91吃瓜网

Summer is finally here, so it鈥檚 time to head outside, kick back, and relax with a book.   

Whether you're lying on the beach, hitting the 鈥渞ecline鈥� button on a plane to your summer vacation destination, or just putting in a little hammock time in the backyard鈥攏othing helps summertime pass pleasantly like a page-turner.   

While you鈥檙e in the market for summer reads, consider your fellow Greyhounds! As a Loyola graduate, you鈥檝e got something in common with some of the world鈥檚 most widely appreciated authors. Consult this list of books penned by Loyola alumni before you crack open your next poolside paperback.   

From political intrigue and dessert recipes to science fiction and poetry, there鈥檚 something for every taste.   

Read one or read them all鈥攁nd have a sensational summer. 

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern Warfare by Mark Bowden, 鈥�73 

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Mark Bowden provides a riveting account of a 1993 American military operation in Mogadishu鈥攖he longest sustained firefight involving U.S. troops since Vietnam. Adapted as an action-packed motion picture of the same name, the No. 1 New York Times bestseller was also described by USA Today as 鈥渙ne of the most gripping and authoritative accounts of combat ever written,鈥� which more than fulfills the page-turner requirement of a summer read. 

A versatile and prolific author of nonfiction, Bowden also wrote the top-notch and . Both are excellent summer reading options for fans of true crime and/or long-form sports writing.

Speaking of lighter fare...

Next Time I Move, They鈥檒l Carry Me Out in a Box by Michele Wojciechowski, 鈥�90 

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If you love a 鈥渕oving memoir,鈥� why not switch it up with a memoir about moving? Regardless of why, how, or where you鈥檝e doing it, changing your permanent address involves 鈥渦niversal misadventures鈥� that are sure to resonate with any Loyola graduate who鈥檚 been through a move-in day or two.   

wrote Next Time I Move as a laugh-out-loud account of one particularly fraught move that serves as a hilarious guide to surviving 鈥渢he actual hellish act of relocating yourself.鈥�  

And if her account of a relocation is a little too real for you, try: 

Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, 鈥�91 

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If you鈥檙e looking to escape to a distant world through the pages of a science fiction novel, 鈥檚 dark comedy sci-fi delivers on that promise while also helping you feel grateful to still be here on Earth. Mickey7 tells the tale of an intentionally disposable spacecraft employee on an expedition set to explore and colonize an ice planet. As an 鈥渆xpendable,鈥� Mickey is ideally suited for the most dangerous dirty work in the galaxy鈥攁ny time he perishes, the crew just prints out a new clone.   

Adapted into a major motion picture by Academy Award-winning director Bong Joon-Ho (which screened on campus ), Publisher鈥檚 Weekly said of Mickey7 that 鈥渟ci-fi readers will be drawn in by the inventive premise and stick around for the plucky narrator.鈥� 

If you find yourself attached to the titular character, you can also read the second book in the Mickey series, , or foray into more Ashton-penned sci-fi satire with the upcoming novel . 

Of course, you don't have to go to space to find a wild tale.

No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller by Harry Markopolos, 鈥�81  

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Everybody knows now that Bernie Madoff perpetrated fraud on a scale that 鈥渃hanged thousands of lives forever鈥攁s well as the world鈥檚 financial system.鈥� But did you know a fellow Greyhound was the first to catch his scent? 

No One Would Listen, a New York Times bestseller, is the only first-hand account of how Markopolos and his 鈥渢eam of financial sleuths鈥� pursued 鈥渢he greatest financial criminal in history鈥� and uncovered the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Think of it as a true crime novel wrapped in a white collar, with a protagonist who's easy to root for as a Loyola graduate. 

Of course, if you prefer fictional intrigue to the real thing, there's one particularly well-known Loyola grad author you've probably been scanning this list for... 

The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy, 鈥�69  

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Did you know the ultimate Dad movie is based on a book by Loyola鈥檚 most well-known alumni author? Lazing on the couch for a THFRO viewing during the summer months might be seen as a little antisocial, so grab the book instead and take it with you!    

Tom Clancy鈥檚 first Jack Ryan novel is a techno-thriller set during the Cold War, centered around an undetectable nuclear submarine that goes rogue with unclear intentions. We won鈥檛 spoil the rest but suffice to say the stakes are about as high as possible.  

If that synopsis doesn鈥檛 pique your interest, or if you鈥檝e already seen the movie so many times you can quote it in your sleep, check out one of Clancy鈥檚 as-yet-unadapted novels, such as , , or . 

Launching While Female: Smashing the System That Holds Women Entrepreneurs Back by Susanne Althoff, 鈥�92  

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Summer can also be a time when dreams start forming into plans. Journalist, professor, and Loyola graduate  explores some of the practical ways we can open the entrepreneurial system to everyone. Althoff provides a rallying cry and a way forward for women entrepreneurs and their allies, showing that change is urgent and within our reach.   

Publisher鈥檚 Weekly said Launching While Female, 鈥淒ebuts with a wise collection of advice and encouragement for aspiring female entrepreneurs,鈥� and continued to add, 鈥淎lthoff鈥檚 incisive, practical guide should be required reading for any entrepreneurial woman.鈥� 

In the Secret Service: The True Story of the Man Who Saved President Reagan鈥檚 Life by Jerry Parr, M鈥�87 

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In what is probably the most extreme historical example of enrolling in a Loyola graduate program to pursue a career change, Jerry Parr earned his master鈥檚 degree from Loyola after working as a Secret Service Agent. Even more impressive, Parr was guarding Ronald Reagan in 1981 and was instrumental in thwarting history's most recent assassination attempt on a sitting President. 

Parr鈥檚 account of the incident combines an insider view of the Secret Service, a pulse-quickening retelling of an averted tragedy, and a reflection on the (very Jesuit) mindset required to sacrifice oneself for the good of another. 

Sally鈥檚 Baking Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Cupcakes, and Desserts for your Sweet-Tooth Fix by Sally McKenney, 鈥�07 

As Sally McKenney, 鈥�07 can attest, summer reading can be about more than pulpy genre fiction, nonfiction whodunits, and other beach reads. It can also be about trying a new cookie recipe with visiting grandkids and other aspiring Greyhound chefs. 

Apocalypse Mix by Jane Satterfield, 鈥�86  

Winner of the 2016 Autumn House Poetry Prize, Apocalypse Mix 鈥渄ives into a musical, war-torn, elegiac past.鈥� Beth Ann Fennell, Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2016-21, said, 鈥淭hank god we have Jane Satterfield鈥檚 beautifully conceived, beautifully executed poems to guide us.鈥� 

...And there we have it. Far from an exhaustive list of literary works by Loyola alumni, but hopefully a nice starting point for any Greyhound who's simply looking for a breezy summer read.

If we missed something, let us know! We'd love to include your suggestions in future editions of the alumni summer reading list or Bound By Hounds.

Interested in more literature associated with Loyola? 

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