Campus Common Reads

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism...Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas...that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.
The EMU Library also has an ebook version of this title.
Ranking: #11 (tied) (assigned 28 times)

"Urgent and mordantly funny, Make Your Home Among Strangers tells the moving story of a young woman torn between generational, cultural, and political forces; it's the new story of what it means to be American today."
Ranking: #11 (tied) (assigned 28 times)

"Disability rights activist Alice Wong brings tough conversations to the forefront of society with this anthology. It sheds light on the experience of life as an individual with disabilities, as told by none other than authors with these life experiences."
Ranking: #12 (assigned 26 times)

"In 2004, four Latino teenagers arrived at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition... they won! But this is just the beginning for these four, whose story - which became a key inspiration to the DREAMers movement - will go on to include first-generation college graduations, deportation, bean-picking in Mexico, and service in Afghanistan."
Ranking: #13 (assigned 24 times)

"In this deeply inspiring book, Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi recount their experiences talking to people from all walks of life about race and identity on a cross-country tour of America."
Ranking: #14 (tied) (assigned 22 times)

"A boy and a girl who fall in love. Two families whose hopes collide with destiny. An extraordinary novel that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American....Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart."
Ranking: #14 (assigned 22 times)

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer."
Ranking: #14 (tied) (assigned 22 times)

"Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem."
The EMU Library also has an ebook version of this title.
Ranking: #15 (assigned 20 times)

"Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, [Exit West] tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time."
The EMU Library also has an ebook version of this title.
Ranking: #15 (tied) (assigned 20 times)

"Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves."
Ranking: #15 (tied) (assigned 20 times)

"From award-winning actress and political activist America Ferrera comes a vibrant and varied collection of first-person accounts from prominent figures about the experience of growing up between cultures."
Ranking: #16 (tied) (assigned 17 times)

"In Tales of Two Americas, some of the literary world's most exciting writers look beyond numbers and wages to convey what it feels like to live in this divided nation. Their extraordinarily powerful stories, essays, and poems demonstrate how boundaries break down when experiences are shared, and that in sharing our stories we can help to alleviate a suffering that touches so many people."
Ranking: #16 (tied) (assigned 17 times)

"Starting in World War II... Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future."
Ranking: #17 (tied) (assigned 16 times)

"Stretching from the tribal wars of Ghana to slavery and Civil War in America, from the coal mines in the north to the Great Migration to the streets of 20th century Harlem, Yaa Gyasi's has written a modern masterpiece, a novel that moves through histories and geographies and--with outstanding economy and force--captures the troubled spirit of our own nation."
The EMU Library also has an ebook version of this title.
Ranking: #17 (tied) (assigned 16 times)

"Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, the #1 New York Times bestseller from Colson Whitehead, a magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South...The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share."
Ranking: #17 (tied) (assigned 16 times)

"A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life and threaten to rip apart our social fabric...This important book empowers us to ask the tough questions, uncover the truth, and demand change."
The EMU Library also has an ebook version of this title.
Ranking: #17 (tied) (assigned 16 times)

"A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. "
Ranking: #18 (assigned 15 times)

"Provocative and illuminating essays from women at the forefront of the climate movement who are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward. "
Ranking: #19 (tied) (assigned 14 times)

"In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings."
Ranking: #19 (tied) (assigned 14 times)

"Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, called "the most famous undocumented immigrant in America," tackles one of the defining issues of our time in this explosive and deeply personal call to arms."
Ranking: #19 (tied) (assigned 14 times)

"Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media... In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society."
Ranking: #20 (tied) (assigned 13 times)

This "important and timely" (Drew Faust, Harvard Magazine) #1 New York Times bestseller examines the legacy of slavery in America--and how both history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives.
Ranking: #20 (tied) (assigned 13 times)

"A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?...In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days."
Ranking: #20 (tied) (assigned 13 times)

A Stanford psychologist offers a bold new understanding of empathy, and shows how we can expand our circle of care, even in these divisive times Empathy is in short supply. Isolation and tribalism are rampant. ....Written with clarity and passion, The War for Kindness is an inspiring call to action. The future of our society may depend on whether we accept the challenge."
Ranking: #20 (tied) (assigned 13 times)