UCSB Reads

The UC Santa Barbara Library and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor are pleased to announce the selection of the 2025 UCSB Reads book, The Book of Delights: Essays by Ross Gay.

Now in its 19th year, UCSB Reads is an award-winning program that brings the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time. 

The UCSB Library is pleased to announce its shortlist of titles under consideration for UCSB Reads 2025. The four nonfiction titles and one fiction title explore diverse cultural, social and scientific subjects that can ignite discourse and thoughtful discussion inside and outside of the classroom.

For 18 years, the UCSB Reads program has brought the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling interdisciplinary issues of our time. The program has become a mainstay in campus education and outreach, with book topics tackling issues as diverse as climate change, mass incarceration, Buddhism and artificial intelligence, among others.

The UC Santa Barbara Library and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor are pleased to announce the selection of the 2024 UCSB Reads book, Your Brain On Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross.

The UCSB Reads selection committee is pleased to announce its shortlist of titles under consideration for UCSB Reads 2024.

The titles explore diverse subjects ranging from neuroaesthetics, poverty, disability, animal senses, and California's natural and human history.

The UC Santa Barbara Library and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor are pleased to announce the selection of the 2023 UCSB Reads book, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery.

The UCSB Reads selection committee is pleased to announce its shortlist of titles under consideration for UCSB Reads 2023.

The list includes both fiction and nonfiction titles that explore subjects ranging from racism in science, fast food and civil rights, urban design, Black women’s history, and the urban Native American experience.

The UC Santa Barbara Library and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor are pleased to announce the selection of the 2022 UCSB Reads book, Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang.

Now in its 16th year, UCSB Reads brings the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time.

The UCSB Reads selection committee has announced its shortlist of titles under consideration for UCSB Reads 2022.

The selections span the genres of science fiction short stories, fiction, nonfiction, and biographical essays. They explore subjects of free will, bioethics, grief, privilege, poverty, social mobility, immigration, addiction, race, and more. 

UCSB Library is excited to launch summer book clubs to bring the campus and community together to connect with others who love literature and engage in peer-led discussions on interesting topics.

The summer book clubs will focus on the five books nominated for the UCSB Reads 2022 shortlist, which will be announced in mid-June.