We read books, they surround us, yet we do not really notice them. In this course we will learn to see books in new ways. Books and the activity of reading bring people together—both across space and time. Indeed, individual books often have "lives" of their own, and the stories of the books can be just as intriguing as the stories found within their pages. Students in this class will uncover the hidden lives of books. They will conduct research in their local archives and use books of their choosing to reconstruct the stories of the people who owned and used them. Students will then explore a variety of digital tools necessary to bring these stories from the shelves to a wider audience.