eggers’ work is a good illustration of how real life often makes for excellent storytelling.

2010: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Author: Rebecca Skloot

Find it in Collins Library!

Medical scientists have used the HeLa cell line extensively in medical testing over the past 60 years. This book examines the woman behind the cells, Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman from 1950s Baltimore, and her family. Intimate interviews with Henrietta’s descendants as well as prominent scientists involved in both the extraction and cultivation of HeLa cells produce a multi-layered story of ethics, racial issues, and medical research politics. This work is significant for highlighting the human side of medical research and examining questions of both the legal and spiritual side of individual ownership of one’s cells.

2011: Care For Our World & The Googlization of Everything (and Why We Should Worry)

Care For Our World

Author/Editor: Karen Robbins

Find it in Collins Library!

The author is a Puget Sound graduate.  This children’s book shares the story of how we must all take responsibility for taking care of our home:  “This world is our home.  We need one another.  Please care for our world; we’re sisters and brothers.”  The illustrator, Alexandra Ball, is based in the UK and her whimsical illustrations depicting flowers, insects, animals and children reinforce Karen’s text.  Karen’s blog provides insight into this Logger’s life — from incredible travel stories to accounts of scuba diving and motivational speaking.

Care For Our World just won another award!  CARE received the Silver Moonbeam medal in the category of a children’s book with merchandising category giving the book five awards so far!

The Googlization of Everything (and Why We Should Worry)

Author/Editor: Siva Vaidhyanathan

Find it in Collins Library!

The Googlization of Everything seemed like a good choice to represent 2011, since Google is now nearly synonymous with any kind of search and many other kinds of internet service. When I open my browser, Google is a default search box in the upper right hand corner, and it’s a first place to turn for general information and initial searching. When I open my personal email, Google is serving it to me. When I browse the web, Google is often supplying me with ads targeted to my interest.

So it therefore seems fitting that we examine what has become a default on the Web, “the lens through which we view the world” (Vaidhyanathan, xi). What is Google doing? How is that influencing my interactions with people and information. Siva Vaidhyanathan provides a few answers and more questions in The Googlization of Everything (and Why We Should Worry).

Vaidhyanathan examines what Google means in terms of privacy, public interactions and norms, books, and filtered knowledge. While Vaidhyanathan has many thoughts about the specifics of Google, in the end, much boils down to not confusing information with wisdom, and not trusting human creations of any kind blindly. Google may seem omnipotent and be full of good intentions—but good intentions are not the same as good outcomes. Applying a skeptical eye to Google will help us use its tools well, and avoid problematic outcomes.

2012: On Being Presidential: A Guide for College and University Leaders

Author/Editor: Susan Resneck Pierce

Find it in Collins Library!

Susan Resneck Pierce was appointed President of the University of Puget Sound in 1992 and served in that role for eleven years.  In the preface to this book, she states, that she found it “the most satisfying work of her career.”

Under Pierce’s leadership, Puget Sound entered the ranks of national liberal arts colleges. This book is intended as a guide to leadership in higher education for senior administrators, members of the faculty, trustees and current and aspiring presidents.  In this book Pierce explores the relationship between the President and the campus, President and the Board, and the President and the Faculty.  Learn more about President Pierce on the university’s web site dedicated to her term as president.