Library News

In honor of back to school month, we asked you to read a book set on a college campus. Congratulations to Nandana Nishanth, our September winner, who takes home a Northeastern notebook and pen set to get ready for a busy semester. And congratulations to everyone who participated last month.

Here are some of the titles you enjoyed. (Reader comments may be edited for length or clarity.) Remember, to participate in the 2026 Reading Challenge, make sure to tell us what you read each month.

What You Read in September

The Secret History: A Novel, Donna Tartt
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“This book threw me for a loop and kept me guessing at what the characters would do, even when the first chapter told me the ending. The combination of a tight-knit college friend group, Greek studies, and Vermont landscapes made this book so campy and fun. I couldn’t put it down.” — Ella

Babel: Or, the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, R.F. Kuang
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“A dark academia historical fantasy set in the 1830s at Oxford University. This novel that explores the British Empire’s overwhelming power creates a magical system with silver and language that is not only fascinating, but helps demonstrate the exploitative power of the empire.” — Addie

“It’s a fantastic read. Deals with colonialism and what it means for people all over the world. It’s a brilliant introduction to intersectionality of decolonial movements and feminist movements.” — Abirami

“While the book itself decodes the origins of the colonial language English and traces its roots through the lens of magic and translations, it can be reinterpreted to understand the constructions of today’s artificial intelligence and its origins. Imagining coding as the mode of translation, through which commands stemming from human interactions, discoveries, and creations are built and delivered by chatbots to users.” — Neelima

Ruins: A Novel, Lily Brooks-Dalton
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book

“This is a journey of discovery questioning the depths of human endurance. Following the ambitions of Ember, we see how she navigates between the structures of her life, and her compulsion to keep searching for what she feels is missing.” — Vikki

The Love Hypothesis, Ali Hazelwood
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book

“I loved the fake dating trope and the slow burn between Olive and Adam. Their chemistry was really fun, and I especially liked the banter and all the little moments where their feelings for each other started becoming obvious. It was funny, romantic, and had just enough drama to keep me interested.” — Sandy

“As a new student at Northeastern’s Seattle campus this fall, this is my first month participating in the Reading Challenge, and I’m so excited to be a part of it. I absolutely loved revisiting Olive and Adam’s story. Their chemistry, the slow burn, fake dating, and all the tension and emotion between them made this such a fun reread. Olive is such a sweetheart, and Adam? Honestly, I have no words for him.” — Kavya

Pet Sematary: A Novel, Stephen King
Find it at Snell Library

“While this book doesn’t take place exclusively on a college campus, the main character is the head doctor at a university infirmary and an important early scene that takes place there influences the rest of the book and is regularly called back. Stephen King believes Pet Sematary is his scariest book so it was a perfect start to the spooky season!” — Kerri

What to Read in October

At the end of October, the library will be celebrating Global Media and Information Literacy Week. With that in mind, we’re challenging you to read a book of investigative journalism. For inspiration, check out the highlighted reads below, and browse the full list of suggested e-books and audiobooks. Be sure to tell us what you read to enter the October prize drawing!

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, John Carreyrou
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’ worth at an estimated $4.5 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work. Erroneous results put patients in danger, leading to misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments. All the while, Holmes and her partner, Sunny Balwani, worked to silence anyone who voiced misgivings — from journalists to their own employees.

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall, Zeke Faux
Find it at Snell Library | Listen to the audiobook

In 2021, cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked — but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”? Investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game? What started as curiosity would morph into a two-year, globe-spanning quest to understand the wizards behind the world’s new financial machinery. Faux’s investigation would lead him to a schlubby, frizzy-haired 29-year-old named Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF for short) and a host of other crypto scammers, utopians, and overnight billionaires.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, Patrick Radden Keefe
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook

The history of the Sackler dynasty is rife with drama — baroque personal lives; bitter disputes over estates; fistfights in boardrooms; glittering art collections; Machiavellian courtroom maneuvers; and the calculated use of money to burnish reputations and crush the less powerful. The Sackler name as adorned the walls of many storied institutions — Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oxford, the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations to the arts and sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing a blockbuster painkiller that was the catalyst for the opioid crisis. Empire of Pain chronicles the multiple investigations of the Sacklers and their company, and the scorched-earth legal tactics that the family has used to evade accountability.

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey — and then the world changed. For months, Kantor and Twohey had been having confidential discussions with top actresses, former Weinstein Company employees, and other sources, learning of disturbing long-buried allegations, some of which had been covered up by onerous legal settlements. Within days, a veritable Pandora’s Box of sexual harassment and abuse was opened, and women who had suffered in silence for generations began coming forward, trusting that the world would understand their stories. Over the next 12 months, hundreds of men from every walk of life and industry would be outed for mistreating their colleagues. But did too much change — or not enough? Those questions plunged the two journalists into a new phase of reporting and some of their most startling findings yet.

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Naomi Klein
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook

Not long ago, the celebrated activist and public intellectual Naomi Klein was confronted with a doppelganger whose views she found abhorrent but whose name and public persona were sufficiently similar to her own that many people got confused about who was who. Destabilized, she lost her bearings, until she began to understand the experience as one manifestation of a strangeness many of us have come to know but struggle to define: AI-generated text is blurring the line between genuine and spurious communication; New Age wellness entrepreneurs turned anti-vaxxers are scrambling familiar political allegiances of left and right; and liberal democracies are teetering on the edge of absurdist authoritarianism, even as the oceans rise. Under such conditions, reality itself seems to have become unmoored. Is there a cure for our moment of collective vertigo?

Remember: whatever you read, make sure to tell us about it to enter the prize drawing!

Happy September! Campus is buzzing, and so is the library. Welcome to all new Huskies, and congratulations to everyone who read a book by an author local to your campus in August. Here are some of the titles you read last month. (Reader comments may be edited for length or clarity.) Remember, to participate in the 2026 Reading Challenge, make sure to tell us what you read each month!

What You Read in August

Heart the Lover, Lily King
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book
Campus: Portland, Maine

“This was my first Lily King book and I loved it!! Heart the Lover was gripping from the start and left me devastated. The way King writes about love and heartache and the complicated in-between in such a way that avoids saccharine while staying true to the torturous joy of it all. I would say a perfect read for people with complicated feelings about other people.” — Zoë

Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State, Caleb Gayle
Read the e-book
Campus: Boston (literally — Caleb Gayle is an Associate Professor of Journalism and Africana Studies at Northeastern!)

“The narrative of this book is excellent. Caleb Gayle is a great storyteller.” — Rachel

Little Women: or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, Louisa May Alcott
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book
Campus: Boston

“A heartfelt and timeless story about family, growing up, and following your dreams. I loved how each sister had her own personality and struggles, making the story feel relatable and meaningful even today.” — Sandy

Yesteryear: A Novel, Caro Claire Burke
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook
Campus: Boston

“This book was INCREDIBLE. Natalie as a main character was equally complex and simplistic at the same time. The premise of two different storylines happening at once with flashbacks is always one that intrigues me, and this was exceptionally well written. I read this book while in Utah, which is the Mormon and tradwife epicenter, and it felt well-fitting to finish the book in the state where the book takes place.” — Gianna

What to Read in September

It’s back-to-school month, so we’re challenging you to read a book set on a college campus. For inspiration, check out the highlighted reads below, and browse the full list of suggested e-books and audiobooks.

Come & Get It: A Novel, Kiley Reid
Find it at Snell Library | Listen to the audiobook

It’s 2017 at the University of Arkansas, and Millie Cousins just wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when writer and visiting professor Agatha Paul offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity for them to help each other further their own interests, Millie naturally jumps at the chance. But Millie’s starry-eyed hustle quickly becomes jeopardized by a lonely transfer student, unruly residents, and illicit intrigue. Both Millie and Agatha are forced to question just how much of themselves they are willing to trade to get what they want.

Blood Over Bright Haven, M.L. Wang
Listen to the audiobook

For 20 years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. When Sciona finally passes the qualifying exam, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome — and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor. What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power. At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever — if it doesn’t get them killed first.

Country People: A Novel, Daniel Mason
Listen to the audiobook

Miles Krzelewski is a bit lost, 12 years late with his PhD on Russian folktales and increasingly haunted by a sense that he’s become a disappointment to his family. So when his wife, Kate, accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college in Vermont, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life. But no sooner does Miles arrive than he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colorful as those of any of his folktales. The new friends, the enchanted woods, the histories: sure, no PhD, but all good fun. Until Miles stumbles upon a bizarre —perhaps ridiculous — local legend, which, he soon suspects, might not be just a legend at all.

Bunny: A Novel, Mona Awad
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn’t be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program. A scholarship student, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort — a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other “Bunny” and seem to move and speak as one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies’ fabled “Smut Session.” As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies’ sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus “Workshop” where they conjure monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur.

Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education, Stephanie Land
Listen to the audiobook

In Class, Stephanie Land takes us with her as she finishes college and pursues her writing career. Facing barriers at every turn, Land finds a way to survive, finally graduating in her mid-30s. Class paints an intimate and heartbreaking portrait of motherhood as it converges and often conflicts with personal desire and professional ambition. Who has the right to create art? Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture? In clear, candid, and moving prose, Class grapples with these questions, offering a searing indictment of America’s educational system and an inspiring testimony of a mother’s triumph against all odds.

Remember: whatever you read, make sure to tell us about it to enter the prize drawing!