I doubt I am the only one who has been reading a ton more books since the Covid-19 craziness began in March. I have always been an avid reader, but I find I need the escape from reality now more than ever! If you are looking for your next read, authors Sarah (McGraw) Crow and Jonathan Silverman are here to help. Sarah is a longtime magazine writer, editor, and book reviewer. Scheduled for an October release, her debut novel, The Wrong Kind of Woman, takes place in the early 1970s at an elite men’s college loosely based on Dartmouth. The story focuses on a newly widowed professor’s wife, her relationship with the handful of women on the faculty, and the burgeoning women’s rights movement. “Unsurprisingly, my publisher is planning no in-person events this fall, so I’ll be doing Zoom events instead,” Sarah said. She often connects with fellow New Hampshire residents Chris and Mary (Halpin) Carter, Bill Kelsey, and Lindley Shutz. Just down the road, Jonathan is an associate professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Earlier this summer the University of Iowa Press published Jonathan’s (and his coauthor’s) nonfiction book, Johnny Cash International: How and Why Fans Love the Man in Black, which examines digital and real-world fan communities around the world and the individuals who compose them, profiling their relationships to Johnny Cash and each other.

Kudos are also in order for Scott Taylor: The Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service has appointed Scott, a professor and director of African studies there for the past 13 years, as the inaugural vice dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In his new role Scott will formulate and implement measures for better representation and opportunities for underrepresented groups and individuals in the school’s curriculum, programming, and recruitment, as well as promote an understanding of and appreciation for diversity. “Given the times, I felt it was important to step up and do my part to promote an anti-racist agenda at Georgetown,” Scott said. He is in touch with Bobby Charles, class co-vice president Brendan Connell, Laura Kennedy, Gregg Rippey, and Steve Salem, “none of whom lives within 1,600 miles of me, sadly,” Scott lamented.

In the “toot our own ’87 horn” category, co-head agents Karyn (Wienski) Calcano and Peter Murane report that 317 classmates gave a total of $847,850 to the 2019-20 Dartmouth College Fund, with 52 of us donating at the leadership level. In an email to the class agent team, Karyn and Peter said: “We increased our participation rate by four points—during Covid-19! Thank you for helping to connect with classmates, build our ’87 community, and support current and future Dartmouth students.” Finally, a big welcome to Tim Parker, who has graciously agreed to chair our 35th reunion on June 17-20, 2021. “I am super-excited for the opportunity,” Tim said. “I look forward to working with an amazing team of ’87s who will surely make this a wonderfully collaborative and inclusive effort.”

—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com