Sometimes called her most important work, this 1929 essay about society and art and sexism is also one of Woolf's most accessible. Woolf takes us on an erudite yet conversational-and completely entertaining-walk around the history of women in writing, smoothly comparing the architecture of sentences by the likes of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, all the while lampooning the chauvinistic state of university education in the England of her day.

Professor Carol MacKay - English

A precursor to Brown's enormously popular The Da Vinci Code, this well-researched thriller explores the eternal conflict between religion and science. Mad scientists, world-threatening antimatter, mysterious puzzles, and wiley assassins might strain credulity but it's still a good read full of fascinating historical references. Brown explores the 400-year-old secret society known as the Iluminati, a group of Renaissance scientists, including Galileo, who met secretly in Rome to discuss new ideas. The pace is fast and the twists and turns keep coming until the very end.

Professor James Vick - Mathematics

How would people react if everyone went blind almost simultaneously? What would these reactions tell us about the human spirit? About our strengths and weaknesses of character? A Nobel Prize winning author, Portugal's José Saramago explores these issues in Blindness.

Professor Robert Prentice - Management Science and Information Systems

Not a single note is false in this spare and brutal tale; every sentence is perfectly calibrated and essential. Coetzee, who was a graduate student at UT in the late sixties, was awarded the Booker Prize for Disgrace in 1999. When an affair with a student leaves him jobless, shunned by friends, and ridiculed by his ex-wife, Professor David Lurie retreats to his daughter's small plot of land in the Eastern Cape. Soon after he arrives, a violent attack forces him and his daughter to confront their strained connection and the equally uncertain racial complexities of the new, shifting power structure in South Africa.

Professor Elizabeth Cullingford - English

The fiction of Flannery O'Connor has been called beautifully grotesque, darkly comic, disturbingly powerful. What most readers don't know is that she was profoundly Christian. Her belief in original sin and grace guides her through most every story. But why would a Christian writer tell us that the audience she has in mind when she writes is solely secular? And why is one of her greatest influences an entrenched atheist? The psychological and theological tension present in her stories creates an aesthetic vision unique and provocative in American letters.

Professor Michael Adams - English

Meet nine-year-old Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, and correspondent with Stephen Hawking and Ringo Starr. He is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Author Jonathan Safran Foer has emerged as one of the most original writers of his generation. With humor, tenderness, and awe, he confronts the trauma of our recent history and gambles on the power of his protagonist's voice to transform the cataclysm of this raw current event into a tragedy at once visceral and mythical. (from Amazon.com)

Professor Mia Carter - English

E. A. Abbott's Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by a Square (1884) has retained its appeal throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. When in the 1995 Halloween episode of The Simpsons Homer crossed into the third dimension, he was demonstrating for thousands of viewers one of the key points Abbott had made in 1884: the advantages gained by accessing a higher spatial dimension. Abbott's allegorical tale is set in a two-dimensional plane world that denies the existence of more dimensions than its own. A response to the popular fascination with a possible fourth dimension of space in this period, Flatland continues to offer lessons for us in the era of string theory in physics with its suggestion of a ten-dimensional universe.

Professor Linda Henderson - Art and Art History

This book traces the remarkable story of efforts to locate and repatriate the remains of Ishi, the California Indian who became the symbol of the last "noble savage." The mystery at the center of the story is the extraordinary life of a man who refused to give his real name because to do so would violate Yahi tribal traditions. Ishi, which means man in Yahi, was the last survivor of his tribe. In 1911, he stumbled into civilization and became a living museum curiosity in San Francisco.

Professor John Murphy - Advertising

This fascinating and odd book, not a novel by any conventional definition, was winner of the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, a literary competition intended to foster works of fiction that present positive solutions to global problems. The unnamed narrator is a disillusioned modern writer who answers a personal ad ("Teacher seeks pupil. . . . Apply in person.") and thereby meets a wise gorilla named Ishmael that can communicate telepathically. The bulk of the book consists of philosophical dialogue between gorilla and man on the history of our civilization, illuminating the assumptions and philosophies at the heart of many key issues of our times. (from Amazon.com)

Professor Larry Speck - Architecture

In this wise, wonderful book, award-winning teacher Hal Urban presents twenty principles that are as deeply rooted in common sense as they are in compassion. The topics, gathered from a lifetime of teaching both children and adults, span a wide range of readily understood concepts, including attitudes about money, success, and the importance of having fun. Classic in its simplicity and enduring in its appeal, Life's Greatest Lessons will help you find the best in others and in yourself. (from the book cover)

Professor David Fowler - Civil Engineering

During the great ages of exploration, "the longitude problem" was the gravest of all scientific challenges. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Ships ran aground on rocky shores; those traveling well-known routes were easy prey to pirates. In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment-from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton-had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution-a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....

Professor Mel Oakes - Physics

New college students usually figure out the routines of academic life fairly quickly. But what about new faculty? Meet Jim Dixon, new Professor of history at an obscure British university, whose repeated fiascos in dealing with his department chair, his colleagues, his students, his girlfriend(s), and his landlady can serve as a point of comic departure for the college experience.

Professor James Garrison - English

"The most audacious of the ancient alchemists desired to transmute lead into gold. They never succeeded. Who would have known that they should have started not with a base metal, but with bullshit? Harry Frankfurt offers a philosophical analysis of bullshit that is golden. The prose by turns employs irony, broad humor, and tongue-in-cheek high seriousness while at the same time manages to have a rigorous logical coherence that is always impressive. One leaves the essay not merely thinking it was a delight. One leaves it realizing that one has engaged the accomplishment of a great analyst and thinker."-William Chester Jordan,
Professor of History, Princeton University

Professor Robert Duke - Music and Human Learning

There is no greater delight than enjoying the subtle reasoning skills that only the greatest literary detective of all time can master. When in Silver Blaze Sherlock Holmes draws attention to the curious incident of the dog in the night, to which the less gifted reasoner responds: "The dog did nothing in the night-time," Holmes' reply, "That was the curious incident" is one of the great moments of detective inference.

Professor Michael Starbird - Mathematics

For Christopher Phillips, philosophy is a passion: it is not so much a discipline to be learned as an experience to be lived. Taking his cue from Socrates, the inaugurator of the Western philosophical tradition, Phillips embarks on a search for truth and meaning through a series of conversations with children, seniors, psychiatrists, prisoners, ex-academics, students, and lawyers. Just like the real Socrates, who did not confine himself to the Athenian ivory tower, Phillips searches out public conversations-what he calls Socrates cafis-and everyday people. In the course of the numerous cafis highlighted in this book, Phillips reminds us that we ought to ask questions simply because the process is good for us.

Professor David Springer - Social Work

As the title suggests, this book presents an argument that computers will inevitably supplant human beings as the intellectual driving force of life on this planet. I chose this book because on some levels it seems so absurd-at one point he argues that little tiny spaceships from other planets, piloted by nanorobots, may be zipping around us (and that it is because they are so tiny that we haven't had much interaction with them and other alien life forms). And yet the book is written by one of the most influential and accomplished computer scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs of our generation. The logical progression of his thesis may be occasionally flawed and sloppy, but the end result, give or take a few centuries, may be hard to argue. Whatever else, it's a fun book for discussion.

Professor David Laude - Chemistry and Biochemistry

Pulitzer Prize winning author Laurie Garrett (Medical Science Writer for Newsday) takes us on a fascinating journey of exotic and emerging diseases, presented in the context of the microbiological, geographic, political, social, and climatic factors that contribute to their emergence and pathogenicity. Ms. Garrett's intriguing approach allows the reader to witness the impact of these diseases more as an engaged detective than as a distant observer. Students choosing this book group should have an interest in human infectious diseases, the curiosity of a sleuthhound, and be willing to accept some rather graphic descriptions of the ravages caused by some devastating (yet fascinating) diseases. Since this is a lengthy book, our discussion time together will focus on the Introduction and Chapter One.

Professor Patrick Davis - Medicinal Chemistry

Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel is a murder mystery of sorts-one told by a fifteen-year-old with autism. Christopher John Francis Boone is a mathematical genius and takes everything that he sees at face value. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer. This quirkily illustrated, genuinely moving novel is told in Christopher's unique and compelling voice giving us a small glimpse into the world of children with autism.

Professor Judith Jellison - Music and Human Learning

Breaking the mold of traditional suspense novels, The Da Vinci Code is lightning-paced, intelligent, and intricately layered with remarkable research and detail. Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of Western culture's greatest mysteries-from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail. Though some will quibble with the veracity of Brown's conjectures, therein lies the fun and we'll look closely at the kind of evidence that is available from ancient times.

Professor Karl Galinsky - Classics

The present time of The God of Small Things is 1992. The location is Kerala, the southern-most state of India. The novel explores what happened to a set of twins-sister and brother-more than twenty earlier, when they were only seven, and how those events altered their lives. Although the story bristles with the particulars of the twins' Indian experience, the themes of the book transcend time and place. In fact, the book can be read as a speculation about the impact of history on human relations, particularly on what the author calls "the love laws. The laws that lay down who can be loved, and how. And how much."

Professor Charles Rossman - English

"The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather Part II" (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, are two of the most honored films of all time. For example, in 2002 they were included among the top ten films ever made in a survey of international critics and directors conducted by Sight and Sound, the magazine of the British Film Institute. If at all possible, please watch them on DVD (as opposed to VHS) to see the best possible image and appreciate the widescreen version of the films as they were projected in theaters when originally released. Finally, please avoid a different TV video version, re-edited in chronological order, called "The Godfather Saga."

Professor Charles Ramírez Berg - Radio Television Film

The Mists of Avalon tells the tale of King Arthur from the point of view of Morgain (Morgana Le Fay). It gives a totally different perspective of the Arthurian Legends.

Professor Eric Anslyn - Chemistry

This novel, winner of the National Book Award, traces its narrator's fear of "everydayness" and obsession with what he refers to as "the search." In the words of one reviewer: "this elegantly written account of a young man's search for signs of purpose in the universe is one of the great existential texts of the postwar era and is really funny besides."

Professor Steven Goode - School of Law

In this short book, author Tom Wright takes you back 2000 years to explore the context in which the words and deeds of Jesus were perceived as revolutionary. Wright's premise is that one's depth of comprehension of the Gospels can be greatly increased by understanding the historical background of Jesus' time on earth. The first half of the book, which also contains engaging photography and art, is based on a BBC series that the author wrote and produced. The second half addresses the Gospels as sources of historical information about Jesus and his mission.

Professor Donald Winget - Astronomy

The Perfect Store: Inside eBay
by Adam Cohen

In the short but wild history of the Internet, few companies have developed such an ideal approach to utilizing the uniqueness of the medium for business as eBay-hence the title of Adam Cohen's colorful and insightful corporate biography The Perfect Store. Cohen, chief technology writer for Time magazine before joining The New York Times' editorial board, is the only journalist to receive complete cooperation from the company for such a project, and the combination of access and experience leads to a well-researched and well-written tale capturing the essence of this online auction-house phenomenon. In the process, Cohen reveals how the pioneering site first developed into a vibrant virtual community, then a cultural icon and a model for Web-based commerce that reported revenue of $749 million in 2001.

Professor Ross Jennings - Accounting

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
by Simon Winchester

The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, 70 years in the making, was an intellectually heroic feat with a twist worthy of the greatest mystery fiction: one of its most valuable contributors was a criminally insane American physician, locked up in an English asylum for murder. The author also paints a rich portrait of Professor James Murray, who spent more than 40 years of his life on this project he would not see completed in his lifetime. Winchester traces the origins of the drive to create a "Big Dictionary" far back into the past; the result is a compact history of the English language. That Murray and Minor, whose lives took such disparate turns, were able to view one another as peers and foster a warm friendship is just one of the delicately turned subplots of this compelling book.

Professor Philip Varghese - Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics

The Richest Man in Babylon
by George Clason

This bestseller offers an understanding of-and a solution to-your personal financial problems that will guide you through a lifetime. This is the book that holds the secrets to acquiring money, keeping money, and making money earn more money. (from the book jacket)

Professor William Guy - Mathematics

The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins

Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, Richard Dawkins paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since.

Professor J. Craig Wheeler - Astronomy

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen R. Covey

What are the habits all successful people share? With penetrating insights and anecdotes as frequently from family situations as from business challenges, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity. This is a comprehensive program based on developing an awareness of how perceptions and assumptions hinder success-in business as well as personal relationships. Here's an approach that will help broaden your way of thinking and lead to greater opportunities and effective problem solving.

Professor Mary Steinhardt - Kinesiology and Health Education

The Stranger
by Albert Camus

Written in 1942, the Stranger remains one of the most important and widely read novels of the 20th century. This compelling and troubling tale of a disaffected, apparently amoral young man has earned a durable popularity in part because it reveals so vividly the anxieties of its time-alienation, the fear of anonymity, spiritual doubt-and it is taken as a profound expression of "existentialist" philosophy.

Professor Robert Solomon - Philosophy

W.B. Yeats: Selected Poems
by William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats is one of the greatest and most widely read poets of the twentieth century. Ireland lies at the heart of Yeat's imagination; its landscape, its myths, legends, and folklore are all part of the richness of his verse. But Yeat's poetry has a universal appeal that goes beyond its enticing Gaelic charm. His work has a strong emotional impact and is informed by the timeless themes of human life: the conflict between life and death, love and hate, and the meaning of man's existence in an imperfect world. This volume is a selection from his earliest published work, and covers roughly the first half of his career. (from the book flap)

Professor Betty Sue Flowers - English and Director of LJB Library and Museum

We
by Yevgeny (Eugene) Zamyatin

Before Brave New World...before 1984...there was We. A page-turning futuristic adventure, a masterpiece of wit and black humor that accurately predicted the horrors of Stalinism, We is the classic dystopian novel. It is also an enjoyable bit of 1920s-era science fiction. Fun... and strangely apt in 2005!

Professor Thomas Garza - Slavic Languages and Literature

What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response
by Bernard Lewis

This book is about Islam and what went wrong. From the dust-jacket: "For many centuries the world of Islam was at the forefront of human achievement-the foremost military and economic power in the world, the leader in the arts and sciences of civilization. Christian Europe was seen as an outer darkness of barbarism and unbelief from which there was nothing to learn or to fear. Bernard Lewis examines the anguished reaction of the Islamic world as it tried to understand why things had changed, how they had been overtaken, overshadowed, and to an increasing extent dominated by the West."

Professor Robert King - Linguistics

Year of Wonders
by Geraldine Brooks

Year of Wonders describes the spread of plague from London to a small Derbyshire village during the 17th-century epidemic that was the last major epidemic of plague in England. As villagers begin to die, one by one, the survivors face a choice: do they flee their village in hope of escaping the plague or do they stay and quarantine themselves to prevent further spread of the disease. This book is based on the true story of Eyam, a lead-mining village in the rugged hill country of England whose inhabitants voluntarily quarantined themselves for a year when stricken with bubonic plague in 1665-1666.

Professor Shelley Payne - Molecular Genetics and Microbiology