college

John Urschel played professional football and is completing his Ph.D. at Harvard University in Mathematics. This memoir reveals John’s challenges of living with divorced parents, trying to become a math major and earning a Ph.D., and making it to the National Football League. Mr. Urschel’s biography is heart-warming and shows the ups and downs of his journey of making it to the NFL and earning a Ph.D. Urschel was interested in math at a very young age and loved solving math problems. It wasn’t until later in middle school that Urschel became interested in football. The story is told in

Donna Tartt  has been on my radar for quite awhile, and I finally picked up The Secret History at the recommendation of multiple coworkers. To be honest, I finished this novel over a week ago, and I am still unsure how I feel. I was unimpressed with much of the book, but something about it is still stuck in the back of my brain. The entire book is a psychological analysis of the six main characters before and after murdering their friend. Tartt opens the book with a prologue describing Bunny’s murder from the point of view of Richard, the narrator. The rest of the novel is then split up into

Veronica Von Holten’s life is falling apart.  A pre-med student at KU, she normally leans on her mother Natalie for support.  Only problem is, Natalie’s life is spiraling out of control even worse than Veronica’s.  During her marriage to Veronica’s father, Natalie devoted her life to the family as a stay-at-home mom.  Despite their fairly affluent married life, now that they are getting divorced, Natalie struggles to find meaningful, well-paid work and even a roof to put over her head.  Toward the end of the novel, Veronica is talking about a band major in her dorm, but this passage could be

When Beca’s father drops her off at Barden University, she already knows that she hates it.  She doesn’t want to waste her time studying when she could be getting her foot in the door in the music industry in Los Angeles.  After she starts skipping classes to mix music in her room instead, her father makes her a deal: if she gets involved in the college by joining a group and still wants to leave after the year ends, then he’ll personally pay for her to move to California. Beca reluctantly joins the Barden Bellas, a disgraced a cappella group run by the uptight Aubrey and populated by an

What a fun, fun movie! I missed Pitch Perfect when it came out in the theaters, but I'm so glad I caught it on DVD! It's quirky and offbeat (but never off-key) (ha ha, see what I did there!), sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes gross-out funny, and sometimes the kind of funny that leaves a quiet smirk on your face and a twinkle in your eyes. Pitch Perfect is the story of Beca (Anna Kendrick), who goes off to college to please her father, but really just wants to be a DJ and music producer. Her roommate ignores her, her boss is apathetic to her, and she can't find the right group to hang

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach weaves a story of youth, identity and belonging against the backdrop of the perfect sport—baseball.  The president of a small midwestern college, Guert Affenlight, returns to his alma mater as a Herman Melville authority after years of study at Harvard.  Melville’s supposed connection to Wettish College inspires its president, and as the novel progresses, we see Melville’s themes of obsession and purpose drive all the characters.  The action centers around shortstop Henry Skrimshander, discovered as an obscure high school star by  Wettish player Mike

Sixteen year old science geek, Grace Kelly Cook has graduated from high school early and is off to college where she hopes to finally be able to have a social life away from her overprotective mother. With the help and support of her roommate Jentry, Grace Kelly or GK as Jentry calls her undergoes a "geek to chic" makeover and rushes the hippest sorority on campus, the Alphas.

Once GK and Jentry are selected as Alpha pledges, the fun begins as the Alphas invoke the ominous and super secret "Alpha Bet" which each pledge must complete to be worthy of initiation. Much hilarity ensues as GK, the