The Books Colleges Are Choosing for Common Reads in 2026

Common Reads, sometimes called One Book, One College or All Campus Reads, have been a popular project for U.S. colleges and universities for the last decade.

• They invite incoming students to all read the same book and spend the first weeks—or even the full first year—talking about it.
• It’s both a smart way to prepare students for higher education and a way to build community among new students. 

At some institutions, the books rotate every few years, allowing all levels of students to connect over the same book. At others, the books change annually. Many times, students are even treated to events that bring the book’s author to campus.

This summer’s Common Reads at universities across the country offer an interesting mix of fiction and nonfiction. Among the featured titles:

• Inciting Joy by Ross Gay, Boston University
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, Saddleback College
• HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience by Ayesha Rascoe, Norfolk State University
• Solito by Javier Zamora, California State Polytechnic University in Pamona
• Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke, Binghampton University
• 1984 by George Orwell, Metropolitan Community College (Kansas City)
• A Map Is Only One Story edited by Nicole Chung and Mensah DeMary, Mount Holyoke

A few colleges and universities save their Common Reads for the school year itself. Among the picks from the fall of 2025 and spring of 2026:

• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, University of California-Santa Barbara 
• Diaries of War by Nora Krug, Yavapai College 
• The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, Slippery Rock University 
• Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine at Vassar University

It’s important to think about these selections in context of our current political moment. Higher education has been under siege by this administration from the beginning, and many schools have actively folded to demands, eliminating departments, courses, and programs that fall under the categories of diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”). Any selection is political, and while many institutions have committed to selecting titles that showcase America’s diversity, others have made safe choices or eliminated such programs altogether.