SuperSummary Staff Picks

Browse our Staff Picks Collection to find your next reading recommendation, courtesy of our own team of book lovers. With selections ranging from nonfiction titles to plays, poetry, and novels, this diverse Collection has something to offer every literature lover.

Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

Tags Self Help, Business / Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Sociology, Education, Leadership/Organization/Management, Parenting

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking is a nonfiction book by Susan Cain, published in 2012. It is considered part of the psychology and self-help genres. The book made several bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and National Public Radio. It also was voted the best nonfiction book of 2012 by the Goodreads Choice Awards and has been translated... Read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Summary


Publication year 1597

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family

Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Historical, British Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction

Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare written between 1592 and 1594. It is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays and his second longest. The play depicts the rise of King Richard III of England, also known as Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Shakespeare portrays Richard as a Machiavellian tyrant who uses lies and violence to unjustly seize the throne during a politically turbulent period of England’s history known as the Wars of the Roses... Read Richard III Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Siblings, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Crime / Legal, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Journalism, Business / Economics, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Leadership/Organization/Management, History: World, Biography


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, History: World

Published in 2011, Rules of Civility is American author Amor Towles’ acclaimed debut novel. Set at the end of the 1930s during The Great Depression, the narrative follows spunky roommates Katey Kontent and Evelyn Ross as they make their way up the social ladder in New York society. Though much of the narrative takes place at the end of the 1930s, the preface and epilogue are set in 1966 and provide a bookended point of... Read Rules of Civility Summary


Publication year 1773

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

Tags Humor, Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy

She Stoops to Conquer is a play by British writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in 1773. The play is a comedy of manners and a romance set in 18th-century England. Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish poet and dramatist and this play is his most popular and well-known work, with performances still regularly occurring in the 21st century. In 1778, John O'Keeffe wrote a successful sequel to the play, entitled Tony Lumpkin in Town. She Stoops to... Read She Stoops to Conquer Summary


Publication year 1962

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Environment

Tags Science / Nature, History: World, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is widely regarded as a foundational text of the 20th century environmental movement. Originally published as a series in The New Yorker, Carson’s essays carefully articulate the impacts of widespread chemical use for insect and plant control. Throughout the text, Carson emphasizes the ways that humans disregard the interrelation of species on earth, and argues that as a result, humans are at a pivotal moment. If methods of insect control are... Read Silent Spring Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Collection of Letters, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Femininity, Self Discovery, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Colonialism

Tags Race / Racism, Education, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Leadership/Organization/Management, Education, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice


Publication year 2023

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Arts / Culture, Crime / Legal


Publication year 1896

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Teams, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Incarceration, Grief / Death, History: European, LGBTQ, Religion / Spirituality, British Literature, Victorian Period, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Victorian Literature / Period, History: World, Irish Literature, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2023

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Crime / Legal, Psychology, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychology, Mental Illness, Biography


Publication year 1436

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Femininity, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, Religion / Spirituality, History: World, Travel Literature, Education, Education, Classic Fiction, Biography

The Book of Margery Kempe is a 15th-century autobiography of an English mystic, wife, and mother who devoted much of her life to Christian spirituality. Kempe (b. ca. 1373) was a semi-literate member of the upper-middle class from King’s Lynn, a mercantile town in Norfolk, a county in eastern England. She gave birth over a dozen times before she convinced her husband to embrace a chaste marriage. Kempe claimed to have divine revelations in which... Read The Book of Margery Kempe Summary


Publication year 1997

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Education, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Historical Fiction, Poverty, Immigration / Refugee, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Arts / Culture


Publication year 426

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Community

Tags Religion / Spirituality, Philosophy, Christian literature, Ancient Rome


Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: War, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Military / War, History: World


Publication year 2021

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Teams

Tags Science / Nature, Gender / Feminism, Health / Medicine, Technology, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), History: World, Biography


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Children's Literature, History: World


Publication year 1880

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Classic Fiction, Prose poetry, Narrative / Epic Poem, Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality, Russian Literature, History: World, Philosophy

“The Grand Inquisitor” is an embedded narrative, or a story within a story, contained in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1880 novel The Brothers Karamazov. In the novel, “The Grand Inquisitor” is a prose poem composed by the character Ivan Karamazov. Its fictional author, who writes this poem in an increasing state of despair, recites this work to his younger brother, the novice monk Alyosha. “The Grand Inquisitor” imagines Jesus Christ coming to Seville at the time of... Read The Grand Inquisitor Summary


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Fate, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Economics, Society: Class

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last is a work of speculative fiction released in 2015. The novel is a reworking of her Positron series for the website Byliner: four interconnected stories that were digitally released as episodes over the course of a year, starting in March 2012. The project aimed to recapture the literary tradition of serialization, but the final installment was never released, and the novel is intended to bring things together and provide... Read The Heart Goes Last Summary


Publication year 1899

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: Family, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Psychology, Science / Nature, Philosophy, History: World, Psychology, Philosophy, Self Help, Classic Fiction

Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is a landmark work in the field of psychoanalysis. First published in 1899, it is one of Freud's most famous and influential books. At its core, the book explores the significance of dreams in revealing the unconscious desires, fears, and conflicts of the individual. Freud argues that dreams are not just random collections of images and sensations, as was commonly held in his day. Neither are they inspirations from... Read The Interpretation of Dreams Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Gothic Literature