Read, Listen, Watch

Staff Picks and Suggestions

Big Citizenship Discussion with Co-Founder of City Year, Thurs. Oct 14

Alan Khazei, co-founder of City Year and CEO/founder of Be the Change, Inc., has written a new book — Big Citizenship — and is coming to campus to discuss the book and highlight Northeastern students who are Big Citizens. “‘Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others,’ Robert Kennedy famously wrote, ‘he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.’ No one better exemplifies the truth of these words than Alan Khazei, the co-founder of City Year. In this stirring call to arms, Khazei lays out a path for the renewal of America, which should provoke conversation, debate and action.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and presidential historian. Who: Alan Khazei with Barry Bluestone Where: Curry Student Center Ballroom When: Thursday October 14th, 2:30-4:00pm What: Discussion and Book Signing with Alan Khazei!!

RIP Joan Sutherland

We were saddened to hear about the death of the famous Australian soprano Joan Sutherland last week, at the age of 83. She was known for her big voice and mastery of bel canto repertoire. I first heard her by accident, on a recording of the works of Elgar, which I loved for Jacqueline Du Pre’s playing of the Cello Concerto. Anyway, on that same disc, you can hear Sutherland singing Elgar’s “Sea Pictures,” a lovely introspective and quite modern-sounding suite of songs. A biography of Sutherland is available in Grove Music Online, and you can stream recordings of Sutherland singing with Luciano Pavarotti, with Sutherland’s husband Richard Bonynge conducting, in Naxos Music Library online.

The Alumni Reading Room Opens!

It’s here! Today was the official opening of the Anna & Eugene M. Reppucci Alumni Reading Room. The room was a generous gift of Eugene M. Reppucci, Jr., an alumnus of Northeastern, donated in memory of his parents. The Reading Room will serve as a space for alumni to conduct personal research, relax, and experience the Library outside the bustle of the University. This room can also be reserved for alumni-related activities sponsored by student groups. There will be a reception in the Reading Room following the author talk scheduled for Parents’ Weekend, October 23, 2012. If you are interested in reserving the room for group functions, you can click here or contact the Office of the Dean of Libraries. To give the room a memorable opening, Paul Harding, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Tinkers, treated the Library to a reading from his novel as well as a revelatory discussion about the process of his work and his experiences as a child that led him to the creation of Tinkers.  

Sept. 29, 2010: On This Day in History

On September 29, 1987, my lovely sister Jacqueline Ratner was born. Happy 23rd sis! In other, more scholarly-related news, on September 29, 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a record 777.68 points after the House voted against a $700 billion financial recovery plan. It was a very somber day that wrote this 21st-century recession in stone. Two years later we are supposedly rising out of the recession, and a lot of valuable lessons have been learned by experts, businesses, and individuals alike. As students, and for the future of this country, it is important that we learn from mistakes in the past so we can keep making that “cash-money.” The library has always had books on finance, as it is one of the most popular majors at Northeastern, but now you can find newly added post-recession books on how to manage your money. Keep that beer-money coming in all of your life by taking a look at some of the great new additions to the Snell Stacks. The Roller Coaster Economy: Financial Crisis, Great Recession, and the Public Option Too Big to Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System Guide to Financial Markets

Need a new book?

Can you believe September is ending already?! I know that classes are in full swing, which inevitably means late night study sessions in Snell, long papers and lab reports, and lots of coffee. But if you’re a Communications major like me and you have a lot of free time on your hands (JUST KIDDING) you might be looking for an interesting book to read. Well, I can give you three, thanks to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, which includes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. The primary characters are Lisbeth Salander, an intelligent computer hacker in her twenties, and Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged, womanizing investigative journalist. Throughout the series we learn both characters have certain personality flaws, but regardless, you can’t help but root for them as they battle a slew of bad guys, including crooked businessmen, deplorable rapists, and freakish murderers. This is a series that both males and females can enjoy—Lisbeth is a strong female character who resonates with women, but the strong plot led by Blomkvist is packed with enough action to keep the guys interested. If you’re still not convinced, the trilogy has turned Larsson into a #1 International Best Seller (tragically he died before the books were published and never got to see the success of his work). A Swedish film company has already turned the books into movies, but if you’re not into subtitles, the first American adaptation of the trilogy starring Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist is set to be released next year. Personally, I can’t wait. Although I have nothing but praise for Larsson’s work, I should probably issue a warning that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starts out slow. But once you are past the first one-hundred pages or so, you will be hooked. So next time you get a study break, check into Snell and check out Larsson’s thrilling series. Happy reading!