“The Breast’ by Philip Roth. It’s a modern-day Kafkaesque type novel where a person finds out that he has been radically transformed. In this case, a man is slowly transformed into a human female breast. ... It raises a lot of interesting questions; the most obvious is about gender issues.”

— Rick Botkin, lecturer, Lawrence

“The Fear of Flying’ by Erica Jong. It’s about a young woman, and she’s on a path of self-discovery. It’s a feminist classic about how she is trying to free herself from the conventions that society puts on women.”

— Janet Botkin, hairdresser, Lawrence

“‘In Search of Lost Time’ by Marcel Proust. It’s really just a portrait of a man’s life and experiences. It’s very introspective.”

— Benjamin Phillips, English major, Overland Park

“‘The Founding’ by Dan Abnett. It’s basically about the Warhammer universe, derived from the board game, a far off future kind of thing with space marines and all that fun stuff.”

— Mark Abellar, cashier, Olathe

“‘Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel’ by Jeannette Walls. I just finished her novel ‘The Glass Castle,’ a family memoir, and this is about her maternal grandmother. It’s sounds like the grandmother was a real character.”

— Susan Yerkich, math teacher, Lawrence