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Common Reading Program Book

The Common Reading Program book for the 2025-26 academic school year is Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. 

"Deep Work" by Cal Newport book cover

First-Year Seminar (FYS) instructors voted to select the nominated text. Important things to know about this FYS text include:

  • Newport is a best-selling author and professor of computer science at Georgetown University. You can review his extensive extensive work in the field of deep work on his website.
  • Learn how to work deeply to increase focus and achieve more of your goals in less time.​
  • This book can help students discover how embracing boredom and draining the shallows in their workday can help them focus at college​.
  • All first-year students taking part in NSO should pick up their free copy of the text at the bookstore this summer​.
  • Deep Work will be used in FYS Classes – read it before fall classes begin​.

The 2025-26 Common Reading Program is sponsored by a grant from Barnes & Noble.

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