Here’s what Trojans will be reading this summer

Summer’s the perfect time for a trashy novel, but when your brain needs something more substantive (you can only read so much Danielle Steel) USC President C. L. Max Nikias has a few suggestions.

Each year, Nikias issues a list of suggested summer reading. This year’s recommended books are an eclectic mix, and two are at the heart of special Visions and Voices events scheduled for the academic year that starts in late August.

Author R.F. Georgy will discuss his work Notes from the Cafe on Sept. 14 at Doheny Library.

And on March 1, Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca will present a flamenco interpretation of Sophocles’ Antigone. The classic is near and dear to the president’s heart: In November, he joined in a discussion of the play’s timeless themes and took students’ questions after a performance by A Noise Within, a Pasadena-based theater company.

This year’s list was emailed to students just before last month’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held on the USC University Park Campus. Nikias noted that the books are not required reading, but provide an opportunity for the university to reflect on them as a community.

The books are available at various retailers.