May 11, 2020

Dear Campus Community,

Who doesn’t love a great summer read?

The Office of Inclusive Excellence, UCI Libraries, and Division of Student Affairs invite all UCI students, faculty and staff to register for free reading links to Kindred by Octavia Butler and Afterlife by Julia Alvarez. The books represent the top two voted selections by UCI members and the links are provided as part of the UCI Great Big Read. The UCI Great Big Read aims at foster engagement and social solidarity during a time when we are practicing physical distancing.
UCI students, staff, and faculty who want to obtain their links should register at: https://inclusion.uci.edu/uci-great-big-read/. Links will be automatically shared in their registration confirmations. Free reading links were emailed to voters who requested them.

register now

Learn About the Books:
FIRST BOOK: Kindred was released in 1979 and became a classic time travel novel about a heroine caught between two worlds. Octavia Butler, the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship and a multiple recipient of Hugo and Nebula awards, once said that she wrote this novel to show, not just teach about a part of American history.
SECOND BOOK: Afterlife was recently released in 2020 and is the first book published by Julia Alvarez in 15 years, examining issues of immigration, identity, and hope. Alvarez has published books and poetry, including How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, and she is recipient of a Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature (2002).
For more details, please see information at: https://inclusion.uci.edu/uci-great-big-read/.