During the month of December, the University Libraries staff make lists and check them twice. What are these lists about? Anything! You can look at past years’ lists here and stay tuned for more lists!
You might think that a library manager would be able to read for days on end but it’s not always easy to make time to read for fun. Here are my favorites from 2025:
Sedaris, David. A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020. I am an avid journaler so I’m always interested in seeing what ends up in the diaries of other folks. Sedaris has been one of my favorite authors to read for pleasure ever since I read Me Talk Pretty One Day the year I studied abroad. He observes all kinds of funny situations, writes down jokes he hears, and documents some of the intentionally awkward things he says to people in line at his book signings. This book is great for picking up, reading a few entries, and then going about your day. No need to pay attention to plot or development, just enjoy an entry at a time like candy!
King, Stephen. The Shining. I grabbed the e-book version of this novel from Libby and read a little each night while falling asleep on vacation this past summer. The book was not nearly as horrifying as I remember the movie, and I found myself identifying more with the characters than with the crazy and spooky activities that happen because of the hotel building itself. The characters seem to experience their lives, their respective “demons,” and those demons who are part of the library more clearly than in the film version. I encourage you to relax and enjoy this book as you read it; don’t think about what you think will happen next based on your experience with the film.
Beaty, Andrea and David Roberts. Aaron Slater, Illustrator. At the ACRL library conference in Minneapolis this spring I attended a workshop where we learned some methods for evaluating collections for diversity. Since reading long-form fiction is difficult to do in a workshop setting, we evaluated picture books. We examined where diverse characters, identities, and viewpoints showed up and to what extent. (Did they play a supporting or a main role in the book?) In Aaron Slater, Illustrator we follow the main character through his world and find out along with him that he is dyslexic. This was one of my favorites because of the beautiful illustrations which almost count as their own character. They convey a sense of security and love in the context of a queer family – something that was missing from the books I read (and were read to me) when I was a child. I’m so happy that children’s books like this exist today.
Ishida, Syou. We’ll Prescribe You a Cat. I love a good cat story, and I’m fascinated by Japan, so this was another treat. In a handful of charming stories, the staff at the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul prescribe cats to various people who are struggling with life and happen to stumble on the clinic at its confounding street address in Kyoto. Each cat taken home with a character ends up helping in its own mysterious way, sometimes despite the human’s desire to make friends with said cat. There’s a sequel coming soon called We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat.
August, Riley. The Last Gifts of the Universe. This is a quick little sci-fi read that makes you feel warm and fuzzy at the end. Two pizza-loving siblings (one nonbinary) work for a nonprofit archive exploring space and collecting narratives from extinct civilizations. They’ve brought their orange cat, Pumpkin, along, who helps them in their adventures while wearing his own space suit. We don’t have this one at the Loyola Libraries yet, but you can get it from Chicago Public Library.
Green, John. Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of our Deadliest Infection
This is the type of book that starts out grim but ends with an uplifting note. If you are at all interested in medicine, nursing, public health, fashion (yes, fashion!), culture, or history you should read this book. Tuberculosis has lived alongside humans for tens of thousands of years and although mostly eradicated in places like the United States, TB is a huge problem in other places. John Green explains it all in his characteristically easy-going voice, writing chapters that are easy to read in one sitting. His message is both wide-reaching and real in the sense that he covers everything from Tuberculosis’s effect on human thinking, aesthetics, and fashion all the way to the economics of treating TB patients. He also weaves the story of one patient, Henry, into the book which helps the reader keep one foot planted in current times. Green makes us aware that the disease is curable and encourages us to take action, to be part of virtuous cycles such as those that can eradicate TB.
Bollen, Christopher. Havoc: A Novel
This was a truly fun psychological suspense novel with an unexpected protagonist. Eighty-one year old Maggie seems at first like an innocent guest at the Royal Karnak hotel. She’s traveling the world instead of staying home and out of the way of COVID. We meet her friends and acquaintances at the hotel whose problems she compulsively solves. But is she solving their problems or hers?
Ted Jackson has been the Access Services and Operations Manager at Lewis Library on the Water Tower Campus since November 2023. If he’s not at the library, he’s probably knitting, journaling, meditating, going for a walk, or bothering his orange tabby cat, Dieter.
