The Oswego Reading Initiative is an annual project asking the campus community to read one book over the summer. To accompany the selection, a series of programs, including cultural events and talks are planned to facilitate discussion and involvement around the title.
The 2026 ORI event will take place on Wednesday, September 23.
- Main Talk: 7-8 pm: Hewitt Ballroom
- Book signing: 8-8:30 pm
ORI 2026 Selection:
Off the Books
By: Soma Mei Sheng Frazier
A captivating debut following a cross-country road trip that will make you believe in the goodness of people, Off the Books sheds light on the power in humanity during the most troubled of times.
Recent Dartmouth dropout Mei, in search of a new direction in life, drives a limo to make ends meet. Her grandfather convinces her to allow her customers to pay under the table, and before she knows it, she is working as a routine chauffeur for sex workers. Mei does her best to mind her own business, but her knack for discretion soon leads her on a life changing trip from San Francisco to Syracuse with a new client.
Handsome and reserved, Henry piques Mei’s interest. Toting an enormous black suitcase with him everywhere he goes, he’s more concerned with taking frequent breaks than making good time on the road. When Mei discovers Henry's secret, she does away with her usual close-lipped demeanor and decides she has no choice but to confront him. What Henry reveals rocks her to her core and shifts this once casual, transactional road trip to one of moral stakes and dangerous consequences.
An original take on the great American road trip, Off the Books is a beautifully crafted coming of age story that showcases the resilience of the human spirit and the power of doing the right thing. The spirit of Frazier’s characters will stay with readers long after they have arrived at their destination.
Soma Mei Sheng Frazier’s debut novel, Off the Books, earned positive reviews from The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and others, and was included in Bustle's "Most Anticipated" roundup. She has been published in People Magazine, Electric Literature, Literary Hub (LitHub), Zyzzyva, Glimmer Train, Mississippi Review, Hyphen and Story, among others. Frazier served as a San Francisco Library Laureate before relocating from California to New York for a professorship in creative writing at SUNY Oswego. She has also taught at Oakland School for the Arts, the University of San Francisco, Valhalla Women’s Correctional Facility and elsewhere—and she worked at KQED, a premier national public media source in the Bay Area. Soma's new novel, Eat Bitter, Anastasia, is forthcoming from Macmillan.