Five books I think everyone should read:
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. Read it for the beauty of the language, if not for its reminders to be uncompromising in your morals, to love unapologetically, and to never beat around the bush.
A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman. A book that will alternatively make you laugh, cry, and re-evaluate how you see the grumpy, insufferable people in your life.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Holden Caulfield is my favorite unreliable narrator; his sarcasm and bluntness are indescribably genuine.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. We as readers are invited to see the world of 1920s New York City, with all of its hardship, gore, and glory, through the eyes of a child of immigrants who desires an education.
The Idiot, by Elif Batuman. An irreverent look at the hardships and joys of that particular moment in life when we leave home for the first time.
I love to hike! If you want to see what's in the photos in real life, check out these trails:
Homepage: at the summit of Medicine Bow Peak.
Research page: at the summit of Mt. Ida.
Teaching page: on the way up to South Arapahoe Peak.
CV page: at Dream Lake in March (bring microspikes for the snow!).
Contact page: just past Black Lake, on the way up to Frozen Lake.
etc page: at Lake Isabelle in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area.