What to read and where as told by Vanderbilt Professors
50 Shades of… nahhh just kidding
Now I know that the last thing Vanderbilt students need is more work to do, but I also know that all you over-achievers out there sometimes actually like learning! *GASP* Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.
But if you were to fall into that, shall we say “academic” category, then below you will find the ultimate MUST-READ book list, comprised by Vanderbilt professors. I asked professors from various departments what books they find essential for students to read while in college and crafted this top 15 list. So carve out some time in those busy schedules, maybe skip a Netflix episode or two, and try out some of these suggestions.
For your own added enjoyment, I paired each book with a location on campus that goes best with the subject matter. Let’s face it, reading outside is a fun part of the cliche college experience – tried and true! As spring approaches, step out and breathe in the knowledge of literature:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Recommended by: Paul Stob – Communication Studies
Read on: Grins Patio
This book is sure to cause many an existential crisis or epiphany and we all know that goes best with a nice cup of good coffee. Get some Bongo Java and blow your mind with some happy, light-hearted issues like existence and consciousness.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Recommended by: Paul Stob – Communication Studies
Read on: Library Lawn
Library Lawn is the perfect location to plop down and start East of Eden. Sit and look into the big open lawn with the zig-zagging paths for a visual mirror of vast spaces in nature and the vast spaces between good and evil within characters.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Recommended by: Paul Stob – Communication Studies
Read on: Law School Bench
Try reading this autobiography on this bench in front of the Law School. Malcolm’s impassioned and honest words call for a revolution of respect will fire you up to change the world around you. Get fueled on this bench and then take that fire into the law school to further study the fight for equality.
Fathers and Children by Ivan Turgenev
Recommended by: Cassio De Oliveira – Russian Studies
Read on: Stevenson Courtyard
This novel is a cautionary tale on the danger of spending too much time in the lab. Take a break from bio-chem or astronomy and breath in the fresh air while you get some perspective or chart out your exit from Stevenson.
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
Recommended by: Cassio De Oliveira – Russian Studies
Read on: Rand Wall
Pnin’s character has to deal with former lovers haunting him as squirrels. Trashcans outside Rand beckon to the campus squirrels, and just maybe while reading you’ll discover that Vandy squirrels are hungry for more than your Chef James leftover.
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
Recommended by: Cassio De Oliveira – Russian Studies
Read on: Wilson Lawn
The main character went to “Accidental College” and often remembers his time there throughout the book. Let me tell you, this college was a weird place. I can’t think of anywhere weirder than the home of the test monkeys inside of Wilson.
The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck
Recommended by: Ben Jordan – Bio Engineering
Read on: Bench outside Calhoun
This corner of campus is definitely less frequented, making the title fitting and the quiet perfect for self-reflection.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Recommended by: Ben Jordan – Bio Engineering
Read on: Alumni Patio
Reading such a well-known book in a well-trafficked area will make you seem both intelligent to touring students and driven to visiting professionals.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Recommended by: Ben Jordan – Bio Engineering
Read in: Last Drop Courtyard
This intimate area will allow you the room to be emotional about the triumph of the human spirit. Yet you are still close to people when you want to look lovingly on humanity passing by.
Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche
Recommended by: Mark Wollaeger – English
Read on: Any dark bench
This book deals with the deep, dark aspects of human existence. You need a dark corner of campus to make you feel just as isolated and pretentious as Nietzsche called for.
The Odyssey by Homer
Recommended by: Mark Wollaeger – English
Read on: Peabody Lawn
This classic story of a long journey home makes upperclassmen think about how wonderful their time on Commons was. Sometimes a return to that mindset is necessary to carry us through the trenches of real-life prep.
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Recommended by: Mark Wollaeger – English
Read on: Kirkland Steps
A haunting and glorious tale of compromise, reading outside the registrar building will remind us of our own compromises through college curriculum and credits.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Recommended by: Katie Foster – Creative Writing
Read on: Rand Tables
This book is an effort to raise awareness of the travesty of rape culture, and to reinstate justice and protection to women. Location wise you will want somewhere visible in order to support the equality of these characters and women on campus.
Fantastic Women anthology edited by Tin House’s Rob Spillman
Recommended by: Katie Foster – Creative Writing
Read on: McGill Tables
The authors are concerned with the surreal and the sublime, and there is nowhere else on campus that feels quite as dreamlike and artistic as McGill.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Recommended by: Katie Foster – Creative Writing
Read on: Pub Patio
This collection of poignant and wry issues of immigration, race, class, and the limitations of the American dream requires an expansive view of campus – and probably a Pub beer to examine the relevance of this in our times and on our campus.
Head on over to Barnes and Nobles or to one of the many libraries on campus and get to reading. I promise you’ll be a better person for it – and you’ll get to procrastinate studying with something useful.
Anchor down on our beautiful campus and read on!