The UC Berkeley Summer Reading List is an annual compilation of recommended (though not required) readings suggested by Cal faculty, staff, and students as a welcome to incoming freshmen and transfer students.
Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places
This is a great, fascinating book for inspiring creativity and wonder about the world around us. I’ve used it with first-year art students in order to start to raise questions about why things are they way they are. It’s a great introduction to things like the postal system; the effects of environmental design and the way we interact with it; and questions like “Why do eggs come in packages of 12?” (Answer: So you can split them in half twice and share them with your neighbors. Same with acres.) Read it to learn how to start discovering the world around you through looking and observation, and become your own explorer.
– TIM PINAULT Digital Projects Manager & Photographer, UC Berkeley Library
Post contributed by:
Michael Larkin Lecturer, College Writing Programs
Tim Dilworth First Year Coordinator, Library