- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies – Jared Diamond, 1997, 2005
- Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore #1) – Ursula K. LeGuin, 2004
- Light in August – William Faulkner, 1932
- Powers (Annals of the Western Shore #3) – Ursula K. LeGuin, 2007
- Voices (Annals of the Western Shore #2) – Ursula K. LeGuin, 2006
- Wool Omnibus (Silo #1) – Hugh Howey, 2012
- Shift (Silo #2) – Hugh Howey, 2013
- Unf*ck Your Habitat – Rachel Hoffman, 2017
- The Other Wes Moore – Wes Moore, 2010 – this was the UMass Common Read. One quote I kept, about the difference between teenage transitions for young black men in the US and Africa:
One of the key differences between the two was in the way their communities saw them. Here, burgeoning manhood was guided and celebrated through a rite of passage. At home, burgeoning manhood was a trigger for apprehension. … Our young men—along with our young women—are our strength and our future. Yet we fear them. This tall south African who now captured my attention wore his manhood as a sign of accomplishment, a badge of honor. His process was a journey taken with his peers, guided by his elders, and completed in a celebration. He was now a man. His community welcomed him.