Good Reads

Better Than The Movies

Lynn Painter

Romance | Young Adult

 

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar. Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not make a potential boyfriend. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must re-examine everything she thought she knew about love – and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like. 

Kathmandu Dilemma: Resetting India-Nepal Ties

Ranjit Rae

Non-Fiction | Politics

 

The first two decades of the new millennium have witnessed a dramatic socio-political transformation in Nepal. A violent Maoist insurgency ended peacefully, a new constitution abolished the monarchy and established a secular federal democratic republic. Nevertheless, political stability and a peace dividend have both remained elusive. Nepal is also buffeted by changing geopolitics, including the US-China contest for influence and the uneasy relationship between India and China. As a close neighbor, India has been deeply associated with the seminal changes in Nepal, and the bilateral relationship has seen many twists and turns. Partly a memoir, this book examines India’s perspective on these developments, in the context of the civilizational and economic underpinnings of the India-Nepal relationship, as well as issues that continue to prevent this relationship from exploiting its full potential.           

Know My Name

Chanel Miller

Memoir | Feminism

She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford’s campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time. This is her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life. Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable.