August days

Fall is almost upon us, bringing cooler air and fresher minds. It’s a time when many of us turn our thoughts to a new school year. As a student, parent, and teacher, I have always looked forward to the promise of a new beginning. Some books about the academic world that I’ve enjoyed are:

 Straight Man by Richard Russo:
English professor Hank Deveroux turns his English Department upside down when he is elected interim head during deep budget cuts in this humorous and compassionate academic satire with fully developed characters and great dialogue. All the quips and attempts at humor he uses to hide his sense of desperation turn everyone around him into “straight men” in his routines. But his defensive strategy is wearing thin for colleagues, friends, and family members. This is an entertaining book by one of my favorite writers!

 Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
Grady Tripp is an aging writer who struggles to live up to his early promise but is clearly failing. Meanwhile, he is busy creating chaos in wildly inappropriate and humorous adventures with family members, colleagues, students and friends.(Note: You can also check out the DVD with Michael Douglas in the role of Tripp and the CD, with music from Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, John Lennon, Clarence Carter, and others.)

Moo by Jane Smiley
This is another humorous look at the absurdities of the academic world, written by a professor a large state university who knows the terrain well. The book is a fun read for those who enjoy a slightly irreverent take on esteemed institutions.

White Noise by Don DeLillo

DeLillo won the National Book Award for this academic satire that takes place in a small Midwestern town. The darkly humorous story is amazing in its presentation of modern life as a media-obsessed age of rampant materialism, experimental drugs, health warnings, a “toxic event,” and information overload. What’s surprising is that this thought-provoking, seemingly current book was published in 1985, and applies even more today.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Lee Fiona from South Bend, Indiana wins a scholarship to a fancy prep school where she uses her superior powers of observation to try to fit in. Her relationship with a star athlete is surprising, confusing, and in the end, not what she had hoped. Surrounded by classmates she sees as snobs, she begins to be embarrassed by her own family and upbringing. However, Lee looks back with sympathy and insight as shares her story of being a teenager trying to fit in.