Books, Reading and Meeting Authors- Lucky Me!

Some of life on Newark-Granville Road's greatest joys and purpose is to enjoy and share a good book! Today I have two!

Independence Day What I Learned About Retirement From Some Who've Done It and Some Who Never Will.  In my last post, I blogged about meeting and listening to Steve Lopez P'25, the LA Times Columnist and author of several books https://www.latimes.com/people/steve-lopez. I wrote there that I was looking forward to the read, it did not disappoint!  It feels appropriate to start this blog post on Father's Day!

This book's lessons are for all ages and phases! I found the messages about life in general, not just for those contemplating retirement. The book is a treat for me as I valued reading about his journey, which includes his daughter as she decided to attend Denison! He began his talk last week letting the audience know what a fit Denison is and has been for his daughter. This was a special bonus for me with this read!

Anne Lamont, Somehow, Thoughts on Love  I always value the opportunity to hear an author share insights on a book! There is something about real life meeting the world of reading. Introducing mind and thought to voice and sight. The sweet spot of this experience was being the friend who gifted me prior books by Anne!  This was my situation a few months ago in Columbus when Gramercy Books did their usual fantastic work with an event. The communications, the set-up, the locations- they never disappoint. Anne did not disappoint either! Bonus- we received this book as part of the event.  I took my time reading it and savored it.  I'm a page turner- I fold the pages where I find quotables or phrases and concepts I want to discuss or revisit. Here is one:

"They will offer you the sacrament of welcome. But to keep it, you must give it away. Giving and receiving is the economy of our souls. This will fill you, and if you are not careful it will radicalize you" (Lamont, p. 121).  They are people you engage with doing good work, showing love).

This is why I buy books, I would not do this to a library book.  I also enjoy sharing books and sending them out into the world to be enjoyed. This isn't a sweet read about love, it is a real book about love. It is a beautiful part of Anne's journey and we're fortunate she uses her gift of writing relating and being real to share love in these words.

Life on Newark-Granville Road loves to read and values you reading this blog!  Let me know your thoughts on these books, and other recommendations!

Reunion Proved Why I Have the Best Job on Campus!

I'm enjoying every minute of Denison Reunion Reflection! The posts from the alums, the conversations with colleagues, and the over-heards in town...all positive and appreciative.  I echo this- way to go my AFE Colleagues with the charge to reunite and have alumni return to our fair college on the hill in fresh new ways!  Events happened in new and exciting places for reunion including the East Quad for a cook-out, the Academic Quad with food trucks! Ya'll adjusted approaches, the Citation Dinner was a top tier experienced Denison event for me.

Citations you say- what are those:  https://alumni.denison.edu/citations/ https://alumni.denison.edu/citations/  Check it out- click on folks to read why they received this honor! https://denison.edu/news-events/featured/152970   This article calls attention to this year's winners. Some dear friends in here- so deserving- but some of these Densionians are new to me! What fun to ask a classmate who works at the FCC if she knew Beverly Baker '64- the answer was no- we both learned something!

A bonus of this event was, recognizing how many Denison parents are within this esteemed group: Amy Lovett P'18, Rex Elliott P'23, Scott Trumbull to name a few, then a past recipient, Grant Jones was there and is an incoming Parent - class of 2028!  I had fun saying I was playing- count the parents- and then there would be another parent of a Densionian arrive, Charlie and Emily Ingram were right on cue! Knowing the children and multiple generations of Denisonians is quite rewarding to my life on Newark-Granville Road and why I do have the best job on campus.

Speaking of parents, this year the 50th Reunion invited a Denison parent to present their KeyNote! Steve Lopez is an LA Times Columnist and author of several books. https://www.latimes.com/people/steve-lopez  He was asked to present on retirement, a subject of one of his books: Independence Day. I look forward to the read! The audience was treated to more than just the lessons of his research, which aligns with my "it depends" lesson from grad school. We were fascinated by his relationship with an unhomed person that led to the book and movie- The Soloist, as well as, his perspective on access to education and his daughter's engagement at Dension with pre-Os!  He offered advice for all ages, understanding our identity, relationships we have with structure, and reflection on our time with our family! So much more to say, I have a feeling my engagement with his work will resurface on the blog!  I'm grateful the opportunity to say hello and thank you and connect with special Denisonians, Steve and his wife!

Denison parents are impressive and we have a number of authors, two I've been fortunate to engage with:

Mike Trigg -https://www.miketrigg.com/  Both of his books are great reads, it is summer reading time: Burner is the latest, Bit Flip still has me thinking- I'd love to discuss both with you!

Amor Towles- https://www.amortowles.com/ I mentioned top events at Denison above, last year having Amor on campus present at BRW was another highlight and special evening. Gentleman in Moscow is a family favorite, engaging inspired me to read more and I found Rules of Civility to be even better!

So all in all a long way of sharing why I love my job and that Denison parents are the best and therefore I have the best job on Campus!