Browse these new and notable titles for use in your First-Year and Common Reading program. To request complimentary exam copies for course-use consideration, click here.
New Common Reading Titles from Penguin Random House
By Allan Spencer | March 11 2024 | College & University Reads
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.
- All-School Reads > Social Justice > Civics
- All-School Reads > Social Justice > Inequality
- College & University Reads > Big Ideas
- College & University Reads > Current Events
- College & University Reads > Social Justice > Civics
- College & University Reads > Social Justice > Inequality
- Community Reads > Social Justice > Inequality
- See More
- All-School Reads > Life Stories > Race & Cultural Identity in America > Black Voices & Stories
- College & University Reads > Inspiration > Resilience
- College & University Reads > Life Stories > Race & Cultural Identity in America > Black Voices & Stories
- Community Reads > Life Stories > Race & Cultural Identity in America > Black Voices & Stories
- See More
- All-School Reads > College Readiness and Career Development > Life Skills
- All-School Reads > College Readiness and Career Development > Physical & Mental Wellness
- All-School Reads > Inspiration > Resilience
- All-School Reads > Life Stories > Mental Health Stories
- College & University Reads > College Success and Career Development > Life Skills
- College & University Reads > College Success and Career Development > Physical & Mental Wellness
- College & University Reads > Inspiration > Resilience
- Community Reads > Life Stories > Mental Health Stories
- See More
An inspiring and entertaining collection of unforgettable true stories about finding unexpected beauty in life’s transitions—from Elizabeth Gilbert, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many more.
- All-School Reads > College Readiness and Career Development > Life Skills
- All-School Reads > College Readiness and Career Development > Physical & Mental Wellness
- College & University Reads > College Success and Career Development > Life Skills
- College & University Reads > College Success and Career Development > Physical & Mental Wellness
- See More
Related articles
In The Meaning of Your Life, social scientist and happiness expert Arthur Brooks examines why modern life can feel empty despite material progress and argues that cultural and technological shifts have made meaning harder to access. Drawing on science, philosophy, and faith traditions, Brooks outlines practical ways to cultivate purpose, deepen relationships, and orient one’s
Read moreTracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has passed away at age 80. Tracy Kidder’s books covered subjects as wide-ranging as global public health, computer science, education, construction, and homelessness, but they were all united by his trademark research and dogged reporting that provided the foundations for stories of real people, passionately committed to their work. In
Read more