Books by Buckeyes: five picks worth your time

Ohio State Alumni Magazine asked five bookish members of our community to recommend cherished tomes written by university graduates or faculty members. Selections include a lyrical memoir, a charming writing guide, a poignant photography book, even a collection of rhyming arithmetic riddles. Together, these books showcase the talent, wisdom and imagination of Buckeye authors across literary genres. 

Jonda C. McNair ’03 PhD, Ohio State Charlotte S. Huck Endowed Professor of Children’s Literature, recommends:

“Arithme-Tickle: An Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes, written by J. Patrick Lewis ’74 PhD and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz, is one of my favorite poetry books. I like it because the 18 poems are humorous, creative and can be used to engage children in mathematics in a fun way. Lewis was a professor of economics at Otterbein University before he began writing poetry for children in his 40s.”

Kate Shannon ’07 MFA, 2025–26 Ohio State artist laureate, recommends:

“Tony Mendoza is a professor emeritus at Ohio State and taught in the photography area until his retirement in 2013. He was one of my favorite teachers when I was a student at the university. Pictures with Stories combines photographs from across his career with short stories. Touching on marriage, caring for pets, parenting and aging, the book is humorous, poignant and relatable.”

Angus Fletcher, Ohio State English professor and author of Primal Intelligence, recommends:

“We all have a story to tell, an idea to share, a feeling that could touch hearts—and maybe even change the world. For most of us, those possibilities go unrealized, locked inside our mind. We’re not sure how to communicate the power, the dream, the novelty. Dear Writer by Maggie Smith ’03 MFA will change that. Whatever you have to say, this wise and charming guide will help you find your voice.”

Thao Thai ’12 MFA, author of Banyan Moon and the forthcoming The Seekers of Deer Creek, recommends:

“Loose of Earth, the debut memoir by Kathleen Dorothy Blackburn ’13 MFA, is a stunning meditation on faith, family and the flexuous nature of grief and longing. This unforgettable work combines lyrical prose with a taut narrative arc that sweeps a reader into the fraught landscape of evangelical West Texas. Reminiscent of Tara Westover’s Educated, Blackburn’s book brilliantly explores the ways place and memory transform identity.”

Julia Keller ’96 PhD, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the Bell Elkins mystery novels, recommends:

“When I first discovered that one of my literary heroes, New York native Cynthia Ozick, had earned a master’s degree in English at Ohio State in 1950, I was astonished. The East Coast dominates the rest of her biography. Yet her intellectual journey, crowned by In a Yellow Wood: Selected Stories and Essays (2025), began at Ohio State. It’s a collection to cherish, a lighthouse of the moral imagination in these dark and difficult times.”