Breaking the Ice with FSU Professors: What’s your favorite book?

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What’s your favorite book? That’s the question we posed to several Florida State University faculty members as part of an ongoing series called FSU Icebreakers.

It also happens to be #WorldBookDay, which makes it the perfect time to share this post.

Here are the answers from five FSU professors.

This is part of an occasional series asking FSU professors about their lives, their interests and what generally makes them tick. Have a question? Tweet @FSUResearch with #FSUIcebreakers.

James Olcese Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences “‘Contact’ by Carl Sagan. He nicely explores the societal ramifications of realizing that humans are not the only intelligent species in the universe.”James Olcese
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences
“‘Contact’ by Carl Sagan. He nicely explores the societal ramifications of realizing that humans are not the only intelligent species in the universe.”

 

 

 

Mark Riley Professor of Physics “‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,’ ‘2001 A Space Odyssey,’ ‘Childhood’s End,’ and ‘Cosmos.’” Mark Riley
Professor of Physics
“‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,’ ‘2001 A Space Odyssey,’ ‘Childhood’s End,’ and ‘Cosmos.’”

 

 

 

Pamela Keel Professor of Psychology “‘Dooley and the Snortsnoot’ because I always get goose bumps when reading the part where Dooley (who is the child of two giants, but is himself smaller than other human children his age) stands up to the snortsnoot who is about to eat Trina and says, ‘Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum’ and gets bigger and bigger as the snortsnoot opens his mouth wider and wider and then has to run away because Dooley is so much larger than he is. It’s both funny and exciting.”Pamela Keel
Professor of Psychology
“‘Dooley and the Snortsnoot’ because I always get goose bumps when reading the part where Dooley (who is the child of two giants, but is himself smaller than other human children his age) stands up to the snortsnoot who is about to eat Trina and says, ‘Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum’ and gets bigger and bigger as the snortsnoot opens his mouth wider and wider and then has to run away because Dooley is so much larger than he is. It’s both funny and exciting.”

 

Jeff Chanton Professor of Oceanography “Any historical fiction about England in medieval times. Fascinating period.”Jeff Chanton
Professor of Oceanography
“Any historical fiction about England in medieval times. Fascinating period.”

 

 

 

 

Susan Blessing Professor of Physics “‘Come Tell Me How You Live’ by Agatha Christie. It’s a short memoir responding to questions her friends would ask about the archaeology digs she went on with her second husband, Max Mallowan. The best scene is when she is entering a Middle Eastern country with lots of shoes and she argues that she is allowed to have lots of cigarettes but doesn’t have nay, so she should have shoes instead. I bought the book in New Zealand while on a bike trip and read it in a tent, laughing out loud A LOT.”Susan Blessing
Professor of Physics
“‘Come Tell Me How You Live’ by Agatha Christie. It’s a short memoir responding to questions her friends would ask about the archaeology digs she went on with her second husband, Max Mallowan. The best scene is when she is entering a Middle Eastern country with lots of shoes and she argues that she is allowed to have lots of cigarettes but doesn’t have nay, so she should have shoes instead. I bought the book in New Zealand while on a bike trip and read it in a tent, laughing out loud A LOT.”