Summer Favorites from Nevada Humanities
By Staff of Nevada Humanities
We asked staff, members of the Nevada Humanities Board of Trustees, and even our consultants to share some of their summer favorites—reads, podcasts, flix, and more—with our Double Down readers. Here’s a list of summer recommendations!
Nancy Cummings-Schmidt, Board of Trustees
My summer reading list resembles a literary smorgasbord, which includes retro reading, reading for pleasure, and reading for research and exploration. My retro reading began with the pandemic when I re-read numerous books contained in my home library collection.
Currently I am revisiting some favorite poets of mine whose collections reside on my bookshelves. This includes Shel Silverstein, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Langston Hughes.
My latest pleasure reading was Michael Connelly’s Desert Star. I am also looking forward to my Libby holds arriving---Libby, that great online book service you can access with your public library card. The two titles I am anxiously awaiting are The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa and The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Also, through Libby, I just received the audio version of The Maidens, by Alex Michaelides for summer listening.
My research and exploration reading has been influenced by being a member of the Silver State Chautauqua group. I am currently focusing upon women in the west. A Mine of Her Own by Sally Zanjani inspired me to develop the character of Ellen “Nellie” Cashman, frontierswoman, and entrepreneur. Another helpful title that is a handy reference for me is Comstock Women, the Making of a Mining Community by Ronald James and Elizabeth Raymond. Oh, and not to forget, every day I religiously read Pickles and For Better or For Worse online in our local newspaper.
“Summer of Sally” books by Sally Denton. Photo by Linda Faiss.
Linda Faiss, Board of Trustees
This is our “Summer of Sally,” as my husband and I are reading and re-reading some of the nine books by Nevada Humanities’ own Sally Denton, a best-selling author ranked up there with fellow Nevada writers from Mark Twain to Robert Laxalt. Her first book, The Bluegrass Conspiracy (where the “Cocaine Bear” was introduced), and her most recent, The Colony, Faith and Blood in a Promised Land, are now under contract for movie or documentary development. However, my summer fun favorite by Sally Denton is The Pink Lady, the Many Lives of Helen Gahagan Douglas. One reviewer described the book as an, “Eye-opening, entertaining portrait of a fascinating proto-feminist.” Pass the popcorn!
Bobbie Ann Howell, Program Wrangler
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Video on Demand NHK World
Kathleen Kuo, Program Manager
This summer, I’ve found myself trying to carve out space for the hobbies and games I love. For my own mental health, it is necessary to save time at the end of the day or during the weekend to get lost in a good book, get excited about the next episode of a new TV show, or continue the mesmerizing narrative of a game. Here are some books, TV shows, and video games that I have been enjoying.
Books:
The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey: I am currently on book six of nine (Babylon’s Ashes) of the science fiction series The Expanse. I was immediately hooked after reading the first book in the series, Leviathan Wakes, and cannot wait to find out what happens next in the series. The characters and worldbuilding in particular have really captivated me, and I strongly recommend this series to anyone who has an interest in science-fiction. I have not seen the TV series but am considering it once I finish the books.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin: One of our Nevada Reads 2023 selections, this is a love letter to friendship and relationships, the act of play, vulnerability, and so much more.
TV:
The Afterparty (on Apple TV+): I very much enjoyed the first season. It’s a refreshing take on a “whodunnit”, where each episode is told through a different type of film genre through the lens of a new character of suspect.
Games:
Dave the Diver: Do you love sushi? What about relaxing music and underwater exploration? This is such a special game with surprises around every corner. I am thoroughly enthralled by Dave, and I cannot praise this game and its developers enough.
Promo poster from Deadloch.
Kim Roberts, Administrative and Information/Archival Consultant
I’m reading about the intertwined history of democracy and agricultural ecology because it seems so relevant right now:
Planning Democracy: Agrarian Intellectuals and the Intended New Deal by Jess Gilbert
Forgotten Populists: When Farmers Turned Left to Save Democracy by Steve Babson
Watching Deadloch, a satirical cop show set in Australia which explores issues of gender and sexual identity, ethnicity, economic status, and post-industrial society with very, very dark humor.
Listening to the Sparks Museum Podcast, made possible by a Nevada Humanities grant.
Christianna Shortridge, Communications & Advocacy Consultant
Selections from my summer reads stack, playlists, and streams.
Livestreams on Twitch
Humanities at Play and Transmission
Shows to Stream
Stranger Things - A psychological, sci-fi thriller series set in the 80s. Winona Ryder is brilliant as is the 80s soundtrack.
Bad Sisters - An Irish, dark comedy, murder mystery.
Summer Reads
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (A Nevada Reads 2023 book selection)
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell (Hoping this read as is good as Hamnet also by Maggie O’Farrell)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (beach read)
Tunes and Playlists for Pontoon Rides and Road Trips
Bottlerock 2023: Saturday Lineup, Pontoon Rock with DJ Jake Rudh, and The Current streaming right out of St. Paul, Minnesota.