Faculty & Staff Reading Ideas
By Amy Jodry
Hello Cambridge family! We hope that you are enjoying your summer and time off.
At Prof. Benson’s proposal, we recently polled our faculty and staff to see what they were reading this summer, whether they had just finished it, are currently reading it, or plan to finish it over the summer holiday. We loved hearing about all of the diversity of titles, which spanned serious topics, fun quick reads, and professional development.
After reading through the faculty and staff’s reading lists, we thought it would be fun to share these lists and recommendations with you in case you needed any summer reading ideas. In most of the blogs, we have broken the book lists into various topics, including categorizing them into any age or adult only recommendations. Over the next few weeks, we’ll release the various lists by faculty and staff. Enjoy!
Reading recommendations by Amy Jodry:
I typically use the summer to read books I’m interested in whether from a personal or growth standpoint, as well as some lighter fun reading. These are the books I’ve been reading and those I plan to finish soon.
Book Recommendations for Anyone:
These are some Christian novels that I would recommend for any reading level. Janet and Geoff Benge can take any complicated topic or history and write an incredibly compelling novel that is easy and fun to read.
- Janet & Geoff Benge, George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans. This is a very quick read, but it is an excellent example of how God can use you for His purposes when you fully surrender your will and trust to Him. It’s one of my favorite books that I have read recently.
- Janet & Geoff Benge, Brother Andrew: God’s Secret Agent. I am looking forward to starting this book. I heard Brother Andrew speak when I was younger, and have always been inspired by how God used him to help spread the gospel into part of the world that seemed “closed” to everyone else. God using a normal man as a smuggler for Him – what could be more captivating as the plot line?
My husband and I were looking for some books to listen to on our trip recently, so we decided that listening to the audiobooks from the Harry Potter series would be a fun addition to the long cross-country trek. We had both read them when we were kids when they first were published and thought it was fun to listen to them, especially since they’re more detailed than the movies.
- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Additional Book Recommendations for parents:
These are some of the other books I’ve been working through or just finished, but would recommend for parents rather than students given some of the content in the novels.
- Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. While this is a higher level book and long, it is an incredible account of the life story of Pastor Bonhoeffer. We listened to the audiobook on our road trip and were held captive the entire book. If anyone is interested in learning more about WWII and living in Germany during the time Hitler came to power, as well as standing up for what you believe in while fully surrendering to God, I would highly suggest this novel.
- Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad: A Novel. I started this book this spring on a trip and have been finishing reading through it since summer break started. The Underground Railroad is a beautifully written work that vividly displays the history and horrors of slavery in America, as well as one woman’s story to escape those atrocities.
- Jennifer Chiaverini, Resistance Women: A Novel. Resistance Women is the story of ordinary women in Nazi Germany working to undermine the Nazi regime. Based on a true story, this book exposes the selfless behavior of many of this resistance cell during WWII.