Books you should read this summer, according to UChicago faculty

The Thrifty Guides to History by Jonathan W. Stokes

Recommended by Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Lyon

“My family and I have been enjoying the "Thrifty Guide" series by Jonathan W. Stokes. The books are funny and educational for kids and adults interested in history.”

The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale

Recommended by Prof. Daniel Morgan

“My daughter is deeply obsessed with this series at the moment—she’s four. It’s about the perfect Princess Magnolia, who always wears pink and glass shoes, but is secretly the monster-fighting Princess in Black. It’s very funny and witty, and she has a great recurrent catch-phrase as she fights monsters: “Twinkle, twinkle, little smash!”

The Pursuit of Harmony: Kepler on Cosmos, Confession, and Community by Aviva Rothman

Recommended by Assoc. Prof. Daniel Fabrycky

“This book is a biography of Johannes Kepler, the 17th century astronomer known for his laws of planetary motion, but it brings out parts of his life that aren’t so well appreciated. He had some really weird ideas about how platonic solids delimited the motion of planets of the solar system, and that drove his obsession to describe orbits accurately. In so doing, the weird idea didn’t survive, but did give us Kepler’s three laws, which Newton explained and helped kick off the scientific revolution. I’ve also been interested in how these different figures interacted with their local church authorities. 

I’ve been working with data from the modern-day Kepler Space Telescope, but this book gave him a profound respect for him more broadly. It gave me the perspective that even though some of his ideas were weird, he had some that were profound, and I’m glad he stuck to his guns.” 

Music pick: Little Oblivions, by Julien Baker

Recommended by Asst. Prof. Blase Ur

“Part of the reason I enjoy teaching UChicago undergrads so much is that I was basically one of them not that long ago. When you start as an undergrad at UChicago, it can be super overwhelming. You've gone from being someone who is learning about the world to someone who is contributing to the world while also still learning about the world. You may not realize at the time that that's how it's going to be for the rest of your life. It's easy to be overwhelmed. It's easy to be self-critical. You have to learn to work on hard problems and navigate challenging times while having grace toward yourself. Julien Baker's records generally, and this one in particular, really capture that feeling.”