UCSB Reads book selections have explored topics such as climate change, human memory, racial justice, women in science, globalization, and wildfires. Authors have included prominent figures like His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2009), Piper Kerman (2015), Bryan Stevenson (2016), Ted Chiang (2022), and Michelle Zauner (2026).
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Crying in H Mart is a vibrant and sensory memoir exploring self-discovery, grief, and Korean-American culture through the celebratory lens of food and family. The book was a New York Times bestseller and received numerous awards and accolades. Michelle Zauner is a young Korean American musician, singer, songwriter, director, and author. She is the lead vocalist of acclaimed indie pop band Japanese Breakfast and was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2022 by TIME magazine. The Book of Delights: Essays is a genre-defying collection of short lyrical essays that celebrate the small, ordinary wonders in the world around us. Written daily over one tumultuous year, the humorous, poetic, and philosophical essays cover a wide range of topics that will feel familiar to readers. Ross Gay is an award-winning poet, essayist, and professor. Gay has taught poetry, art, and literature at Lafayette College, Montclair State University, Drew University, and Indiana University, where he is a faculty member in the English Department. Your Brain On Art: How the Arts Transform Us investigates the emerging field of neuroaesthetics to illustrate how creative expression physically alters our brain chemistry, health, and communities. The work provides scientific proof of how engaging with art enhances emotional and physical well-being. Susan Magsamen is the founder and director of the International Arts + Mind Lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Ivy Ross is a renowned designer and the Vice President of Design for Hardware Products at Google. Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design explores the intersection of urban planning and happiness studies to demonstrate how city environments shape human behavior and well-being. It offers practical insights on how public policy and urban design can improve social equity and sustainability. Charles Montgomery is an award-winning Canadian journalist and urbanist whose consultancy works globally to build well-being into city spaces. He has advised planners and decision-makers across multiple continents on human-centered design. Exhalation: Stories is a thought-provoking collection of nine speculative science fiction stories exploring fundamental philosophical questions about free will, bioethics, and artificial intelligence. The collection earned widespread critical acclaim for blending spare, dramatic prose with complex moral worlds. Ted Chiang is a decorated science fiction writer who has received over two dozen major literary awards, including four Hugo and four Nebula awards. His celebrated novella Story of Your Life was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film Arrival. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir is a powerful personal account detailing the origins of a movement formed to demand accountability and human rights in the face of racial injustice. The memoir highlights resilience, community organizing, and systemic reform in contemporary America. Patrisse Cullors is an artist, organizer, and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Asha Bandele is an award-winning journalist, author, and advocate for civil rights. Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore combines immersive investigative journalism and personal narratives to chronicle the firsthand impact of climate change and sea-level rise on vulnerable American coastal communities. It was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Elizabeth Rush is an author and environmental reporter whose work explores ecological change and adaptation. She is a professor of creative writing at Brown University. The Best We Could Do is an evocative graphic memoir that documents a family's daring escape from war-torn Vietnam in the 1970s and their subsequent struggle to build a life in America. The book received critical acclaim for its striking visual storytelling and nuanced exploration of intergenerational trauma. Thi Bui is a Vietnamese-American graphic novelist, illustrator, and educator who was born in Saigon shortly before the fall of the city. She has illustrated several award-winning children's books alongside her graphic novel work. Lab Girl is an engaging memoir detailing a female scientist's life spent uncovering secrets about plant life, paleoclimatology, and the natural world. It celebrates the wonder of scientific discovery and the lifelong bond shared with her research colleague. Hope Jahren is an award-winning geobiologist and university professor known for her paleoclimatology research. She has been named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people and received three Fulbright Awards. Into the Beautiful North is an uplifting novel about a young Mexican woman who journeys across the U.S. border to recruit seven men to protect her hometown from local criminals. The story blends humor, warmth, and social observation to reframe popular immigration narratives. Luis Alberto Urrea is an acclaimed author, poet, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction. He is an inducted member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame and a distinguished professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is an eye-opening account of a young lawyer's crusade to defend those wrongly convicted, poor, and marginalized within the American criminal legal system. The book was a New York Times bestseller and was later adapted into a major motion picture. Bryan Stevenson is a widely celebrated public interest attorney and human rights advocate. He is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison is a revealing memoir chronicling the author's 13-month sentence in a federal correctional facility. It examines the harsh realities of the prison system, gender dynamics, and the bonds formed among incarcerated women. Piper Kerman is an author, public speaker, and criminal justice reform advocate. She is a board member of the Women’s Prison Association and frequently testifies about conditions within penal institutions. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America tells the dramatic story of the catastrophic Great Fire of 1910 and its role in forging public support for national forests. The narrative highlights early conservationists who fought to establish the U.S. Forest Service. Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and National Book Award-winning author. He was a longtime Pacific Northwest correspondent and columnist for The New York Times. Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything follows a science journalist's yearlong quest to understand the mechanics of human memory, culminating in his entry into the U.S. Memory Championship. The narrative blends historical research and neuroscience to explore how memory shapes human identity. Joshua Foer is an author and science journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Esquire, and Slate. He is also the co-founder of the online travel encyclopedia Atlas Obscura. Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,000 Bath Toys Lost at Sea, and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools--Including the Author--Who Went in Search of Them tracks a shipment of rubber ducks spilled into the Pacific to investigate global shipping, ocean currents, and plastic pollution. The book merges natural history with investigative travel writing. Donovan Hohn is an essayist, journalist, and former senior editor at Harper's Magazine. He is a creative writing professor at Wayne State University. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of a Black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken without her consent in 1951, sparking vital scientific breakthroughs alongside profound ethical questions. The work was a major bestseller and raised awareness about bioethics and medical equity. Rebecca Skloot is a veteran science writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Discover. She spent more than a decade researching the legacy of the Lacks family. Enrique's Journey tracks the perilous trek of a Honduran teenager traveling north atop freight trains to reunite with his mother in the United States. Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper series, the narrative humanizes the complex reality of Latin American immigration. Sonia Nazario is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and activist who spent more than three decades reporting on social issues. She is a member of the advisory board of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). Ethics for the New Millennium proposes a universal framework for moral decision-making based on empathy, shared humanity, and mindfulness rather than specific religious doctrines. The text advocates for compassion as a practical necessity in a globalized society. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He is an internationally renowned advocate for peace, interfaith dialogue, and human rights. The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy traces the lifecycle of a simple cotton garment to illustrate complex international trade policies, agricultural subsidies, and global supply chains. The study provides a neutral, accessible look at globalization and political economics. Pietra Rivoli is a professor of international business and finance at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Her research focuses on global trade policy and social responsibility. Field Notes from a Catastrophe is a seminal work of climate reporting that visits research outposts worldwide to document observable signs of global warming. The book urges immediate policy action based on scientific consensus. Elizabeth Kolbert is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and longtime staff writer for The New Yorker. She is widely recognized as one of the country's prominent voices on environmental issues.2026: Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
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2025: The Book of Delights: Essays by Ross Gay
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2024: Your Brain On Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
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2023: Happy City by Charles Montgomery
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2022: Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
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2021: When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Cullors & Asha Bandele
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2020: Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush
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2019: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
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2018: Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
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2017: Into the Beautiful North by Luis Urrea
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2016: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
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2015: Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman
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2014: The Big Burn by Timothy Egan
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2013: Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer
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2012: Moby Duck by Donovan Hohn
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2011: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
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2010: Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario
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2009: Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama
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2008: The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli
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2007: Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert
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