We're Back! Speed Blogs is back, and we are returning with a brand new series on the blog we're calling What is Your Professor Reading? Have you ever wondered what interests your professors have outside of class, or what they are reading other than the course reading list? On Speed Blogs, we are going to start featuring MC faculty from different departments and areas across campus who will be giving us a little insight into a book they are currently reading. You never know when your favorite professor might pop up on the blog! The first faculty member we are going to spotlight is Dr. Sara Kimmel from MC's School of Business. Enjoy! What is Your Professor Reading? with Dr. Sara Kimmel One of the perquisites of being a faculty member at a university is access to the library. The Leland Speed Library is a home away from home for me, from the research desk to the study rooms, to the browse shelf (which is where I can often be found if not in my office.) Almost every genre of literature is interesting to me, but I am NOT a fan of horror. Since we are near Halloween, I can share my reason for not reading horror. In college, a friend loaned me a copy of Stephen King’s 1977 classic The Shining, which I read in one night (owing to the fact that I was too scared to go to sleep!). Stephen King was correct in noting that as good as the movie was, the book is much better! The book I’m reading now, The Alchemist, was first published in 1993 to critical acclaim. The author is Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian writer who now resides in Switzerland. He is quite savvy with social media. You can read his blog here. The Alchemist is a novel that circles a young man’s quest for adventure, weighted with his sense of responsibility. The boy in the tale (Santiago) is a shepherd who has set his heart on marrying a local girl in the Andalusia province of Spain, but he thinks he is not worthy and should have more material wealth before she will consider him. He encounters a gypsy, a wise old man, an Englishman, chieftains, a series of ne’er-do-wells, and the alchemist. With each encounter he gleans more about the true desires of his own heart as he lives and creates his “Personal Legend”. One abiding theme in the book that I’m particularly fond of is Santiago’s sense of appreciation for what is going on in the present, even as he considers his future and his past. As an active participant in the story (though it is written in a third person narrative), Santiago embodies a spiritual grace as tragedy creates obstacles. The Alchemist appeals to my sense of adventure, too! There are camels, Moors, caravans, oases, monks, deception, sadness, and a happy ending! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have.
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AuthorSThe Librarians of Mississippi College's Leland Speed Library Archives
March 2018
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