Goucher Reads

Kathryn Dehler

1. Who are you and what are you interested in?

My name is Kathryn Dehler and I’m a junior American Studies major. I’m interested primarily in people—so I’m interested in history, philosophy, art, politics, language, literature, sociology, psychology, food, and most other things. Right now, I’m organizing my academic interests specifically around the criminal justice system, race, and capitalism. I work as an office assistant at the library and as a tutor at the Writing Center. I’m also interested in trees and the ocean and being around both as much as possible. 

I’m currently reading various texts for various classes and research: assorted essays by Martin Heidegger, The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison by Jeffrey Reiman, The Illusion of Free Markets: Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order by Bernard E. Harcourt. 

I’m taking a seminar on Heidegger right now, so reading his works throughout the class has been intellectually invigorating, and I recommend him to anyone grappling with the question of what it means to be (which is everyone, I would say, on some level). 
Reiman’s book is fascinating. He argues that the criminal justice system functions better today as a vehicle for perpetuating crime rather than for stopping it, and that it does this largely by creating an image of crime as the work of the poor. Very compelling, and very well-articulated.   

Harcourt’s book, which I’m about half-way through, discusses relationships between the economy, punishment and government intervention; he basically argues that “free markets” don’t really exist, and that free market ideology, in trying to be independent of government involvement, assigns the sphere of punishment as the legitimate place for exercising government power. It opens with this cool and fairly detailed history of market regulation in early France, which he then compares to current views of US market regulation, which is pretty interesting, especially if you’re interested in French history as I am.    

Levi Jones

1. Who are you and what are you interested in?

Levi A. Jones, a junior-ish Anthropology major. I’m interested in political science, history, trivia, Judaic studies, philosophy, death (as Woody Allen said in Annie Hall, “It is a very important subject!”), comic books, mixology, music and films that nobody cares about (but I ramble about them anyway), pet rodents, dog breeds, and absurdity.

2. What are you reading now?

A couple of things, actually.  Another Country by James Baldwin, Time Must Have a Stop by Aldous Huxley, and I’m finishing up Mourning and Celebration: Jewish, Orthodox and Gay Past and Present by K. David Brody. None of these are things that I have to read for classes, so I don’t have as much time to devote to them as I would like. Then there are all the essays, articles, and comic books (decided to re-read Vol.1 of Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen last night) that I go through…

3. What was the most important book you have ever read?

I’d say the combination of having read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, The Complete Frank Miller Batman, and Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes all before I hit 5th grade probably ruined me for life (my father gave me these books). Aspects of those three books are pretty ingrained into my personality and thinking…So my family really wasn’t surprised when in early high school I became that weirdo who would read Arthur Rimbaud and William S. Burroughs. 

4. If you could suggest one book, what would it be and why?

Well, I read How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden over Spring Break.  It is a brilliantly written and drawn memoir of a politically-conscious young woman’s experience on a Birthright trip as she tried to deal with all the social and political grey areas, different accounts, and her own feelings.  I’m a big fan of autobiographical comics (and find it fantastic that more women are making them; I love Alison Bechdel’s and Ariel Schrag’s works) and think they should get more notice in the public eye.

Sam Rapine

1. Who are you and what are you interested in?

My name is Sam Rapine. I’m a sophomore at Goucher College, majoring in Political Science and eventually double majoring/minoring/something-ing in Russian. I’m interested in fencing, combat sports, history, policy, chess, reading (duh); anything that offers a challenge, mental or physical.In terms of reading, I tend to go about 1/4 fantasy/sci-fi, 1/4 historical/current events, 1/4 travel experiences, and 1/4 classics/mythologies/philosophical writings. As long as I learn something, I’ll be happy that I’d read a book.

2. What are you reading now?

Currently I’m enjoying Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, a shamelessly satisfying sword-and-sandal pleasure read. I’m also switching off with The Main Enemy by Milt Beard and James Risen, a nonfiction narrative of the CIA’s role in the final days/curtain call of the Soviet Union. Also, The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan, rest his soul. 

3. What was the most important book you have ever read?

Oh boy. For me, this most naturally breaks down by stages in my life. I have trouble refuting Green Eggs and Ham, in all honesty. It got the ball rolling, and that’s something whose importance can’t be overstated (It also helped me remember my name, so hey). I feel the Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman comes next, destroying so many notions that a 13-year-old accumulates—the books introduced the idea of an unhappy/bittersweet ending, the presence of morally ambiguous characters, and the idea that oftentimes the story only ends because the storyteller stopped writing. In my mid-teens I picked up The Gunslinger by Stephen King, and read the rest of the Dark Tower series in short order. Say what you’d like about the sensationalism around King’s writing, but that series asked some wonderfully captivating, relevant questions and didn’t bother sugarcoating them. This coincided with A Game of Thrones (and subsequently A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R.R. Martin, whose Tarantino-esque prose basically removed any reservations about gore, sex, and chaos I had in what I read. Finally, the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher helped to remind me that as important, gloomy, or grave as a situation can get, there’s probably something in there to laugh at. So four books/series is the closest I can get to one important book. I realize that all of them are fiction (although Green Eggs and Ham is debatable), so maybe that says something about my approach to reading. 

4. If you could suggest one book, what would it be and why?

That said, I think I would advise Kaboom by Matt Gallagher, the recollections of a soldier/blogger in the Iraq War. To me, it provided a more relevant account of the events playing out in the Middle-East than any media outlet, as well as a crystal-clear picture of why the war dragged on as long as it did. That, or Storm Front by Jim Butcher, because who doesn’t need a good laugh?

Royce DuBiner

1. Who are you and what are you interested in?

I am Royce and I am interested in Sailing, History, Corporate Governance, International Criminal Law, Medical Malpractice, and Historic Preservation. I also like anything related to the American South. 

2. What are you reading now?

Right now I am reading a book on critical race theory and the law. It is called The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. This goes along with my general interest in public policy and criminal law. The author of the book spoke at my school last year. Sadly, I do not have time to read for fun and most of my reading is related to work or schoolwork.

For a fiction book I just finished Noble House. The Novel was the story of a British Businessman during the heyday of Hong Kong’s rise to becoming an Asian Tiger. It is a great book for both showing the culture of Hong Kong and International Business Transactions. 

I really liked the book Peace Under Heavenby Man-Sik Ch’ae and Novel Without A Name by Duong Thuu Huong. Both novels are really great introductions to Asian history in the 20th century. Peace Under Heaven was great for me because it showed me a little of what Korean life was like under Japanese Colonialism. The book is comical but also critiques Korean society during the Japanese Colonial Period. Novel Without A Name was extremely transformative for me to read. I spent most of my time time at Goucher studying Asian Colonial and Post-Colonial history. Duong’s novel shows the brutality of war as it was for the average Vietnamese soldier during the American War. Slowly you see the main character descend into hell and become less and less human as he travels across Vietnam. Novels that show human beings on the edge and in their survivalist form appeal to me for some reason.

I would say every American owes it to themselves to read Shelby Foote’s The Civil War: A Narrative. It is a nearly impossible read but I think the Civil War was the peak of the mountain in terms of this countries development after the founding of the Republic. I will admit I am barely done with the first book in the series, Fort Sumnter to Perryville. If that is too daunting I would recommend reading The Wild Man From Sugar Creek: The Political Career of Eugene Talmadge by William Anderson. This book is a great look into the politics of Georgia and the South during the depression and in the weird intra period between Civil Rights and Reconstruction. The book is still valid for today’s politics as candidates increasingly turn to populist political strategy much like that employed by “Gene.” I don’t really read fiction so I am absolutely no use in that area.