CommonReads

With the fall semester in full swing, colleges and universities around the country have announced their Common Reading books for the upcoming 2025-26 academic year. We’ve compiled a list of programs and their title selections which you can download here: commonreads.com/2025/10/20/wha…

Read an excerpt from @AzizAbuSarah and @maozinon’s THE FUTURE IS PEACE: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land. commonreads.com/2026/05/21/exc…

VIGIL by Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders has been selected for @NorthwesternU’s newly revamped Campus Reading Program. Read more here: news.northwestern.edu/stories/2026/0…

Watch Arthur C. Brooks, PhD discuss THE MEANING OF YOUR LIFE as a part of the UnCommon Authors series. commonreads.com/2026/05/08/unc…

We are proud to continue a partnership with @FirstBook in celebrating educators nationwide. Enter the giveaway: firstbook.wufoo.com/forms/zz9mklk0… NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between May 6th and May 22nd. Open to US residents, 18 and older. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Read an excerpt from Julia Minson’s HOW TO DISAGREE BETTER. commonreads.com/2026/05/07/exc…

We are pleased to share a new first-year and common reading guide for THE FUTURE IS PEACE by @AzizAbuSarah and @maozinon. Download the Teacher’s Guide: commonreads.com/2026/04/21/the…

Read an excerpt from @arthurbrooks’s The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. commonreads.com/2026/04/09/exc…

Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has passed away at age 80. Read more about Tracy Kidder’s work and legacy: commonreads.com/2026/04/01/tra…

This year’s selection for the Common Reading Experience at the University of Mississippi is THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE by @thomasfullerNYT, the story of how an all-deaf football team united on and off the field to become state champions. olemiss.edu/news/2026/03/u…

Wil Haygood, author of THE WAR WITHIN A WAR: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home, received strong praise at @miamiuniversity as students and faculty commemorated 60 years of the Vietnam War, along with the national launch of Haygood’s new book. miamioh.edu/news/2026/02/p…

“By giving every incoming student a shared text to explore in their First-Year Seminar, the CRE creates common ground, encouraging students to engage deeply with ideas, consider multiple perspectives, and build connections with their classmates.” commonreads.com/2026/03/24/com…

Read an excerpt from @jazmineulloa’s El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory. commonreads.com/2026/03/12/exc…

“Paula Patch, associate director of the Common Reading Program and First-Year Foundations in the Elon Core Curriculum and associate teaching professor of English, facilitated a half-day workshop on launching and sustaining a Common Reading program. . .” elon.edu/u/news/2026/03…

“I don’t think you can look at the Common Reading Experience without looking at the context of the whole first-year experience,”Rick Smith said, as the endowment of @albioncollege’s Richard M. Smith CRE celebrates its 25th anniversary. albion.edu/news-article/t…

@NifMuhammad @papergirlmacy @AdamAJRbrothers @BanningLyon @jnoisecat @AzizAbuSarah Special thanks to @NRCFYESIT for hosting the 2026 First-Year Experience® Conference and providing a space for our authors to share their stories.

@NifMuhammad @papergirlmacy @AdamAJRbrothers .@BanningLyon, author of The Chair and the Valley, @jnoisecat, author of We Survived the Night, @AzizAbuSarah and Maoz Inon, authors of The Future Is Peace.

We’re pleased to share videos from the 2026 First-Year Experience® Conference. Whether you weren’t able to join us at the conference or would simply like to hear the talks again, please take a moment to view the clips. commonreads.com/2026/03/06/202…

Congratulations to Julian Brave Noisecat, whose debut book WE SURVIVED THE NIGHT has been named a finalist for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction! More info: pen.org/2026-pen-ameri…

On February 17th, at the 2026 First-Year Experience® Conference in Seattle, WA, we honored our ten award winners for the Outstanding First Year Student Advocate Awards alongside Kate Lehman, Director of the @NRCFYESIT. Read more here: commonreads.com/2026/02/26/202…