Reading Challenge Update: November Winner and December Preview
Welcome to the final month of the 2025 Reading Challenge!
In November, we challenged you to read a book about your major or field of study. Our November winner is Katelyn Santilli, who wins a finals week care package from the library! To be eligible for the prize drawing, make sure to read a book that fits the month’s theme and then tell us about it.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the November Reading Challenge. Here are a few of the books you read. (Comments may have been edited for length or clarity.)
What You Read in November
The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood, James Gleick
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library
“Coming from a computer science background, I found the history of information deeply illuminating. The final reflections on infobesity and the Library of Babel truly resonated. We inhabit that library today, each of us both librarian and lost reader.” — Sanath
The Library Book, Susan Orlean
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Find it at the School of Law Library
“Susan Orlean uses the 1986 fire that destroyed the Los Angeles Public Library as a way to share the history of this innovative library system and the role libraries play today. It was a refreshing recognition of the importance of libraries, with a dash of true crime thrown in.” — Kerri
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language, Steven Pinker
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library
“A great book that covers all sorts of stuff about language, such as language acquisition, production, perception, and more!” — Eliza
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book
“A dense but timely read from the 1950s.” — William
The Toyota Way: 14 Management Practices from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, Jeffrey Liker
Listen to the audiobook
“The book taught me that long-term thinking and respect for people, processes, and quality build resilient organizations. It also elaborates on how culture matters. It is good for project managers or project management professionals.” — Saakshi
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Find it at the School of Law Library | Listen to the audiobook
“It was a great book! I’m not in history or criminal justice, but I’m in English and trying to read as much nonfiction as possible to help with writing it! I think Killers of the Flower Moon is a masterclass in how to write nonfiction in a way that is informative and still gripping and reads like a novel.” — Avery
Suggested Reads for December
It’s almost time to wrap up another year of the Reading Challenge. To close out the year, we’re challenging you to read a book that retells or is inspired by a classic myth, fairytale, or folktale. Maybe it’s a modern Cinderella story, a reimagined Odyssey, or a new spin on a Chinese folktale — there are a lot of great options!
Need help deciding what to read? Check out our recommended e-book and audiobook titles in Libby. Or stop by the Snell Library lobby from 1 – 3 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10, and Thursday, December 11, for your final chance of the year to browse print books, get recommendations from librarians, and pick up 2025 Reading Challenge swag. You can never have too much to read over the winter break!
Katabasis: A Novel, R.F. Kuang
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook
Inspired by: Ancient Greek mythology
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to work in Cambridge with Professor Jacob Grimes, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, Alice and her rival Peter Murdoch set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like. But there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.
Victory City: A Novel, Salman Rushdie
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book
Inspired by: The ancient Indian city of Vijayanagara and Indian mythology
In 14th-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess, who begins to speak out of the girl’s mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana’s comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of the great city of Bisnaga — “victory city” — the wonder of the world. Over the next 250 years, Pampa Kampana’s life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga’s, from its literal sowing from a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Victory City is a saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling.
The Changeling, Victor LaValle
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book
Inspired by: European folklore story of the changeling
When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappeared, he left his son a box of books and strange recurring dreams. Now Apollo is a father himself — and as he and his wife, Emma, settle into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. At first, Emma seems to be exhibiting signs of postpartum depression. But before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act and vanishes. Thus begins Apollo’s quest to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His odyssey takes him to a forgotten island, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever.
Blob: A Love Story, Maggie Su
Read the e-book
Inspired by: Several stories, including The Frog Prince, Frankenstein, and Blubber Boy
The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Aimless after getting dumped by her boyfriend and dropping out of college, Vi works at the front desk of a hotel. In the alley outside of a bar one night, Vi discovers a strange blob — a small living creature with beady black eyes. In a moment of concern and drunken desperation, she takes it home. But the blob is no ordinary pet. Becoming increasingly sentient, it begins to grow, shift shape, and obey Vi’s commands. As the entity continues to change, Vi is struck with a daring idea: she’ll mold the creature into her ideal partner. But when Vi’s desire to be loved unconditionally threatens to spiral out of control, she is forced into a journey of self-discovery that teaches her it’s impossible to control those you love.
The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur, Lev Grossman
Find it at Snell Library | Listen to the audiobook
Inspired by: The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place at the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left. The survivors aren’t the heroes of legend — they’re the oddballs of the group, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. But it’s up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again — but first, they’ll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell.
Sisters of the Lost Nation: A Novel, Nick Medina
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook
Inspired by: Native American mythology
Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation’s casino…and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step — an ancient tribal myth come to life, one that’s intent on devouring her whole. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she’s sure lies in the legends of her tribe’s past. But the demons plaguing the reservation — both ancient and new — are strong, and sometimes, it’s the stories that never get told that are the most important.
Whatever you read, make sure you tell us about it to enter the December prize drawing. Good luck, and happy reading!
