‘Go Big Read’ seeking suggestions for 2025-26 book
Ever read one of those books that really leaves you thinking? One that has you recommending it to others in part because you think they’ll enjoy it? But also so you’ll have someone to discuss it with?
Well, now is your time.
Go Big Read, UW–Madison’s common reading program is seeking title suggestions of any book relating to contemporary issues of broad interest to the campus community. Book suggestions can be made on the Go Big Read website through Nov. 13.
The ideal selection should have the following qualities:
- Be readable, relevant, engaging, and well-written
- Appeal to people with diverse backgrounds and experiences
- Encompass sufficient depth and scope to generate discussions from different points of view
- Be conducive to teaching and learning, and offer opportunities for integration into academic programs
- Lend itself to a variety of activities and programming
The ideal book might also have a subject or author with a Wisconsin connection, an author who may be able to visit campus, cross-disciplinary appeal, and promote the Wisconsin Experience by engaging “issues that matter.”
After the submission period ends, a review committee will read and discuss the suggested books before making recommendations to Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin, who will make the final selection.
This year’s Go Big Read author Rebekah Taussig visited campus last week for a discussion of her book, “Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body.”
Previous Go Big Read books include “How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion,” by David McRaney, “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America” by Clint Smith, “Transcendent Kingdom” by Yaa Gyasi, “Parkland” by Dave Cullen, “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” by Dan Egan, “The Poison Squad” by Deborah Blum and “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond.
The Go Big Read program is an initiative of the Office of the Chancellor. It engages members of the campus community and beyond in a shared, academically focused reading experience.