*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Atlanta, GA | Posted: March 15, 2018
Institute Communications
404-894-6398
Did you know faculty and staff members can have Library requests delivered to their campus mailbox? Learn more at c.gatech.edu/lends.
Read something good lately? Tell us about it.
Summary Sentence:
Members of the Georgia Tech community suggest books to read during Spring Break.
Full Summary:
Members of the Georgia Tech community suggest books to read during Spring Break.
Spring Break 2018 booksA little downtime during Spring Break offers the perfect opportunity to read a new book or to catch up on one that slipped by when it was published years ago.
We asked several members of the Tech community for recommendations. The books range from a story about children transported through time to save their father from evil forces on another planet to a fictional retelling of the Atlanta child murders from a child’s viewpoint.
By Erich Segal, Bantam (1985)
“This is a fascinating book that all college students might be able to relate to. The Class is a novel about the Harvard Class of 1958 and their time as students. Then it moves to their days after Harvard and how the students thought they would go out and change the world, but they found out the world had changed them. Through life, death, divorce and families, this is an excellent book on what the real world can really be like and how these kids, who became adults, faced it.”
—Scott Sergent, video producer/director, Georgia Tech Cable Network (GTCN)
By Tayari Jones, Grand Central Publishing (2009)
“For Atlanta natives and Atlanta Monster podcast fans, you are familiar with the story of the Atlanta child murders and Wayne Williams. Leaving Atlanta is a fictionalized retelling of the story from the point of view of a child who lives in one of the neighborhoods where some of the children went missing. Jones, an Atlanta native, lived in one of the neighborhoods where children were found and was able to capture the unending fear and distrust that swept through the city, especially in the African-American neighborhoods where these murders were happening. Octavia, the protagonist, is a smart fifth grader facing the everyday challenges of any 12-year-old but with the specter of a real-life bogeyman. Leaving Atlanta is an easy read and is a great choice for a Spring Break read.”
—Cynthia Jennings, assistant dean, Student Life
By Andy Weir, Crown (2017)
“I just finished Andy Weir’s new book Artemis. (You’ll recall he wrote The Martian a few years ago.) It was an outstanding sci-fi thriller based in Artemis, a moon colony. If you like science, engineering, and a captivating story, you’ll like Artemis.”
—Joe Irwin, president and CEO, Georgia Tech Alumni Association
By Julie Lythcott-Haims, Macmillan Publishers (2017)
“In this compelling personal narrative, Lythcott-Haims walks readers through the realities of confronting race at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st. Poignant, sometimes distressing, often hilariously raw, the author’s perspective as the former dean of freshmen and academic advising at Stanford University gives an insight into how even the most educated, progressive, and accepting of educational institutions still have miles to go in racial equality. This memoir is a must-read for anyone hoping to gain a better understanding of race in the United States.”
—Ellen Murkison, academic advisor II, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Sravanthi Meka, marketing manager, Housing and Conference Services, recommended two books:
By Jessica Shattuck, William Morrow (2017)
“I attend author lectures at the Atlanta History Center, and this book and author were featured in January. World War II is an era of history I enjoy learning about, and this fictional work includes some historical context. The women are widows of German men who tried to assassinate Hitler, and it tells the story of their lives before, during and after the war.”
By Madeleine L’Engle, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1962)
“I’m reading this now, to get ready for the movie! I first read it in third grade and loved the idea of kids on an adventure and saving their family. Like Meg, I was different, and had glasses and braces at her age. I read it several times in middle school as well, but it is great to read it from an adult perspective.”
