Go Big Read 2013-14 Book Selection!

It’s a big day in the Go Big Read office! Our official announcement was made public at 9:00am, and since then we’ve been watching all the buzz on Twitter and Facebook. By now, you’ve probably heard the news: the 2013-14 Go Big Read selection is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki!

Ozeki is a critically-acclaimed author whose previous books include the bestselling My Year of Meats and All Over Creation. She is also a Zen Buddhist priest, whose unique perspective plays an important role in the unfolding of her latest work.  

Author Ruth Ozeki

A Tale for the Time Being begins when a battered Hello Kitty lunchbox washes up on the shores of a remote island off the coast of British Columbia. The odd package is picked up by Ruth, a writer struggling to find inspiration in her rural surroundings. Opening the lunchbox, she discovers a diary inside, written by a sixteen-year-old Japanese girl named Nao, whose own surroundings—the culture and subculture of Tokyo—could not be more different than Ruth’s desolate island. Ruth, and the reader, is soon swept into Nao’s story…

The Seattle Times calls A Tale for the Time Being “a dazzling and humorous work of literary origami,” while the Washington Post describes it as “a narrative shimmering with the conviction that art and faith lead us to truths beyond the reach of reason alone.”

You can read the official press release here, and can find more information about the book—including news, reviews, and interviews with the author—on our website. If you have any questions, shoot us an email: gobigread @ library. wisc. edu.