You’re sitting in your favorite chair, wrapped in your favorite fleece blanket and wearing fuzzy slippers. A warm fire crackles in the fireplace and a toasty cup of hot cocoa sits beside you. What’s missing from the scene? A book — one that challenges you to be a better person, makes you think outside the box and will stay with you forever.
Finding a life-changing book isn’t always easy, but ENGL 2011: Books That Matter is built around literature that has shaped the world and influenced readers for generations. Through these transformative stories, English professors Dr. Tyler Farrell and Dr. Leah Flack introduce students to works they’ll return to again and again — long after the semester ends.
“Reading is integral to understanding one another and the complex world around us,” Farrell says. “For any student, I teach that literature is an opportunity to connect with others and contemplate how our actions and ideas interact with society.”
Of the many stories covered in the course, Farrell and Flack recommend these five books that they know you’ll take with you for the rest of your life.
“Howl and Other Poems” by Allen Ginsberg
Ginsberg’s “Howl and Other Poems” stands as one of the most influential poetry collections ever written. Inspired by Walt Whitman’s free verse, “Howl and Other Poems” critiques systems of oppression — begging audiences to be as authentic and honest with themselves as possible. Addressing themes of marginalization and the American “melting pot,” the poem calls on readers to stand on the rooftop and howl about the injustices of the world.
“For any interested reader, ‘Howl’ is groundbreaking and enlightening,” Farrell says. “It makes the reader see themselves and others in a new light. ‘Howl’ asks us to look at the injustices in the world and try to help them, change them, and make the world a better place for all.”
“Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak
On the first day of class, Flack hands each student a copy of this children’s classic. While this might sound strange, this book serves as a way to reconnect with reading as a fun and pleasurable experience — just like a bedtime story. “Where the Wild Things Are” asks readers to use imagination to navigate uncertainty and stress — reminding readers that it can be OK to run away with imagination if we know our way back home.
“Go read this out loud to another person. Do the voices. Talk about your favorite pages,” Flack says. “It might sound odd, but it’s a great way to bring back that fun spark to reading that we sometimes lose as we grow up.”
“The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories” by Carson McCullers
This short story collection focuses on themes of love, longing, isolation and human connection. McCullers’ characters struggle with their place in the world and how they best deal with the changes that come their way. Throughout the collection, the stories ask us to take the good with the bad and to always keep looking forward.
“McCullers is such a great writer who shows how deeply identity and belonging matter, and that lessons can be learned in almost everything we do,” Farrell says. “Her stories always show the reality of life and the struggles we have to balance with our own views — but it ends on a lesson all readers need to discover.”
“Atonement” by Ian McEwan
Spanning much of the 20th century, “Atonement” questions how we misperceive ourselves and history. With a shifting storyline between the two world wars and the present, “Atonement” asks readers to ponder how we attempt to understand the world around us and how we judge one another.
“This novel is a knockout. Students are really engaged the entire time,” Flack says, “and no one sees the plot twist coming in the final pages!”
“Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett
As one of the most important plays of the 20th century, “Waiting for Godot” asks readers to contemplate faith, life and their place in the world. While seemingly a story about two men waiting for a mysterious person named Godot, the play serves as a philosophical meditation on meaning and purpose in the world.
“’Godot’ is a book that needs to be read by all,” Farrell says. “It reminds us that we are all in a similar boat — looking for meaning, trying to stay motivated, and finding hope even in the difficulties of life. The first time I saw this on stage, I was filled with such enlightenment that I sat stunned in my chair for 10 minutes — just thinking about how impactful this play was on me and on society.”
These selections represent just a few of the works explored in ENGL 2011: Books that Matter. Literature has the power to make you think deeply about ethics, change your perspective on the world and leave a lasting impression on you as an individual. Flack and Farrell encourage everyone to keep reading.
“I hope every student who leaves our classes sees themself as a reader,” says Flack. “Reading is a pleasure, a solace, a source of wisdom and an activity that strengthens our minds, hearts and spirits.”
