Previous Years
Archives of the WSU Common Reading Program
In this section of our website, you can find archives of information on the books and associated events, programming, and teaching resources for previous years’ common readings.
2022 & 2023
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, was the sixteenth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.
2021
Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation, edited by John Freeman was the fifteenth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2021-22 academic year.
2020
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah was the fourteenth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2020-21 academic year.
2019
Refuge: Rethinking Refugee Policy in a Changing World, by Alexander Betts and Paul Collier was the thirteenth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2019-20 academic year.
2018
Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything, by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith was the twelfth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2018-19 academic year.
2017
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline was the eleventh WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2017-18 academic year.
2016
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb was the tenth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2016-17 academic year.
2015
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson was the ninth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2015-16 academic year.
2014
Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash by Edward Humes was the eighth WSU Common Reading book, utilized during the 2014-15 academic year.
2013
Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz was selected as the WSU Common Reading book for the 2013-14 academic year.
2012
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot was the sixth WSU Common Reading book for the 2012-13 academic year.
2011
Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines by Richard A. Muller was chosen as the fifth WSU Common Reading book for the 2011-12 academic year.
2010
Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, not Bombs by Greg Mortenson was chosen as the fourth WSU Common Reading book for the 2010-11 academic year.
2009
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan was chosen as the third WSU Common Reading book for the 2009-10 academic year.
2008
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach was selected as the second WSU Common Reading book for the 2008-09 academic year.
2007
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, by Gina Kolata, was the first WSU Common Reading book for the 2007-08 academic year.