Campus Life

Volunteers sought for 2018-19 Penn State Reads program book selection

Credit: Sam GleasonAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Volunteer readers from the Penn State community are invited to participate in choosing the 2018-19 Penn State Reads common text.

The Penn State Reads steering committee collected book nominations earlier this year and narrowed the submissions to a shortlist of nine books:

Anyone who would like to be a volunteer reader may sign out a book at the Education and Behavioral Sciences Library on the fifth floor of the Paterno Library or 417 Old Main.

Readers are asked to complete a short survey online by Aug. 1 after they have finished a book. Volunteers are not expected to read all of the books on the shortlist 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 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 on 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.

The steering committee is also welcoming nominations at any time for the 2018-19 selection. Nominations can be sent to pennstatereads@psu.edu.

Previous Penn State Reads book selections include the following: “The Circle,” by Dave Eggers (2016-17); “The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World,” by Russell Gold (2015-16); “Americanah,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2014-15); and “Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times,” by Eyal Press (2013-14.) 

Last Updated May 19, 2017