Whether you are seeking to unwind, reflect or self-improve this summer, the University Libraries have a number of reading options to occupy those hot summer days. Check out one—or many—of our most popular titles.
For more titles, browse our popular reading collections, Children’s and Young Adult collection and literary fiction, foreign language and graphic novel sections in the Norlin Library 3rd floor stacks.
Fiction
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. – Publisher
Dune : The Graphic Novel by Brian Herbert
Dune, Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction masterpiece set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar society, tells the story of Paul Atreides as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune is a powerful, fantastical tale that takes an unprecedented look into our universe, and is transformed by the graphic novel format. – Publisher
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
'Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?' In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place. – Publisher
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith
Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. Each of the [hostages] carry a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next. – Publisher
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name. – Publisher
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
From her place in the store that sells artificial friends, Klara—an artificial friend with outstanding observational qualities—watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans. In this luminous tale, Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love? – Publisher
Fox 8 by George Saunders
Idealistic Fox 8's ability to communicate in "Yuman" cannot save his pack when their den and food supply are destroyed to build a mall, so he writes a letter asking for an explanation of human's cruelty. – Publisher
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency’s motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira. – Publisher
Non-fiction
The Book of Joy : Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams
This year’s Buffs One Read selection, The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with Douglas Abrams, features a 7-day conversation between two of the world's most inspirational spiritual leaders about our search for joy and meaning in the face of suffering.
From Jack Johnson to LeBron James : Sports, Media, and the Color Line by Chris Lamb
The campaign for racial equality in sports has both reflected and affected the campaign for racial equality in the United States. Some of the most significant and publicized stories in this campaign in the twentieth century have happened in sports, including, of course, Jackie Robinson in baseball; Jesse Owens, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos in track; Arthur Ashe in tennis; and Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali in boxing. Long after the full integration of college and professional athletics, race continues to play a major role in sports. Not long ago, sportswriters and sportscasters ignored racial issues. They now contribute to the public's evolving racial attitudes on issues both on and off the field, ranging from integration to self-determination to masculinity. – Publisher
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Alfred A. Knopf
Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise. – Publisher
You Majored in What?: Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career by Katharine Brooks
“So what are you going to do with your major?” It's an innocent question that can haunt students from high school to graduate school and beyond. Relax. Your major is just the starting point for designing a meaningful future. In this guide, Katharine Brooks shows you a creative, fun and intelligent way to figure out what you want to do and how to get it—no matter what you studied in college. – Publisher
Earth Keeper : Reflections on the American Land by N. Scott Momaday
In this book, Momaday reflects on his native ground and its influence on his people. "When I think about my life and the lives of my ancestors, I am inevitably led to the conviction that I, and they, belong to the American land. This is a declaration of belonging. And it is an offering to the earth." he writes. Earth Keeper is a story of attachment, rooted in oral tradition. Momaday recalls stories of his childhood that have been passed down through generations which reveal a profound and sacred connection to the American landscape and a reverence for the natural world. In this work, he offers an homage and a warning reminding us that the Earth is a sacred place of wonder and beauty and a source of strength and healing that must be protected before it's too late. – Publisher
Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code
From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce white supremacy and deepen social inequity. Far from a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, Benjamin argues that automation has the potential to hide, speed and even deepen discrimination, while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to racism of a previous era. This illuminating guide into the world of biased bots, altruistic algorithms and their many entanglements provides conceptual tools to decode tech promises with sociologically informed skepticism. In doing so, it challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold, but also the ones we manufacture ourselves. – Publisher
Other offerings
Multimedia Equipment Lending Library
Through our Multimedia Equipment Lending Library (MELL), CU Boulder students, staff and faculty may borrow a variety of multimedia equipment, including cameras, audio equipment, tripods and smartphone accessories.
Wi-Fi hotspots
Stay connected. The Libraries have a limited number of wireless hotspots that can be checked out over the summer for educational purposes including research use.
Colorado State Park passes
Take your summer adventure to the great outdoors. The Libraries check out Colorado State Parks passes for one week granting you access to Colorado’s 42 state parks.
Films, videos and DVDs
From popular movies to documentaries to tutorial videos, the Libraries provide access to a wide variety of streaming and physical media.