The Core Blog

When we posted a list of give-away books last week, you guys claimed more than 100 of them. Time for a new batch!

We invite you — student, alumni, and friends of the Core — to peruse the list of books below. If you would like any of them, they are yours for the asking!

All you have to do is email the Core office, letting us know what book you want, and to what mailing address we should send it. (Or if you’re in the Boston area or plan to be soon, you can let us know that, and we’ll set the book aside for you to pick up in person.

If you’re feeling particularly thankful for the free book(s) from Core,we would be grateful if you’d consider making a donation to the EnCore alumni fund. By doing so, your donations to BU will go directly to support our community life programs, including the intellectual social activities of the undergraduate Word & Way Society, the monthly book club meetings of the alumni association, and the annual Devlin Award book prize for undergraduate writing. This donation isentirely voluntary;these books are genuinely available with no strings attached.It isn’t the amount that you donate that matters as much as that you donate at all. Alumni giving sends a powerful message to the University officers, that Core provides an experience for students that they stay connected to even long after graduation. To that end, even a donation of $5 is worth it.

BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR FREE:

1. Patricia Duncker: James Miranda Barry, 2000 (9780330371698)(copy 1)
2. Patricia Duncker: James Miranda Barry, 2000 (9780330371698)(copy 2)
3. Patricia Duncker: James Miranda Barry, 2000 (9780330371698)(copy 3)
4. Tobias Schneebaum: Keep the River on Your Right, 1969 (B00165EAJA)
5. Ahdaf Soueif: In the Eye of the Sun, 1992 (9780385720373)
6. Alan Furst: The World at Night, 1996 (9780375758584)
7. Bernard Bailyn: Voyagers to the West, 1986 (9780394757780)
8. Caryl Philips: The Nature of Blood, 1997 (9780679776758)
9. Edited by Gerald Gold: The White House Transcripts, 1974 (B000AQGPK8)
10. Erica Jong: Fear of Flying, 1973 (9780451209436)
11. John Grisham: The Pelican Brief, 1992 (B008GDME66)
12. Nancy Horan: Loving Frank, 2007 (9780345495006)
13. Pete Hamill: Snow in August, 1997 (9780316242820)
14. Robert Howard Russell: Mr. Dooley’s Philosophy, 1902 (9781444441277)
15. Stephen L. Carter: The Emperor of Ocean Park, 2002 (9780375712920)
16. Theophile Gautier: Mademoiselle de Maupin, 1981 (B002RI9HWU)
17. Tillie Olsen: Tell Me A Riddle, 1961 (9780813521374)
18. Various Authors: Mount Vernon: An Illustrated Handbook, 1974 (B000ANPNIQ)
19. A.S. Byatt: Still Life, 1985 (9780020178552)
20. Alexander McCall Smith: Tears of the Giraffe (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 2), 2002 (9781400031351)
21. Andrea Camilleri: August Heat: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery, 2009 (9780143114055)
22. Andrea Di Robilant: A Venetian Affair: A True Story of Impossible Love in the Eighteenth Century, 2005 (9781841155425)
23. Andrea Levy: The Long Song, 2010 (9780755359400)
24. Andrew Carnegie: Triumphant Democracy, 1886 (217641763)
25. Arthur Calder-Marshall: The Innocent Eye: The Life of Robert J. Flaherty, 1963 (9780140211436)
26. Clark Blaise and Bharati Mukherjee: Days and Nights in Calcutta, 1995 (9781886913011)
27. David Lehman: The Best American Poetry 1995, 1995 (9780684801513)
28. David Lodge: Out of the Shelter, 1986 (9780140083750)
29. David Lodge: The British Museum Is Falling Down, 1983 (9780140062144)
30. Doris Lessing: The Four-Gated City, 1970 (9780060976675)
31. E.F. Benson: Secret Lives, 1985 (9780701205652)
32. Elenore Smith Bowen: Return to Laughter: An Anthropological Novel, 1964 (9780385053129)
33. Gontran de Poncins: Kabloona, 1941 (B000JRFQQC)
34. Hart, Pilling, Goodale: The Tiwi of North Australia, 1987 (9780030120190)
35. Jack Goldsmith: The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration, 2007 (9780393065503)
36. James M. Cain: Serenade, 1978 (9780394725857)
37. Jeffery Deaver: The Blue Nowhere: A Novel, 2002 (9780671042264)
38. Jimmy Carter: Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age, 1994 (9780812922998)
39. Joe Connelly: Bringing Out the Dead, 1999 (9780375700293)
40. John Fowles: Daniel Martin, 1977 (9780586046784)
41. Jonathan D. Spence: Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K’ang-Hsi, 1975 (9780394714110)
42. Jung Chang: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, 1992 (9780385425476)
43. Ken Plant (ed.): The Great British Bed and Breakfast, 2000 (9781902890029)
44. Laurence J. Kotlikoff: Jimmy Stewart Is Dead: Ending the World’s Ongoing Financial Plague with Limited Purpose Banking, 2010 (9780470581551)
45. Lawrence James: Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India, 2000 (9780312263829)
46. Malcolm Bradbury: Rates of Exchange, 1983 (9780394532684)
47. Margaret Beattie Bogue: Around the Shores of Lake Michigan: A Guide to Historic Sites, 1985 (9780299100049)
48. Maria McCann: The Wilding, 2010 (9780571251780)
49. Mark Gardner: The San Juan Islands: Crown Jewels of the Pacific Northwest, 2004 (9780975306802)
50. Mark Girouard: Life in the English Country House: A Social and Architectural History, 1980 (9780140054064)
51. Maurice Lever: Beaumarchais, 2009 (9780374113285)
52. Mulk Raj Anand: Coolie, 1953 (B007T2ULTW)
53. Niall Ferguson: The Pity of War, 1999 (9780140275230)
54. Nick Ray: Vietnam (Country Guide), 2007 (9781741043068)
55. Norman Brangham: The Visitor’s Guide to France: Provence & Cote d’Azur, 1990 (9780861903672)
56. P.W. Singer: Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, 2004 (9780801489150)
57. Pat Barker: The Ghost Road, 1996 (9780142180600)
58. Paul Scott: Division of the Spoils, 1984 (9780586043066)
59. Paul Scott: Staying On, 1986 (9780586045855)
60. Paul Scott: The Towers of Silence, 1971 (9780140275230)
61. Penelope Leach: Babyhood, 1983 (9780394714363)
62. Peter Carey: True History of the Kelly Gang, 2001 (9780380441983)
63. Pico Iyer: Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East, 1989 (9780679722168)
64. Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker: Poodle Springs, 1989 (B000UCJYA0)
65. Robert Chesshyre: The Return of a Native Reporter, 1988 (9780140101591)
66. Ron Suskind: The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill, 2004 (9780743255462)
67. Rosabeth Moss Kanter: On the Frontiers of Management, 2003 (9781591393238)
68. Stella Rimington: Illegal Action, 2008 (9780307268853)
69. Tom Powers: Michigan State and National Parks: A Complete Guide, 1993 (9780960858897)
70. Tom Wolfe: A Man in Full, 1998 (9780374270322)
71. Ursula Hegi: Stones from the River, 1994 (9780671780753)
72. William Bentinck-Smith: The Harvard Book, 1986 (9780674373013)
73. Paul Scott: The Tower of Silence, 1981 (9780586038000)
74. Eric F. Goldman: Rendezvous with Destiny: A History of Modern American Reform, 2001 (9781566633697)
75. Malcolm Bradbury: Stepping Westward, 1979 (9780099207207)
76. Peter Schickele: The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach, 1977 (9780394734095)
77. V. S. Naipaul: The Middle Passage: Impressions of Five Societies — British, French and Dutch — in the West Indies, 1993 (9780140029208)
78. John Grisham: The Last Juror, 2012 (9780440246022)
79. Henry Handel Richardson: The Getting of Wisdom, 1981 (9780385271899)
80. David P. Thelen: Robert M. La Follette and the Insurgent Spirit, 1986 (9780299106447)
81. Benjamin Britten: Spring Symphony Op44 Vocal Score, 1993 (979006001534)
82. Lillian Hellman: Scoundrel Time, 1977 (9780553102826)
83. Anne Perry: The Shifting Tide, 2005 (9780345440105)
84. Wallace Stegner: Angle of Repose, 1985 (9780449209882)
85. Gloria Naylor: Linden Hills, 1986 (9780140088298)
86. Paul Scott: The Day Of The Scorpion, 1985 (9780586038727)
87. V.S. Naipaul: Guerrillas, 1980 (9780394744926)
88. Hermann J. Weigand: Wolfram’s “Parzival”: Five Essays, 1970 (9780801405211)
89. Sherwood Anderson: Poor White, A Novel, 1967 (B000X6FBNC)
90. Ben Rogers: A.J. Ayer: A Life, 2002 (9780802138699)
91. Bernard Malamud: The Assistant, 1964 (B000RC7Q3K)
92. Phil Tabakow: The Mechanics of Submission, 2004 (9780919688872)
93. Samuel Kernell & Steven S. Smith: Principles and Practice of American Politics (no longer available, claimed by Michelle K.)
94. John Banville: The Sea (no longer available, claimed by Michelle K.)
95. Mitchell A. Orenstein: Pensions, Social Security, and the Privatization of Risk (no longer available, claimed by Michelle K.)
96. Bernhard Schlink: The Reader (no longer available, claimed by Michelle K.)
97. Alexander Solzhenitsyn: August 1914 (no longer available, claimed by Robert M.)
98. Isaac Bashevis Singer: Shadows on the Hudson (no longer available, claimed by Robert M.)
99. Thomas Hardy: The Dynasts (no longer available, claimed by Robert M.)
100. F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby (no longer available, claimed by Lily F.)
101. Stephen E. Ambrose: Undaunted Courage (no longer available, claimed by Rose G.)
102. Massimo Pallottino: The Etruscans (no longer available, claimed by Rose G.)
103. The Depression Years: As Reported by the New York Times (no longer available, claimed by Erin M.)
104. Germaine Greer: Daddy, We Hardly Knew You (no longer available, claimed by Erin M.)
105. Oscar Lewis: The Children of Sanchez (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
106. Joseph Conrad: Nostromo (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
107. Margaret Truman: Harry S. Truman (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
108. Dorothy l. Sayers: Murder Must Advertise (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
109. Jean Webster: Daddy Long-Legs (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
110. Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way (no longer available, claimed by Sassan T.)
111. Paul Gallico: The Snow Goose (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
112. Dorothy l. Sayers: Have His Carcase (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
113. Dorothy l. Sayers: Hangman’s Holiday (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
114. Dorothy l. Sayers: Five Red Herrings (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
115. Thomas Carlyle: History of the French Revolution (no longer available, claimed by Catherine E.)
116. Jeanette Winterson: The Passion (no longer available, claimed by Mary M.)
117. Marguerite Yourcenar: How Many Years: A Memoir (no longer available, claimed by Mary M.)
118. Charles Simic and Mark Strand: Another Republic (no longer available, claimed by Ann T.)
119. E. L. Doctorow: World’s Fair (no longer available, claimed by Emily H.)
120. Vatsyayana trans. Sir Richard Burton: The Kama Sutra (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
121. Naomi Mitchison: The Corn King and The Spring Queen (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
122. A. R. Ammons and David Lehman: The Best American Poetry: 1994 (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
123. Tracy Chevalier: Girl With A Pearl Earring (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
124. Ursula Hegi: The Vision of Emma Blau (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
125. Anne Tyler: The Best American Short Stories, 1983 (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
126. Ahdaf Soueif: The Map of Love (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
127. Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities, (no longer available, claimed by Fatima C.)
128. Anna Deavere Smith: Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (no longer available, claimed by Kyna H.)
129. Gaston Leroux: The Phantom of the Opera (no longer available, claimed by Kyna H.)
130. Gore Vidal: Burr (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
131. A.S. Byatt: Possession (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
132. Alain-Fournier: Le Grand Meaulnes (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
133. Gillian Tett: Fool’s Gold (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
134. Louis de Bernieres: Corelli’s Mandolin (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
135. Richard N. Goodwin: Remembering America (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
136. Eric Van Lustbader: The Bourne Betrayal (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
137. Roland Huntford: The Last Place on Earth (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
138. Alice Kaplan: French Lessons (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)
139. Charles Frazier: Cold Mountain (no longer available, claimed by Yanni M.)

To make a donation to Core directly, please visit this Giving Form on the BU alumni website; this link has been configured to indicate that your donation is meant for the Core Curriculum alumni fund. If you prefer to pay by check, send your check payable to Boston University to:

The Core Curriculum Fund
College of Arts & Sciences
595 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 700 West
Boston University, Boston, MA 02215

In the memo line, write this instruction: “for fund 9300010343.”You have the option to also write on the check whether you want to give “in memory of James Devlin” (or some other individual); otherwise, your donation will be counted as a general donation to the alumni fund.

* * *

We have hundreds more books available, and will be posting updates to the list of give-away titles via Facebook, Twitter, and email. If you’d like to be sure you are notified when a new batch is announced, visit our Alumni page to make sure your contact information is up-to-date.

These books come to Core as donations from faculty and alumni, and it is our pleasure to put them into your hands if you can give them a good home. In addition to our give-away scheme, we’re also selling some donated books for their cash value. Check out the list of the books on sale at Amazon; if you buy one there, proceeds will go directly to the Core as well.