Senior Lisa Pang chose to read Mathematics for Human Flourishing by Francis Su. She said her main interest is in classics and ancient philosophy, but she saw this part of her summer reading “as an opportunity to learn new ideas and new ways of understanding the world.” 

Ms. Su’s book was one of 25 titles students could choose as part of this year’s summer reading program. The books were selected by Loomis Chaffee departments and centers with the intention of connecting to students’ interests, hobbies, and passions. All across campus on Tuesday, September 29, faculty and students engaged in chats about the specific books.    

Lisa said she has thoroughly enjoyed the school’s math curriculum. 

“I thus hoped that reading the book could deepen my understanding of the beauty of math and the value of being educated in it,” she said. “My biggest takeaway is that you don’t have to be a math genius or 100 percent committed to the field to see its beauty and relevance. The virtues math hones — the courage to explore, the patience in productive struggle, the search for beauty and elegance, among others — contribute to the flourishing of everyone. I found Professor Su’s arguments compelling, and I was glad to come across this book.” 

The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez, chosen by the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies, is an historical novel about the construction of the Panama Canal and “cast light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there,” according to the summer reading program web page.  

“We wanted a book with a global perspective that interpreted history from a different lens,” said Richard Karrat, an associate director of the Alvord Center. He said the students learned about the diversity of people who built the Panama Canal or were affected positively or negatively by the canal’s construction. “A takeaway is that there are multiple perspectives to moments in history, and what we read in history books does not always represent what happened or does not give the whole story,” Richard said. 

Marley Matlack, the Christopher H. Lutz Director of the Alvord Center, added that the book fit the center’s mission. 

“We also chose this book because it focused on a major historical event that had a significant impact on the environment, providing students with the opportunity to examine history using both a global and environmental lens,” she said. 

Pride and Prejudice, the Jane Austen novel, never gets old. The English Department offering attracted 60 students spread over three classrooms. The book was published in 1813 and has been adapted for the screen, stage, and TV. There is even a Jane Austen page (janeaustenpage.com) that calls itself “a reference & companion for readers, students, and Janeites — her life, novels, characters, and the Regency world.” More than 20 million copies of the book have been sold, according to multiple estimates. 

The Athletics Department offering, Mentality Wins: The Athlete’s Playbook for Thriving in Sports and Life, was the most popular, with more than 170 student readers. The book was written by Jonathan Jenkins and Kimberly O'Brien, with the description of the offering noting “what separates good from great is what happens between the ears.” 

Ms. O’Brien was the keynote speaker at Loomis Chaffee’s third Wellness Summit last February. At the summit, Ms. O’Brien said that she and Dr. Jenkins wanted to create a book that spoke to all young athletes as whole people, not just as performers, giving them tools to master the mental side of sports, tools that can be used in all aspects of life. “When we talk about mental skills, it’s not just on the field, on the ice, on the court. It’s about applying things everywhere in your life,” Ms. O’Brien said at the summit. 

Project Hail Mary, the 2021 science fiction novel by Andy Weir that became a movie starring Ryan Gosling this year, was the selection of the Norton Family Center for the Common Good.  

“The main character –– Ryland Grace –– is a talented scientist [who has] a knack for teaching,” said Katharine Conklin, associate director of the Norton Center. “When called to assist with a planet-saving mission, he is literally tasked to serve the common good — the whole world — while tapping into his best self — courageous, intelligent, resilient, and kind.” The Norton Center offers programming, discussions, and other opportunities “for students to emulate this same character arc,” she said.  

Yoko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor, a Math Department offering, is about a brilliant mathematician who sustains a traumatic brain injury that forces him to live with “only 80 minutes of short-term memory, his brain like a tape that begins to erase itself like clockwork,” according to the book description. Each morning the professor and his housekeeper “are introduced to each other anew, forcing them to live only in the present. Though he cannot hold memories for long, the professor’s mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. And the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a poetic world to both the housekeeper and her young son, creating a family, even as his memory slips away.” 

Students in this book chat were asked to “imagine their recent memories disappearing every 80 minutes.” As one student said, “It would be hard to remember all the important people in your life.” Someone wondered how you’d make friends, another how you could keep a conversation going.  

The book chats across campus were doing just that — keeping the conversation going.