For more titles by Big Red authors, peruse our previous round-ups<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you published a book you’d like to submit? Scroll down for details!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And did you know that Cornell has an online book club? Check it out!<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Betsy Rubiner \u201981<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this nonfiction work<\/a>, journalist Rubiner explores (in the words of the subtitle) \u201chow diarists chronicle their lives and document our world.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea for the book\u2014whose title is a riff on the feminist classic Our Bodies, Ourselves<\/em>\u2014was sparked when Rubiner revisited her own diaries and contemplated donating them for academic study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She wound up taking a deep dive into the history of the diary as a source of self-care and self-expression for women\u2014from Nobelist Marie Curie to pop star Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n<\/div> \u201cI realized that although I have written in a diary almost every day since I was 13, I have never thought, really<\/em> thought, about what I am doing or creating,\u201d the Arts & Sciences alum<\/a> writes in the preface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy did I keep stuffing my diary into suitcases, backpacks, and nightstand drawers? Why did I dig out my diary to write in a tent in the Michigan woods? \u2026 Why are diarists like me so driven to chronicle our thoughts and experiences?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Publishers Weekly<\/em> raves that the book \u201cbursts with insights that entertain,\u201d while Kirkus<\/em> opines that \u201cjournal lovers will adore this fascinating account of the diary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Karen Lootens Odden \u201987<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Christian Science Monitor<\/em> calls this thriller<\/a> set in Victorian London a \u201csurprisingly moving tale with loyal and courageous characters.\u201d Its protagonist is Kit, a 20-year-old master thief and pickpocket who\u2019s part of a notorious all-female gang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite being highly adept at her criminal art, Kit longs for a normal life, and is determined to help her younger sister live respectably. But to have a chance at escaping the underworld, she has to help a master thief\u2014recently returned after decades in an Australian penal colony\u2014pull off one last, revenge-driven score.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \u201cOdden matches vivid details of the hard-knock life in Victorian London with complex backstories for her large cast,\u201d Publishers Weekly<\/em> says in a starred review. \u201cReaders will be rapt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A former English major on the Hill, Odden is a USA Today<\/em> bestselling author<\/a> whose previous work includes Down a Dark River<\/em> and Under a Veiled Moon<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bonnie Zucker \u201993<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The popular podcast Anxiety Matters<\/a><\/em> is\u2014believe it or not\u2014hosted by two psychologists named Dr. Bonnie Zucker, each of whom specializes in the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy to treat anxiety. Now, one of them has penned a self-help book<\/a> on how to cope with panic attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The volume is subtitled Evidence-Based Techniques to End Avoidance & Stop Panic Before It Stops You<\/em>. It offers concrete tips on forestalling panic attacks, which Zucker defines as a \u201csudden rush of physical sensations, such as a racing heart, difficulty breathing, chest pain, numbness and tingling, and hot flashes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> Zucker also describes numerous case studies of people who\u2019ve suffered and overcome panic\u2014including the author herself, who at certain points in her academic career faced severe anxiety around taking tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople with panic attacks often feel very alone in their experience,\u201d she writes. \u201cIf that is you, it might be helpful to realize that the opposite is true, as approximately 93 million people in the U.S. will experience at least one panic attack in their lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary Gilliland \u201973, MAT \u201980<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An award-winning poet<\/a> who has taught on the Hill and elsewhere, Gilliland has published several collections of her work, including Ember Days<\/em>, The Ruined Walled Castle Garden<\/em>, The Devil\u2019s Fools<\/em>, and the chapbook Red Tide at Sandy Bend<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her latest volume of poetry<\/a> is her first to be published in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy turns mystical and realist, Mary Gilliland\u2019s intensely musical poems consider global apocalypse but also celebrate the generative power of creativity,\u201d Alice Fulton, MFA \u201982, Cornell\u2019s Bowers Professor of English Emerita, says in a blurb for the new work. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \u201cHer vision is profound, enduring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Gilliland writes in a poem titled \u201cThe Mother\u201d: \u201cStop rattling my door. I\u2019ve worked my dusty \/ shift within the shop of the divine, \/ trued the wheel and dressed the block until it \/ worked me doubletime. I haven\u2019t energy \/ to carve a roast. The kettle\u2019s on, fire \/ banked, my hammer\u2019s misplaced, apron gone.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Audun Dahl<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this scholarly volume<\/a> from Harvard University Press, the Cornell psychology professor<\/a> ponders why and how our moral views change across various life stages, situations, and historical eras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDahl describes a familiar pattern of thinking he calls the story of the \u2018fixed and fickle,\u2019\u201d says Psychology Today<\/em>. \u201cFirst, we treat our own moral convictions as fixed and self-evident\u2014so obvious that no reasonable, well-meaning person could see things differently. But when we encounter people who disagree, we conclude their moral sense must be fickle\u2014easily corrupted by self-interest, irrationality, or unruly emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> But as Dahl explains, the reality is much more complicated; he goes on to describe the various types of situations that prompt people to alter their moral views, including being forced to rethink how they balance competing priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe all descend from people whose acts would horrify us,\u201d Dahl observes, noting the history of slavery in both the U.S. and his native country, Norway, where Vikings enslaved people a millennium ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople have kept violating values you\u2019d think were enshrined by now. Their moral views even change from one situation to the next. \u2026 People who care about honesty in most situations still lie in other situations: the average person lies once or twice a day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Colin Hodge \u201907<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hodge has cofounded<\/a> several startups including Down, a top-10 U.S. dating app (which made headlines with its original name, Bang With Friends). In this business guide<\/a>, the former computer science major and his coauthor tap principles from behavioral science to offer expert advice on launching, running, and growing successful companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their lessons include crafting ways to attract users by creating a fear of missing out (aka FOMO); finding \u201cmagic moments\u201d that engender loyalty among customers; and understanding competitors\u2019 own hidden psychological tactics.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you learn to recognize what influences people\u2019s behavior and decisions,\u201d Hodge writes in the intro, \u201cyou can unlock a truly deep, foundational level of understanding about what helped one startup explode with growth while others fizzled or imploded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hodge recently penned a Chime In essay<\/a> for Cornellians<\/em> on his journey to writing the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To submit your book for consideration, email cornellians@cornell.edu<\/a>. Please note that to be included, books must be recently published by a conventional publisher<\/strong>\u2014not self published, pay-to-publish, publish on demand, partner-published, or similar\u2014and be of interest to a general audience. Books not featured will be forwarded to Class Notes<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Published July 13, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n This month\u2019s featured titles include a Victorian-era thriller and a psychologist\u2019s self-help guide on coping with anxiety and panic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":10396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"This month\u2019s featured titles include a Victorian-era thriller and a psychologist\u2019s self-help guide on coping with anxiety and panic","alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[644],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-73933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Diaries, Ourselves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/our-diaries-ourselves-A.jpg\")
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\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/an-artful-dodge-A.jpg\")
<\/figure>An Artful Dodge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFreedom from Panic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/freedom-from-panic-A.jpg\")
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\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/within-the-shop-of-the-divine-A.jpg\")
<\/figure>Within the Shop of the Divine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBetween Fixed and Fickle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/between-fixed-and-fickle-A.jpg\")
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\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/outrageous-startup-growth-A.jpg\")
<\/figure>Outrageous Startup Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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