The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities is pleased to announce Exhalation by Ted Chiang the common read selection for the 2024-25 academic year.
Called “the best kind of science fiction” by former President Barak Obama, Exhalation consists of nine original short stories where Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions and newest quandaries. In one story, Chiang uses time travel as a backdrop for confronting past mistakes and second chances. In another, the concept of alternative universes prompts questions of choice and free will.
Exhalation was a finalist for the 2019 Los Angeles Times Book Prize and listed as one of the New York Times best books of the year.
Incoming students will receive free copies of Exhalation, along with discussion questions, in the mail this summer. Students participating in one of the Jumpstart TU programs in July will receive their copy on the trip. Student athletes moving in early will receive their books from the Athletics office. You can learn more about TU’s Common Read program here.
About the Author
Ted Chiang’s fiction has won four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards, and has been featured in The Best American Short Stories. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, has been translated into twenty-one languages. He was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and currently lives near Seattle, Washington.
About Our Theme
Every year, TU’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities selects a common read that aligns with its programming theme. Throughout the 2024-25 academic year, we will explore the theme of space by looking to the past, crossing cultural boundaries, and working across disciplines to forge unexpected connections. This theme will also look to the way humans have sought to organize space on this planet, from the design of homes and cities to the drawing of maps and the fashioning of virtual environments.