:: Reading List -- Dr. Salvatore Rotella
Chancellor of the Riverside Community College District

I have selected ten works that first came to mind for two reasons: One, because they have had an impact on me and, two, because I don’t mind rereading them or revisiting parts of them through Books on Tape, on almost a regular basis. Some of them are associated with specific aspects of my life or places I have lived in. All of them, I believe, contribute to a better understanding of the human condition.

Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi

The impressions from childhood have changed to a better insight later in life when I realized that the book creates an ethical system based simply on human reality with limited, or no connection, to the supernatural.

The Iliad, The Odyssey (by Homer) and The Aeneid, by Virgil

These are more than just the old classics. They reappear in life in the most intriguing way, in movies, in other literary works. I am fascinated by the contrast of the world of the Gods to that of men.

Tortilla Flat, by John Steinbeck

This is so Californian. Every time I go by the Monterey area, I feel like revisiting the book.

My Antonia, by Willa Cather

This was the first book that I read in its entirety in English. An immigrant who wrote for all.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

This is associated with my coming of age in New York.

The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas

I believe I enjoyed and appreciated this book more when I re-read it for the nth time this past month than when I first read it in a children’s version when I was six or seven.

The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri

This is the most humane interpretation of Christian ethics ever written. It can make one fall in love, not with sin, but with some sinners.

Clandestine in Chile: The Adventures of Miguel Littin, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (It should be read in the original Spanish)

I like this book, not only for the story, but also for the way it is written. It is the quintessence of a report. It is precise and terse, every word is measured. An excellent model of style.

The Closers, by Michael Connelly

Connelly writes on the average of one book per year. The last one is The Lincoln Lawyer, typical mystery set in L.A. and excellent use is made of the geography. Maybe Riverside has its own mystery writer. When I find out, I’ll let go of Michael Connelly, who, on the whole, is a great “read”, especially on long plane trips.

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Submitted Oct. 2005