Thanks are due to Nate Freeman, for his great comments about the 2006 summer reading selection in his Aug. 28 column, “Improve summer reading.” Three years have passed since he and his classmates read, and roundly razzed, “My Sister’s Keeper.” We on the 2008-2009 Summer Reading selection committee are pleased to update you and other Chronicle readers about the selection process, and about this year’s very successful choice.
The selection committee consists of students, faculty and administrators. The membership changes from year to year. Because the book discussions during orientation are led exclusively by students, they have a very strong voice on the committee. Every Fall we solicit nominations from the Duke community. The process yields anywhere from 70 to 90 titles, which committee members read and discuss through the fall and winter months. In early Spring, the committee issues a list of several finalists and invites feedback from the community.
One problem Duke had faced in prior years was that many students, including some of the students who were to lead discussions, simply didn’t read the summer reading selection. This led, in some cases, to vapid, cursory and cynical conversations.
Interestingly, though many of Freeman’s classmates—and indeed other community members—shared his critical view of “My Sister’s Keeper,” most of them read the book and were eloquent in expressing their opinions. In that sense, the book’s message and central themes led to intellectual engagement.
But of course we have learned from our past choices and have, in each subsequent year, made improvements in the selection process and programming around the summer reading book.
It is impossible to please everyone, but constructive feedback from people who have been involved in the book discussions over the years led to what we believe is the best selection ever, this year’s “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” the brilliant 2007 novel by Junot Diaz. Diaz, who teaches creative writing at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology, is one of the most exciting writers of our day, and the novel has won the Pulitzer Prize and countless other honors.
By all indications, the members of the Class of 2013 appreciated the book’s virtues and engaged in the active, smart and passionate discussions that it so richly deserves. Indeed, Junot Diaz rewarded them for their efforts by reading to them and answering their questions in Baldwin Auditorium on their second day at Duke. We hope that their remaining four years on campus will be as mind-expanding and inspiring.
We are particularly grateful for the editorial because it gives us the opportunity to invite students, faculty, administrators, alumni and parents to nominate a summer reading book for next year’s incoming students.
The book should first and foremost be something they will not be able to put down. Its purpose is to spark passionate discussion among students who have never met one another, and to serve as the incoming class’s first taste of intellectual life at Duke. It should not be something commonly assigned in high school English classes, and should be of great literary quality. The book can be of any genre, fiction or non-fiction.
We look forward to your input. Look for an ad in The Chronicle in late October and early November with details, or contact one of us directly.
Todd Adams and Carol Apollonio are co-chairs of the Summer Reading selection committee.
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