In July 2019, the reddit community r/books selected the acclaimed novel There There as their book of the month. Tommy Orange joined the group for an AMA (Ask Me Anything), answering an array of questions covering everything from his book to his writing process to his favorite flavors of ice cream. Read a selection of

Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson explores the themes of loneliness and trauma as a young Native American boy named Sequoyah experiences life in the foster care system. This 2018 National Book Award Finalist is about a broken teenager’s search for his identity and the hardships of being displaced. Sequoyah lives his life always keeping his feelings buried, until he is placed with the Troutt family. There he meets Rosemary, a friend and confidant who, like him, is a Native American child living in the foster care system.

Kindred by Octavia Butler has been chosen by the University of Iowa’s General Education Literature program to be their feature title for a second year. The program focuses on helping students become comfortable reading different kinds of texts with historical, social, political and cultural contexts. It is geared towards non English majors to improve their reading and writing skills as well as generate interest in an English major. The overall goal is to create a perpetual habit of reading for students.

Karan Mahajan, author of THE ASSOCIATION OF SMALL BOMBS, discusses his idol, what inspires him, the first book he loved, and his biggest fear as a writer.

Common Reads presents a list of classic and contemporary dystopian fiction with offerings for all-ages, ideal for use in both first-year and community reads.

Passage is the story of a young man’s journey. Warrior, the protagonist, is surrounded by deep family love and a sustaining connection to his history—connections that arm him as he confronts both spiritual and human forces that seek his destruction. It is, in part, an allegory, and a poetic narrative that allows you to experience

I was born in Cameroon and moved to the United States after high school to attend college. Having never been that far from home, I was extremely homesick in my first months in the country (it didn’t help that the weather was too cold for my liking). That all changed when I arrived at college.

EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid is an astonishingly visionary love story that imagines the forces that drive ordinary people from their homes into the uncertain embrace of new lands. The talented New York Times bestselling author also narrated his own audiobook. Join Hamid in the studio as he discusses the universality of the migration experience,

Auburn University has chosen The Circle by Dave Eggers as their 2017 Common Book. Auburn is the 26th college or university to select The Circle for their common reads program. This novel, which is soon to be a major motion picture, follows idealistic Mae Holland after she is hired to work for the world’s most powerful