summer reading list

each year, roy christopher collects summer reading lists from a few friends and publishes them on his blog. this year's a dandy. here's my contribution.

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for as long as i can remember, nixon-related books have occupied the highest shelf on my parents' book collection - books like john dean's blind ambition and woodward and bernstein's all the president's men and the final days. a few weeks, while visiting my mom, i reached up to the top shelf and plucked down the final days (simon & schuster, 1976). it's the story of a criminal, crooked, crazed, paranoid, and totally incompetent president and the final months, weeks, and days of his reign. great summer reading!


a few months ago, at moe's books in berkeley, i traded three brand new academic books about digital media for one used copy of edward espe brown's the complete tassajara cookbook: recipes, techniques, and reflections from the famed zen kitchen (shambhala, 2009). what a great deal! i started reading and cooking from this book in late spring and will continue through summer and beyond.


as its title suggests, pam peirce's golden gate gardening: the complete guide to year-round food gardening in the san francisco bay area and coastal california (sasquatch books, 2010) tells northern californians what to plant, why, how, and when. it's my bible - especially in summer. i'm also reading gayla trail's grow great grub: organic food from small spaces (clarkson potter, 2010) for some wonderful and creative tricks and techniques.


this summer, i'm working on a new freshmen seminar called "golden gate park" which, if approved, will run next spring. to generate ideas and stimulate the old noggin, i'm reading, skimming, and scanning all kinds of wonderful books like raymond h. clary’s making of golden gate park: the early years: 1865-1906 (don’t call it frisco press, 1984); chris pollock and erica katz’s san francisco's golden gate park: a thousand and seventeen acres of stories (westwinds press, 2001); sally b. woodbridge, john m. woodbridge, and chuck byrne’s san francisco architecture: an illustrated guide to the outstanding buildings, public art works, and parks in the bay area of california (ten speed press, 2005); christopher pollock’s golden gate park: san francisco's urban oasis in vintage postcards (arcadia publishing, 2003); and hosea and nellie a. blair’s monuments and memories of san francisco: golden gate park (calmar printing company, 1955).


most of my summer reading, i suspect, will be read out loud, to siena, our 11-month old daughter, and revolve around stories about clever animals, being kind and curious, and going to sleep.

my summer reading list

every year, roy christopher collects and compiles cool summer reading lists. here's my contribution to this year's list.

my summer reading list

1. michael pollan's second nature: a gardener's education (new york: grove press, 1991)

i dig michael pollan. reading pollan gives me ideas for both my garden and my classroom. this book comes highly recommended by USF colleague, friend, and homesteader melinda stone.


2. erik davis' the visionary state: a journey through california's spiritual landscape (san francisco, california: chronicle books, 2006) - with stunning photographs by michael rauner.

this book is about california, sacred and profane buildings, shamans, pranksters, psychedelic visionaries, the prayer wheel in berkeley, the chapel of the chimes in oakland, and the alan watts library in druid heights, something i first learned about in arthur magazine.


3. mary appelhof's worms eat my garbage: how to set up and maintain a worm composting system (kalamazoo, michigan: flower press, 1982)

i want to be able to gather our food wastes, walk them outside, and feed them to worms. in return, i want and expect, with time, rich compost for our garden. this book will help.


4. karl linn's building commons and community (oakland, california: new village press, 2007) - published under creative commons

i'm tired of reading books about building community online. i want to read a book about building community offline - with help from community gardens, public exhibits, and neighborhood commons.


what's your summer reading list look like?

good food: a book display in gleeson library

good food: slow food, cooking, gardening, organic farming, and food, currently on exhibit in gleeson library, is my kind of book display. designed by USF librarian and summer garden crew member sherise kimura, the display includes books about food, growing food, cooking food, and the politics and pleasures of food.


there's something here for everyone. for those interested in growing, there's w. hensel's gardening for beginners and barbara pleasant and deborah martin's the complete compost gardening guide. for those interested in cooking, and for those interested in expanding their repertoires, there is gerry g. gelle's filipino cuisine, copeland marks' the exotic kitchens of peru, ruth reichl's the gourmet cookbook, and corby kummer's the pleasures of slow food. for those with a nursing and nutritional interest, there is reader's digest's foods that harm, foods that heal and the american dietetic association's complete food and nutrition guide. and for those of us who like to read and eat and read about what we eat, there's barbara kingsolver's animal, vegetable, miracle, marion nestle's food politics and what to eat, and a suite of michael pollan books, including the omnivore's dilemma (which i'll be assigning in my spring seminar eating san francisco).




the book display also includes an excellent four-page reading list of relevant gleeson library books, cookbooks, and guidebooks. a free holiday gift for readers!


the great thing about book displays at libraries is that the materials circulate freely. interested in learning how to compost? want new, delicious recipes? looking for some foodie-related winter-break reading? go to the library and borrow a book for free.