The Vanishing Half: A Novel

By Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books (2020)

“This brilliant novel tells the story of twin sisters — Desiree and Stella — coming of age in the mid-20th century, in Mallard, Louisiana, a town so small it’s not a speck on the map. In 1848, Alphonse Decuir establishes Mallard for former slaves like him: too light-skinned to fit in with other freed slaves, and with no chance of being accepted into a white community. This is the town the sisters are raised in, in midst of the Jim Crow South, during a time when racial discrimination is meant to keep order. But what happens when you don’t fit neatly into one group or the other? As the story progresses, one sister remains tied to Mallard, while the other discreetly passes for white. For years their lives orbit in different worlds, until the day their stories once again converge. Bennett’s storytelling is magnetic, tender, thought-provoking, and timely.”

—Melissa Heffner, program manager, Georgia Tech’s VentureLab

Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire: The Guide to Being Glorious You

By Jen Hatmaker, Nelson Books (2020)

“Jen Hatmaker is a Christian author, and in Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire, she leads women toward the discovery of who they are truly meant to be and encourages them to embrace their findings without fear or shame. She addresses every woman (regardless of religious belief) who feels that she lives and works in a community that does not hear her voice, that overlooks her ideas, and ignores her needs and wants. She urges women not to hide behind what is expected of them, but to be brave and let the truthfulness in their heart guide them toward freedom. Jen’s writing style is crisp and colorful, and the stories she shares take us through a roller coaster of emotions. Reading or listening to Jen Hatmaker is like hanging out with your BFF on a Friday night, feet propped up on the porch railing, drinking an ice cold beer.”

—Florence Stoia, project manager and executive assistant, Vice Provost for International Initiatives

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

By Stuart Turton, Sourcebooks Landmark (2018)

“Evelyn Hardcastle will die. She will die every day, again and again, until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. Unfortunately, Aiden doesn’t know that. He doesn’t even know who he is when he awakes each day. And each day he awakes, he is someone else.

This book is a mystery wrapped in a puzzle. It is not for someone with a short attention span or firmly grounded in reality. It twists and turns. The reader must jump from viewpoint to viewpoint, never quite understanding what is going on, just like Aiden. A fun, mind-blowing book that is a challenging but deeply satisfying read.”

—Donna Vandersall, database administrator, Enterprise Innovation Institute

In the Heat of the Summer: The New York Riots of 1964 and the War on Crime

By Michael W. Flamm, Penn Press (2016)

“Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This book extensively details the 1964 Harlem Riot after the death of a black teenager, James Powell. Using an array of sources the book gives a street-level view of the riot and also chronicles the local and federal responses. These responses led to an uneasy peace but also created additional systems susceptible to systemic racism and oppression through the War on Crime. It is a reminder that the questions and events we are struggling with today are not new but also provide us an opportunity to not make the same mistakes again.”

—Shawn Dommer, assistant director, Undergraduate Program Student Services, Scheller College of Business

Enterprise Innovation Institute Project Manager Paul Todd recommended two books:

Dreams to Remember: Otis Redding, Stax Records, and the Transformation of Southern Soul

By Mark Ribowsky, Liveright (2015)

“Macon native Otis Redding is an icon of American music whose influence is still felt half a century after his tragic death. I knew his music well and have lived in Macon for 20 years, but never imagined that he was only 26 when he died. That was one of many revelations in Dreams to Remember, a thoroughly researched account of his journey from singing gospel in his father’s church, to the ‘Chitlin Circuit’ of segregated clubs, to stardom at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. It’s the story of a larger than life performer and the music business he conquered.”

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys

By Michael Collins, Cooper Square Press (revised edition 2001; first published 1974)

“One of the many documentaries and articles commemorating the 50^th anniversary of Apollo 11 last year led me to this account by the Command Module pilot — the guy who didn’t land on the moon. It’s considered the gold standard of astronaut books, written by the man himself rather than a ghostwriter, and filled with funny stories and technical details alike. In a sobering example, Collins was trained to operate all the systems necessary for the return trip — in case Armstrong and Aldrin never made it back from the lunar surface.”