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Ed. Magazine

Summer Reading

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As the semester winds down, many readers — especially graduating students who need a breather! — are looking for good summer reading options. We combed past issues of the magazine and pulled out suggestions from faculty members who were featured in the On My Bookshelf section. Happy reading.

The Checklist Manifesto

The Checklist Manifesto BY ATUL GAWANDE
This nonfiction book looks at how lists can reduce error, in the author's field of work — medicine — and beyond.

Recommended by Professor Andrew Ho

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders BY DANIYAL MUEENUDDIN
A collection of interconnected short stories that move between New York and rural and urban Pakistan.

Recommended by Associate Professor Natasha Kumar Warikoo, Ed.M.'97

The Submission

The Submission BY AMY WALDMAN
A novel that examines what happens after a jury in charge of selecting a ground zero-like memorial chooses a design created by a Muslim-American architect.

Recommended by Senior Lecturer Joe Blatt, Ed.M.'77

New England White

New England White BY STEPHEN CARTER
At nearly 600 pages, this isn't a quick beach read but a literary thriller focused on wealth, race, politics, and a murder, set on the campus of the country's most prestigious university.

Recommended by Professor Nancy Hill

Freedom

Freedom BY JONATHAN FRANZEN
A novel, spanning several decades, about the complex relationships within a liberal, middle-class American family.

Recommended by Associate Professor Meira Levinson

Last Life

The Last Life BY CLAIRE MESSUD
Narrated by a 15-year-old girl, the novel chronicles the lives of three generations of a French-Algerian family, framed around a tragic incident one summer.

Recommended by Professor Howard Gardner

Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie BY MURIEL SPARK
Set in the 1930s, this novel is about a free-spirited teacher at a girl's school in Scotland who ignores the conventional curriculum, bringing her into conflict with the school's leadership.

Recommended by Professor Paul Harris

Red River

Red River BY LALITA TADEMY
This novel tells the story of former slaves living in Colfax, Louisiana, struggling to move forward with their lives under Reconstruction.

Recommended by Senior Lecturer Pamela Mason, M.A.T.'70, Ed.D.'75

The Lacuna

The Lacuna BY BARBARA KINGSOLVER
The fictional story of Harrison William Shepherd, beginning with his childhood through adulthood, when he begins cooking for the artists Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo.

Recommended by Lecturer Shari Tishman, Ed.D.'91

  

 

Ed. Magazine

The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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