Summer Reading 2016

Every year, we ask six staff or student members from our department to write about the books they love and think you will love too. These are the books that we recommend you take to your vacation this summer and, just to make sure you do, we will send them to one of you for free!

The theme this year is home and was interpreted very differently by each of our contributors. We thought it was a topical issue for many of us. For students who have applied to join the department in September, the move may mean the first time they leave their family homes; for those who are about to graduate, a new home is in the horizon too. For all of us, it is a good reminder how precious a sense of home is and how fragile that is for those who have had to abandon theirs in haste or fear.

To enter for a chance to win all six books, all you have to do is leave a comment in this post by July 1st.

Maybe you want to share with us your favourite summer book, or one that comes to mind most vividly when you think of this year’s theme. Even a quick hello will do! Whatever you share with us, we will pick one entry at random and send the lucky winner all six books, wherever they are in the world. The competition is open to everyone except the Mindwise editorial teams.

– The Mindwise Editorial Team

 


GMrTGoodnight, Mister Tom

by Michelle Magorian

‘He sank into an even deeper sleep that night with the knowledge that he, Willie Beech, had survived a whole day with four other people of his own age and he had made jam.’

One’s childhood should be a time for freedom, excitement and wonder. However, for almost two million children in 1939, the beauty of this period was shattered by the threat of Nazi bombings. The young evacuees, carrying no more than a suitcase, gas mask and a packed lunch were herded onto trains bound for the compulsory billeting placement in the countryside.

Although the underfed Deptford evacuee certainly needs the nourishment of good meals and a fresh country air, Willie Beech’s new home placement and the slowly developing friendship with the gruff widower Mister Tom heals much more than just his thin body.

The story of Willie and Tom is equally heart-wrenching as it is heart-warming. If you are historically inclined like I am, the rich historical and social context of WW2 Britain is an extra perk. And don’t be put off by its classification as a ‘young adult’ book. It is a complex novel, well worth a few lazy summer hours, and certainly deserving of its laundry list of book awards. Unless I’m much mistaken, this artful and powerful story will stay with you long after the last page you turn. 15 years have come and gone since my first read, and yet, Goodnight, Mister Tom remains to this day one of the best fictions I’ve ever read. – Sarahanne Field (MSc student)

c2299343aa597635f4a6d1a10ee6cb6cRobinson Crusoe

by Daniel Defoe

The ambition of a young and curious adventurer is perhaps one that many students can relate to. This classic book, written in the style of realistic fiction, focuses on the life of a somewhat wayward son who defies his parents’ wishes to become a lawyer and chooses a life at open sea. He lets his wanderlust get the best of him, and even though his first two voyages end up in disaster, he chooses to set out aimlessly into the sea yet again. Most people know of his fate – after a disaster he ends up stranded on a lonely island. He is far away from home, and has to learn how to survive on an alien land. Robinson has to figure out how to manufacture a new home for himself, and how to leave an isolated, purgatorial island-prison. After spending years there, he manages to adapt and provide a stable life and even meets a friend – a local cannibal whom he calls “Friday”. Robinson Crusoe explores Robinson’s life through the lens of the historical period he lives in, and provides a subtle commentary on British Colonialism, slavery, personhood, friendship, and of course – home. – Yavor Ivanov (Bachelor student)

51n8sbo9QWLThe New Life

by Orhan Pamuk

Osman starts his journey in Istanbul to search for the “new life” described in a mysterious book; for an angel, and for the beautiful Canan whom he fell deeply in love with. The book changes the meaning and purpose of his life; his only relief is to enter the world described in this book. Madly in love with Canan, he follows her; Canan suffering from his one-sided love but still following their mutual goal: to reach the other world. In the following months, they travel through East Turkey – restless but still hopeful. The New Life describes Osman’s search for something different and supernatural; he wants to escape the ordinary life he had before reading the book. At the same time, the journey which leads him to the deep east of Turkey shows him the old, melancholic soul of the place he calls home. In the end, his journey is not only a search for a new life and love but also as a quest for the most important thing he tries to escape from: himself. – Pelin Diraki (Bachelor student)

photo_5653_0-8The Hobbit (There and back again)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

This book is a must-read for every fantasy fan but is also a great experience for those who usually do not fantasise as much. Tolkien has a pleasant way of writing and adds bits of humour all throughout the book. The overall themes however, are more serious. Greed, courage and a search for a home blend together in this novel and keep capturing your attention. It’s not only the longing for a home that drives the plot; it is also about learning to be away from your comfort zone and the power that even the smallest link in the chain can provide. Overall, it is a wonderful read and a recommendation for everyone. – Tom Jalink (Bachelor student)

Old-Man-and-the-SeaThe Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

I liked to think that my inherent place in this world was anywhere outside of it. I would run out of fingers and toes counting the times I have been questioned about that stubborn passion about leaving. Santiago’s hunt in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea could be a useful allegory to illustrate why. It was about undomesticated pride leaning on the wounds of an identity to take one far; further than others ever dared to go. It was about a great promised return propelling the quest beyond its end; about merging into a seemingly hostile place and also about home – the fisherman’s seashore – as somewhere to come from and go back to, but not always to belong. This summer I recommend finding a sunny beach and taking some time to stroll through the old man’s reflections on determination and greatness embedded in inspiring descriptions of the sea, the sun, fishing and survival skills. – Andrea Horta Herranz (Bachelor student)

BBBBlood, Bones & Butter

by Gabrielle Hamilton

It’s a chicken-and-egg question which came first: my sense of home not being tied to a certain location or having lived in so many different places in my life. So it is, instead, that my feelings of belongingness and restfulness stem from a connection to a borderless culinary history and identity. That is to say, I feel most at home in a kitchen, or with my nose in a cookbook. Maybe that explains why my book choice for this year’s theme is a chef’s memoir, but there’s a little more to it than that. Gabrielle Hamilton’s journey, as told in the wonderfully titled Blood, Bones & Butter, is also a story about homes. What home means to a child, when her world is endless; how feelings of security and safety can be grounded (or torn apart) by relationships; and ultimately how she comes to build her own home – a restaurant, new families and new points of reference. Tassos Sarampalis

 

 

Note: Image by Unsplash, licensed under CC0
Tassos Sarampalis on Twitter

Dr. Sarampalis is a lecturer at the Psychology department of the University of Groningen. He began his career in psychoacoustics in the UK where he worked with Deb Fantini and Chris Plack, before moving to California to work on hearing devices, first with Monita Chatterjee and then with Erv Hafter. His current research interests involve understanding the contributions of cognition in complex hearing situations and the interactions of cognition and hearing impairment. For more information, you can visit his website.


Select Publications


  • Everhardt, M. K., Sarampalis, A., Coler, M., Başkent, D., & Lowie, W. (2020). Meta-Analysis on the Identification of Linguistic and Emotional Prosody in Cochlear Implant Users and Vocoder Simulations. Ear Hear, 1. https://doi.org/10.1097/aud.0000000000000863 pdf

  • Pals, C., Sarampalis, A., Beynon, A., Stainsby, T., & Başkent, D. (2020). Effect of Spectral Channels on Speech Recognition, Comprehension, and Listening Effort in Cochlear-Implant Users. Trends in Hearing. https://doi.org/10.1177/2331216520904617 pdf

  • Everhardt, M. K., Sarampalis, A., Coler, M., Başkent, D., & Lowie, W. (2019). “Perception of L2 lexical stress in words degraded by a cochlear implant simulation.” Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS). Melbourne, Australia. pdf

  • Pals, C., Sarampalis, A., van Dijk, M, Baskent, D. (2018). “Effects of Additional Low-Pass–Filtered Speech on Listening Effort for Noise-Band–Vocoded Speech in Quiet and in Noise.” Ear and Hearing, pdf

  • Baskent, D., Clarke, J., Pals, C., Benard, M.R., Bhargava, P., Saija, J., Sarampalis, A., Wagner, A., & Gaudrain, E. (2016). “Cognitive Compensation of Speech Perception With Hearing Impairment, Cochlear Implants, and Aging: How and to What Degree Can It Be Achieved?” Trends in Hearing, 20, 1-16. http://doi.org/10.1177/2331216516670279 pdf


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57 comments

  • benjamin wiethoff June 18, 2016  
    ben.wiethoff@gmail.com'

    Hello 🙂

  • Evelien Schoo June 18, 2016  
    eleveni@hotmail.com'

    I’d like to win these promising books and can’t wait to lay back and read. So I want to enter in this contest and hopefully these books come home 😉

  • Johanna June 18, 2016  
    j.e.pyykko@student.rug.nl'

    I like the theme and find the books in the list interesting! When I saw the topic, I immediately thought that the Brave New World by Aldous Huxley would have been a(nother) great book for the list! Definitely participating in the competition!

  • Sümeyra June 18, 2016  
    s.kalabalik@student.rug.nl'

    Hey!
    Thank you Mindwise for giving us the chance to win these awesome books 🙂

  • Marije June 19, 2016  
    m.vanderzee.1@hotmail.com'

    Amazing! Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to read these books. They all sound very interesting. I love reading books, especially in summer. They call me the book slayer haha, so I’d love to win this competition!

  • Tim June 19, 2016  
    t.j.van.dijk.3@student.rug.nl'

    Great list of books 🙂 For some nonfiction I can recommend Steven Pinker’s ‘The Sense of Style.’ It does not align with the theme, but it’s a fun read.

  • Philip June 19, 2016  
    philipbriansimpson@gmail.com'

    One book in my reading list for this summer is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Super excited to read this book, and I’d be even more excited to check out the ones mentioned above 🙂

  • Alessa June 20, 2016  
    Lessy97@web.de'

    Awesome books! It would give me great pleasure to win them!!

  • Joost June 21, 2016  
    dejongejoost@gmail.com'

    I had Brave New World in mind, but since Johanna already pointed it out I would recommend its counterpart: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. A very interesting non-fiction book about probability and uncertainty is The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb!

  • Alex June 21, 2016  
    A.Fries@student.rug.nl'

    Hey, thank you for the opportunity to win this great selection of books, they would definitely enrich my summer!

  • Magnus Klages June 21, 2016  
    Magnus.klages@googlemail.com'

    That sounds like a good list! I just finished reading ‘The Beach’ by Alex Garland and ‘Are you experienced?’ by William Sutcliffe, which are both interesting reads to let the “travel-bugged” mind go on a journey. Now I’m in desperate need for new material and this list seems to be the perfect continuation.

  • Esther June 21, 2016  
    e.c.groll@student.rug.nl'

    Dear mindwise,

    I would be very very happy to receive/win one of these books. I will do an internship in a small clinic in the mountains this summer and I would be very happy to read one of these books during this time.

  • kelly June 21, 2016  
    k.lvanzanten@gmail.com'

    I would love to win and read these books! 🙂

  • Kristina Schmidt June 21, 2016  
    Kristel95@gmx.de'

    Awesome thing to do!

  • Jens June 21, 2016  
    jenshonnen@gmail.com'

    Those books sound very cool. I’d be really happy to win one of them.

  • Arkadius June 21, 2016  
    a.j.muller.1@student.rug.nl'

    Nice summer reading selection. Especially Robinson Crusoe 🙂

  • Sandra June 21, 2016  
    Sandra_esteves@live.com'

    Great books! Would love to win and read then pass them on!

  • Clara June 21, 2016  
    c.m.urhahne@student.rug.nl'

    What an awesome topic! “Home” is pretty hard to define for me right now, since all my friends and myself are going abroad soon. I would love to win the books! 🙂

  • Heerko Tieleman June 21, 2016  
    info@heerko.nl'

    Would be nice. You can send them by pizza courier…

  • Lieke June 21, 2016  
    liekejorna@hotmail.com'

    Great books! I would love to win them 🙂

  • Alena June 21, 2016  
    alena.jahns@icloud.com'

    I would love to read them ! 🙂

  • Alessandro Paul June 21, 2016  
    alessandro-ffm@hotmail.de'

    Top campaign!

  • Nils June 21, 2016  
    nilsarlinghaus@gmail.com'

    Know your chances, post a comment. 😀

    Reading material is always appreciated!

  • Marieke June 21, 2016  
    m.jordan@student.rug.nl'

    I’d really love to win new books as summer is the chance to read something other than study books! 😀

  • George June 21, 2016  
    g.rapakousios@student.rug.nl'

    Hey! I would really like to enrich my library with these interesting books

  • Ilse June 21, 2016  
    ilsedebree@yahoo.com'

    Hi, I really hope I win these books!

  • Jeanne June 21, 2016  
    j.n.clarke.kno@gmail.com'

    Nice selection. Waiting for the sun to come out to read outside.

  • Johanna Sopanen June 21, 2016  
    johanna.sopanen@gmail.com'

    Great list of books! Happy summer holidays X

  • Greta June 21, 2016  
    g.galli@student.rug.nl'

    That is a really great selection of books! I would really like to read some of them at the beach this summer 🙂

  • Katharina June 21, 2016  
    k.runge@student.rug.nl'

    Great list of books, I would love to win! 🙂

  • Arron Mannix June 21, 2016  
    arron.mannix@gmail.com'

    6 books that can provide unquantifiable knowledge extension …. Am, yes please 🙂

  • Boris Kyuchoukov June 21, 2016  
    boriskyuchoukov@gmail.com'

    Trying this for the third, and last time! Third time is a charm, they say!

  • Nadja Sander June 21, 2016  
    nadja_sander@gmx.de'

    Blood, Bones & Butter sounds the most interesting to me 🙂 Food just brings people together 😀

  • Jana Tietze June 23, 2016  
    J.m.tietze@gmail.com'

    Hey, I loove that the Hobbit is on this list, I read it for the first time when I was thirteen, and it has been one of my favorites ever since. I would love to get a chance to read the other books on this list as well…

  • Leonie June 24, 2016  
    leolotte@googlemail.com'

    Would love to get the chance to read these 🙂

  • Anna June 25, 2016  
    annapersidou@hotmai.com'

    Hello Mindwise! Thank you for the opportunity you are giving me! ”Home” is everywhere and nowhere. Home can be made, home can be lost . Home is ourself, home is our friends and the people we love. Even if I am not the winner, I’m going to buy some of these books for the summer which is long and beautiful in Greece!

  • Tobi June 25, 2016  
    T.schonig@student.rug.nl'

    I’d also like to take part in this. Also, a book I would advise anybody who speaks German would be: Der Navigator. Check it out, it’s quite nice, more about leaving home though, going on an adventure.

  • Anna June 25, 2016  
    annapersidou@hotmai.com'

    Hello again! I would recommend ”The Catcher in the Rye”

  • Martin June 25, 2016  
    martintjarko@gmail.com'

    They all sound very interesting and I would love to read them during my summer break! 🙂

  • Tamara June 30, 2016  
    tamara_h_2@hotmail.com'

    Finally will have time to do some reading during the summer this year, and some of these are on my wish list:)

  • Bianca Faur June 30, 2016  
    bianca.faur@ymail.com'

    Great idea, I would love to have them 🙂

  • Merve June 30, 2016  
    m.h.tas@student.rug.nl'

    These are a great selection of books and I’m glad I got the chance to comment before the deadline! I would love to read them back home, just the perfect way to stay inside or by a pool and avoid the unbearable heat of istanbul

  • Ando June 30, 2016  
    andreynaz@abv.bg'

    Lemme holla @ dem bookz

  • Nikolai June 30, 2016  
    nikofk@hotmail.de'

    A lot of classics on here. Have not read any of them though so far. That will change though!

  • Lieke Beunders June 30, 2016  
    liekebeunders@gmail.com'

    Always happy at an opportunity to read more books! 😀
    Interesting topic, home… I studied home in the context of postcolonial literature, it is interesting to see how almost always the home is portrayed as an unapproachable ideal. I recommend Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s work as well as “A Bend in the River” by V. S. Naipaul if you’re interested. 🙂

  • Sophie van Koevorden June 30, 2016  
    sophievankoevorden@gmail.com'

    I love the topic of home! This summer I’m leaving my own home for longer than I’ve ever done before to explore the home of somebody whom I love very dearly. I’m not afraid – being with them feels like being home anywhere – but as a reminder of a very large and important part of my home, a studies in English literature, I’d love to be able to win your excellent selection of books, some of which I’ve been meaning to read for a long time!
    As for a book tip, when looking at the concept oh home as a physical but more strongly mental place, a feeling, I’d recommend one of my all-time favourite books, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden!

  • Tom June 30, 2016  
    tom_jalink@live.nl'

    A book I’d recommend is ‘The Children of Hùrin’ by Tolkien. It has nothing to do with the theme but it’s a good read for a rainy summer afternoon (Let’s face it, Dutch summers tend to have those).

  • Luuk June 30, 2016  
    luuk-buysman@hotmail.com'

    Lookin’ good! 😀

  • Petya July 1, 2016  
    petyabogdanova93@gmail.com'

    I want them all! 🙂

  • Yanine July 1, 2016  
    y.b.de.jonge@student.rug.nl'

    Thanks for sharing this list! 🙂

  • David July 1, 2016  
    d.berard@student.rug.nl'

    Happy days 🙂 Wish all of you joyful summer vacation!

  • Justine July 1, 2016  
    j.kenzler@hotmail.de'

    I want it I want itttttt ❤️❤️❤️

  • Daniel Noninski July 1, 2016  
    daniel.noninski@gmail.com'

    Hello,
    I like these books. Here I have a cool video:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CiWlsWfd8
    check this out.

  • Katya Noninska July 1, 2016  
    keit.noni@yahoo.com'

    To an excellent psychologist must be exclusively devoted to the people and their spiritual and behavioral manifestations due to life problems. Each new book focusing on human experiences and their consequences will enrich anyone who is interested in this science.

  • Andreas Schliephake July 1, 2016  
    andreas.schliephake@gmx.de'

    I would also take one :p

  • Susanne July 1, 2016  
    mail@susannetroppmann.de'

    Feeling home is such an essential thing in life – but sometimes it is not so easy to identify where or with whom… All books sound amazing and I could not decide with which I would start discovering all the different meanings of being at home. But I would definitely love to win the package 😉

    And one addition to the list (for fast readers) from my side: Bill Bryson’s “At home”.

  • Jasmijn May 29, 2017  
    jasmijnfroma@live.nl'

    The book that I find most interesting when it comes to the topic of home, is “Man Bijt Hond – Nederland op z’n breedst” by Carine Vaessen. The book tells you all about the Dutch culture and our weird habits. Very interesting for both foreigners and Dutch people. You will learn lots of new things about the Dutch. 🙂

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