The Best of "Best Book" Lists Collection gathers together a selection of popular bestsellers and fan favorites that frequently appear on "Best of" lists. This diverse Collection includes picks to suit a range of age groups and genre preferences, from otherworldly fantasy to gripping crime thrillers.
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, Satire, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Music, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2015
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Self Discovery, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Sports, Travel Literature, Action / Adventure, Bullying, Arts / Culture, Class, Race / Racism, Relationships, Poverty, Politics / Government, Science / Nature, Social Justice, History: World, Biography
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life is a 2015 memoir by William Finnegan, a writer for The New Yorker and the author of several social journalism books such as A Complicated War: The Harrowing of Mozambique and Dateline Soweto: Travels with Black South African Reporters. In Barbarian Days, Finnegan reflects on his upbringing in California and Hawaii, as well as his coming of age in the late 1960s. He relays his experience of the surfing counterculture... Read Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life Summary
Publication year 1989
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Teams, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Business / Economics, Finance / Money / Wealth, Leadership/Organization/Management, Journalism, History: World, Biography
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: War
Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Military / War, Latin American Literature, Children's Literature, History: World
Publication year 2018
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Society: Community
Tags Historical Fiction, Harlem Renaissance, History: U.S., Race / Racism, African American Literature, Anthropology, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Grief / Death, History: African , Social Justice, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World, Biography
Originally written in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (2018) is the transcribed posthumous autobiography of the life of Oluale “Cudjo Lewis” Kossola (1841-1935), written by Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Known for her involvement in the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston was a writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and filmmaker. In all her work, she held a special appreciation for Black life and Black culture of the US South. Her works... Read Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Literature, Relationships: Family
Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Immigration, Identity: Language, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Race, Natural World: Food, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Chinese Literature, Immigration / Refugee, Poverty, American Literature, Education, Biography
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Southern Gothic, Relationships
Beautiful Creatures (2009) is a young adult paranormal romance novel written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Garcia and Stohl combine their interest in Southern Gothic literature with supernatural romance. Beautiful Creatures is the first book in the four-part Caster Chronicles. The novel follows the romance between Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes as Lena comes to terms with the supernatural powers that make her a Caster. Lena and Ethan struggle to find a way to... Read Beautiful Creatures Summary
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Love / Sexuality, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire is a new adult romance first published in 2011. The book became an international bestseller and was made into a feature film released in 2023. The book is part of McGuire’s Beautiful Disaster series; several of the subsequent books also became New York Times bestsellers. This guide refers to the Atria paperback edition published in 2012.Content Warning: The novel depicts and romanticizes character traits that are often precursors of abusive... Read Beautiful Disaster Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Fame, Life/Time: The Past
Tags Romance, Historical Fiction, Italian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Class, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Irish Literature
Publication year 1978
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Relationships: Family
Tags Fairy Tale / Folklore, Fantasy, Romance
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (1978) is author Robin McKinley’s debut novel. It’s an adaptation of the original Beauty and the Beast fairy tale written in 1740 by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, with genre elements of fantasy and romance and marketed for a middle grade readership. McKinley’s version of the story maintains an 18th-century setting while modernizing thematic explorations of outer versus inner beauty, ideals of faithfulness and selflessness... Read Beauty Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Language, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Society: Community
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy
Publication year 2019
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Language, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Community
Tags Sociology, Science / Nature, Technology, Technology, History: World
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Self Discovery
Tags Auto/Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Sports, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Children's Literature, History: World, Biography
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Self Discovery, Life/Time: Aging, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Before I Go to Sleep (2011) is the debut novel of English writer S. J. Watson. This psychological thriller features a protagonist suffering from amnesia. Forty-seven-year-old Christine Lucas wakes every morning with no memory of who or where she is. Each day she must reconstruct her identity with the help of her journal. Christine also gleans information from her husband, Ben, and a neurophysiologist, Dr. Nash. However, the more Christine discovers, the more she doubts... Read Before I Go to Sleep Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Romance, Parenting, Depression / Suicide, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Japanese Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction