Penn State announced Monday the 2017-2018 Penn State Reads book is “It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War” by Lynsey Addario. The novel discusses Addario’s passion for photography and how it formed other aspects of her life. Addario won a Pullitzer Prize in 2009 for international reporting photography for the New York Times and is also the recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant.

“This memoir of photojournalist Lynsey Addario’s life is insightful and inspiring,” Jacqueline Edmondson, associate vice president and associate dean for Undergraduate Education and Penn State Reads co-chair, told Penn State News. “It opens conversations for us about women’s issues, the U.S. presence in the Middle East, and the role of photography in capturing history, among others. The book will take the Penn State Reads programming into interesting and new directions as we explore the many topics it presents.”

The Penn State Reads program is a partnership of Undergraduate Education, Student Affairs, the University Libraries, and the Office for Student Orientation and Transition Programs. Every freshman is given a copy of the Penn State Reads book at New Student Orientation to read before moving in “to provide a shared experience and aims to encourage intellectual engagement within and beyond the classroom, stimulate critical thinking, and foster a deeper connection to Penn State’s mission and core values,” according to Penn State News.

The program will hold events centered on “It’s What I Do” throughout the fall semester, including a visit from Addario. This year, Penn State Reads will also create a book club for other students and members of the Penn State community facilitated by a student committee.