What we’re reading this summer (and beyond)
From a novel that’s “speculative fiction, but just barely” to a story collection about the horror and hope of the refugee experience, CCSRE’s directors share their top picks for reading this summer and beyond. Onward!
Jennifer Brody, professor of theater and performance studies and director of CCSRE
-When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele
An inspirational and astute memoir that, as Angela Davis writes in the forward, “calls for inclusiveness that does not sacrifice particularity.” This is a book at once poetic and political but mostly filled with possibilities for how to make the planet better.
Tomás Jiménez, associate professor of sociology and director of the CSRE undergraduate program
-“The Refugees,” by Viet Thanh Nguyen
This is a collection of beautifully told stories of the refugee experience. Each reminds the reader of the horror and hope woven into that experience.
Paula Moya, professor of English and director of CCSRE’s Research Institute
-“The Water Knife,” by Paolo Bacigalupi
I’m reading this for the second time around in light of the ongoing specter of drought in California and the broiling heat that is affecting the country this summer. It is speculative fiction, but just barely. It deals with the effects of global warming and extreme drought in Arizona, and speculates on how people react when the most basic stuff of life — water — is unavailable. Two of the three main characters are Latinx — and, importantly, they survive!
-“The House of Broken Angels,” by Luis Alberto Urrea
This is an amazing book. It is a family saga, but more than that it is a wonderful exploration of Mexican-American manhood. It is funny, touching, and truly delightful.
Daniel Murray, executive director of CCSRE
-“Sing, Unburied, Sing,” by Jesmyn Ward
This book follows a multiracial Mississippi family haunted by victims of racist violence. They struggle to confront the past, while holding on to those they love. Ward’s writing is at once visceral and lyrical. She sparks rage about both our history and the ways we continue to hurt one another, but also kindles hope for a future filled with care.
C. Matthew Snipp, professor of sociology and senior associate vice provost of faculty development and diversity
-“There There,” by Tommy Orange
Tommy Orange is an American Indian writer. Orange grew up in Oakland but has been involved in the Stanford Native community. He is also one of a group of young Native American writers affiliated with the Institute for American Indian Art in Santa Fe, NM. “There There” is about a group of urban American Indians, has been getting glowing reviews and is selling well. It’s #8 on the NYT hardcover fiction list.
