Favorite Books 

Jitterbug Perfume - OU Catalog

    Tom Robbins

Jitterbug Perfume has a large and exotic cast of characters, all of whom are interested in immortality and/or perfume... Go see for yourself; you'll have a good time.  (Washington Post)

Sheltering Sky - OU Catalog

    Paul Bowles

A beautiful, yet disturbing, tale of two people traveling into the Sahara. Although the couple appear to be smart, independent travelers, they are not equipped to travel into the desert.Thus, each time hardship strikes, pieces of their comfortable lives and the identities they had constructed seem to peel away. The shifting sands and unforgiving sun are metaphors for the shocking and vulgar circumstances that befall them.  (Publisher synopsis)

 Tale of Genji - OU Catalog 

 Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Edward G. Seidensticker

Described as the world's first novel by the translator and editor, a story of hubris and partial rehabilitation. Best are the quotes and allusions to poetry- originals in Chinese, translated to Japanese, and finally to English; very frequently the message comes through even at all these removes.