Common Read

2024 Common Read Reveal

"The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd was selected as the 2024 Campus and Community Common Read. 

NPR Books says, "The novel is a textured masterpiece, quietly yet powerfully poking our consciences and our consciousness. What does it mean to be a sister, a friend, a woman, an outcast, a slave? How do we use our talents to better ourselves and our world? How do we give voice to our power, or learn to empower our voice?... Kidd, an exquisite and masterful writer, explores these difficult topics and complex ideas and does so unflinchingly — yet somehow leaves us feeling uplifted and hopeful."

Sue Monk Kidd was raised in the small town of Sylvester, Georgia, a place that deeply influenced the writing of her first novel "The Secret Life of Bees." She graduated from Texas Christian University in 1970 and later took creative writing courses at Emory University and Anderson College, as well as studying at Sewanee, Bread Loaf, and other writers’ conferences. In 2016, TCU conferred on her an honorary doctor of letters degree. She was inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors in 2011 and into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame in 2022. (from suemonkkidd.com)

The 2024 Common Read will explore the themes of Hope, Empathy, Advocacy and Loyalty - or HEAL.

What is the Common Read?

Each year, honors champions a campus and community Common Read experience. This initiative is designed to bring together people from all areas of campus and the Brookings community to learn, discuss and engage a singular, impactful book and associated themes.

The Common Read started in 2009. It was originally designed to raise the level of academic challenge at SDSU, enhance our awareness of diverse perspectives, increase faculty and student interaction, encourage service and promote enriching, engaging educational experiences both inside and outside class.

The Common Read Committee is a group of students, faculty, staff and community members who plan and implement the Common Read experience each year. The group selects the book, provides training for faculty and staff who will be teaching the book and plans numerous events designed to encourage participation and employ critical thinking around the text.

Throughout the fall semester, the Common Read Committee partners with the Brookings Human Rights Commission and other campus and community groups to sponsor and support Common Read events on campus and within the Brookings community. These strong partnerships garner a large amount of campus and community support and involvement with the Common Read.

2023's Common Read Selection

"An Immense World" by Ed Yong was the selection for the 2023 Campus and Community Common Read. Rebecca Skloot, author of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," says "This book feels like a tremendous burst of oxygen, animating everything around us with life and color and texture and wonder at precisely the moment we all need it."

Ed Yong is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, and is the author of two New York Times bestsellers - our 2023 Common Read "An Immense World," about the extraordinary sensory worlds of other animals; and "Contain Multitudes," about the amazing partnerships between animals and microbes.

2022's Common Read Selection

"Crossing the Line" by Kareem Rosser was the selection for the 2022 Campus and Community Common Read. Previous Common Read author Wes Moore says, "Crossing the Line" is truly a special book. It will leave you with not just hope but also ideas on how to make that hope transferable."

Kareem Rosser is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. in economics from Colorado State University, where he led his collegiate polo team to a national championship. Kareem is a financial analyst and serves as the executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Work to Ride.