Summer Reading Program

The Summer Reading is incorporated into first-year projects in both studio and liberal arts classes. The entire CIA community is invited to join the incoming class in reading and responding to each year's Summer Reading.

2023 Summer Reading

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

We are delighted to announce Ready Player One by Ernest Cline as CIA’s 2023 Summer Reading.

Ready Player One is a best-sellig science fiction novel. It explores virtual reality, climate change, and the search for community.

The book was a New York Times Best Seller, and was turned into a film in 2018, directed by Steven Spielberg.

Ready Player One was Ernest Cline's debut novel. Cline, originally from Northeast Ohio, is a screenwriter, spoken-word artist, and "full-time geek." 

We look forward to the conversations and artwork that Ready Player One will inspire at CIA.

2023 Mail Art Project

Create your own unique postcard to mail to CIA!

Ready Player One takes place in the virtual reality world of the OASIS. People create avatars that reflect who they wish to be. They can do things they can’t do in the real world, although real world issues remain present.

How would you represent yourself in the OASIS? What items, objects, and abilities would you have? What excites you about the possibilities for virtual reality? 

We'll mail you pre-stamped, pre-addressed postcards, that you'll use to represent the character you would be in the OASIS or your perspective about virtual reality. Be creative. You can use the space however you like—for a comic, a visual representation, a diagram, or anything else.

Return your postcards by mail to CIA. They will become part of an exhibition that features work by you and other incoming students. We encourage you to also share your postcard designs at #CIAreading23.