Get your copy of the Buffs One Read book
First year and transfer students can get a copy of the 2024-25 Buffs One Read selection Solito: A Memoir, by Javier Zamora. The Buffs One Read is a campus program that builds community and tradition through the shared reading of one book. You can grab your copy at the Be Involved Fair, look for the Libraries tent, or the Book Store.
Solito is the gripping story of Zamora’s three-thousand-mile journey to be reunited with his parents, starting in his small town in El Salvador, traveling through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. It was selected from a short list of five titles as best fitting this year’s Buffs One Read theme of Courage.
“So often migration stories are second-hand accounts reported by the media,” said Cynthia Keller, chair of the Buffs One Read selection committee and learning coordinator on the University Libraries Learning & Engagement Team. “But, in Solito, Zamora recounts his own experiences as a nine year old, including the hardships he faced and, importantly, the generosity of a community forged during the long journey. The Selection Committee was impressed by the high quality of Zamora’s writing and the courage inherent in writing such a vulnerable memoir.”
The Buffs One Read is now entering its fourth year. While the program is specifically aimed at first-year and transfer students to help them make connections and find belonging during their first semester on campus, we encourage everyone in our campus community to participate. Every year the Libraries provide multiple ways for students and the community to engage, including hosting Buffs One Read events and a storytelling contest where entries can win $500.
“The Buffs One Read is an excellent way for first year and transfer students to join the campus community and build upon our one read traditions,” said Robert H. McDonald, dean of the University Libraries and senior vice provost of Online and Extended Education. “The University Libraries are dedicated to providing students with opportunities to discover perspectives that broaden their worldview and to enable campus annual traditions that build community and a sense of belonging among students.”
Previous One Read texts were: The Book of Joy, Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with Douglas Abrams in 2023; Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Wisdom of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer in 2022; and American Like Me, Reflection on Life Between Cultures, edited by America Ferrera in 2021. First-year students in these years received a free copy of the text as well as resources to help attend or develop their own learning experiences with these titles.