Head of School’s Reading List: Fall 2024

Lucy Foley’s The Midnight Feast: There is a lot happening at the ultra-luxury resort in which it is set.  The book is described as a “folk horror” as it combines local legend with new-age spiritual capitalism. Foley uses multiple narrators to advance her plot and for the most part this technique deepens the mystery and sets up the big reveal at the end.

Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan Beach: Her first book since the well-received, Pulitzer Prize-winning  “A Visit from the Goon Squad”. Manhattan Beach is essentially a novel about a family, the disappearance of a father, and his involvement in a mob set in World War II and it has generated its own positive reception.

Isabella Hammad’s Enter Ghost: I picked this book up knowing that it was only listed as a Winner of the Aspen Words Literary Prize, only to find out that it has also caught the attention of and listed as a notable book for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post. This is Hammad’s second novel after gaining reader’s attention with “The Parisian”. In “Enter Ghost,” Hammad’s characters stage Shakespeare’s Hamlet in present-day Palestine. I enjoyed this book so much that I am now reading her debut work.

Isabell Hammad’s The Parisian: This was her breakout book and I decided to read it after enjoying “Enter Ghost”. The book focuses on a transitionary period of time in the Middle East and the emergence of Palestinian resistance. It is a story set in turbulent times and at its center is a protagonist who wrestles with notions of identity, love, and loyalty.

Park Seolyeon’s A Magical Girl Retires: This was a fun surprise. When I visited Powell’s books in Portland, it was on a shelf recommended by staff.  I had no idea what to expect and unexpectedly it turned out that it was a book about fighting climate change. It is a short, almost fun book where the protagonist goes to battle with a credit card, but there is clearly something wrong with the world as evidenced by the opening scene where she is disrupted from her intention to commit suicide.

Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Another fantasy fiction selection that is a bit like a male version of “The Hunger Games” with some “Game of Thrones” mixed in. The world is divided into a strict hierarchy based on color with the elite golds at the top. Brown’s dystopian future imagines a low-born Darrow rising to elite status through a series of ruses and significant physical alterations. The first book is not everyone’s favorite, but from what I have seen it lays a foundation for a literary series that has a lot of fans.

R.F. Kuang’s The Dragon Republic: After reading her recent book, “Yellow Face” I decided to follow Kuang’s fantasy adventure series. “The Dragon Republic” is the sequel to “The Poppy War”. In fair warning, this series deals with some disturbing themes and content as it continues the story of Rin’s ascension and quest for vengeance against the Queen.

Tim Urban’s What’s Our Problem: A self-help book for societies: Urban’s book is one that I have been sharing with others since finishing it. While he takes a moderate perspective when explaining the tribalism that currently dominates our current political and social environments, he reserves a significant portion of the book’s latter half to explain what is taking place in education. If you embrace Urban’s thesis and evidence, there is cause for concern.

Keith O’Brien’s Fly Girls: It is an uncertain time in American history for the airline industry. As a way to take advantage of its novelty and prove it a safe way to travel, events featuring races, feats of speed and length, were organized to capture citizen’s imagination. An elite group of female fliers begin to emerge; bold and fearless, they push boundaries and become some of the most recognizable fliers in American flight history.

Robert Macfarlane’s Mountains of the Mind: A beautiful book recommended by Luke Hughes who is designing and building the Bar Fork dining room’s furniture. This is a book for outdoor adventurers, climbers, and those who have an interest in the modern notion of the landscape.

Dan Heath’s Reset: If you are already familiar with some of their earlier works, then the tone and structure will feel familiar. “Reset” is for those who are stuck attempting to make a change but have difficulty finding an effective strategy in which to do so.  

David Grann’s The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder: With a title like this, how could a reader not be interested in the true life events that take place in the Pacific Ocean. From the author of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” this is listed as a #1 New York Times Bestseller. In the mid 1700’s His Majesty’s Ship the Wager departs on a secret mission that quickly goes awry. Stranded on a remote island off the coast of Patagonia, members of the crew face a “Lord of the Flies” dilemma as their need for survival and the social hierarchy of the day mutually exclusive.