51ĀÜĄņSummer is the season of outdoor BBQs, ice-cold drinks, splashing in the pool, lying by the beach ā and for many of us, a time to catch up on our summer reading. 51ĀÜĄņ Magazine is here to help curate your book list with recommendations by our esteemed faculty.
Check out this eclectic list of must-read books ā books from various academic disciplines, life-changing books, books you wonāt be able to put down ā and find the perfect one to read at the beach, at the park, on a plane or on your comfy couch in your air-conditioned living room.
Recommended by: Maria Su Wang, Associate Professor of English
- A Book I Couldnāt Put Down
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri
This is a novel about a particular Indian American family in the Northeast, but somehow it captures the immigrant experience in universal ways. I've read the novel many times and still cry every time. - Best Book for the Beach
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
Iām not sure this is what you might think of when you think of a ābeach book,ā but I did read this novel on a vacation to Maui many years ago and I couldnāt put it down. Itās a love story and a meditation on the power of the imagination and writing, as well as a tragedy, all set in the years prior to WWII in England. Itās lovely. - A Book Every Christian Should Read
Silence, by Shusaku Endo
The universal problem of where is God in the midst of suffering is explored in this novel within the context of the persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century, adding a multicultural twist to an enduring question. - A Book from My Academic Discipline
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
This is the best novel written in the English language of the 19th century. Period. - Favorite Classic
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Reading this novel my senior year in high school led me to choosing to become an English major!
Recommended by: Dean Yamada, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Arts
- A Book from My Academic Discipline
Imagine, by Steve Turner
As an artist and a filmmaker, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore the Christianās role in art as well as his or her engagement with art. - A Book Every Christian Should Read
The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard
I took a class with Dallas Willard as an undergraduate at USC and recently decided to read two of his books, The Spirit of the Disciplines and The Divine Conspiracy. Both resonated deeply, but The Divine Conspiracy changed the way I pray. - Book Iām Currently Reading
Creativity, Inc., by Ed Catmull
If you love Pixar, you will love this book by one of Pixar's co-founders. It is about how the founders created a winning culture of collaboration and honesty within their company. - Favorite Classic
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
As relevant today as when it was published in 1960. And yes, itās better than the movie (even though I love both Gregory Peck and the musical score by Elmer Bernstein). - Best Book You Can Finish in a Day
The Way of the Heart, by Henri Nouwen
51ĀÜĄņ faculty were given this book a few years ago, and Nouwenās words on solitude, silence and prayer spoke deeply to my soul.
Recommended by: Arianna Molloy, Associate Professor of Communication Studies
- A Book from My Academic Discipline
Make Your Job a Calling, by Bryan Dik & Ryan Duffy
My particular field of study is organizational communication (communication in and about the workplace), specifically looking at how we communicate about work as a calling. This is the best book that addresses work as a calling. It provides depth, but is easy to read. Itās written by two top vocational psychologists who provide steps to take when considering how to find work that feels like a calling, but also how to experience a sense of calling in the work you already do. - A Book Every Graduating Senior Should Read
Sacred Pathways, by Gary Thomas
I donāt know about you, but I love taking personality tests and learning more about how we all work! Sacred Pathways is like StrengthFinders or Myers-Briggs, but for your relationship with God. The author provides nine different ways we might experience closeness with God. At the end of each chapter, the reader takes a self-assessment that reveals the degree to which this approach rings true. It not only illuminated why I felt closer to God in certain spiritual practices, but helped me learn how to support different needs in those around me. I love this book! - A Book Every Graduating Senior Who is Single Should Read
How to Get a Date Worth Keeping, by Henry Cloud
After graduating college as a single person, I realized I had no idea how to date as an adult Christian. There are all sorts of weird rules that the Christian culture puts on dating, and ways of thinking that arenāt healthy or helpful. While the title may feel a little silly, this book was unbelievably helpful for me in my own dating journey. Later, I found out that my husband read it when he was single, too. I think that made a huge difference. The author shares how we can learn more about ourselves and our relationship with God when we know how to date in a healthy way. Itās like having your own personal dating coach. - Favorite Classic
The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis
If I was stranded on a desert island and could only choose one book from the classics to read over and over again, this would be the book! I read it about every three to four years. The metaphors and descriptions, the characters themselves, all speak right to my heart. Itās an unusual book, not thick in page numbers, but certainly deep and rich. It changes me just a little, every time I read it. - Favorite Book by a Colleague
Polycentric Missiology, by Allen Yeh
Even if I wasnāt married to this amazing man, Iād suggest this book! Yeh writes in a winsome, academic tone, describing his experience attending five internationally famous conferences about missions ā one on every continent. He discusses an important shift in understanding missions, explaining that while it used to be āfrom the West to the rest,ā it is now āfrom everyone to everywhere.ā
Recommended by: Michael Longinow, Professor of Journalism
- Best Audiobook
Becoming Dallas Willard, by Gary Moon
This audiobook was one my wife and I listened to during our drive from Atlanta to California last summer. It took me into the life of a thinker and believer that Iād been far distant from in the past. I heard Dallas at a faculty retreat a few years back ā a retreat I helped organize. He took me aback then, and I was stunned at how this bland, dry lecturer could hold the entire gym at this university in the palm of his hand, or should I say Godās hand. This is a must-read (or listen) if you love Willardās writing. - A Book from My Academic Discipline
From Yahweh to Yahoo: The Religious Roots of the Secular Press, by Doug Underwood
This book was the ammunition Iāve needed over the years with students, parents, family members ā anyone who questions the moral basis for journalistic inquiry in a democracy and within a Christian context. Underwoodās historical research has resonance in the unfolding 21st century. - A Book I Couldnāt Put Down
The Book of Lights, by Chaim Potok
Chaim Potok has a perspective on cultures of faith rooted in a family structure I grew up with (Eastern European) that helps me look into my own upbringing. He has a clear-eyed grasp of how old-world faith tradition intersects with doubt, postmodern thinking and the life of the mind. - A Book That Changed My Mind
To Know As We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey, by Parker J. Palmer
This book, given to me by Provost Deborah Taylor in a workshop years ago, took me to a whole new level of grasp of what it means to be in spiritual relationship with my students. Vulnerability to the teaching encounter is what this book explores. And itās an intensely biblical exploration, yet one rooted in a psychology of learning. Fascinating and heartwarming (and not in a Hallmark way). - A Book Every Christian Should Read
Power Through Prayer and Purpose in Prayer, Two Books in One, by E. M. Bounds
This book was one among a few I read during a sabbatical a few years ago. Though some of it was review, I went beyond merely reading and took its ideas into real prayer adventures with God. Iām still on that journey of discovery.
Recommended by: Ken Berding, Professor of New Testament
- A Book That Changed My Mind
Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot, by Elisabeth Elliot
This biography challenged my teenaged faith in more ways than I can list. In particular, it challenged me to pursue a single-minded devotion to Christ, think about becoming a missionary (which I did) and be willing to give my life for the sake of the gospel (which I hope I still am). - Favorite Book of the 2000s
Safely Home, by Safely Home
This book is a captivating novel that includes profound reflections on the persecution of Christians and heaven. Itās not only one of my favorite books of all time, but also a favorite of my wife and one of my adult daughters ā and we all have very different taste in books. - Best Book You Can Finish in a Day
A God-sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir, by Collin Hansen and John D. Woodbridge
Two Christian historians explain how God has worked in the past as a way to encourage revival in the present. - Book Everyone Keeps Telling Me I Should Read, but Havenāt
The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected, by Nik Ripken, with Gregg Lewis
Recommended by: Eundria Hill-Joseph, Assistant Professor of Sociology
- A Book From My Academic Discipline
The Souls of Black Folk (Unabridged), by W. E. B. Du Bois
Du Bois, an American sociologist and founder of the NAACP, gives a lens into the experience of black America with poetic prose and an unapologetic claim that even a marginalized people possesses rights and dignity conferred by God alone. Every believer who supports racial reconciliation in the U.S. will gain greater insight into the work that has been done and the work that is yet to be done through the reading of Du Boisā pivotal work - A Book That Changed My Mind
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (Fourth Edition), edited by CherriĢe Moraga and Gloria AnzalduĢa
An anthology of essays by impactful activists and scholars who are women of color, this book gave and continues to give voice to experiences that many of us leave unspoken. I recommend this collection for every reader regardless of sex or race/ethnicity who wants to āhear and understand,ā which is the first step of being a true ally or friend. - Best Book to Read With Your Family
Nightjohn, by Gary Paulsen
A story of an enslaved African American man who risks everything to teach other enslaved people to read and write. This piece of juvenile fiction encapsulates why I love to learn and teach. Nightjohn reminds us that education for many is a hard-earned privilege not to be stored up but to be shared with others. - Best Books to Remind You to Enjoy Lifeās Simple Pleasures
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series, by Alexander McCall Smith
Morality tales masquerading as detective capers, these books are set in contemporary Botswana and offer a simple escape from the day-to-day negativity we experience and witness in media. With attention to the minor and major moral failings of otherwise good people, each book in the series reminds us to simply do better and be better one day at a time.
Six Books for Leaders
Recommended by Jeff McHugh and Jake Aguas, Associate Professors, Crowell School of Business
- Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence, edited by Michael A. Moodian
- HBRās 10 Must Reads on Managing Across Cultures, by Harvard Business Review
- Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
- The Five Dysfunctions of A Team: A Leadership Fable, by Patrick Lencioni
- Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others, by Cheryl Bachelder
- Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results, edited by Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell
Three Books Weāre Currently Reading
- Becoming, by Michelle Obama
This is a great read because it is an opportunity to learn more about an influential first lady and someone who lived through a time of deep and dividing discrimination. This book gives you a window into the life a person who is committed to making life better for others. (Recommended by Carolyn Bishop, Associate Professor and Director of Elementary Education) - All You Can Ever Know, by Nicole Chung
This is a book about adoption from a Korean adopteeās perspective. Nicole has a deeply reflective and empathetic voice that draws the reader in immediately. It has gotten fantastic reviews and is short-listed for many prestigious book prizes. I have the honor of knowing her via social media, and she is extremely gracious. (Recommended by Nancy Wang Yuen, Associate Professor of Sociology). - Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, by Adam Grant
Being original is often very ordinary. What sets original thinkers apart from others is that they donāt limit their ordinary ideas; they move forward. This book provides useful concepts for entrepreneurs, managers and even parents desiring to raise kids who are not afraid to act. (Recommended by Laureen Mgrdichian, Associate Professor of Marketing)
Two Books for Creative Types (and those who wish they were)
Recommended by Daniel Chang, Associate Professor of Graphic Design
- The Senses: Design Beyond Vision, edited by Ellen Lupton and Andrea Lipps
- Design: The Invention of Desire, by Jessica Helfand
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