If memory serves us correctly, last year’s UCSB Reads selection was a true story about nearly 30,000 rubber duck bath toys lost at sea. Now in its seventh year, the UCSB Reads program will focus this winter quarter on a book about memory: “Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything” (Penguin, 2011) by Joshua Foer (a long title to remember, for sure).
The UCSB Library, in partnership with the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, named the book as the selection for 2013 on the recommendation of a committee composed of faculty and staff members, administrators, and students.
The goal of UCSB Reads is to bring the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to share a common reading experience. Through a variety of events both on campus and off, such as panel sessions, book clubs, trivia nights, film screenings, and exhibits, the program aims to engage the book’s readers in stimulating dialogue about issues of our time.
The program kicks off at the UCSB Library on Thursday, January 10, at 10 a.m. when 2,000 free copies of the book will be distributed to registered UCSB students by Chancellor Henry Yang and his wife, Dilling; Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas; University Librarian Denise Stephens; and Associated Students Internal Vice President Mayra Segovia.
UCSB Reads will conclude on March 4, when the author will present a free public talk at Campbell Hall.
Joshua Foer, author of "Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything"Before we forget, though, let’s get back to this year’s selection: the New York Times bestseller “Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything.” The book’s author, science journalist Foer, writes about his participation in the U.S. Memory Championships. He undertakes a yearlong journey to improve his memory, with the help of top “mental athletes.”
“Drawing on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist’s trade, he transforms our understanding of human memory,” the Library’s UCSB Reads webpage states.
Executive Vice Chancellor Lucas had this to say about the UCSB Reads program: “From the beginning, the goal has been to encourage a common reading and intellectual experience for our community and to stimulate discussion of important interdisciplinary issues. It unifies the campus and provides opportunities for our faculty to go out into the community to share their knowledge and expertise.”
The program's sponsors are Santa Barbara Public Library System, Santa Barbara City College, Antioch University, Westmont College, KCSB Radio, and the UCSB Bookstore.
For more information, read the Office of Public Affairs press release and the UCSB Reads 2013 Fact Sheet. You may also contact Rebecca Metzger, assistant university librarian for outreach and academic collaboration, at 805-893-2674 or rmetzger@library.ucsb.edu. And in a 20-minute TED talk video, “Moonwalking With Einstein” author Foer describes a memory technique called the “memory palace” and demonstrates how anyone can learn to use it. Got all that?