Library: New Student Common Reading Program: Previous Years, Other Programs

Prior Selections at Cal Maritime

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults (2023) by Robin Wall Kimmerer; Monique Gray Smith; Nicole Neidhardt (Illustrator)
Publication Date: 2022
Know My Name (2022) by Chanel Miller
Publication Date: 2019
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2021) by Rebecca Skloot
Publication Date: 2011
Spare Parts (2020) by Joshua Davis
Publication Date: 2014
Field Notes from a Catastrophe (2019) by Elizabeth Kolbert
Publication Date: 2015
The Leavers (2018) by Lisa Ko
Publication Date: 2017
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (2017) by Anne Fadiman
Publication Date: 2012
The Boys in the Boat (2016) by Daniel James Brown
Publication Date: 2013
In the Heart of the Sea (2015) by Nathaniel Philbrick
Publication Date: 2000
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy (2014) by Pietra Rivoli
Publication Date: 2009
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (2013)
Publication Date: 2008
Longitude (2012) by Dava Sobel
Publication Date: 1995
The Endurance (2011) by Caroline Alexander
Publication Date: 1998

2021 Finalists (not selected)

The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
Publication Date: 2020
Pale Rider by Laura Spinney
Publication Date: 2018
Our Malady by Timothy Snyder
Publication Date: 2020
Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy
Publication Date: 2016

2020 Finalists (not selected)

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Vargas
Publication Date: 2018
Notes on a Foreign Country by Suzy Hansen
Publication Date: 2017
The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers
Publication Date: 2019

2019 Finalists (not selected)

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson 656 pp. From Amazon: Nominated for the Hugo Award for best novel of 2018. New York Times bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson returns with a bold and brilliant vision of New York City in the next century. As the sea levels rose, every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. For the residents of one apartment building in Madison Square, however, New York in the year 2140 is far from a drowned city. There is the market trader, who finds opportunities where others find trouble. There is the detective, whose work will never disappear - along with the lawyers, of course. There is the internet star, beloved by millions for her airship adventures, and the building's manager, quietly respected for his attention to detail. Then there are two boys who don't live there, but have no other home - and who are more important to its future than anyone might imagine. Lastly there are the coders, temporary residents on the roof, whose disappearance triggers a sequence of events that threatens the existence of all - and even the long-hidden foundations on which the city rests.
Publication Date: 2018
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert 336 pp. From Amazon: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a New York Times bestseller. A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes Over the last half-billion years, there have been Five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
Publication Date: 2015
The Water Will Come by Jeff Goodell 352 pp. From Amazon: A New York Times Critics' Top Book of 2017, a Washington Post 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2017, and a Booklist Top 10 Science Books of 2017. What if Atlantis wasn't a myth, but an early precursor to a new age of great flooding? Across the globe, scientists and civilians alike are noticing rapidly rising sea levels, and higher and higher tides pushing more water directly into the places we live, from our most vibrant, historic cities to our last remaining traditional coastal villages. With each crack in the great ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctica, and each tick upwards of Earth's thermometer, we are moving closer to the brink of broad disaster. By century's end, hundreds of millions of people will be retreating from the world's shores as our coasts become inundated and our landscapes transformed. From island nations to the world's major cities, coastal regions will disappear. Engineering projects to hold back the water are bold and may buy some time. Yet despite international efforts and tireless research, there is no permanent solution-no barriers to erect or walls to build-that will protect us in the end from the drowning of the world as we know it. The Water Will Come is the definitive account of the coming water, why and how this will happen, and what it will all mean. As he travels across twelve countries and reports from the front lines, acclaimed journalist Jeff Goodell employs fact, science, and first-person, on-the-ground journalism to show vivid scenes from what already is becoming a water world. "Immersive, mildly gonzo" (Jennifer Senior, New York Times).
Publication Date: 2017