News Release

BOISE STATE NEWS RELEASE / March 3, 2009

'Run' Selected as Book for Boise State's First Year Read Program

Boise State University has selected “Run,” a novel by Ann Patchett, as the 2009-10 First Year Read program book.

As is the tradition with the First Year Read, incoming first-year students will receive the book during their orientation this summer and are expected to read it in preparation for the fall. “Run” is the first novel that has been selected during the four years the program has been in existence at Boise State.

“I was struck by the manner in which the story integrates compassion for our fellow travelers into a number of its themes,” said Boise State President Bob Kustra. “It is a resounding affirmation of the role character can play in shaping the lives of friends and family. We all have something to learn from Ann Patchett’s story.”

The novel is set over a period of 24 hours and takes readers from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard to a home for retired Catholic priests in downtown Boston. It shows how worlds of privilege and poverty can coexist only blocks apart from each other, and how family can include people you’ve never even met. As in her bestselling novel “Bel Canto,” Patchett illustrates the humanity that connects disparate lives, weaving several stories into one surprising and endlessly moving narrative. “Run” is ultimately a novel about secrets, duty, responsibility and the lengths we will go to protect our children.

The First Year Read committee, comprised of students, faculty and staff, works with the president’s office on selecting a book that will give students an opportunity to engage one another in productive dialogue throughout the first year of their university experience. “Run” was a favorite for a number of reasons, according to co-chair Nick Miller. It is a novel rather than a non-fiction book, a thoroughly engaging read and lends well to year-long programming.

“We thought in this year when Americans have elected an African-American president, a novel that examined race in America would be appropriate,” Miller said. “More generally, we hoped to find a great novel that would examine issues of identity — given that our freshman class is, by definition, composed of students who are at a crossroads in their lives.”

Author Ann Patchett’s novels have consistently earned high marks from critics. “Bel Canto” has sold more than a million copies in the United States and has been translated into 30 languages. In 2004, Patchett published “Truth & Beauty,” a memoir of her friendship with the writer Lucy Grealy. It was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle and Entertainment Weekly, and earned a number of book prizes. She was also the editor of “Best American Short Stories 2006.” Patchett has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times magazine, Harper's, The Atlantic,The Washington Post, Gourmet and Vogue. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, Karl VanDevender.

In its fourth year at Boise State, the First Year Read program is designed to encourage students to read beyond textbooks; raise awareness and tolerance of intergenerational and cultural likenesses and differences; promote academic discourse and critical thinking; provide an introduction to the expectations of higher education; integrate an academic and social experience into the campus community; and create a sense of community by increasing student-to-student and student-to-faculty interaction. It is coordinated by the Office of New Student and Family Programs.

Boise State’s inaugural 2006-07 First Year Read featured the book “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder, one of the most popular reads by first-year students on college campuses. It was followed in the 2007-08 academic year by “The Deep Dark,” Gregg Olsen’s account of the Kellogg, Idaho, Sunshine Mine disaster, and then “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson.

For more information on Boise State’s First Year Read, visit http://firstyearread.boisestate.edu.

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Contact: Sherry Squires, University Communications, (208) 426-1563, ssquires@boisestate.edu

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Last reviewed on Tuesday, March 03, 2009