The Big Read 2022-23

The Big Read provided a unique opportunity for all students and staff to come together to explore important themes and make new connections. Each year for several years, the Big Read showcased a book that we thought our University community would enjoy reading, whether as part of a course or independently. Free copies of the Big Read were made available to students and staff, and a programme of related events ran throughout the academic year.

The 2022-23 Big Read book was I Belong Here – A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain by Anita Sethi. Part memoir, part travelogue, the book follows Sethi’s journey from trauma to recovery, as she sets out from the Peak District and reconnects with the landscape of the North. The book explores what it means to belong – to a place and an identity – a theme we hoped all readers could connect as they embarked on a new academic year.