KU Reads programming for the upcoming school year will include a free talk from John Green on his 2021 essay collection, which is this year’s common book selection.
Each year, a new book is selected as the focal point of the KU Reads: A Common Book Experience program. The selection then serves as a jumping-off point for activities and cross-campus conversations about predominant social issues for the school year.
This year’s selection, “The Anthropocene Reviewed” by John Green, is an essay collection wherein Green “reviews” human contribution to the planet on a five-star scale. With humor and Green’s characteristic introspection, essays on QWERTY keyboards and the “Penguins of Madagascar” movie ask readers to engage with the world and culture around them critically.
“KU Libraries Common Book Librarian Samantha Greeson said the book serves as an entry point to inspire curiosity and generate enthusiasm for scholarly inquiry about research topics in any field or discipline,” according to a news release from KU.
This round of KU Reads programming includes an evening with Green at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive. The event is free, but tickets are required.
Tickets are limited to four per person. They are available to KU students, faculty and staff with a KU ID starting Monday, Aug. 18, and the general public beginning Friday, Aug. 22. Tickets can be picked up at the Lied Center box office.
The event will also be livestreamed via Crowdcast on the Hall Center’s channel.
Lawrence Reviewed
Taking inspiration from Green’s rating system in “The Anthropocene Reviewed,” a digital humanities project is inviting students and community members to consider and “rate” unique hotspots around town.
Lawrence Reviewed pop-up events will have copies of the common book and snacks. These are the planned times and locations, with the possibility of more to be added later:
- 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Sept. 10: Rate the Jayhawk at Kansas Student Union
- 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Sept. 17: Rate KU Libraries at Anschutz
- 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22: Rate the “Big Tooter” at Watson Library
More KU Reads events
Here is the rest of the schedule for KU Reads. This programming is open to university faculty, staff and students, as well as the full Lawrence community.
August 2025 – May 2026, the KU Common Work of Art is on view at the Spencer Museum of Art.
This year’s art selection, paired with the Common Book, is a painting called “Haunted by the Ghosts of Our Own Making” by Hollis Sigler. The painting interrogates the consequences of DDT, a widely used insecticide.
Aug. 18 – Sept. 18, KU libraries will accept submissions of university student art for a yearlong exhibition called LibArt: Student Art in the Libraries. One student will be recognized with the Common Work of LibArt award for art that speaks to the themes of “The Anthropocene Reviewed.”
Read the submission guidelines here.
On Thursday, Aug. 21, a showing of “Penguins of Madagascar” will take place at Watson Library in the 3 West event space. This animated movie inspired one of the essays in “The Anthropocene Reviewed.” Crafts will start at 6:30 p.m., followed by the screening at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 31, “Re-Framing Your Haunted Story” will take place at the Spencer. Attendees will look to this year’s Common Work of Art and KU Reads book to consider how they are haunted by their own ghosts, like anxiety and fear.
They will then “Consider how art can help you see these ghosts in a different context and craft your own message to reframe your haunted story,” according to a KU news release.
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