Vassar Today

What's On Your Nightstand?

By Lindsay Dawson ’05

Could your reading list use a lift? Look no further for your inspiration. There’s no better time than a gray winter day to retreat into the pages of a good book, so we asked faculty and staff the all-important question, “What’s on your nightstand?”

Dean Rogers

Library Specialist

Dean Rogers
Dean Rogers
Just before being asked to tell the VQ what I was reading, I had just placed a big order with my former office in the library, Interlibrary Loan. First on the pile was the book Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong by Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow. The authors attempt to trace cultural influences using history and personal observation that led to the characteristics associated with modern France. There’s also a pair of books from Food Network personality Rachael Ray, who does programs on 30 Minute Meals. Rachael tends to assume we all have items like feta cheese and wasabi powder tucked in our pantries ready to go at all times. Still, anyone who can encourage us to entertain guests without opening a bag of chips and a jar of salsa gets the thumbs up from me.

Lastly, in the category of “extraordinarily guilty pleasures” is Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes. When a Vogue editor puts manicured finger to keyboard, one might not expect the best of plot, prose, and character development, but you can count on a detailed, almost anthropological, listing of current status symbols (often helpfully including store names and addresses!). In this respect Plum comes through in spades.

Lydia Murdoch ’92

Assistant Professor of History

Lydia Murdoch '92
Lydia Murdoch '92
I just finished reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, which follows the themes of her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. The book explores how two generations of the Ganguli family navigate rifts of place, tradition, and age as they make the transition from Calcutta to northeastern America. Also by my bed is a children’s book I’m currently rereading: The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I’ll be using this text in my seminar “History of Childhood in Modern Britain,” paying particular attention to how the orphaned Mary brings her experience of imperialism in India back to England. Finally, for some light, inspirational reading, I have the latest issue of Runner’s World. My favorite article: “The Seven Healthy Sins: Indulgent Foods that Actually Improve Your Health.” (Avocado, caviar, chocolate, lobster, milkshake, shrimp, and wine, for anyone wondering!)

Michael McCarthy

Professor of Philosophy

Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy
At your request, I turn to my bedside table and to the bookshelf beside my desk. My leisurely reading of the last six months. An eclectic collection. John Updike is there with an anthology of his early stories and the more recent Toward the End of Time, a meditation on the last days and the last things. So is Michael Walzer’s Arguing About War, a study of the continuing relevance and difficulties of the just war theory. A personal souvenir is Rudy Weingartner’s autobiography, Mostly About Me. Rudy was the chair of the philosophy department during my early years at Vassar. Other books begun but not completed (yet) include Amos Elon’s The Pity of it All, a study of the German Jewish experience from 1743 to 1933, Susan Neiman’s Evil in Modern Thought, a different way of narrating the history of modernity, The Oxford Book of Detective Stories (no match for P.D. James), and Peter Steinfels’ A People Adrift. History, politics, fiction, and religion. Some of the areas outside philosophy in which I love to read.

Steve Rooks

Associate Professor of Dance and Resident Choreographer

Steve Rooks
Steve Rooks
Right now I am reading a book by Andy Stanley—The Next Generation Leader: Five Essentials for Those who will Shape the Future. Stanley presents some smart, practical insights in developing leadership potential. He does a great job in presenting those insights without donning the mantle of “motivational guru.” It’s an easy read, and the book presents some great truths. Another favorite of mine is The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother by James McBride. I have recommended this book to a few of my students. It’s a great journey in self-realism. McBride has lectured at our college, and this book is a wonderful account of a man coming to terms with and celebrating his unique Afro-Judeo heritage.

Natalie Friedman ’95

Writing Specialist in the Learning and Teaching Center and English Department Faculty Member

Natalie Friedman '95
Natalie Friedman '95
I’m the type of person that reads two or three things at the same time, so right now I’m reading something serious and something for fun. The serious book is Crossing Over by Ruben Martinez. It charts the journey of a Mexican family on the migrant trail from the border into the American Southwest. It’s a powerfully moving account, and it was recommended to me by my colleague in geography, Joe Nevins, after we found out we had a common interest in immigrant issues. For fun, I’m reading a book of fiction called Natasha: And Other Stories by David Bezmosgis, who is a young Canadian Jewish writer of Russian origin. He went to school with one of my best friends, so it’s always fun to read the writing of someone with whom you feel a connection.

Photo credit: Samantha Soper ’91