Winner Announced: Get Ready for The KU Big Read 2023!

One of the first traditions I found out about when I first firmed my offer from Kingston around a year ago was The Big Read: a shared reading scheme where freshers are given a free book and encouraged to read it before coming to Kingston in the fall. On top of being a great way to dip your toe into a genre of literature you've maybe never even considered before, The Big Read can act as a fantastic ice-breaker as by reading the book, you're now going to have something in common with every classmate you come across and can start some easy discussions in your first few weeks.

Although we had six amazing titles shortlisted this year, the winner of the Big Read 2023 and the book Freshers will soon be receiving in the post is 'Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine' by Dr. Hannah Fry. An author, mathematician, presenter and professor, Fry has experience across numerous fields, with her novel exploring 'how we've slowly handed over control to computers'. Whether you're interested in algorithms or not, I'd highly recommend you give this book a go - with its genuinely accessible language and constantly relevant present day subject matter, you'll definitely find some use for the information you pick up!

Remember, if you're not a first year student, however, you can still pick up a copy, as they should soon be available across all four of Kingston's campuses. Furthermore, copies of previous Big Read winners can be found in each KU library if you'd like to revisit some of the past years - for example, the 2019 winner 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' by Rachel Joyce, which recently got adapted for the big screen!

Events such as talks and discussion groups regarding The Big Read 2023 will start to be arranged in the coming months for students arriving in late September - if you're interested, drop a reply down below for me to update you or feel free to keep up to date yourself by following @KUBigRead on Twitter.

Lastly, I truly hope you enjoy 'Hello World' and are looking forward to coming to Kingston University in the coming months! :biggrin: