Summer Reading

Here you'll find information about 2026-2027 summer reading for new and returning Commonwealth students. This year, the summer reading theme at Commonwealth is loneliness & connection. Students can choose one of four stories exploring characters’ or subjects’ private and personal lives, and, ultimately, the bonds that tether those personae to a broader world. Past years’ summer reading themes of immigrant experiences, failure & redemption, metamorphosis, and empathy may offer additional lenses of analysis to examine these works through.

This year, our format is slightly different. There are two required readings:

Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning (p. 1946). All students receive a copy of this book, and should have it read before our first assembly block. It is recommended that students begin their summer reading with this book. Frankl’s psychological arguments and retold experiences from his time in concentration camps serve as frames of references for textual and thematic analysis of the other selected works.
One of the four books offered for summer reading (see "All-School Summer Reading Discussion Groups"). Students select which of these they will read over the summer in addition to Man’s Search for Meaning. These books run the typical gamut of summer reading selections - covering multiple genres, eras, and subjects. The books reflect a diverse range of perspectives and authorial identities.

Some courses may also require additional summer reading, so be sure to pay close attention to the "Required Summer Reading for Courses" list. PDFs of these lists are available for download at the bottom of the page. There are also a few academic courses that require summer reading books; most will also be available at your local bookshop or library. You may use a book vendor of your choice. Be sure to double check the ISBN.

Summer break can also be a wonderful time to catch up on your non-required reading—to discover new genres or authors, to re-read old favorites, or to finally tackle a literary classic. We encourage you to explore the titles on the attached recommended reading lists, which include recommendations from the librarian, your teachers, and your classmates. If you liked a book in one of your courses last year, you might want to try another by the same author this summer. When you return to school in the fall, your advisor will be interested to hear what you have read.

Summer Reading Mission Statement

The aim of Commonwealth’s Summer Reading Program is to encourage our community to read for pleasure outside of school in the hopes of developing lifelong reading skills and interests. The summer reading program will expose faculty, staff, and students to new writers, genres, and reading experiences, all while practicing analytical thinking and group discussion.

Ideally, summer reading will expose faculty, staff, and students to varied opinions on a text, help us be open to new perspectives, inspire the readers and writers in our community, and encourage reading outside of the classroom.

It is an utmost priority that students of all levels of ability be able to participate in and gain from this program. Faculty discussion leaders will meet students where they are at, and create an environment for fruitful and respectful discussion.

Required Summer Reading

Summer Reading for Courses
All-School Summer Reading Discussion Groups

Summer Reading for Courses

**History & Humanities Summer Reading Books**
Course	Book Title	Author	ISBN
Ancient History	The Buried Book	David Damrosch	978-0805087253
Medieval World History	The Prince	Machiavelli	978-0199535699
Bible-as-Bible / Bible-as-History	Genesis	Robert Alter	978-0393316704
United States History	Changes in the Land	William Cronon	978-0809016341
U.S. History Since 1865	These Truths	Jill Lepore	‎978-0393357424
Modern European History	Voltaire: A Life	Ian Davidson	978-1605982878
U.S. Politics and Policy	Tyranny of Merit	Michael J. Sandel	978-1250800060

Descriptions of Summer Reading + Assignments from Teachers:

If a class is not listed here, there is no specific assignment or text associated with the book besides reading it (e.g. Machiavelli for Medieval World History).

Ancient History Summer Reading - David Damrosch, The Buried Book. One of the first works we will read in Ancient History is the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, a tale of tyranny, friendship, and the human fear of death. The Buried Book recounts how this epic was lost for millennia—literally buried in the ruins of the Assyrian empire—and then rediscovered in the nineteenth century. Over the summer, please read the Introduction, Chapters 1-3, and Chapter 5 of The Buried Book. As you read, concentrate on the big picture. What obstacles did archaeologists face as they tried to unearth the remnants of Mesopotamian civilizations? How did scholars learn to read unknown ancient languages? Moving back in time, why did Assyrian kings value writing, and how did cuneiform writing work? We hope that this reading will be enjoyable! Don’t worry about remembering specific names and dates. Instead, try to mark a few points that interest, puzzle, or surprise you.

Bible-as-Bible / Bible-as-History - Genesis, translated by Robert Alter. The summer reading includes a Genesis Guided Reading assignment that we’ll use in the first week of class. I recommend answering these questions on the Google Doc as well as in your book. The brilliant writing in Genesis is compacted; read it slowly, letting the words melt in your mouth, not only to let the taste linger but to reveal all the varied flavors hidden there.

United States History - William Cronon, Changes in the Land. Please read William Cronon's “ethno-ecological” history of New England: Changes in the Land (ISBN: 978-0809016341). Taking paper notes on a copy from the library or an e-book is just fine. This profound and revolutionary book explores how Native Americans transformed the environment before contact with Europeans—and how the changing economy of the 17th century led to an ecological transformation. I encourage you to read the whole book, but if you want a shorter version, read chapters 4, 5, and 8. There is an optional, extra-credit assignment linked below to help you read actively, looking for the author’s argument amidst the detail (a skill we’ll try to practice in the coming year!) This book looks drier than it actually is—and reading actively may help you uncover the quite radical claims hidden within.

Summer reading assignment here. Students could also use the summer to prepare for the states quiz in September (filling out a blank map).

United States History Since 1865 - Jill Lepore, These Truths. Link to the summer reading assignment. Students in United States History since 1865 should supplement what we will be learning in this course with the first 300 pages of Jill Lepore's sweeping history of the United States, These Truths, up to the Civil War. Taking paper notes on a copy from the library or an e-book is just fine. It is very beneficial to use the book to begin an AP study guide for the spring by using an extra-credit document (email Ms. Haber for this, or check the Commonwealth website) to keep structured notes.

Students could also use the summer to prepare for the states quiz in September (filling out a blank map).

Modern European History Summer Reading - Ian Davidson, Voltaire: a life. Voltaire was arguably the single most influential thinker of the Enlightenment. Although he lived out his life (1694-1778) under the monarchy, he was later claimed as a hero by the leaders of the French Revolution. As you read Davidson’s lively biography, first see what you can learn about the political and social realities of life under the old regime. For instance, how did authors make money? How did censorship work? How did French nobles conduct their extramarital affairs? Next, pay attention to the events that became part of the narrative of the Enlightenment. For instance, how and why did the trial of Jean Calas become notorious? Please read the Note to the Reader and Chapters 1-9, 12, 17, 22, 25-29, and 33. As you read, mark points that interest, puzzle, or surprise you. You will draw on this book for one of our early writing assignments

Empires and Nationalism - Marc David Baer, The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs (New York: Basic Books, reprint edition, 2023), ISBN 978-1541673793. To understand the post-Ottoman states that we will explore in Empires--including Bosnia and Iraq--you should know how the empire functioned both at its height and in decline. Baer's book offers a vivid account. Please read the Introduction, Chapters 13-22, and the Conclusion. Don't worry about remembering names or dates. Rather, mark some passages that help you understand how the Ottoman empire ruled its diverse peoples and what circumstances steered those peoples toward coexistence or conflict. Note: you will draw on this book for your first writing assignment.

NOTE: See course books page OR PDF packet at the bottom of this page for links to Summer Assignments.

**Language Summer Reading Books**
Course	Book Title	Author	ISBN
French 2	Contes	Charles Perrault
French 3	Nouvelles du monde	Varioius	978-2278082551

All-School Summer Reading Discussion Groups

2026–2027 Summer Reading Selections:

You must read this book:

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (p. 1946 - Memoir / Nonfiction): Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Based on his own experience and the stories of his patients, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. At the heart of his theory, known as logotherapy, is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. Man's Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living. Content Warning: holocaust / genocide, camp conditions & forced labor, death & violence.

You choose one of the following books as your summer reading:

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (p. 2025 - Epistolary / Fiction): Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length... Until letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life. Now, Sybil must send the letter she has been writing for all these years - and find forgiveness within herself in order to move on. Content Warning: mentions of self-harm, cancer

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (p. 1999 - Short Stories / Fiction): Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession. Content Warning: cultural displacement, racism, and emotional abuse

The Plague by Albert Camus (p. 1947 - Classics / Fiction): The Plague tells the story from the point of view of a narrator of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. The novel presents a snapshot of life in Oran as seen through the author's distinctive absurdist point of view. The book tells a gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion. Content warning: violence, disease, gore

The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro (p. 1989 - Classics / Historical Fiction): In the summer of 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars, and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper.

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