Summer 2007 - Northwestern College

Northwestern Classic
Hot
reads
Under a beach umbrella, beside a campfire, or swaying in a porch swing—summer hangouts beg for
good books. The Classic asked Northwestern faculty and staff to recommend a few of their favorites.
Adventure
In the Heart of the Sea
by Nathaniel Philbrick
Like other Americans in the early 19th century,
Herman Melville was morbidly fascinated with a
sperm whale’s attack on a whale ship that left 20
sailors stranded on the open sea. Philbrick retells a
true story that was as known to Americans then as
9/11 is to us today.
Dr. Keith Fynaardt, English
Coming of age
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith
Like a tree that sprouts from rock or concrete, Francie
thrives despite her squalid circumstances and dysfunctional
family. She enjoys going to her local public
library and escaping through books. As a former
librarian, I love that!
Rachel Van Den Broek ’02, alumni relations
18 ▲ Summer 2007
Faith
Dakota
by Kathleen Norris
In her bestseller, Norris
wrote about Lemmon,
S.D., a place similar—
both geographically and
spiritually—to ours. She
encompassed her place
broadly as well as deeply, honestly as well as lyrically,
and above all Christianly, helping the reader think
about place and experiencing God.
Dr. Doug Anderson, history
Fiction
Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides
Kathleen Norris will
visit NWC in April 2008
for “Minding Place,” a
125th-anniversary event.
E-mail mindingplace
@nwciowa.edu to be on
a mailing list for further
information.
The Stephanides family are Greek immigrants with a
mixed bag of crimes and secrets. This 2003 Pulitzer
Prize-winner kept me laughing, but at the heart of the
novel is a serious matter: the pain and confusion of
being born with ambiguous gender.
Deb Menning, English