Previous Common Books
Seek You
By Kristen Radtke
2023
![](/media/commonbook/SeekYouHighResCover.jpg)
![An illustrated cover depicting an apartment building with people in some of the windows](/media/commonbook/SeekYouHighResCover.jpg)
The Organ Thieves
By Chip Jones
2022
![](/media/commonbook/OrganThievesCoverArt.jpg)
![Organ Thieves book cover: A foggy cemetart with tombstones](/media/commonbook/OrganThievesCoverArt.jpg)
Rising
By Elizabeth Rush
2021
![](/media/commonbook/Rising_Cover_300dpi_RGB.jpg)
![Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore Book cover](/media/commonbook/Rising_Cover_300dpi_RGB.jpg)
One Person, No Vote
By Carol Anderson
2020
![](/media/commonbook/OnePerson.jpg)
![The book cover for One Person, No Vote VCU Common Book for 2019-2020](/media/commonbook/OnePerson.jpg)
Evicted
By Matthew Desmond
2019
Tell Me How It Ends
By Valeria Luiselli
2018
![](/media/commonbook/TellmeHotItEnds.jpg)
![Tell Me How It Ends book cover](/media/commonbook/TellmeHotItEnds.jpg)
Dreamland
By Sam Quinones
2017
![](/media/commonbook/Dreamland.jpg)
![Dreamland BOok cover](/media/commonbook/Dreamland.jpg)
Just Mercy
By Bryan Stevenson
2016
![](/media/commonbook/JustMercy.jpg)
![Just Mercy Book Cover](/media/commonbook/JustMercy.jpg)
The Secret History of Wonder Woman
By Jill Lepore
2015
![](/media/commonbook/WW.jpg)
![The Secret History of Wonder Woman Jill Lepore 2015](/media/commonbook/WW.jpg)
Summer Reading Program Book Selection 2006-2015
The Common Book Program was born out of the Summer Reading Program at VCU. In 2015, the Summer Reading Program officially became the Common Book Program. Both shared the same mission to expose first-year students at VCU to texts that would challenge them and create a space for learning and dialogue to take place. Listed below are the texts selected as part of the Summer Reading Program:
- Freakonomics (2006-07)
- Nickel and Dimed (2007-08)
- Covering (2008-09)
- Maus (2009-10)
- Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010-11)
- The Other Wes Moore (2011-12)
- Full Body Burden (2012-13)
- Salt Sugar Fat (2013-14)
- The Circle (2014-15)