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The Cellist of Sarajevo focuses on the struggles of four people during the long and brutal Siege of Sarajevo. For the citizens of Sarajevo at this time, life is torturous. There are snipers in the hills encircling the city with their guns trained on the people below. These snipers, who the characters refer to as “the men in the hills,” are picking off the townspeople one by one whenever they venture outside for food or... Read The Cellist of Sarajevo Summary

The Chaperone is a work of historical fiction written by American author Laura Moriarty and published in 2012. The novel portrays the Jazz Age of the 1920s in America through a feminine lens. It was inspired by historical people and events, primarily the 1920s silent-film actress Louise Brooks. Moriarty lives in Lawrence, Kansas, and the book is also partially set in Kansas. The Chaperone was adapted into a PBS Masterpiece feature film in 2018. Other... Read The Chaperone Summary

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The Color of Water is a nonfiction autobiography published in 1996 by the American author and musician James McBride. Subtitled A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, The Color of Water chronicles the author’s challenges growing up in the 1960s and 1970s as a child with a white Jewish mother and Black father. Interspersed with the author’s recollections are interview transcripts describing his mother’s abusive upbringing as an Orthodox Jewish woman living in the... Read The Color of Water Summary

The Corrections is a 2001 novel by Jonathan Franzen that won the National Book Award. Franzen is the author of several essay collections and novels, including the novels Freedom, Purity, and Crossroads. He has received many awards for his work, including the Whiting Award in 1988 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996.The main action of the novel takes place during the turn of the 21st century, a time of great financial prosperity in the United... Read The Corrections Summary

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The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton is a tragicomedy of manners that explores themes of greed, ruthless ambition, progress, and gendered ideas. Wharton, who was herself a member of the New York City elite, was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, and her novels are pieces of classic American literature for their social commentary, multilayered characters, and analysis of American culture.Published in 1913, this novel can be read as... Read The Custom of the Country Summary

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The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is a nonfiction book of science journalism delving into key past and present issues surrounding the ecology, politics, and commerce of the Great Lakes. The book was published in 2017 and was the recipient of the J. Anthony Lukas Award as well as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Author Dan Egan is a reporter who covers the Great Lakes for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is... Read The Death and Life of the Great Lakes Summary

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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a 2003 nonfiction historical thriller by American journalist Erik Larson. The book revisits the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, following the stories of two very different history-making men: Daniel Hudson Burnham, the architect of the fair, and H. H. Holmes, the notorious serial killer. The book explores themes such as the contrast between sanity and insanity; the anonymity... Read The Devil in the White City Summary

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The Dinner (2009) is a novel by Dutch author Herman Koch. In 2012, Sam Garrett translated it into English. The novel has been adapted into a film multiple times. It tells the story of a dinner at a restaurant, where the guests discuss a serious matter involving their children. Paul Lohman narrates the story, though his version of events may not be reliable.  Plot Summary Paul Lohman, a former history teacher and the narrator of the... Read The Dinner Summary