e-books

Happy May! Spring has sprung in Boston, and students are gearing up to leave campus for the summer. Congratulations to the Class of 2025 as they celebrate commencement, and congratulations to everyone who participated in the April Reading Challenge! Our winner this month is Kayla Bolling, who takes home a custom Northeastern University Library poster.

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. In April, we asked you to read a book recommended by a librarian. Here are some of the librarian-approved titles readers enjoyed this month! (Comments may have been edited for length or clarity.)

What You Read in April

Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi
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“This was recommended to me by a librarian at Seattle Public Library in the ‘healing fiction’ category, a genre that first emerged in Korea and Japan. It’s set in a tiny Tokyo café where people sit in a chair that can travel back in time, but only for the time it takes for a cup of coffee to turn cold. This book is a deeply immersive journey into the desire to hold on to the past.” — Jyoti

Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

“Really interesting and topical. It’s amazing how much prescience Butler had. Lauren’s religion of Earthseed has a lot of great values I think people should internalize nowadays. Essential read in a lot of ways, particularly in a climate-challenged world.” — Nobel

Legendborn, Tracy Deonn
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library

“I was blown away by how this book handles complex topics like America’s history with slavery, intergenerational trauma, and the erasure of Black people’s stories all while exploring its supernatural elements. I recommend this book to anyone who loves modern takes on old legends. I’m currently reading through the sequel, Bloodmarked, and I’m excited to finish the trilogy!” — Nina

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love, Lex Croucher
Find it at Snell Library | Listen to the audiobook

“Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a charming tale that artfully combines queer romance, the warmth of found family, political intrigue, and a healthy dose of humor. Overall, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is about accepting yourself, fighting for happiness, and discovering that real love is worth pursuing. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys medieval settings, found family stories, or queer romance. And last but not least, anyone who believes that self-love is truly worth it will find this book rewarding.” — Ankita

Suggested Reads for April

In honor of those readers who may be heading home for the summer break, your May challenge is to read a book about your hometown or local area. This can be your actual hometown, an adopted hometown, or wherever you’re spending your summer!

We’ve put together a selection of titles in Libby focused on some of the (many!) geographic regions represented at Northeastern. You can also stop by the Snell Library lobby from 1 – 3 p.m. on May 14 and May 15 to browse print books and pick up Reading Challenge swag.

If you’re from the Boston area…

Rough Sleepers, Tracy Kidder
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

Harvard Medical School graduate and Massachusetts General Hospital resident Jim O’Connell is asked to spend a year developing a program to provide free healthcare to homeless Bostonians. The work changes the course of Jim’s life.

If you’re from mainland China…

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

Jung Chang traces her life, her mother’s life, and her grandmother’s life in this true family epic spanning a century in China.

If you’re from New York City…

Mutual Interest, Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

In the early 20th century, desperate to escape their stifling hometown and live as authentically as their time period allows, a lesbian and a gay man form a marriage of convenience. In New York City, Oscar and Vivian find love and success — but their secrets may not be as safe as they hope.

If you’re from Northern California…

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World, Malcolm Harris
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

Malcolm Harris dives into the history and mythology of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, dating from the first white settlers to the outsize — and disastrous — grip of Silicon Valley and its corporate denizens on global industry, economy, and politics.

If you’re from Mumbai, India…

The Museum of Failures, Thrity Umrigar
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Successful mid-30s executive Remy Wadia has returned to India, specifically Bombay, for the first time since he left to attend college in the United States. He’s there to adopt a baby, but he’s also reunited with the mother he’s resented for years, who is now gravely ill. Remy’s homecoming will dig up long-buried family secrets.

If you’re from New Hampshire…

Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
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Olivia thought she had escaped her small New Hampshire hometown forever, but a rift in her marriage sends her and her teenage son back to her childhood home. When a local teen, who was new to town, is found dead, and Olivia’s son Asher is the prime suspect, Olivia is forced to realize that she may not know her own child as well as she thought.

If you’re from Los Angeles…

Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels, Paul Pringle
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In 2016, Los Angeles Times reporter Paul Pringle receives a tip about a drug overdose at a posh hotel and expects it to be a quick investigation. Instead he uncovers a deep web of secrets, conspiracies, and cover-ups implicating not just the University of Southern California, but the newsroom of the Los Angeles Times itself.

Whatever you read, make sure to tell us about it to enter the May prize drawing. Good luck, and happy reading!

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the second month of the 2025 Reading Challenge! The February challenge was to read a book about a city where Northeastern has a campus. Geneva Palmer has won a Northeastern travel mug, perfect for staying hydrated while visiting all of our global campuses.

To be eligible for a prize drawing, make sure to read a book that fits the theme and then tell us about it. Here are some of the books readers enjoyed this month. (Comments may have been edited for length or clarity.)

What You Read in February

The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang
Find it at Snell Library | Listen to the audiobook

“The Kiss Quotient is a charming, unconventional romance that challenges typical love story tropes. It’s a must-read for fans of contemporary romance who appreciate strong character development and diverse representation.” — Mahnaz

Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“Set in Vancouver, B.C., Sea of Tranquility features a compelling story of multiple protagonists, time travel, and as always with this author, the human condition. Emily St. John Mandel has a unique talent in engaging readers with different perspectives, and then masterfully blending them together into one pensive story.” — Caroline

A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library

“I liked how A Little Life starts off feeling like a story about friendship, but quickly transforms into a much darker and more intense journey. The author slowly reveals the main character’s traumatic past bit by bit. It was interested to see how his childhood abuse had lingering effects on his adult relationships. It was both heartbreaking and eye-opening.” — Griffin

The Woman in the Library, Sulari Gentill
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“As someone who’s new to Boston, it was refreshing to explore new places through the protagonist’s lens. I found myself relating to the protagonist’s impressions of the Boston Public Library and the streets of Boston, and taking notes of places I want to visit soon, like a donut shop mentioned in Copley. It was impressive how the author managed to create a multifaceted narrative.” — Shreeti

The Fragile Threads of Power, V.E. Schwab
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“I liked this book’s fantasy elements and plot, and although I thought it was missing some needed elements, I overall enjoyed it. I look forward to the next books in the series when they’re released, and I might go back and read the prequel!” — Nina

Suggested Reads for March

Your March challenge is to read a book that has won or been shortlisted for a major award. This can be a general literary award or a genre-specific award, including (but not limited to) the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Booker Prize, Newbery Medal, Women’s Prize, Hugo Award, Orwell Prize, and Edgar Award.

Need more reading inspiration? Check out our list of suggested e-books and audiobooks in Libby. You can also stop by the Snell Library lobby from 1 – 3 p.m. on March 12 and March 13 to browse print books and pick up Reading Challenge swag. Finally, join us for our final Reading Party of the semester on March 19, from 4 – 7 p.m. in the Research & Teaching Hub (Snell Library 215), to enjoy tea, snacks, and dedicated time to read.

Orbital, Samantha Harvey
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book

Winner of the Booker Prize and the Hawthornden Prize
Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Imaginative Fiction

Six astronauts from different countries are serving on their final space station mission before the program ends. Orbital captures every single day of their lives in space.

James, Percival Everett
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin | Listen to the audiobook

Winner of the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal for Fiction
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize

James tells a familiar story: Huckleberry Finn and the slave Jim, adrift on a raft down the Mississippi. But this version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told from the perspective of “Jim”—aka James—with “electrifying humor and lacerating observations.”

My Friends, Hisham Matar
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

Winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
Finalist for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award

Three Libyan men living in London are isolated from their families and country by fear of the Qaddafi regime. My Friends is an exploration of the reality of exile, the bonds of friendship, and disparate meanings of home.

Bright Young Women, Jessica Knoll
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

Finalist for the Edgar Award for Fiction

In 1978, a murderer descends on a sorority house in Florida. The sorority president survives, but her life will never be the same. Seeking justice and answers, she joins forces with another woman who believes that her missing friend is another victim of the killer.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, Shannon Chakraborty
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book

Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel

Amina Al-Sirafi is a retired pirate who just wants peace and quiet. But, of course, there’s always one last job, and Amina is hired (at an exorbitant sun) to track down a kidnapped girl. The job should be easy enough—but the deeper Amina dives, the more tangled the web becomes.

Whatever you read, make sure to tell us about it to enter the March prize drawing. Good luck, and happy reading!