What are the Class of ’99’s favorite books? For the third year the seniors sent in their preferences, solicited faculty and staff picks and published a list of recommended reading (compiled this year by Jamie Smith ’99).

A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving, was the seniors’ most popular title with eight recommendations; Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn, had seven. Evidence that the Ayn Rand revival made it to Colby consists of three recommendations for The Fountainhead and three for Atlas Shrugged. Other books that garnered more than two student recommendations: Beloved, The Catcher in the Rye, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and The Great Gatsby.