Department of English Summer Reading Recommendations
Jun 1, 2023
Throughout the country, the number of English majors at four-year universities has been steadily trending downward over the last five years.* However, at Xavier University, those numbers are going up.
Jodi Wyett, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of English, believes the department tends to attract a good percentage of majors after they’ve already enrolled at Xavier.
“I think that can be attributed to our stellar faculty who teach engaging core courses (like Literature and the Moral Imagination) with passion for the subject matter and compassion for the students. But we are also seeing increasing numbers of incoming students who have declared the English major.”
Wyett, who is the parent of two teenagers and has spent a lot of time talking with and reading the work of Xavier students, believes that this generation of students may be more inclined than pre-pandemic era students to pursue what they enjoy and what they are good at rather than take a vocational path training for a specific job.
“We’ve long known the old chestnut that humanities majors are unemployable is a myth. Research supports the idea that an English major, which emphasizes critical thinking, writing and reflection in a context of human interdependence— how we relate to and rely upon each other— not only produces quick, flexible thinkers adaptable to a variety of jobs but also contributes to a fulfilling life beyond the workplace.”
As the school year winds down and summer days stretch out ahead, a few faculty from Xavier’s English Department recommend some good reads.
Summer Reading Recommendations
Senior Teaching Professor Kelly Austin recommends
- The Chosen One, Echo Brown
- Laziness Does Not Exist, Devon Price
Assistant Professor Conner Basset is currently reading
- Whale, Cheon Myeong-kwan
- Shy, Max Porter
Teaching Professor of English Megan Nieto recommends
- The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy
- Stella Maris, Cormac McCarthy
- The Rock Eaters: Stories, Brenda Peynado
- Maria, Maria and Other Stories, Marytza K. Rubio
Associate Professor Niamh O’Leary recently read and loved
- This is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch, Tabitha Carvan
- The Once and Future Witches, Alix E. Harrow
- Fairy Tale, Stephen King
- Under the Whispering Door, TJ Klune
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Sangu Mandanna
- Perfect Little World, Kevin Wilson
Teaching Professor Rita Rozzi recommends
- At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life, Fenton Johnson
Teaching Professor Sheena Steckl is currently reading
- The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
- Pen America Banned Book List
Assistant Professor Nate Windon recommends
- Henry David Thoreau: A Life, Laura Dassow Walls
- Walden, Henry David Thoreau
- Walking, Henry David Thoreau (essay)
- Life without Principle, Henry David Thoreau (essay)
This summer he will be reading
- A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Henry David Thoreau
Professor and Chair of English Jodi Wyett recommends
- The Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich
- Imperial Radch Series, beginning with Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie
- Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead
- Nothing to See Here, Kevin Wilson
- Still Life, Sarah Winman
This summer, she will be reading
- Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Series, Deborah Crombie
- The Murderbot Diaries Series, Martha Wells
*According to the 2022 data made available by the National Student Clearing House Research Center