Spring sports have started up again and warm temperatures are making a comeback. The birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming. Students at Baruch have now begun to think about how they can spend their free-time this season.

For those out there who are unsure and looking for some ideas, a couple teacher’s from the English department have eagerly shared their spring book recommendations.

“Abel’s Island” by William Steig is a children’s book that teacher Emily Lazar praised.

“This book and the movie Castaway got me through my last bout of having COVID,” she said.

The book includes illustrations done by the author, who worked as a cartoonist for the New Yorker, and also wrote Shrek. Lazar thinks it’s a good read for this time of year because it describes an outside adventure. 

“We are starting to go outside more, he goes through a period of winter by himself in the book, but he comes out of it as a stronger mouse, as we are coming out of winter time I think it’s an inspirational book, and it’s fun,” she said.

Underclassmen English teacher Carolyn Castagna just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead” a couple weeks ago, a modern retelling of “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens, and says that because it’s a longer book it’s good to read when we have time on our hands.

“It’s the kind of book where you really care about the characters so you want to keep reading,” said Castagna.

Rita Ross teaches literature to juniors and AP (Advanced Placement) English Literature and Composition to seniors. She talked about how books can help put you in a seasonal mood.

“For the spring, I always like to read books that inspire me and get me excited about the sun coming out, and that feel lively and positive,” she said.

Her recommendation was “Trust” by Hernan Diaz, which co-won last year’s Pulitzer prize for fiction–alongside “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver. She has not read it yet, but she hopes to start it soon.

Ross said there also plenty of copies in the library for those who’d like to read it with her.

“Come to the Baruch library to take things out and read for spring, more recommendations when you come up here!” 

Special education and English teacher Zachariah Davis’s suggestion is a book that takes place starting in the springtime and follows the relationships of two friends in the 1920s. He said it’s a tough one but one worth reading.

He said the the novel, “Women in Love” by D.H. Lawrence, may seem a little dense and dated, but he also said he liked how well the author touched on the “intricacy of relationships.”

Carolyn Castagna offered a suggestion for students looking to pick up any book this season.

“I think everybody should take a break and just kind of focus on what’s important to themselves,” she said.