Dear Committee Members

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher, 180 pages

Jay Fitger is a beleaguered English professor, trapped in a land of constant funding cuts, construction debris (for the nearby economics department, of course, not the poor English department), and letters of recommendation. It's this final constant in Professor Fitger's life that comprises this book: recommendations for committee appointments, writers' retreats, graduate schools, and of course TONS of job applications, none of which seem to be related to a degree in English.

This was an enjoyable book, though Fitger is probably the last person you should ask to write you a letter of recommendation. The salacious elements of his past romances, the bald-faced and snarky way he dismisses those last-minute requests from students, the way he cannot stay on topic for more than a sentence or two... these letters were certainly fun to read, but only because they're not about us.