Kickoff Marathon Reading set for Sept. 19, launching a year of events exploring Mary Roach’s witty look at human-wildlife encounters.
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Kickoff Marathon Reading set for Sept. 19, launching a year of events exploring Mary Roach’s witty look at human-wildlife encounters.
The University of Redlands welcomes their students and the broader Redlands community to read “Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law” by Mary Roach in the upcoming academic year, 2025-2026. The first event open to the public is this Friday, September 19, a Kickoff Marathon Reading where people are encouraged to come for a longer or shorter period to read aloud and listen to the book being read from start to finish. The kickoff event is projected to run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Naslund Lounge, underneath the Armacost Library.
The community read events this year are hosted by University of Redlands and Woodbury University, made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtsMidWest and America 250. Sponsors also include A.K. Smiley Public Library and Burbank Public Library. The goal is to do a community exploration of our relationship to our non-human neighbors, per the announcement on the event’s social media page.
Activities include hiking, lectures, discussion groups, creative writing workshops, a crowd-sourced map of wildlife encounters in the Redlands area and more. All events are free and open to the public.
Professor of English at U of R, Heather King and her colleague, Catherine Tucker, chose “Fuzz” from a list curated by the national endowment for the arts. “We wanted to choose something lighter than “Parable of the Sower,” and it seemed important to choose a non-fiction book this year so that we can involve more departments on campus by alternating between fiction and non-fiction,” King said. Last academic year was the first community read where several local colleges, high schools and the community at large read Octavia E. Butler’s dark dystopian novel “Parable of the Sower,” which was written in the early 1990’s but took place beginning in 2024.
“Fuzz has a great blend of humor and ethical investigation, and ties into the University of Redlands strengths in environmental studies,” King said. “Plus, it gave us a way to create another innovative map project.”
For “Parable of the Sower” students created a story map. This year a different interactive map will be created with inspiration from “Fuzz.”
The marathon reading event from last year provided pleasant surprises for the attendees. “I was surprised by how a reader’s inflection or pausing helped me see new aspects of the novel that weren't as apparent in my own reading,” King said, she is looking forward to a similar experience this week. “I have seen this shared reading practice referred to as a type of Lectio Divina, and last year's event really did feel sacred at times.”
Last academic year had powerful speakers like authors John Jennings and Nalo Hopkinson. This year keep an eye on the growing program to see who will visit campus and speak.
Various programs on campus will contribute to the community reading program, “Our ambition is to grow this into a signature program at the university, so finding steady funding sources will be crucial,” she said.
Besides the University of Redlands, the Woodbury University campus is also involved in all of the different events. She added, “There are first year seminar courses, reading the book, as well as classes in Human and Animal Studies. It is also being incorporated into writing classes across the campuses.”
This year, “We were asked to demonstrate how our Grant activities recognized the anniversary of the declaration [of independence], or to build in a separate event marking that anniversary,” King said. “As it happened, our initial proposal included nature hikes that would discuss animals and their symbolism – including their national symbolism – and a watch party for the eagle cam when the bald eagles hatch in the spring. So, we were able to meet the America 250 requirement.”
From last year’s pilot program, King said, “It truly takes a village, and I am grateful to live in this one.” Snacks and drinks will be provided at Friday’s Kickoff Marathon Reading event, attendees do not need to have read the book prior to attending. The organizers hope even more people will get involved compared to last year’s pilot programming.
Website: redlands.edu/offices-directory/academic-departments/english/urreading
Instagram: @ur_reading
“Told with an abundance of both information and humor, Fuzz offers a deeply researched, global exploration of how humans relate to their non-human neighbors in a variety of situations. As we build ever farther into previously undeveloped land and as fires force animals to migrate, these questions will face more of us each year.
Author Mary Roach challenges us to think about how we relate to wildlife around us: "I present all this […] as evidence of the intractable nature of human-wildlife conflict […] as it is known today by those who grapple with it professionally. The question has defied satisfactory resolution for centuries: What is the proper course when nature breaks laws intended for people?” From #URReading’s website (see above)
Kickoff Marathon Read: September 19, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Naslund Lounge, Armacost Library, University of Redlands. If interested in a reading time slot, sign up on the website.
Blessings of the Animals: October 1 in the University of Redlands meditation room.
Design Your Biome for Resilience: October 18 and 20. Both at University of Redlands and Woodbury University.
Bite Marks and Tracks: October 26 at the Redlands Makerspace and Armacost Library, University of Redlands.
Community reading discussions groups are planned for the spring both at local senior centers and at A.K. Smiley Public Library. And more.
Keep an eye on the website or social media posts for updates.
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