One Book, One College
: Common Reading Programs
A
number of colleges and universities having reading in common or summer
reading programs. In many cases, libraries participate in choosing and
discussing the book. In some cases, the library initiated the program
and in others it appears to be either tied to a curriculum initiative
(e.g. first year seminars) or to orientation (coming more from Student
Affairs than from the academic side). In some cases, books are sent to
incoming students; in others students are urged to purchase the book
before coming to campus. For a literature review and analysis, see
Andrew Twiton's report, "Common
Reading Programs in Higher Education" (2007).
Several schools tie
the program to a first year experience program or a new student
orientation. (A list
of summer reading programs like these is also maintained by the
National Resource Center for the First Year Experience and Students in
Transition at the University of South Carolina.) Some also are used in
courses, but this is by no means standard and tends to be something
teaching faculty choose to do on their own. Some programs offer public
events, most often an author appearance, but most aren't formally tied
to a wider community reads program (through, for example, public
library and high school cross-programming).
For a
state-by-state listing of what communities are reading, as well as
programs in the UK, Australia, and Canada, see the "One Book" page at the Library of
Congress's Center for the Book. The Beyond
the Book
project Website, a UK/Canadian research collaboration, has a lot of
useful information related to community reading programs. For an
excellent guide for first-year orientation discussion facilitators, see
this
handout
prepared by Rebecca Taylor Fremo, prepared with The Kite Runner
in
mind. Feel free to adapt it to your needs, but please give Becky
credit.
This
list (and the previous year's list) is based on information
gained from Web searches and from annual
queries to the Summer Reading, ILI-L and COLLIB-L discussion
lists. The year indicates
when the book was adopted as a common book. If you'd like your
institution added or information updated, please drop
me a line.
You may also be interesting in joining a Summer
Reading Listserv group maintained at Appalachian State
University.
In the
news: articles in The
New York Times, U.S.
News and World Report
and Educator's
Spotlight Digest. See also an interesting 2006 article by
Michael Ferguson in AAC&U's Peer
Review.
What were we reading in 2007?
Acadia University (PA) - Field Notes from a
Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert (2008)
Adams State College
(CO) - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Agnes
Scott Collge - The
Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2008)
Albion
College - Thank You For Smoking by
Christopher Buckley (2008)
Amarillo College (TX) - All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg (2008)
American University - The Devil's Highway: A True Story
by Luis Alberto Urrea (2008)
Appalachian
State University
- The Glass Castle
by Jeanette Walls (2008)
Atlantic Cape Community College (NJ) - The Glass Castle
by Jeanette Walls (2008)
Augustana
College (Rock Island, IL) - Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals (2008)
Augustana
College (Sioux Falls, SD) - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Ball State
University -
Field Notes from a
Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert (2008)
Barton College (NC) - Water for Elephants by
Sara Gruen (2008)
Bellevue
Community College
-The Martian Chronicles by
Ray Bradbury (2008)
Belmont University (TN) - Lies My Teacher Told Me by
James W. Loewen (2008)
Bernard
M. Baruch College, CUNY
- The Namesake by
Jhumpa Lahiri (2008)
Berry
College
- Mountains Beyond Mountains: The
Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder (2008)
Bluffton University (OH) - Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America by Ronald J. Sider (2008)
Bowling
Green State University
- The Last Town on Earth by
Thomas Mullen (2008)
Butler University (IN) - Listening
is an Act of Love by Dave Isay (2008)
Cabrini College (PA) - Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi (2008)
California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo - Montana 1948 by
Larry Watson (2008)
California
State University, Channel Islands - Southlands by Nina
Revoyr (2008)
California State
University, Chico Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
California
State University, Northridge - Nickel and Dimed by
Barbara Ehrenreich (2008)
California State University, Sacramento - Funny in Farsi: Growing Up Iranian in America by Firozeh Dumas (2008)
Carleton
College (MN)
- The Travels of a T-Shirt in a
Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli (2008)
Case
Western Reserve University - The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by
David Quammen (2008)
Catawba
College - The Kite Runner by
Khaled Hosseini (2008)
Chaffey College (CA) - Into
the Wild by Jon Krakauer (2008)
Champlain
College - The
Torilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle (2008)
Chandler-Gilbert
Community College
(AZ) - Garbage Land by
Elzabeth Royte (2008)
Clemson
University -
One Foot in Eden by
Ron Rash (2008)
Cleveland State University - Persepolis by
Marjane Satrapi (2008)
Coker
College (SC)
- Saints at the River by Ron Rash (2008)
College of Charleston - more
- Longitude by
Dava Sobel (2008)
The College of New Jersey - World Made by Hand by
James Howard Kunstler (2008)
College of
the Redwoods
- Parable of the Sower by
Octavia E. Butler (2008)
Collin College
(TX) - All
Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick
MacDonald (2008)
Community College of Baltimore County - Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (2008)
Concordia College (MN) - Field
Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert (2008)
Cornell University - Linoln at Gettysburg by
Gary Wills (2008)
Dartmouth
College - The Wisdom of Crowds by
James Surowiecki (2008)
DeSales - Character is
Destiny by John McCain (2008)
Duke
University -
What is the What by
Dave Eggers (2008)
Eastern Illinois University - Mountains Beyond Mountains: The
Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by
Tracy Kidder (2008)
Eastern
Kentucky University
- A Hope in the Unseen by
Ron Suskind (2008)
Eastern
Michigan University - Autobiography
of a Face by Lucy Grealy (2008)
Elon
University
(NC) - The
Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America by
Jonathan Kozol (2008)
Emerson
College - The Declaration of Independence (common
reading and veiwing expience with the theme "Civility - Incivility")
(2008)
Fairfield
University - Three
Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
(2008)
Florida
Southern College
- Colors of the
Mountain by Da Chen (2008)
Florida State
University -
Never Let Me Go by
Kazuo Ishiguro (2008)
Foothill College (CA) - The
Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle (2008)
Fort Lewis College - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Georgetown University - reportedly has an agreement
with the Man Booker Prize to read Booker prize winners
Goucher College - Chinese Lessons by John Pomfret (2008)
Grace
College (IN) - Not
for Sale by David Batstone (2008)
Gustavus
Adolphus College
(MN) - Chinese Lessons
by John Pomfret (2008)
Hamline University - A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki (2008)
Huntingdon College (AL) - The
Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (2008)
Idaho State University - Enrique's
Journey by Sonia Nazario (2008)
Illinois
Wesleyan University
- The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2008)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Blink by Malcolm
Gladwell (2008)
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a
Boy Soldier by Ismael Beah (2008)
Indiana
University, South Bend
- more
- On the Origin of Species by
Charles Darwin (2008)
Indiana
University Southeast
- Skull Wars by
David Hurst (2008)
Ithaca
College - Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi (2008)
James
Madison University
- Federalist 10 by
James Madison (2008)
John Brown University (AR) - The
Chosen by Chaim Potok (2008)
Juniata College (PA) - Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande (2008)
Kalamazoo College - The Brief Wonderous Life of
Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2008)
Kent
State University
- The Kiterunner by
Khaled Homeini (2008)
Lafayette College (PA) - The Omnivore's Dilemma by
Micheal Pollan (2008)
Lees-McRae College (NC) - The Death of Innocents
by Helen Prejean (2008)
Lehigh University - Blink by Malcolm
Gladwell (2008)
Loyola Marymount University - The Year of Living Biblically by
A. J. Jacobs (2008)
Louisianna State University - The Complete Persepolis by
Marjane Satrapi (2008)
Marion University (WI) - Planetwalker by John Francis (2008)
Marquette University - Run
by Ann Patchett (2008)
Mars Hill College
(NC) - Honky by Dalton
Conley (2008)
Massbay Community College - Coyotes
by Ted Conover (2008)
Methodist University (NC) - They Poured Fire on Us From the
Sky by Alephonsion
Deng, Benson Deng, and Benjamin Ajak (2008)
Miami University
(OH) - Beyond UFOs
by Jeffrey Bennett (2008)
Michigan State University - They Poured Fire on Us From the
Sky by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Benjamin Ajak
wiwth Judy A. Bernstein (2008)
Michigan Tech - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Middle
Tennessee State University - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Midlands
Technical College
(SC) - Duty A
Father, His Son and the Man Who Won the War by Bob Greene
(2008)
Mills College (CA) - A
Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (2008)
Montana State University - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People by Stephen R. Covey (2008)
Moravian College - The
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
(2008)
Mount
Holyoke - Caucasia by Danzy
Senna (2008)
Mount Union College (OH) - The Kite Runner by
Khaled Hosseini (2008)
Murray State
University -
Clay's Quilt by
Silas House (2008)
Muskingum College (OH) - Ectopia by Ernest Callenbach (2008)
Nazareth College (NY) - Autobiography
of a Face by Lucy Grealy (2008)
Nebraska Methodist College - The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark
Haddon (2008)
New College of Florida - - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
New Mexico
State University
- The Devil's Highway by
Luis Urrea (2008)
Niagara
University -
The Things They Carried by
Tim O'Brien (2008)
Northern Kentucky
University -
Love My Rifle More Than
You by Kayla Williams (2008)
Northwestern University - The
Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen (2008)
Occidental College (CA) - The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (2008)
Ohio State University - The Language of Baklava by
Diana Abu-Jaber and Moutains
Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (2008)
Okahoma
City University
- Colors of the
Mountain by Da Chen (2008)
Owensboro
Community and Technical College (KY) - Dismal Rock by
Davis McCombs (2008)
Pace University (NY) - Mountains Beyond Mountains: The
Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder (2008)
Parkland College (IL) - Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash by Elizabeth Royte (2008)
Pennsylvania
State University, Berks
- The Alchemist by
Paul Coelho 2008)
Ramapo
College of New Jersey
- The Canon
by Natile Angier (2008)
Roanoke College - The
Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (2008)
Rutgers School of Arts and Science Honors Program - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Fall 2008); Close to Shore by
Michael Capuzzo (Spring 2009)
St. Ambrose University (IA) - Light And Darkness Anthology (2008)
St. Bonaventure University (NY) - Left
to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza (2008)
St. Francis University (PA) - Cage
of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard (2008)
St.
Louis Community College
- Listening is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life edited by David Isay (2008)
St. Louis University - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Saint Mary's Colleg of California - The Omnivore's Dilemma by
Michael Pollan (2008)
St. Mary's College of Maryland - Kindred
by Octavia E. Butler (2008)
Salisbury
University (MD) - Into
the Wild by Jon Krakauer (2008)
Sam Houston State University (TX) - Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf, Dave Wann, and Thomas Naylor (2008)
San
Diego State University
- Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
San Jose State University - Water for Elephants by
Sara Gruen (2008)
Smith
College - Native Guard by
Natasha Trethewey (2008)
Southern Mississippi - Their
Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and To Kill a Mockingbird by
Harper Lee (2008)
SUNY Brockport - The Bone Woman by
Clea Koff (2008)
SUNY Oswego - Field Notes from a Catastrophe by
Elzabeth Kolbert (2008)
Sweet Briar College (VA) - Reading Lolita in Teheran by Azar Nafisi (2008)
Texas
Tech University
- The Devil's Highway:
A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea (2008)
Thomas
College (ME) - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Trinity University (TX) - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
University
at Buffalo, SUNY
- The Kite Runner by
Khaled Hosseini (2008)
University of Alabama,
Birmingham
- Field Notes From a
Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert (2008)
University of Arizona (Tucson) - blog
- Ishmael: An Adventure
of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn (2008)
University of California, Santa Barbara - Travels of a T-Shirt by Pietra Rivoli (2008)
University of
California, Berkeley - two
films, The Ice Storm and
Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon; see also the Summer Reading List
of books recommended by faculty.
University of California, Davis - Mountains Beyond Mountains: The
Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder (2008)
University of Dayton
- Nonviolence:
Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea by
Mark
Kurlansky (2008)
University
of Florida - more
- When Rivers Run Dry:
The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century by Fred
Pearce (2008)
University of Idaho - 1
Dead in Attic: After Katrina by Chris Rose (2008)
University of Louisiana at
Monroe - The Alchemist by
Paulo Coelho (2008)
University of Louisville - Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2008)
University of
Maryland (College Park) - War is a Force that Gives Us
Meaning by Chris Hedges (2008)
University of Massachusettes, Amherst (Commonwealth College) - Dean's
Book Course
- more - Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close by Jonathan Safran Froer (Fall 2008) and Monique and the Mango by
Kris Holloway (Spring 2009)
University
of Montana - Missoula
- Taliban: Militant
Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia by
Ahmed Rashid (2008)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Enrique's Journey by
Sonia Nazario (2008)
University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
- Covering: The Hidden
Assualt on our Rights by Kenji Yoshino (2008)
University of
North Carolina, Wilmington - Never Let Me Go by
Kazuo Ishiguro (2008)
University of North Texas - The
Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (2008)
University of San Francisco - Three Cups of Tea by
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
University of South
Carolina, Aiken - Not
For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight It by
David Batstone (2008)
University of Southern California - Never Let Me Go by
Kazuo Ishiguro (2008)
University
of Texas at Arlington - The
History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2008)
University of
Texas at San Antonio - A
Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind (2008)
University of the
Sciences in Philadelphia - My Sister's Keeper by
Jodi Picoult (2008)
University of
Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science - America, 1908 by
Jim Rasenberger (2008)
University
of Washington
- The Devil's Highway by
Luis Urrea (2008)University of
Wisconsin, Oshkosh
- True West by
Sam Shepard (performance); A Long Way Gone: Memories of a
Boy Soldier by Ismael Beah (2007)
University of West Georgia - The Good Life by Erin McGraw; After the Lost War by Andrew Hudgins (2008)
University of Wisconsin, Parkside - The Pact by
Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt (2008)
University of Wyoming - Beyond Oil: The View from
Hubbert's Peak by Kenneth S. Deffeyes (2007)
Utah State University - A Long Way Gone: Memories of a
Boy Soldier by Ismael Beah (2007)
Virginia Commonweath University - Covering
The Hidden Assualt on Our Rights by Kenji Yoshino (2008)
Virginia Tech - Mountains Beyond Mountains: The
Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by
Tracy Kidder (2008)
Wartburg College - The
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
(2008)
Washburn University (KS) - Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Wayne State University (MI) - Y
no se lo tragó la tierra / And
the Earth Did Not Devour Him
by Tomás Rivera (2008)
West Texas A&M - What is the What by
Dave Eggers (2008)
Western Carolina Unviersity - Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Western Connecticut State University - The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (2008)
Western Kentucky Community and Technical College - Rocket boys by Homer Hickam; One flew over the cuckoo’s nest by Ken
Kesey; Icy Sparks by Gwyn Rubio; Life is So Good by George Dawson (2008)
Western New England College - Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2008)
Western Washington University - The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything by Gordy Slack (2008)
Whitman College - Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi (2008)
Winona
State University (MN) - The Blue Death: The
Intriguing Past and
Present Danger of the Water You Drink by Dr.
Robert Morris (2008)
York College (PA) - The
Road by Cormac McCarthy (2008)
Barbara Fister 11/09