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The Common Book Project at Virginia Tech was established in 1998 as a means of enriching the first-year experience and creating a sense of community for undergraduate students. Each academic year since the first full-scale distribution in 2000, all incoming students have been given a book to engage them through the lens of shared reading and to provoke conversation among students and their professors.

 

Einstein's Dreams

The first Common Book at Virginia Tech was Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. The book was initially used in a two-year pilot program which started in1998. Full scale implementation began in 2000 - 01. The use of Einstein's Dreams as the Common Book continued until 2004. It is a series of 30 short fables representing dreams that Einstein might have had about places where time behaves differently. Time is circular, time flows backward and in yet another rain drops hang in the air in frozen time. This all takes place in 1905 during which Einstein wrote his Theory of Relativity.

 

 

Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martel was used in 2004 - 05. Life of Pi has become a modern classic, combining grand storytelling with a profound exploration of ageless themes: faith and truth, fact and fiction , man versus nature, and innocence and experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Branded

The 2005 - 07 selection was Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers by Alissa Quart. If you have read any portion of Branded, you probably have an opinion regarding what you read. You may agree with the author's views, or you may think she's making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe you think teenagers have actually gained power because many companies have become dependent on their dollars. Regardless of your view, know that it has merit.

 

 

 

 

 

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man who Would Cure the World, by Tracy Kidder was used from 2007 - 2009. It is an inspirational account of Dr. Paul Farmer’s life as he travels around the globe from Harvard to Haiti, Cuba, Peru and Russia serving victims of poverty and infectious disease. Part biography, part journalistic saga, the book is a call to action, and a striking example of compassionate ambition that stands to inspire service and individual achievement throughout the freshman class at Virginia Tech. It is a story of persistence and determination, and a fascinating firsthand account of the global culture in which we live. Said one student member of the selection committee, the book is “an opportunity to become more aware of the world. Most college freshmen are aware that conditions in the third world are deplorable.

 

 

 

Click here to read an article about the Common Book Project in the Virginia Tech Magazine.