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K-State Today

February 13, 2019

Help the K-State Book Network select the common reading book for 2019

Submitted by Karin Westman

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We started with "The Hunger Games" in 2010, we explored "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" in 2012, we learned about "The Other Wes Moore" in 2015, and we met Starr Carter in "The Hate U Give" in 2018: What will be the common read in 2019?

K-State Book Network, or KSBN, the all-university reading program, selects a common book for the academic year and coordinates classroom and campus activities to correspond with the reading. As part of K-State First, KSBN provides incoming students with a shared academic experience that they can discuss with professors, staff, administrators, and other students when they arrive on campus.

The KSBN Book Selection Committee — comprised of 60 students, staff, administrators, and faculty — has spent the last six months reading 35 books on the themes of advocacy and resiliency for well-being. The committee has narrowed the list down to six finalists:

  • "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman
  • "Rising Strong" by Brene Brown
  • "Brain on Fire" by Susannah Cahalan
  • "Darius the Great is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
  • "Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian" by Yusra Mardini
  • "Hamilton: An American Musical" by Lin-Manuel Miranda

We would like your help selecting the 2019 university common book.

Visit the KSBN webpage to read about these six finalists that have been chosen for consideration and offer your feedback by Friday, Feb. 22.

The Book Selection Committee looks forward to your response.

More information about KSBN, including a list of past book selections, is available at the KSBN website. More information about K-State First, the university's first-year experience program, is available at the K-State First website