The Common Book

READ@PolyU is delighted to announce the 2024 Common Book, Klara and the Sun. The book is written by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro.

It's a thought-provoking story that explores the poignant themes of love, humanity, and the moral complexities of a technologically advanced society through the eyes of Klara, an Artificial Friend, with a desire to understand the human heart.

Read with Us!

  • Get a free copy during the annual Book Pick-Up event
  • Borrow the print book from the Library
  • Read the e-book version here

Learn more about the author from the author's Biographical from the Nobel Prize website.

 

 

Common Book Selection Criteria

The selection process with a campus-wide call for nomination in January 2022, and concluded with the final selection by the READ@PolyU Programme Committee in May 2022.

The selection criteria help ensure that the common book will support the programme goal of cultivating a reading culture at PolyU, as well as the University's goals to provide a campus experience that is international and enriching.
 

  • The book will be in English, preferably less than 300 pages
  • It should be engaging for the PolyU community
  • It should be accessible, not difficult to read
  • It should appeal to students’ imagination, and should include some elements of exploration of and reflection on multi-cultural issues
  • It should preferably have been adapted for film
  • It should preferably have an electronic version
  • It should preferably have won international and critical acclaim
  • Ideally, the author would be available to visit PolyU

 

 

Common Books in Previous Years

  • 2011/12 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  • 2012/13 Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
  • 2013/14 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
  • 2014/15 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne 
  • 2015/16 The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  • 2016/17 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon 
  • 2017/18 The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 
  • 2018/19 Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis 
  • 2019/20 Persepolis: The Story of Childhood by Marjane Satrapi 
  • 2020/21 Exhalation by Ted Chiang 
  • 2021/22 The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
  • 2022/23 First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami 
  • 2023/24 Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
  • 2024/25 Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro