Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Depending on your role and institution, the answer to this question may vary.

• If you are a professor or work at a university or college you will want to consult the First-Year Reading Resources page, which you can access here.
• If you are a community librarian, community leader, and/or work at your public library, you will want to consult the Community Reading for Adults Resources page, which you can access here.
• If you work in a K – 12 school as either a teacher, librarian, or in another capacity, you can consult the Community & School for Children & Young Adults Resource page, which you can access here.

This site features a number of titles and themes that we have found to be successful for each market – just follow the respective link for your audience as indicated below.

• First-Year Reading (FYR) is tailored toward common reading at the university/college first year level. To visit the themes and titles associated with FYR, please click here.
• Community Reads for Adults engage an entire community in a common reading experience. To visit the themes and titles associated, click here.
• Community & School Reads for Children and Young Adults promote literacy and foster a sense of community as a grade, school, town, or city read the same book and participate in discussions and related activities during the school year or for summer reading. The programs require books with big ideas that will engage young readers. For a list of titles and associated themes, click here.

You can view catalogs curated specifically for First Year Reading programs below.

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE BOOKS FOR FIRST-YEAR AND COMMON READING 2023

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE BOOKS FOR COMMUNITY & SCHOOL READS 2019

Discussion Guides

We develop and make available discussion guides, which may be used as tools by your discussion leaders. All available guides may be easily downloaded from our website by visiting the corresponding titles page. Some guides are also available in print format, which you can request by emailing us at: commonreads@penguinrandomhouse.com

Promotional Materials

Book jackets for promotional purposes can be downloaded from this site – just visit the corresponding titles page and click on the “Download High-Resolution Cover” button. (Please note that cover images must be used in their entirety, and cannot be edited or cropped in any way.)

Should you need author photos or additional content and materials, we will research the available options and assist you as best as we can. Just send your request to: commonreads@penguinrandomhouse.com

We have definitely found that a common reading program can be very successful when it involves the hosting and participation of the respective author.

Many authors are available for a school or community visit, and we at Penguin Random House would be happy to assist you with booking inquires. Please feel free to email us: commonreads@penguinrandomhouse.com

Additionally, you can consult the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau website to see which authors may be available for events.

We have plenty of tips for hosting authors, although it may depend somewhat on your role and audience —for more information, please follow the links below:

• If you are a professor or work at a university or college you will want to consult the First-Year Reading Resources page, which you can access here.
• If you are a community librarian, community leader, and/or work at your public library, you will want to consult the Community Reading for Adults Resources page, which you can access here.
• If you work in a K – 12 school as either a teacher, librarian, or in another capacity, you can consult the Community & School for Children & Young Adults Resource page, which you can access here.

Want to include a letter from a community leader, a principal, a dean or college president? Imprint the cover with a specialized seal? We will connect you to our Premium Sales Department to process your request. (Please note these orders are not for resale.) Just email us at: commonreads@penguinrandomhouse.com

For all common reading selections, Penguin Random House will assist you in placing your order, whether through your preferred wholesaler, bookstore, online retailer, or our customer service department.

For more information, reach out to us at: commonreads@penguinrandomhouse.com

For more information on college and university review and desk copies, please consult the First-Year Reading Resources page by clicking here.

Penguin Random House is partnered with Bookshare, a non-profit organization that makes our books accessible to persons with qualifying print disabilities.

Bookshare has over 100,000 members, 100,000 books in their library and more than 130 partnerships with publishers. If Bookshare does not currently have files for the book in question, please contact Bookshare directly and they will work to get these files uploaded for you. Bookshare is responsible for providing alternative formats for all our texts, and these files are not available through Random House directly.

For more information on Bookshare or to sign up for membership, please visit http://www.bookshare.org.