Recreational Reading

2026 Reading Challenge: September Recap and October Preview

by Brooke Williams
October 13, 2026October 14, 2026

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!

2026 Reading Challenge: August Recap and September Preview

by Brooke Williams
September 15, 2026September 15, 2026

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!

2026 Reading Challenge: July Recap and August Preview

by Brooke Williams
August 3, 2026

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!

2026 Reading Challenge: June Recap and July Preview

by Brooke Williams
July 1, 2026

Hello, Huskies! I hope everyone is staying cool in the summer heat. Our June Reading Challenge winner is Ashlyn, who takes home a Northeastern tote bag. Congratulations to everyone who read a book about activism this June! Below are some of the books you enjoyed. (Comments may have been edited for length and clarity.)

What You Read in June

Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines, Joy Buolamwini
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

“Eye-opening read that shows how bias can be built into AI systems and why accountability in technology matters. It made me think more critically about how ‘neutral’ algorithms actually reflect human choices.” — Sandy

Bewilderment, Richard Powers
Buy it from Bookshop.org

“Many complain that the book was too ‘doomer,’ and while I agree, I appreciated that Richard Powers wrote that way. I think it is a realistic look into the future of mankind. It blended major world issues and how they’re just as significant as people’s personal issues. I loved the sci-fi aspect, as well as the call to action. I was convinced to protect the environment.” — Ashlyn

Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson, Tourmaline
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook

“I listened to this as an audiobook. Written by a Black, queer, transgender activist about a Black, queer, transgender activist was a powerful experience, especially during Pride month!” — Alyn

Sunburn: A Novel, Chloe Michelle Howarth
Buy it from Bookshop.org

“Happy Pride Month 🙂 What an introspective and moving book this is.” — Susan

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of the Serial Killers, Caroline Fraser
Listen to the audiobook

“What do many (if not most) murderers of the 1970s and 1980s — the ‘golden age’ of serial killers — have in common? High levels of exposure to lead, arsenic, and cadmium. Ted Bundy, Dennis Rader, Richard Ramirez, John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Edmund Kemper, Gary Ridgway, Kenneth Bianchi, Angelo Buono Jr., and dozens of other notorious names grew up in the shadows of smelters, copper mines, gasoline plants, and industrial smokestacks. They lived in houses decorated with lead paint, filled their cars with leaded gasoline, and breathed smog tainted by industrial neurotoxins. This is a true crime book, but the crime underpinning all the rest is a fatal economic and industrial decision to protect profits at all costs, even if it means poisoning the bodies and brains of a generation. Ultimately, Murderland is a call to environmental action.” — Brooke

What to Read in July

This month, America celebrates its semiquincentennial. In honor of 250 years, we’re challenging you to read a book about American history. For some reading inspiration, check out the suggestions below, or browse the full list of e-books and audiobooks.

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, Ned Blackhawk
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non-Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late 20th century. Blackhawk’s retelling of U.S. history acknowledges the enduring power, agency, and survival of Indigenous peoples, yielding a truer account of the United States and revealing anew the varied meanings of America.

We’ve Been Here Before: How Rebellion and Activism Have Always Sustained America, Michael I. Days and Angela P. Dodson
Read the e-book

America’s founding was a contradictory one. When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, it painted a beautiful vision of freedom and equality. But for the majority of our nation’s history, America hasn’t lived up to its founding vision of freedom. In our current era, many of us are left wondering if America will ever live up to the promises of her founding. Yet, a deeper look at our history reveals key revolutionary moments in which the promise of America has been fully realized. At this important historical milestone, let us look back to celebrate those moments and let them guide our future.

This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History, Beverly Gage
Listen to the audiobook

Ride along with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Beverly Gage as she travels the country to see the museums, historic sites, roadside attractions, reenactments, and souvenir shops where Americans learn — and fight — about our history. From the birth of the nation in Philadelphia to Disneyland and the California dream, This Land is Your Land offers a guided tour of 13 places and 13 key moments that define America’s greatest successes and challenges.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann
Find it at the School of Law Library | Listen to the audiobook

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. More and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage, began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America, Kostya Kennedy
Listen to the audiobook

On April 18, 1775, a Boston-based silversmith, engraver, and anti-British political operative named Paul Revere set out on a borrowed horse to fulfill a dangerous but crucial mission: to alert American colonists of advancing British troops, which would seek to crush their nascent revolt. But this ride was like no other, and its consequences in the months and years to come became one of our founding legends. The Ride presents a dramatic new narrative of the events of April 18 and 19, 1775. While Revere was central to the ride and its plotting, Kostya Kennedy reveals the other men (and, perhaps, a woman with information about the movement of British forces) who helped to set in motion the events that would lead to America’s independence.

By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners, Margaret A. Burnham
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at the School of Law Library | Listen to the audiobook

A paradigm-shifting investigation of Jim Crow-era violence, the legal apparatus that sustained it, and its enduring legacy. If the law cannot protect a person from a lynching, then isn’t lynching the law? Margaret A. Burnham, director of Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, challenges our understanding of the Jim Crow era by exploring the relationship between formal law and background legal norms in a series of harrowing cases from 1920 to 1960. Burnham maps the criminal legal system in the mid-20th-century South, and traces the unremitting line from slavery to the legal structures of this period — and through to today. She reveals the true legal system of Jim Crow, and captures the memories of those whose stories have not yet been heard.

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

2026 Reading Challenge: May Recap and June Preview

by Brooke Williams
June 8, 2026

Our May Reading Challenge winner is Eliza Strum, who wins a Northeastern water bottle to stay hydrated during the summer weather. Congratulations to everyone who read a book with a non-human protagonist this month. Here are some of the books you enjoyed. (Reader comments may have been edited for length and clarity.)

What You Read in May

Dungeon Crawler Carl: A Novel, Matt Dinniman
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book

“This book featured a non-human protagonist in the form of a talking cat named Princess Donut. What a treat! This sassy cat makes this ridiculous book so entertaining. This book is a playful epic world containing so many possibilities for unique characters and abilities. With seven more books in the series, I am excited to see where the outrageousness heads next!” — Lauren

Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“Frankenstein is, in a lot of ways, a cautionary story. The fact that Victor was able to create an intelligent being, but rejects it immediately because it frightens him and the being is not something he hoped for, draws parallels to our current quest for an intelligent being. We can’t separate ourselves from the consequence of our inventions once those inventions become capable of thought, emotion, or independent action. The being becomes dangerous because it is isolated, mistreated, and denied understanding or guidance. As we continue advancing AI, Frankenstein serves as a reminder that we should approach creation with ethics, empathy, and responsibility, aiming to avoid repeating Victor’s mistake.” — Fresnel

“An all-time classic for a reason! Shelley has a really deft hand with description, and the themes of this novel resonate to this day. She nailed a lot of the anxieties around personhood, technology, and patriarchy that trouble us still.” — Nobel

Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes, Travis Baldree
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“Interesting book that I would not have picked up had it not been on the recommendations from the library. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, as it touches on building a community and starting anew in an unfamiliar route.” — Snady

Moby-Dick: Or, The Whale, Herman Melville
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“The whale is the protagonist, right?” — Anaya

What to Read in June

June is a month of both celebration and remembrance. Pride Month commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and gay liberation movement, Juneteenth National Independence Day marks the anniversary of the end of American slavery, and Canada observes National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. To honor these histories, this month we’re asking you to read a book about activism. Need inspiration? Check out the highlighted reads below, or browse the full list of suggested e-books and audiobooks.

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

Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson, Tourmaline
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook

“Thank god the revolution has begun, honey.” Rumor has it that after Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, she picked up a shard of broken mirror to fix her makeup. Marsha, a legendary Black transgender activist, embodied both the beauty and the struggle of the early gay rights movement. Tourmaline’s richly researched biography Marsha finally brings this iconic figure to life, in full color. We vividly meet Marsha as both an activist and artist: She performed with RuPaul and with the internationally renowned drag troupe The Hot Peaches. She was a muse to countless artists, from Andy Warhol to the band Earth, Wind, & Fire. And she continues to inspire people today. Marsha didn’t wait to be freed; she declared herself free and told the world to catch up.

From These Roots: My Fight With Harvard to Reclaim My Legacy, Tamara Lanier
Listen to the audiobook

Tamara Lanier grew up listening to her mother’s stories about her ancestors. As her mother’s health declined, she pushed her daughter to dig into those stories. “Tell them about Papa Renty,” she would say. Lanier’s discovery of a 19th-century daguerrotype at Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, one of the first-ever photos of enslaved people from Africa, reveals a dark-skinned man with short-cropped silver hair and chiseled cheekbones. the information read “Renty, Congo.” All at once, Lanier knew she was staring at the ancestor her mother told her so much about: Papa Renty. In this compelling account, Lanier takes us on a quest to prove her genealogical bloodline that pits her in a legal battle against Harvard and its army of lawyers. The question is, who has claims to the stories, artifacts, and remnants of America’s stained history — the institutions who acquired and housed them for generations, or the descendants who have survived?

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, Judith Heumann with Kristin Joiner
Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

Paralyzed from polio at 18 months old, Judy Heumann’s struggle for equality began early. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a government building in American history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make a real world in which we all belong.

Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls, Angela Sterritt
Read the e-book

As a Gitxsan teenager navigating life on the streets, Angela Sterritt wrote in her journal to help her survive and find her place in the world. Now an acclaimed journalist, she writes for major news outlets to push for justice and to light a path for Indigenous women, girls, and survivors. In this debut, Sterritt shares her memoir alongside investigative reporting into cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, showing how colonialism and racism led to a society where Sterritt struggled to survive, and where the lives of Indigenous women and girls are ignored and devalued. Sterritt demands accountability from the media and the public, showing that there is much work to do on the path towards understanding the truth. But most importantly, she proves that the strength and brilliance of Indigenous women is unbroken, and that together, they can build lives of joy and abundance.

That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, Amanda Jones
Listen to the audiobook

Small-town librarian Amanda Jones has been called a groomer, a pedo, and a porn-pusher; she has faced death threats and attacks from strangers and friends alike. When she stood up for diverse perspectives at a public library board meeting, she became a target for extremists using book banning campaigns funded by dark money organizations and advanced by hard right politicians in a crusade to make American more white, straight, and “Christian.” But Amanda Jones wouldn’t give up without a fight: she sued her harassers for defamation and urged others to join her in the resistance. Mapping the book banning crisis occurring all across the nation, That Librarian draws the battle lines in the war against intellectual freedom, calling book lovers everywhere to rise in defense of our right to read.