Greetings, fellow ’88s! As you receive this issue of the alumni magazine, it is likely cold or wet or dark or all of the above, at least for most of us in Northern Hemisphere (yes, I see you, Melinda Harrington Fenton-Smith, basking in Australia’s summer right now, and you too, Bob Yee, living in always sunny Hawaii), so this column is devoted to helping you find a great book to read while curled up by a warm fire on a wintry afternoon. Two of my recent favorites were Bill Gifford’s Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (or Die Trying), which was fascinating and funny, and Matthew Lansburgh’s award-winning short story collection, Outside Is The Ocean, which was poignant and powerful. I highly recommend both. And, with thanks to our classmates who answered my call for book suggestions, here is a wide range of additional selections. Adam Rabiner wrote that he enjoyed two books that were companions of a sort: Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, followed by War of Two, written by John Sedgwick, which is about the long-running rivalry between Hamilton and Aaron Burr, as illuminated by correspondence between Hamilton and the author’s ancestor. Perfect for you history majors! Paul Blackburn, who lives in Hood River, Oregon, said he loved the latest Stephen King novel 11/23/63, and also is still pondering a novel he read long ago, The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. Roberta Millstein recommends Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book, Between the World and Me, which she said is styled as a letter from the author to his teenage son and helped her more fully understand the impact of structural racism. Roberta also enjoyed recently re-reading Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye, which she had read at Dartmouth and she said is an “unblinking depiction of the complexity of girls’ friendships.” Jennifer Arlin tells me she expects to curl up with a lot of books this winter, but, instead of novels, they will be related to the history of the Germanic language family. That is because she started a Ph.D. program in linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania in August. With two children in college and one having graduated from college, Jennifer reports it was a perfect time for this new challenge. She and Sam Braverman now split their time between Philadelphia and New York, where Sam continues with his active law practice. Now that you have plenty of material for your reading lists this winter, I want to conclude with two important pieces of information from the Class Officers Weekend I attended in September. The first is that our own Ann Jackman was awarded Newsletter Editor of the Year for her extremely well-done work that truly helps bring this class together. Kudos to you, Ann! The second is that, with the College celebrating its 250th birthday in 2019, there will be events all year long providing great opportunities for us to gather with fellow ’88s, to rekindle old friendships, and to make new ones. I look forward to seeing you!

—Victoria Woodin Chavey, 128 Steele Road, West Hartford, CT 06119; torychavey@gmail.com