BU Libraries Launch Series of Common Read Events
The BU Libraries are hosting several Orbital-themed events this spring semester to help build community and connection through the BU Common Read. The BU Common Read is a University-wide initiative that invites all students, faculty, and staff to read and discuss the same book and to meaningfully engage with one another. Orbital by Samantha Harvey, this year’s Common Read, is a Booker Prize-winning novel, following six astronauts on the International Space Station as they orbit Earth 16 times in one day.
To foster opportunities to be creative, learn and connect through Orbital, BU Libraries are offering a range of events, including reading discussion groups, themed creative writing workshops and “crafternoons.” These activities are student-led, giving BU students a casual and welcoming environment to share their thoughts and ideas about the book, and express themselves creatively. The schedule is as follows:
Reading Discussion Groups
Estin Room (Mugar 302)
- February 10, 7-8 pm
- February 18, 7-8 pm
- March 19, 7-8 pm
- March 25, 7-8 pm
Orbital-inspired Writer’s Nights
Mugar Room 503
- February 19, 7-8 pm
- March 5, 7-8 pm
Common Read Crafternoons
BU Commons @ Mugar
- February 19, 1-3 pm
- March 19, 1-3 pm
To ensure all students can participate in the new tradition of the Common Read, BU students can pick up a free copy of Orbital at the service desk of all BU Libraries locations.
Beyond these events, the BU Libraries invite the community to explore Orbiting the Archives: Space, Science, and Imagination in Boston University’s Archival Collections, a new exhibit on the first floor of Mugar Memorial Library. Featuring items from our Special Collections and University Archives, the exhibition encourages community members to consider life beyond the terrestrial through the lens of reporters, artists, researchers, actors, directors, writers, and thinkers.