2023 Callings by Dave Isay
The stories in Callings share similar threads of discipline, resilience, sacrifice, and hard work. Individuals tell their own stories as they pursue the work they were born to do, advocating for taking pride in one's work no matter what the work looks like. StoryCorps founder, Dave Isay, presents unforgettable stories of passion and commitment from people doing what they love while arguing that finding one's calling is vital for fostering purpose and meaning in one's life. Go to the Guide
2022 The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-cantered planet, from the QWERTY keyboard and Staphylococcus aureus to the Taco Bell breakfast menu, on a five-star scale. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection that includes both beloved essays and all-new pieces exclusive to the book. Go to the Guide
2021 World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the author of World of Wonders as well as of four books of poetry, including, Oceanic, winner of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award. Other awards for her writing include fellowships and grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Mississippi Arts Council, and MacDowell. Her writing appears in Poetry, the New York Times Magazine, ESPN, and Tin House. She serves as poetry faculty for the Writing Workshops in Greece and is professor of English and Creative Writing in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program. As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted―no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape―she was able to turn to our world’s fierce and funny creatures for guidance. Go to the Guide
2020 What the Eyes Don't See by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
Here is the inspiring story of how Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, alongside a team of researchers, parents, friends, and community leaders, discovered that the children of Flint, Michigan, were being exposed to lead in their tap water—and then battled her own government and a brutal backlash to expose that truth to the world. Paced like a scientific thriller, What the Eyes Don’t See reveals how misguided austerity policies, broken democracy, and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk. And at the center of the story is Dr. Mona herself—an immigrant, doctor, scientist, and mother whose family’s activist roots inspired her pursuit of justice. Go to the Guide
2019 Evicted by Matthew Desmond
Written by Matthew Desmond, a Princeton sociologist and recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, Evicted was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for being “a deeply researched expose that showed how mass evictions after the 2008 economic crash were less a consequence than a cause of poverty.”
The book has been described as “a landmark work of scholarship and reportage that will forever change the way we look at poverty in America.” Since its publication, “Evicted” has been credited with transforming how the nation understands “extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem.” Go to the Guide
2018 Collected Short Stories by William Faulkner
This magisterial collection of short works by Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner reminds readers of his ability to compress his epic vision into narratives as hard and wounding as bullets. Among the 42 selections in this book, participants in the 2018 UM Common Reading Experience were asked to focus on these ten particular classics: "The Brooch," "A Rose for Emily," "Two Soldiers," "Barn Burning," "Hair," "Dry September," "Uncle Willy," "Shall Not Parish," "That Evening Sun," and "Mule in the Yard." Go to the Guide
2017 Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machinations, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever. Go to the Guide
2016 Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie is one of our most acclaimed and popular writers today. With Ten Little Indians, he offers nine poignant and emotionally resonant new stories about Native Americans who, like all Americans, find themselves at personal and cultural crossroads, faced with heartrending, tragic, sometimes wondrous moments of being that test their loyalties, their capacities, and their notions of who they are and who they love. Go to the Guide
2015 The Education of a Lifetime by Robert Khayat
An 1962, while a riot was in full swing on the University of Mississippi campus over the admission of James Meredith, Robert Khayat was an All-Pro kicker for the newly integrated Washington Redskins. He had no way of knowing that, thirty-five years later, he would be leading the University of Mississippi through one of its greatest challenges — its association with the Confederate flag. Robert Khayat’s The Education of a Lifetime reveals his childhood days in Moss Point, Mississippi; the state’s segregationist policies that prevented his SEC championship baseball team from playing in the College World Series; and the sadness of watching his father’s arrest. These seemingly disparate events worked to prepare him for his future battle with the vestiges of racial strife that continued to haunt Ole Miss’ culture when he was selected as the University’s fifteenth Chancellor. Go to the Guide
2014 Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of Women Who Helped Win World War II
by Denise Kiernan
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, TN, was home to 75,000 residents, and consumed more electricity than New York City, yet it was shrouded in such secrecy that it did not appear on any map. Thousands of civilians, many of whom were young women from small towns, were recruited to this secret city, enticed by the promise of solid wages and war-ending work. What were they actually doing there? Very few know. The women who kept this town running would find out at the end of the war, when Oak Ridge's secret was revealed and changed the world forever. Go to the Guide
2013 The Unforgiving Minute by Craig Mullaney
In this surprise bestseller, West Point grad, Rhodes scholar, Airborne Ranger, and U. S. Army Captain Craig Mullaney recounts his unparalleled education and the hard lessons that only war can teach. While stationed in Afghanistan, a deadly firefight with al-Qaeda leads to the loss of one of his soldiers. Years later, after that excruciating experience, he returns to the United States to teach future officers at the Naval Academy. Written with unflinching honesty, this is an unforgettable portrait of a young soldier grappling with the weight of war while coming to terms with what it means to be a man. Go to the Guide
2012 Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Edgar Award-winning author Tom Franklin returns with his most accomplished and resonant novel so far—an atmospheric drama set in rural Mississippi. In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town. More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades. Go to the Guide
2011 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. Go to the Guide
The Common Reading Experience began with the 2011-2012 school year with the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This tradition of using one book to unite discussions broadly across the incoming class continues. Every first-year student receives a copy of the selected text at orientation to finish before the school year begins in August. Instructors from the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, First-Year Experience, and others then utilize the text in their classes to relate discussions around themes from the book in a cross-disciplinary manner. Events are planned to inspire learning outside of the classroom. The Common Reading Experience aspires for an enriched sense of academic community through a communal reading of the text.
