I mentioned in a previous post that I was asked to be on the Freshman Common Reading panel for the university I work for. This group selects a book that will be taught to all incoming Freshman and then decides how it will be taught so that it engages them to read and forces them to think. In addition to class discussions, staff and faculty are invited to discuss the book in group sessions and the author is usually a part of that discussion if available.
The five finalists are:
True Notebooks: A Writer’s Year at Juvenile Hall by Mark Salzman
The Soloist by Steve Lopez
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen
The History Boys by Alan Bennett
I was told to ask for all five if I could commit to reading them, but I selected only two of the five and they were just delivered to my office mail box. I chose True Notebooks and The Soloist which apparently is being made into a movie with Robert Downey Jr. Discussions on all of the books will start in January. I can’t wait.
If you were a college freshman (or maybe you are one!) which one would pique your interest?
Book Chatter 
My son goes to Virginia Tech and they have a Common Book, too. He read Branded for his. I think I enjoyed it more than he did. All of the books you show look good to me.
Lucky you!I’d choose either History Boys (I was a history major) or The Soloist (I’ve seen the trailer for the movie and it looks good).I’ve read 3 Cups of Tea and I’d be afraid it would put everyone off reading.
I’m surprised there isn’t a single book by a woman on this list! Can’t say I’ve read any of them, but I did see the movie <>History Boys<> and really enjoyed it.
Avis..its funny too because there’s a lot of women on the panel.
I read True Notebooks while I was in college and really enjoyed it. The Soloist definitely piques my interest, too. I enjoyed Three Cups of Tea for its story, but found the writing to be rather tedious which would probably wouldn’t make it a great pick for this purpose despite its important message.
How fun, Ti. I think they all look good, though I’ve read some not-so-great reviews of <>Three Cups of Tea<>
Good point about the lack of women authors here! I would probably be most interested in The Soloist. Let us know which one is chosen!