Every year, students are given a reading list before heading to campus; books vary by college. The Chronicle of Higher Education analyzed common reads across 700 institutions, 1,000 titles over four academic years. 

The Chronicle discovered personal narratives were popular among the reading lists — topics of politics, history, technology, education, and psychology. In addition to personal narratives — poems, podcasts, TedTalks, films, and Netflix series were also popular. 

See below for the top common reads across college campuses:

• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

• Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover 

• What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

• The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

• Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet

• Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

• Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work by David Isay

• There There by Tommy Orange 

• Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream by Joshua Davis 

To learn more, click the link below:

https://www.chronicle.com/article/these-are-the-books-that-colleges-think-every-freshman-should-read?utm_source=pocket_discover