What We Are Reading Today: Doing Justice

Updated 24 March 2019
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: Doing Justice

Author: Preet Bharara

Preet Bharara’s book is divided into four sections: Inquiry, Accusation, Judgment, and Punishment.
Bharara, the one-time US federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, shows why each step of this process is crucial to the legal system.
Bharara uses anecdotes and case histories from his legal career — the successes as well as the failures — to illustrate the realities of the legal system, and the consequences of taking action. 
The book — an overview of crime, punishment and the rule of law — examines first how successful prosecutors select their cases and prepare the evidence they will use in court. 
It also shows “how we all need to think about each stage of the process to achieve truth and justice in our daily lives,” said a review published in goodreads.com.
“His case stories of how justice is done, and how it sometimes fails, are riveting,” it added.
“It is a thought-provoking, entertaining book about the need to find the humanity in our legal system — and in our society,” the review added.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘You Will Find Your People’

Photo/Supplied
Updated 17 June 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘You Will Find Your People’

Author: Lane Moore

Most would agree adult friendship is hard. TV shows made us believe we would grow up with a tight-knit group of best friends, but real life often looks very different.

In her 2023 book “You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult,” Lane Moore walks us through this tough reality.

It opens with the line: “I really thought I would have friends by now.” Relatable, right? Moore reflects on how the ages of 18 to 22 years old are prime friendship years. After that, things get harder.

As the author of “How to Be Alone” (2018), Moore shifts from solitude to connection. She explores how making friends as adults — especially for those with trauma or rejection — is a messy, emotional process.

Friendship, she says, can feel like a game of musical chairs that started before we noticed.

The book is not a tidy guide. There are no checklists or guaranteed strategies. Instead, Moore offers her own stories — raw, funny, and deeply honest.

She speaks to those who have felt left out or always been “too much.”

For the exhausted over-givers and the hopeful hearted, this book does not offer easy answers — but it does offer comfort. And sometimes, that is enough.

Also, she dedicates it to her dog.

 


What We Are Reading Today: The Ghana Reader

Updated 16 June 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: The Ghana Reader

Editors: Kwasi Konadu, Clifford C. Campbell

“The Ghana Reader” provides historical, political, and cultural perspectives on this iconic African nation. 

Readers will encounter views of farmers, traders, the clergy, intellectuals, politicians, musicians, and foreign travelers about the country. 

With sources including historical documents, poems, treaties, articles, and fiction, the book conveys the multiple and intersecting histories of the country’s development as a nation and its key contribution to the formation of the African diaspora, according to a review on goodreads.com.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Dream Hotel’

Photo/Supplied
Updated 16 June 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Dream Hotel’

  • “The Dream Hotel” is more than a compelling narrative; it is a reflection on the complexities of freedom and the influence of technology on our lives

Author: Laila Lalami

Reading Moroccan-American novelist Laila Lalami’s “The Dream Hotel” was an eye-opening experience that left me simultaneously captivated and unsettled.

The novel weaves a story about one woman’s fight for freedom in a near-future society where even dreams are under surveillance.

The narrative centers on Sara, who, upon returning to Los Angeles International Airport, is pulled aside by agents from the Risk Assessment Administration.

The chilling premise — that an algorithm has determined she is at risk of harming her husband — immediately drew me in. Lalami’s portrayal of Sara’s descent into a retention center, where she is held alongside other women labeled as “dreamers,” is both fascinating and disturbing.

What struck me most was how Lalami explores the seductive nature of technology. I found myself reflecting on our current relationship with data and surveillance.

The idea that our innermost thoughts could be monitored and judged felt unsettlingly familiar. As Sara navigates the oppressive rules of the facility, I felt a growing frustration at the injustice of her situation, which echoes broader societal concerns about privacy and autonomy.

Lalami’s writing is lyrical yet accessible, drawing readers into the emotional depth of each character. The interactions among the women in the retention center are especially poignant, showing how strength can emerge from solidarity.

As the story unfolds, I was reminded of the resilience of the human spirit, even under dehumanizing conditions. The arrival of a new resident adds a twist, pushing Sara toward a confrontation with the forces trying to control her. This development kept me invested in seeing how she would reclaim her agency.

“The Dream Hotel” is more than a compelling narrative; it is a reflection on the complexities of freedom and the influence of technology on our lives. It left me considering how much of ourselves we must guard to remain truly free.

In conclusion, Lalami has crafted a thoughtful and resonant novel that lingers after the final page. It is well worth reading for those interested in the intersections of identity, technology and human experience.

 


What We Are Reading Today: The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U

Updated 15 June 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U

Western governments and a growing activist community have been frustrated in their attempts to bring about a freer and more democratic Myanmar, only to see an apparent slide toward even harsher dictatorship.

In “The River of Lost Footsteps,” Thant Myint-U tells the story of modern Myanmar, in part through a telling of his own family’s history, in an interwoven narrative that is by turns lyrical, dramatic, and appalling. 

The book is a distinctive contribution that makes Myanmar accessible and enthralling, according to a review on goodreads.com.


What We Are Reading Today: Return of the Junta by Oliver Slow

Updated 14 June 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: Return of the Junta by Oliver Slow

In 2021, Myanmar’s military grabbed power in a coup d’etat, ending a decade of reforms that were supposed to break the shackles of military rule in Myanmar.

Protests across the country were met with a brutal crackdown that shocked the world, but were a familiar response from an institution that has ruled the country with violence and terror for decades.

In this book, Oliver Slow explores the measures the military has used to keep hold of power, according to a review on goodreads.com.