June 25, 2025
This message is distributed to All Instructors. (Click here to view description of distribution groups.)
The following is being sent on behalf of Sara Kelly, Exhibitions and Events Manager, UCSB Library
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Dear Faculty,
The UCSB Library is pleased to announce its shortlist of titles under consideration for UCSB Reads 2026, the 20th edition of the award-winning common book program.
Since one of the goals of UCSB Reads is curricular engagement, we invite you to provide feedback to the advisory committee by July 28. We are especially interested to know whether you would teach one or more of these titles during either Winter or Spring Quarter 2026. Please send your feedback to skelly@ucsb.edu or fill out a short form at https://www.library.ucsb.edu/ucsbreadsvote.
The Library will provide free copies of the book to instructors that assign all or part of the selected book in courses and to all students enrolled in the courses.
The UCSB Reads 2026 shortlist selections are (in alphabetical order):
- A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought this Through? (2023) by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
- Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides (2022) by Geoffrey Cohen
- Crying in H Mart (2021) by Michelle Zauner
- Everything Is Tuberculosis (2025) by John Green
- Remarkably Bright Creatures (2022) by Shelby Van Pelt
UCSB Reads brings the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time. Each year, an advisory committee composed of UCSB faculty, staff, students, and community partners help the Library select an intellectually stimulating, interdisciplinary book by a living author that appeals to a wide range of readers and can be incorporated into the UCSB curriculum.
The UCSB Reads 2026 book selection will be announced in the fall. The program will kick off in early 2026 with a free book giveaway for UCSB students. Throughout the Winter and Spring quarters, the Library will sponsor a variety of free learning, experiential and social events to explore the book’s themes. UCSB Reads 2026 will culminate with a public lecture by the author(s) of the selected book in the spring.
Regards,
Sara Kelly
Exhibitions and Events Manager
UCSB Library
skelly@ucsb.edu