Books & Literature

The Dutch philosopher Erasmus said, “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” Why do we value books and literature so highly? This thematic collection gathers books that offer unique insights into the power, energy, and appeal of, well, books!

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Race / Racism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Magical Realism, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1995

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Creative Nonfiction, Science / Nature, Military / War, Parenting, War On Terrorism / Iraq War, Biography

High Tide in Tucson is a series of essays by heralded American novelist Barbara Kingsolver, collected and published in 1995. The essays are wide-ranging in subject matter, addressing topics from politics, to nature, to midcentury domestic life, but all reflect Kingsolver’s observations about herself and the people around her. Prior to her writing career, Kingsolver had a wide range of other professional experiences that influence essays in the book.Most of the essays in High Tide... Read High Tide in Tucson Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Holidays & Occasions


Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Flora/plants, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Indian Literature

Homeless Bird, a novel written by Gloria Whelan and published in 2000, was a New York Times Best Seller and winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Marketed to middle grade readers, the novel has elements of historical fiction in its portrayal of cultural customs in India. Homeless Bird tells the story of Koly, a 13-year-old girl whose arranged marriage leads to her untimely widowhood. Through Koly’s coming-of-age journey from helplessness to... Read Homeless Bird Summary


Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Class, Identity: Disability

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1926

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Self Discovery, Society: Education, Identity: Language

Tags Arts / Culture, Modernism, British Literature, Literary Criticism, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2015

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Language

Tags Education, Education, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Self Help, Humor


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1940

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Language

Tags Self Help, Education, Philosophy, Education, Leadership/Organization/Management, Philosophy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2003

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Identity: Language

Tags Education, Education, Literary Criticism, Self Help

Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines is a nonfiction book that aims to teach readers how to improve their reading skills. Foster, a longtime university professor, focuses on techniques that enable readers to puzzle out some of the deeper meanings of a story that exist below the surface level of the plot. Harper published the book in 2003, and the 2014... Read How To Read Literature Like A Professor Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Education, Identity: Language

Tags Education, American Literature, Arts / Culture, Self Help, Inspirational, Education, Literary Criticism


Publication year 2022

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Teams, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Society: Globalization, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Politics / Government, History: Asian, Journalism, Social Justice, History: World, Biography


Publication year 1580

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Lyric Poem, Renaissance, Elizabethan Era

Along with his contemporary Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser is one of the most important literary figures from the English Renaissance (c. 1550-1660), also known as the Early Modern Period. Spenser’s work was greatly influenced by his studies of Classical and Italian Renaissance poets, including Virgil, Ludovico Ariosto, and Torquato Tasso. His faith and study of Christianity also informed his work. With Sidney, who was also an influence, and his friend Gabriel Harvey, Spenser belonged to... Read Iambicum Trimetrum Summary


Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Originally published in 2002, Markus Zusak’s I Am the Messenger is a young adult realistic fiction novel. Ed Kennedy, the protagonist and narrator, is a 19-year-old cab driver whose average life takes an unexpected turn when he stops a bank robber. After this moment of heroism, he begins receiving mysterious playing cards with cryptic messages that lead him to people in need of his assistance. The novel is set in suburban Sydney and draws on... Read I Am The Messenger Summary


Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Art, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Magical Realism, Post Modernism, Italian Literature, Science / Nature, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government, Sociology, History: World, Classic Fiction

If on a winter’s night a traveler is a 1979 postmodernist novel by Italo Calvino. The dual narrative is composed of two parallel strands: numbered chapters in which the narrator directly describes to the audience the process of reading the book, and titled chapters constructed from hypothetical first chapters of various books that the audience is reading. The innovative novel has been praised by critics and hailed as highly influential.This guide uses the 1998 Vintage... Read If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, LGBTQ, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1969

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Literature, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags African American Literature, Creative Nonfiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism, Classic Fiction, Biography

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is an autobiographical novel by Maya Angelou. Angelou discusses the struggles of growing up African American in the 1950s. The novel has themes of overcoming adversity and trauma, both used as a general metaphor for the struggle against racism. Angelou wrote the novel as a challenge to create literature out of an autobiography, and what emerged is a classic that is still revered today.The novel begins on a... Read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Indigenous, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Language, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Lyric Poem, Education, Arts / Culture, Diversity, History: The Americas, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Colonialism / Postcolonialism


Publication year 2015

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Teams, Society: Immigration, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Play: Drama, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Jewish Literature, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy