Tag Archives: Books

by | May 9, 2022 · 6:13 pm

Rising Censorship Targeting Children’s and Young Adult Literature

by Regina Fuller

Book banning was a thing of the past. Something that you read about in the history books
while growing up. It doesn’t happen anymore. Right? Wrong. As of April 2022, book banning has risen once again, especially in southern states. One of the frequent targets is children’s (and young adult) literature, and the topics are almost always books written about black or LGBTQ+ characters. Why does this happen? Why is it happening again? Maus, a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, that details his parents’ experiences surviving Nazi concentration camps, was banned in by a ten-member school board in McMinn

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by | May 17, 2021 · 8:58 am

To-Read…Later.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Posted by Jess Vance, Creative Nonfiction Reader for Issue 9.2

There is a pile of unread books on my bookshelf that have been quietly mocking me for years. These are books I’ve bought (and a few borrowed from friends whom I hope don’t expect them back) with excitement. Books by authors I like, subjects which interest me; books I shouldn’t have to fight myself to read. Yet, I never seemed to have the time to start them—and then in March of 2020 we all gained a lot more free time.

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by | December 28, 2020 · 4:30 pm

Winter Break Reading List

Taken by Sarah Channels

Posted by Sarah Channels, Poetry Reader and PR Manager for 9.1

My taste in literature often varies from season to season.  When it starts getting cold out, I look for reads that will keep me cozy as the days get shorter, but also that keep me on the edge of my seat through the darker months.  Here are a few of my favorites. Continue reading →

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by | June 15, 2018 · 12:22 pm

Captain Colin’s Top 5 Adventure Novels

Posted by Colin Kern, GD Creative Non-Fiction Reader for 6.2 

I define adventure as the process of putting one’s self into the unknown or unexplored with the intent of discovering something new and interesting before returning back to the safety of normality. In the 18th century tales of adventure were the most discussed topics in novels like Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Although topics in literate no longer focus so intently on adventurous journeys, these novels hold certain historical properties in the literary world. Contemporary novels have a greater emphasis on the emotional and philosophical than their predecessors, so I have compiled a list of my five most noteworthy contemporary adventure novels that hopefully inspire you to venture off into the unknown as strongly as they have pushed me. Continue reading →

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by | April 23, 2018 · 4:42 pm

10 Children’s Books Everyone Should Know

Posted by Deagan Voorheis, GD Fiction Reader for 6.2

As a Childhood Education Major, I spend a lot of time with children, and with books. As I spend more and more time reading books with kiddos, I also reminisce on the days when I would read with my parents and my teachers. Here are 10 books that both my best friends and I loved reading as children: Continue reading →

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by | October 19, 2017 · 12:25 pm

Former Contributors: What They’re Doing Now

Posted by Sara Munjack, Arts Editor and Poetry Reader for issue 6.1, Former contributor for issue 4.1.

A quick glance at where former Gandy Dancer contributors are now is all that is necessary to confirm that the literary journal acts as a spring board which propels emerging writers into the writing trajectory Poet Yael Massen, who just finished her MFA at Indiana University is currently working on a poetry manuscript, which she says is “emotionally exhausting.” Her poems can be found in Gandy Dancer’s inaugural issue. Since, she has been published in several literary journals including Columbia Journal, Tupelo Quarterly, Southern Indiana Review, The Journal, and has a couple of poems forthcoming in print issues of Colorado Review and Fifth Wednesday Journal. She has also begun working on contemporary Hebrew poem translations—two of which have been published in Waxwing. Continue reading →

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by | March 31, 2017 · 10:08 am

Gandy Dancer Goes to AWP

Posted by Joshua DeJoy, CNF Co-Editor for 5.2

Several current and former Gandy Dancers attended the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP)Conference in Washington, DC, February 8-11. The conference was a rewarding experience for all Geneseo attendees, including myself, Managing Editors Evan Goldstein and Oliver Diaz, Poetry Editor Kallie Swyer, former Poetry Editor Robbie Held, former CNF reader Isabel Owen and friend of Gandy Dancer Elizabeth Pellegrino.

The AWP conference has two main components: dozens of panels by writers, editors, and translators and an absolutely massive book fair. Even the most diligent and caffeinated attendee can only experience a small fraction of what the conference has to offer. For example, I attended a couple of panels and then spent the rest of the time at the book fair, going systematically past hundreds of tables and booths and seeing what they had to offer. Continue reading →

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by | March 8, 2016 · 12:00 pm

Why Reading a Book Can Be Better Than a Movie

Posted by Jeanna Foti, Fiction Reader for issue 4.2

My roommate once told me, “I’d rather watch a movie than read a book.” And immediately I thought, really?! A book has so much more to offer than a movie does. But I know mine isn’t the popular opinion. Everyone these days seems to have a cell phone and it’s hard to find a college student who doesn’t own a laptop. In a world where every college student seems to have a Netflix account, literature has been pushed to the side and forgotten.

While Netflix has made it easier to binge watch a TV series, there is still something about literature that, in my opinion, can be even greater than a TV show. When reading a book, you create a little universe inside your mind using just the words on the page. It’s an experience unique to you. You’re using your imagination to picture the story you are reading and taking an active role in creating it. This aspect is one of the things I love about reading; it allows you as the reader to have a say in how you see the story.

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by | December 3, 2015 · 10:00 am

Will That Be Paper or Plastic?: How We Read Now

Posted by Alex Herman, Art Curator and Nonfiction Reader for Issue 4.1

I remember very vividly the thrill of dragging my mother into bookstores as a kid. It didn’t matter if it was the corner shop in the mall or the Borders bookstore two towns over, if there were books in the window, we had to stop there. I’d spend forever perusing the shelves, my fingers dancing over the spines, yearning for a new story, and, if I was lucky, finding one my mother would let me take home.

Nowadays, though, I’m lucky if I can even find a store.

It’s undeniable that we are now smack dab in the middle of the digital age. Between cell phones, laptops, and tablets, everyone seems to begandy blog (1) plugged into one device or another at any given time. As a result bookstores, and by extent, printed books, have seemingly fallen to the wayside in favor of their digital counterparts. But are these ebooks really as superior as sellers like to claim? Is it possible that we, in our lifetimes, could witness something as timeless as printed books go completely obsolete?

Not if I can help it. Continue reading →

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by | May 29, 2015 · 12:40 pm

Summer Reading

Posted by Rachel Hall, GD Faculty Advisor

Ok, Gandy Dancer 3.2 was fat and juicy, but now what? I asked some Gandy Dancers and FOGD (Friends of Gandy Dancer) what they are reading or planning to read this summer. I also asked them about their best summer read ever as well as what might surprise us about their bookshelves. Here’s how they responded:

3.2 Managing Editor, Amy Bishop, plans to read in three genres!  She says, “for non-fiction, I really want to get my hands on Yes Please by Amy Poehler and Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. I’ve read a lot about both books and friends have highly recommended them too. Poetry-wise, I NEED to read Danez Smith’s new collection [insert] boy and finally get around to reading Richard Siken’s Crush. As for fiction, I never got around to A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler, which was on my book stack at school and The Bone Tree by Greg Iles, which just came up on the NYT Bestseller’s List and looks fascinating.”

Our new PR specialist, Jenna Colozza is tackling BIG books this summer: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and Les Miserables.  She also plans on reading the several issues of Slice magazine she received during the semester and couldn’t get to because she was reading for her classes.

Slice Magazine

Slice Magazine

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