Summer Reading
Each year, the faculty selects a summer reading text to serve as a common starting point for the upcoming school year. Summer reading provides us with an opportunity to look at University’s core values and more through the lens of different characters and stories. This summer, each January Term course has selected a summer read that will serve as the touchstone for your study this fall and winter. Students, follow the instructions below, and come prepared to discuss the video below and your text or other assigned resource when school starts on Monday, August 10.
2026-27: The Gifts We OFFER
Meet Ron Finley.
Ron is the self-proclaimed Gangsta Gardener of South Central. Ron noticed a problem in his neighborhood, and he decided he could do something about it. He took his talents as a gardener, got to work, and put them to use.
Listen to him tell the story in his Ted Talk.
If you are unable to view the video and are seeing the message “THIS THIRD PART EMBED FOR VIMEO IS BEING BLOCKED,” you may click on “MORE INFO,” and toggle Vimeo Services to “on.”
It’s been over a decade since Ron revolutionized his parkway, and his work is still changing the way urban centers think of food production.
In 1823, American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote an essay about picking out the best gift. In it he searches for the qualities of what one person can bestow on another with true meaning. He said that beyond jewels or riches, “The only gift is a portion of thyself. […] Therefore the poet brings his poem; the shepherd, his lamb; the farmer, corn; the miner, a gem; the sailor, coral and shells; the painter, his picture; the girl, a handkerchief of her own sewing.”
Ron had a gift, gardening, and he gave that gift freely to those around him. And, in doing so, he made his community and so many others better.
Ron’s story will be an anchor for our summer reading and thinking work. By early July, you will receive an email with reading selections based on your January Term class. These may be books or stories or articles, but all the readings will center on the idea of how one person can give of themselves to make things around them better. That’s the essence of stewardship, and that’s our frame for the year
Let’s get to work!
Alicia LaMagdeleine
Head of School
Summer Reading by January Term Course
Unless otherwise listed, the entire book is assigned reading. For questions about format or more, contact your teacher(s).
Adulting 101: Essential Life Skills
Make Your Bed: Little Things that Can Change Your Life … and Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven
Animal Conservation
Life on a Little-Known Planet by Elizabeth Kolbert
Read the following:
- Introduction
- Part One: “Life on a Little-Known Planet” and one additional chapter of your choice
- Part Two: One chapter of your choice
- Part Three: One chapter of your choice
- Part Four: One chapter of your choice
The remainder of the book will be read together before and during J-Term.
Build-a-Bike
Two Wheels Good (2022) by Jody Rosen and the film Breaking Away directed by Peter Yates
Contact the teacher for the specific assigned reading from Two Wheels Good.
Celtic Nations; Lochs, Legends, and Languages
The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley
Competitive Cooking Shows: From Chopped to Iron Chef
Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations by Alton Brown
Crime and Culture
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
You may use a hard copy, the audiobook, or both.
Disney: Inside the Magic
Women of Walt Disney Imagineering: 12 Women Reflect on Their Trailblazer Theme Park Careers (Disney Editions Deluxe), foreword by Ginger Zee
Hallyu: Riding the Korean Wave
The Birth of Korean Cool by Euny Hong
Be sure to get the paperback edition, published on April 1, 2025.
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
How to Lie with Maps (Third Edition) by Mark Monmonier
The New American Cinema from 1967-1982
The White Album by Joan Didion
At a minimum, read the essays in the “California Republic” and “Sojourns” sections of the book.
Portrait of a Roman
Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans by Garrett Ryan
Shakespeare and Its Adaptations: Be the Bard
Shakespeare Comes to Broadmoor by Murray Cox
Contact the teachers to obtain your copy of the reading material.
Ten Percent Happier
10% Happier 10th Anniversary: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story by Dan Harris (ISBN: 978-0063356474)
Be sure to get the 10th anniversary edition. Audiobook is okay.
Volcanoes: A Study of Geology
The Last Volcano by John Dvorak (ISBN: 9781605989211)
Walking and Drawing
52 Ways to Walk by Annabel Abbs-Streets
Read the following required sections:
- Introduction and “How to Use This Book”
- Weeks 1–5 (through “Breathe as You Walk”)
- Week 8, “Walk with Vista Vision”
- Week 33, “Sketch as You Walk”
- 5 additional weeks of your choice
The book is available for purchase or borrowing through your local library. If you need help obtaining a copy, contact the teacher.
World of Volleyball
Misty: Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life by Misty May-Treanor (Author), Jill Lieber Steeg (Contributor)
Student Internships
Callings by Dave Isay
Contact the teacher to get a copy of the book.