SHU Reads!
2025 Book: The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, "Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency."
As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is "a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world." The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that "hoarding won't save us, all flourishing is mutual."
SHU Reads! Common Reading Experience
Students at Seton Hall University begin their common learning experience in the summer before their first year. Since 2003, all incoming first-year students have read a common book over the summer to introduce them to academic and student life at Seton Hall. The SHU Reads! nominated text presents a shared experience intended to foster thoughtful discussion and engagement in University Life, the first-year English classes, and throughout the academic year. Details for 2024 contest coming in the Fall (see below for 2023 example).
Previous Selections:
- 2024: I Never Thought of it That Way by Monica Guzman
- 2023: American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures edited by America Ferrera
- 2021 & 2022: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
- 2020: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
- 2019: Educated by Tara Westover
- 2018: Coming of Age at the End Of Nature: A Generation Faces Living on a Changed Planet by Julie Dunlap and Susan Cohen
- 2017: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
- 2016: The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
- 2015: The Ledge by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan
- 2014: Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory
- 2013: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- 2012: This I Believe
- 2011: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Jennifer Skloot
2025 SHUReads! Essay Contest/Book Review Prompt - Coming Soon!