Bonnie Irwin believes the new EIU Reads book will teach incoming freshmen the importance of finding their passion.

“If you are passionate about an issue or a cause, your job will not be a job, but something you really enjoy getting up and doing every day,” said Irwin, dean of the Honors College.

The book for this coming year is “Mountains Beyond Mountains.”

The book is about Dr. Farmer, who chooses to make a difference in the world. Farmer has used his education to help others, Irwin said.

“He has had a rather unusual life, which we think students will find interesting,” Irwin said.

The novel, by Tracy Kidder, is a non-fiction, biographical work set in Haiti and Boston. The novel, published in 2004, was a New York Times Notable Book.

Irwin along with Bud Fischer chose the book for the upcoming year.

Members of the EIU Reads committee ask faculty for suggestions, said Fischer, associate chair of the Biological Sciences department.

They consult with other universities’ reading programs and read many of the books themselves.

“We discuss the options and decide which book will offer the most to our students,” Fischer said.

Irwin said the students receive the book and homework questions when they are on campus for the EIU Debut, summer orientation program.

Faculty and staff lead book discussions during EIU Prowl.

Robert Augustine, dean of the graduate school, served as a discussion leader last year and said he plans to do so again this year.

“This program has my full support because it helps our incoming students focus on preparing themselves for the level of discussion, analysis and multiple views that will be expected in college courses where their student colleagues may come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds,” he said.

Augustine was impressed with the preparation and commitment the students in his discussion section brought to the experience.

Irwin said they will be working on different kinds of questions for the students to answer to lead into better discussion ideas. She said the events will also be different from last year because it is a new book.

Other books they considered were “Kite Runner,” “The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime” and “The World Without Us,” Irwin said.

Irwin and Fischer are now looking for more books to review and consider for 2009.

For this year’s book, they are confident in their selection.

“We would like our students to have fulfilling lives, and Dr. Paul Farmer is a great example of someone who figured this out while he was in college,” Irwin said.

Sara Cuadrado can be reached at 581-7942 or at slcuadrado@eiu.edu.