Books are meant to tell stories, but we may choose to read those stories for different purposes. Thomas Zane Reeves, a professor in the School of Public Administration, said his favorite types of books are ones he can learn from.
1. “Blood and Thunder” by Hampton Sides
“‘Blood a nd Thunder’ is a story about Kit Carson in the American West. He’s very well-documented. What I liked is that I learned so much about New Mexico. ‘Blood and Thunder’ is the name of the old Western stories; it was a type of story ... and that’s where (Sides) got the name from.”
2. “The Great Taos Bank Robbery” by Tony Hillerman
“It’s s tories of New Mexico. I read that when I first moved here in ’81. It was just fascinating, and Hillerman is such a good storyteller ... I love it here and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
3. “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz
“I thi nk the four agreements that he derives from Toltec wisdom will change your life completely if you implement them in your life. I’ve tried to do that; I bring them into my class and talk about them. I think this is a very powerful (book).”
4. “The Heart Aroused” by David Whyte
“This is (a b ook of) stories that he derives a lot of meaning from. He tells them and explains them, and they’re very deep. It’s literature, but he brings in a lot of poetry.”
5. “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
“Until I r ead this book, I couldn’t quite understand how the German people could be so deceived by Hitler. God narrates the book, and God is deciding when and how to take people, and he works with Hitler to have him kill as many people as possible. But what’s so frightening is you get these scenes throughout about people who buy into Hitler completely. They’re mesmerized. That’s why I like this book.”
~Compiled by Skylar Griego
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