RELEASED: June 16, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—With classes over and textbooks sold back to the bookstore for summer spending money, CentreCollege students celebrate the long vacation from school by—reading?

It’s true: Centre students—and faculty and staff as well—are picking up a variety of reading materials for the summer break in the hopes of gaining an edge on that upcoming summer exam (in preparation for advanced study), enlightening the mind in preparation for classes in the fall, or just simply relaxing in the pages of a novel.

Erin Matthews ’06 is reading to prepare for the LSAT, the Law School Aptitude Test.  Recent grad Crystal Mounce ’05 is studying for the PCAT, the Pharmacy College Admission Test. For both of them, Kaplan study guides will be their reading of choice for the foreseeable future.

Kristie Kachler ’06 is preparing for her upcoming John C. Young project titled “Confronted by Beauty” by reading the poetry of Frank Bidart as well as Milton’s Paradise Lost. For leisure, Kachler is getting lost in the South American setting of Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto.

Diving deeply into the realm of scholarly literature is David Hall, associate professor of religion. Currently revisiting his doctoral dissertation, Hall’s scholarly list includes Being Given Toward a Phenomenology of Goodness by Jean-Luc Marion, God as Otherwise than Being by Calvin O. Schrag, and Figuring the Sacred by Paul Ricoeur—the subject of Hall’s dissertation. 

All of those scholarly works have not discouraged Hall from a modicum personal reading. To complement his theological load, Hall is currently reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

In addition to her scholarly reading, Beth Glazier-McDonald, Stodghill Professor of Religion, recently completed The Romance Reader by Pearl Abraham. The novel details the upbringing of a young, ultra-orthodox Jewish girl and her struggles with modernity.

Modern American must-read The DaVinci Code tops the list of Casey Geiman ’07, who is working on campus this summer as a residential assistant with the Governor’s Scholars Program.

Brenna Bulach ’06 notes her desire to read the latest Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. Bulach, along with Laura MacDonald ’08 and Rachel Stamper ’09 who are also reading Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund. Four Spirits is the required reading for the entering class of 2009. Naslund, Kentucky’s current poet laureate, will be visiting writer-in-residence for CentreTerm this coming January.

Political inquiry motivates the readings of Seth Woods ’08 and Michael Douglas ’06. Woods is reading God’s Politics by Jim Wallis. Douglas, who is conducting summer research into presidential approval within media publications, finds most of his time dominated by American political periodicals. However, in his free time, Douglas is reading The Passions of Andrew Jackson by Andrew Burstein.

Patrick Noltemeyer, director of volunteer service and Bonner program coordinator, recently finished reading The Chamber by John Grisham. Randy Hays, vice president and dean of student life, is currently reading Back Where He Started by Jay Quinn. “It’s about a man suffering a mid-life crisis,” Hays says, “And since I want to avoid having one. . . . Actually, I enjoyed his last novel so I’m looking forward to this one.” 

Students and readers who feel we have left off the quintessential summer read should feel free to e-mail Nathan French (nsfren00@centre.edu) with their choice and reasons why. If enough responses are received, we’ll do a follow-up story.

Story by Centre senior Nathan French.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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