2026 Reading Challenge: July Recap and August Preview
Congratulations to everyone who read a book about American history in July to celebrate the semiquincentennial! Our reading challenge winner for the month is Poppy, who takes home a Northeastern travel mug. Remember, for your chance to win a prize, make sure to tell us what you read each month.
Below are some of the historical reads you enjoyed in July. (Reader comments may be edited for length or clarity.)
What You Read in July
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, Rick Atkinson
Read the e-book
“I found The British Are Coming to be an engaging and well-researched account of the early years of the American Revolution, with vivid storytelling that made the historical events feel exciting and accessible. The book’s detailed portrayal of both famous leaders and lesser-known figures gave me a deeper appreciation for the complexity, sacrifices, and uncertainty of America’s fight for independence.” — Sandy
We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution, Jill Lepore
Listen to the audiobook | Find it at the School of Law Library
“Jill Lepore’s We the People uses Article V to argue that the ‘philosophy of amendment’ is foundational to American constitutionalism. Lepore wanders through American history using the fifth amendment to argue that ‘amendment is so essential to the American constitutional tradition, so methodical, and so entire a conception of endurance through adaptation, that it can be best described as a philosophy.’ Lepore concludes by addressing the decline of the U.S. constitution, and the lack of amendment despite religious, environmental, geopolitical, and technological upheaval that dominates contemporary society.” — Poppy
The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency, Matthew Aid
Find it at the School of Law Library
“As I read, it was interesting to reflect on how history is recorded based on who is telling it. For example, on one page the death of two marines is described as ‘tragic,’ while on the next page, 18 civilians who were killed from an air strike are described as ‘unfortunate’ restaurant customers. It was also interesting to think about the perspectives of the intelligence professionals interviewed regarding different surveillance programs and what they think is right based on whether someone is an American citizen. The book is definitely a bit dated as it ends in 2008 but that makes it somewhat frightening to consider what is possible today given that all that was public information then.” — MB
The Children, David Halberstam
Buy it from Bookshop.org
“This book covers the civil rights movement of the 1960s from the perspective of the students from Black colleges in Nashville who spearheaded the lunch counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides. While much is known about Martin Luther King Jr.’s work, less is known about the dedication, creativity, and bravery of these students and the preachers who led them, often with little or no support from the leaders of more powerful organizations. It’s a fascinating inside perspective of some of the lesser-known figures of the movement, made especially more impressive because of their youth. Sadly, it’s also a story that seems to be becoming more resonant in recent years.” — Kerri
What to Read in August
This month, we’re urging you to think local: read a book by an author who is local to your Northeastern campus. Not sure what to read? We have suggestions below, and you can browse the full list of suggested e-books and audiobooks. Be sure to tell us what you read to enter the August prize drawing.
If you’re at the Arlington campus…
Pride and Protest, Nikki Payne
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book
Liza wants to take her neighborhood back from the soulless property developer dropping unaffordable condos on every street corner in D.C. But her planned protest at a corporate event takes a turn after she mistakes the smoldering-hot CEO for the waitstaff. When they go toe-to-toe, the sparks fly — but her impossible-to-ignore family thwarts her every move. Liza wants Dorsey Fitzgerald out of her hood, but she’ll settle for getting him out of her head. But when Liza’s protest results in a viral meme, their lives are turned upside down, and Dorsey comes to realize this irresistable revolutionary is the most real woman he’s ever met.
If you’re at the Boston campus…
Mercy Street: A Novel, Jennifer Haigh
Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook
For almost a decade, Claudia has counseled patients at Mercy Street, a clinic in the heart of the city. For its patients, Mercy Street offers more than health care; for many, it is a second chance. But outside the clinic, the reality is different. As the protests intensify, fear creeps into Claudia’s days, a humming anxiety as she manages with frequent visits to Timmy, an affable pot dealer. At Timmy’s, she encounters a random assortment of customers, including Anthony, a lost soul who spends most of his life online, chatting with the mysterious Excelsior11 — the screenname of an anti-abortion crusader who has set his sights on Mercy Street and is ready to risk it all to protect the unborn.
If you’re at the New York campus…
Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook
Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his 20s, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time, from his home in “The Harlem Ghetto” to a sobering “Journey to Atlanta.” Notes of a Native Son inaugurated Baldwin as one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United States in the 20th century, and many of his observations have proven almost prophetic.
If you’re at the Oakland campus…
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook
In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But artist and critic Jenny Odell sees our attention as the most precious — and overdrawn — resource we have. And we must actively and continuously choose how we use it. Once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress.
If you’re at the Seattle campus…
Dune, Frank Herbert
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book
Set on the desert planet of Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides — who would become known as Muad’Dib — and of a great family’s ambition to bring to fruition mankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
If you’re at the Toronto campus…
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook
The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. In condensed but elegant prose, the handmaid Offred reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions.
If you’re at the Vancouver campus…
Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Jessica McDiarmid
Read the e-book
For decades, Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or have been found murdered along an isolated stretch of highway in northwestern British Columbia. The corridor is known as the Highway of Tears, and it has come to symbolize a national crisis. Journalist Jessica McDiarmid meticulously investigates the devastation effects these tragedies have had on the families of the victims and their communities, and how systematic racism and indifference have created a climate in which Indigenous women and girls are overpoliced yet underprotected. Examining the historically fraught social and cultural tensions between settlers and Indigenous peoples in the region, McDiarmid links these cases to others across Canada, contextualizing them within a broader examination of the undervaluing of Indigenous lives.
Remember: whatever you read, make sure to tell us about it to enter the prize drawing!
