UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Volunteer readers from the Penn State community are invited to take part in choosing the 2017-18 Penn State Reads common text.
The Penn State Reads steering committee collected book nominations earlier this year and narrowed the submissions to a short list of nine books, including:— "It's What I Do" by Lynsey Addario— "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nahesi Coates— "Evicted" by Matthew Desmond— "Two Dollars a Day" by Katherine Edin and H. Luke Shaefer— "Under this Beautiful Dome" by Terry Mutchler— "Citizen: An American Lyric" by Claudia Rankine— "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson— "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man who Left Newark for the Ivy League" by Jeff Hobbs— "On The Move: A Life" by Oliver Sacks
Anyone who would like to be a volunteer reader may sign out a book at the Education and Behavioral Sciences Library on the 5th floor of Paterno Library. Readers are asked to complete a short survey online by Aug. 1 after they have read a book. Readers are not expected to read all of the books on the short list and may read as many books as they wish.
The Penn State Reads program runs complementary to Penn State’s New Student Orientation and supplies each first-year University Park campus student with a copy of the chosen book to facilitate a shared experience. Several other Penn State campuses also participate in the program.
Penn State Reads aims to encourage intellectual engagement within and beyond the classroom, stimulate critical thinking and foster a deeper connection to Penn State’s mission and core values. Concepts are introduced to incoming students at New Student Orientation during the summer, and events based upon the book’s themes, including a visit by the author, are planned throughout the school year. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to read the book and participate in the events.
Past Penn State Reads books include "The Circle" by Dave Eggers for the 2016-17 incoming class; “The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World” by Russell Gold in 2015-16; “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2014-15; and “Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times,” by Eyal Press in 2013-14.