Ah, summer . . . time for relaxing, for enjoying the longer days, for reading something besides those reports you bring home from the office every night. We asked UC Davis Bookstore trade books manager Paul Takushi what titles are moving off the shelves. Here’s the list of what some campus readers are reading, accompanied by Takushi’s capsule reviews:

9-11, by Noam Chomsky. “If you want to read only one book about the events of Sept. 11, one that gives the straight dope on what happened and why it happened, then this is the book for you.”

The Shelters of Stone, by Jean Auel. “In the fifth of six novels in this series, beautiful Ayla and her tall, gorgeous Cro-Magnon lover, Jondalar, arrive in Jondalar’s Zelandonii homeland to live with his clan in vast caves of what today is France.”

Stupid White Men, by Michael Moore. “Moore’s hilarious and stinging diatribe against our heads of state.”

Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. “Do you really know what went into that burger and fries?”

Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehren-reich. “Ehrenreich explores the world of the minimum-wage worker by immersing herself in several minimum-wage jobs around the country.”

And a couple of titles that aren’t best-sellers but are “cool as heck”: Katydids and Bush Crickets, by Darryl T. Gwynne. “Everything you always wanted to know about katydids and bush crickets but were too afraid, or mildly apathetic, to ask.” And Maggots, Murder and Men, by Zakaria Erzinclioglu: “Forensic entomology is the application of insect biology to the investigation of crime. This is a great book for the ‘CSI’ fan.”

AND SPEAKING OF BOOKS . . .

Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film was required reading for students in Professor Jay Mechling’s winter quarter American Studies 120 class on American folkways and folklife.

PERHAPS A LARGER BAGGIE WOULD HELP?

Title of a recent chemistry seminar: “Uncovering the chemistry of bent sandwich chromocene.”

“GOT FLOSS?”

— recruiting sign for the UC Davis pre-dental club.

A BACKWARD GLANCE

Summer on campus 75 years ago didn’t last very long; back in 1927, fall classes began in early August. That’s not to say, though, that summer-like activities came to a halt, as evidenced by the following from the Aug. 24, 1927, edition of The California Aggie:

“The annual stag swim, watermelon feed and battle is to be held up Putah Canyon Friday night of this week. All students, new and old, are urged to join the festivities. There will be machines leaving the Y-Hut from 6 to 6:30 for the battleground at Big Rock. Transportation will be plentiful, and it is rumored that there will be an extra load of ammunition taken along this year for barrage purposes.

“No better spot for the annual watermelon feast and battle can be found than Big Rock. The widest beach in the canyon offers splendid opportunities for reconnoitering, and the creek offers good water for cleansing after the battle. The oldest clothes will be in order for the event, and proper clean-up of all leftover rind will be effected before the knell of victory is recorded.

“Mercury Phillips will be in charge of the events of the evening and guarantees an unusual time to all who attend.”