HWS News
9 July 2021 • Alums HWS Summer Reading Picks
If you've been looking for a great read to fill your summer days, look no further. From engaging nonfiction to page-turning thrillers, you're sure to find something you love in this compilation of works written by members of the Hobart and William Smith community.
Summer Reading List
Monster and Boy: Monster’s First Day of School by Hannah Barnaby ’96. This charming picture book follows Boy as he brings his best friend, Monster (who lives under his bed) to school. There, Monster meets new people, learns about sharing, and even helps to solve the mystery of the missing pet hedgehog.
The Likely World by Professor of English Melanie Conroy-Goldman. Professor Conroy-Goldman’s debut, The Likely World, explores themes of motherhood, sobriety, and love.
Love Is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times by The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry ’75, D.D. ’20. Expanding on Bishop Curry’s message of hope, Love Is the Way calls on readers to follow a path of love and put their faith into action.
Dress Coded by Carrie Lenarcic Firestone ’92. Firestone’s new novel tells the story of an eighth grader who starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school and sparks rebellion, while also dealing with changing friendships and her older brother’s vaping addiction.
An Internet in Your Head: A New Paradigm for How the Brain Works by Associate Professor of Psychological Science Daniel Graham. Graham’s new book looks at how we can better understand the human brain by comparing it to the operation of the Internet’s communication system.
Make It, Don’t Fake It: Leading with Authenticity for Real Business Success by Sabrina Horn ’83. Horn shares lessons about the importance of authentic leadership in building sustainable success and why you should ditch the “fake it till you make it” mentality in your business.
The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll ’06. Thriller fans will enjoy the twisting story that follows two sisters who join the cast of a reality TV series, but only one will make it out alive.
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne P’88 and Tamara Payne ’88. The epic biography of Malcolm X — coauthored by Tamara Payne ’88 and her father Les Payne P’88 — won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the National Book Award for Non-Fiction.
The Search for Why: A Revolutionary New Model for Understanding Others, Improving Communication, and Healing Division by Dr. Robert Raleigh ’73. Raleigh has developed a groundbreaking new model for understanding human behavior, leading a sea change in how companies, institutions and public figures communicate.
Wolf: A Novel by Honorary Trustee Herbert J. Stern ’58, P’03, LL.D. ’74. Stern’s debut thriller, Wolf, offers a look at Adolf Hitler’s rise to power through an historical fiction lens. The work was co-authored with Alan A. Winter. Stern’s second novel Sins of the Fathers is due out in February 2022.
Hummingbird Salamander by Former HWS Trias Writer in Residence Jeff VanderMeer with assistance from Professor of Biology Meghan Brown. This speculative thriller follows “Jane Smith” as she is sent on a dangerous quest that revolves around a taxidermized hummingbird and a taxidermized salamander.
Semiotic Love [Stories] by Brian P. Whalen '01. Whalen’s debut short story collection confronts grief as he writes about the loss of relationships through his explorations of symbols and objects.
We're continuing to compile a list of HWS Alum Authors. Know someone who needs to be added? Email publicity@hws.edu