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?