23. The Satanic Verses

The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie

I actually read this one back in September, in preparation for Rushdie's visit to campus and because I had somewhat foolishly agreed to co-facilitate two book discussions.

It took me three tries to read the first chapter. It's totally disorienting and I couldn't keep the two main characters' names straight or what was happening. After this, it got easier, but I was never sure if things were happening for real or in somebody's dream.

The Satanic Verses is an amazing novel, and one I think needs rereading to appreciate. I was trying to move through it quickly so I'd have it done for the discussions, but slowly enough to have something to say about it. Next time I read it, I'll be more careful to make connections between the plot and characters and history and religious symbolism.

18. Inside the Undergraduate Experience

Inside the Undergraduate Experience: The University of Washington's Study of Undergraduate Learning, by Catherine Hoffman Beyer, Gerald M. Gillmore, and Andrew T. Fisher (2007)

This was a Center for Teaching and Learning selection from back in June. I invariably enjoy the books chosen for discussion, and this one was no different. There's a lot to get through, but it's not as dry as many research studies. The authors included plenty of direct quotes from the students they studied, which made it a much nicer read than I was expecting.

As a humanities librarian, I was most interested in a few specific chapters: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (ch. 5), Writing (ch.6), and Information Technology and Literacy (ch.8). These sections really got to the heart of what I want to know about what students are thinking as they go through college. The chapters are framed by the researchers, but the students' learning processes are described in their own words. The other thing that really resonated with me was the way students made connections across disciplines and talked about how they became adaptive learners. Fascinating stuff.