REQUIRED READING
Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power and Consent on Campus
Vanessa Grigoriadis (nonfiction, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) An in-depth look at the new sexual revolution that’s been taking place on college campuses and the confusion surrounding it. Grigoriadis interviewed dozens of students, including accusers and the accused, to form a picture of the new rules of sex and power power.
The Locals
Jonathan Dee (f iction, Random House) A New York hedge-fund millionaire becomes mayor of a working-class Massachusetts town and begins to subtly transform it to his tastes, much to the displeasure of longtime residents. From income inequality and class resentment to politics to real-estate booms, it’s a novel that presents a perfect microcosm of modern-dayay America.
A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War
Deborah Campbell (memoir, Picador) When journalist Campbell traveled undercover to Damascus to report on the exodus of Iraqis into Syria, she met Ahlam, who became her “fixer,” providing her with contacts and information. The two women become friends until one day, Ahlam is seized from her home. Campbell spends the next few months frantically searching for her friend, all the while tortured by the idea that their work together might have led to the kidnapping.
Friend Request
Laura Marshall (f iction, Grand Central Publishing) Louise is shocked one day to receive a Facebook friend request from Maria Weston, a high-school classmate. But Maria Weston died in 1989 — or did she? Then Louise gets an invitation to her high-school reunion. As she tries to figure out what’s going on, all sorts of painful memories re-resurface, memories she’s not proud of. Louise begins to realize that she and her small son are being watched by someone.
The Worrier’s Guide to the End of the World
Torre DeRoche (Memoir, Seal Press) A pair of fearless female friends team up on a journey through India and Italy in a memoir about courage, loss and resilience. But make no mistake: This is no “Eat, Pray, Love”: “Women are wise enough to know that happy endings don’t usually include Javier Bardem on a bicycle,” ycle,” pro-proclaims the press release.
The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History
Josh Dean (nonfiction, Dutton) In 1968, a Russian submarine with three nuclear ballistic missiles disappeared on a routine patrol. As the Soviet navy searched for it, finding nothing, a small, classified American operation found it, usingg sophisti-sophisticated deep-sea equipment. Realizing the potential for the intelligence assets onboard the submarine, a top-secret mission to recover the ship began, taking six years and costing about $800 million.