Books, books, books

Okay, so one of you asked if I had any recommendations regarding good Student Affairs books (this would have been a lot easier if the questions was just books...haha...in that case, I would recommend Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Pride & Prejudice).

But on a serious note: Below are some Student Affairs books that I've enjoyed reading (and no, these citations will not be in APA format but I'm sure you'll be able to still figure out what books I'm talking about...sorry, but I have never been a fan of APA format - even though the APA Manual is one of the books on my bookshelf - and when I don't have to cite things that way, I won't...LoL):

- Beginning Your Journey: A Guide for New Professionals in Student Affairs by Marilyn J. Amey and Lori M. Reesor, editors
I read this after graduating from my Master's Program. It had some good advice, definitely made me think about me as a professional and what I wanted to accomplish in my first position, and was an easy read.

- Learning Partnerships: Theory and models of practice to educate for self-authorship by Marcia Baxter Magolda and Patricia M. King, editors
Now I'm not really a theory person. I think there's a value in theory; I studied it like so many of us and I try to keep it in mind when I work with students; I use some theories (and of course best practices) when developing new initiatives; BUT you'll hardly ever find me raving about a theory book. This book, Learning Partnerships, I liked because while it gives you the basics of the theory, it also provides a lot of examples about how this theory has been utilized. It was easy for me to look at the programs that were similar to what I wanted to accomplish and utilize some of their strategies. This book was definitely a great help when I developed the Residential Curriculum for my living learning community.

- Toward Acceptance: Sexual Orientation Issues on Campus by Vernon A. Wall and Nancy J. Evans, editors
Another easy read that gives some practical examples and even some activities you can take straight out of the book and utilize with your students.

- White Awareness - Handbook for Anti-Racism Training by Judith H. Katz
Not necessarily my favorite read - Part 1 is a little hard to get through but it's only 30 pages and then follow over a 100 pages with exercises and activities that you can utilize or slightly alter when working with students and staff. :)

- Advising Student Groups and Organizations by Norvert W. Dunkel and John H. Schuh
A classic when it comes to working with student groups. If you have a lot of experience advising, this may not be the best book for you but if you're looking for a good introduction on how to work with student groups and some resources, this book is for you.

If you're looking for some related literature, one of my colleagues recently borrowed the book "Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation by Steven Levenkron" from me. Not the newest book on the topic but a good overview about cutting. It's a pretty easy read and addresses a topic that most of us problably don't know a lot about.

And if, after reading all this Student Affairs literature, your head hurts and you just want to read something fun, don't forget about my recommendation from the beginning of this post.