Often, the pleasure of picking up a good book seems just out of reach. September through November our schedules are packed with classes, meetings, and a long list of other obligations. However, during the holiday season we often find time to pick up our favorite novel or explore the pages of an acclaimed bestseller. Indeed, books are a rare treat from the chaos of everyday life. So while we still have the opportunity, I figured it was about time that QUESTPress published a winter reading list with selections from our very own Quality Guild.

           We have selections from Dr. Herrmann, Dr. Bailey, and Kylie in this article, with a brief description of why they chose their book below:

Dr. Herrmann
“Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers who Turned the Tide in the Second World War” by Paul Kennedy

This book is about operations researchers, engineers, and political and military leaders who solved extremely important logistical and technical problems to help defeat the Axis powers in World War II. It discusses protecting convoys, winning control of the air, stopping the blitzkrieg, amphibious landings, and deciding how to regain the vast Pacific. The solutions combined technological, logistical, and organizational innovations. It covers the difficult decisions that were made and gives enough historical background to understand why the problem was important and difficult. I chose it because studying cases of decision-making and problem-solving in the past can help us design systems and improve processes today.

Dr. Bailey
“Creative Confidence” by Tom & David Kelley

This book was given to me by Grace Zhang earlier this semester and I really enjoyed it! Students may know one of my favorite sayings, “while it is easier to criticize than to create, you should create anyway.” Well, this book is great because it describes how every one of us is creative and we shouldn’t just leave the creative arts up to “artists.” If we don’t think we’re creative, it might just be because we haven’t found our best medium. For QUEST students, our medium may be money, numbers, material, or code. While these media are quite different than canvas and plaster, they are still the elements of creativity that we can use every day to express our inner creative “artist.”

Kylie Goodell
“The Happiness Hypothesis” by Jonathan Haidt

This book combines information from a number of areas of research in an interesting and meaningful way. It is witty, insightful, and not too “fluffy”. Reading The Happiness Hypothesis can help you to center yourself after, or in the midst of, the craziness of finals and the holidays!