At their best, common reading (CR) programs are a high-impact educational practice. By bringing the campus community together to read and discuss the same book as a common intellectual experience, CR programs create the sense of belonging and thirst for learning that position students for success at their new university. Discussions and opportunities for reflection structured around students' reading can ignite a passion for learning, help students make interdisciplinary and cocurricular connections, provide practice in civil debate, and offer insights into authorial and creative processes. Yet, CR programs often receive a great deal of criticism and can become flash points in campus controversies and broader debates about higher education. Being clear about why a CR program exists, how it operates, and what students are expected to get out of it helps to get buy-in from the faculty and the public and protects the CR program from firestorms of controversy. With a well-formulated mission aligned with its budget and learning outcomes, the CR program can be an excellent way to orient each new crop of students to the university's intellectual culture and expectations.