January 25: Eli Keehn is our latest CSW Reads Spotlight + Our Library Ambassador’s Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Next Book
EXPLORE
The CSW Library occasionally asks members of our community (faculty, staff, and students) what they are reading, love to read, and a bit about their reading life in an effort to share recommendations and to engage with our wide community of readers. Each feature includes a Q & A with the community member and a series of recommended titles.
For Eli Keehn, faculty member in the English Department and dorm parent, the best reading moments happen in his favorite gray armchair for long stretches of time. He’s had that chair since he was small and Saturdays spent in it, with a book in hand, are ideal ways to pass time on the weekend. He stresses the importance of “following your genuine interests” when finding your next read because “ if you’re reading something because you have to, or because you feel like you have to, you’ll resist it.” Eli recommends a host of titles that left a lasting impression on him and even muses about why Shakespeare transformed him--and still, he stresses, its OK if you don’t want to read Shakespeare, too.
Want to be featured in a CSW Reading Spotlight? Email library@csw.org or reach out to Jenna directly at jwolf@csw.org. We’d love to hear from you.
READ
Each week, the CSW Library will highlight one new title to our collection in our BOOK OF THE WEEK feature to help you choose (or not choose) your next read.
BLACK SUN by REBECCA ROANHORSE
QUICK TAKE
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city, to arrive at Tova for the solstice, commandeered by disgraced Teek captain Xiala, carrying one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
GOOD TO KNOW
WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT
This title is available for check out in our physical collection, and as an ebook and on audio.
EXPLORE
Often choosing your next read can be a very daunting task. Not to worry! The CSW library has created a guide to help you find the perfect book for you. It includes a few tips to help you choose a book, some resources within the CSW Library and outside, and a student curated list of a few titles to get you started. We hope this helps you out! - Marielle Horstmann, ‘21, CSW Library Ambassador
Marielle Horstmann ‘22, a 2020-2021 CSW Library Ambassador, has made countless contributions to our work this year. The culmination of this work is an Ultimate Going to Finding Your Next Read, which is designed to help you establish a reading life and pick books that resonate with you. Here’s to hoping you can find what you like to read and why you are drawn to those types of books in 2021!
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.