Special Sections:
Annual Recommended Reading Lists
My Presidential Reading Project
A
Abandon Ship!: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the Navy’s Greatest Sea Disaster Richard F. Newcomb (1958)
About a Boy Nick Hornby (1998)
Abraham Lincoln Thomas Keneally (2003)
Aiding and Abetting Muriel Spark (2001)
Alias Grace Margaret Atwood (1996)
All About All About Eve Sam Staggs (2000)
All American Girl Meg Cabot (2002)
All the King’s Men Robert Penn Warren (1946)
All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy (1992)
Altered States Anita Brookner (1996)
Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Michael Chabon (2000)
American Boy Larry Watson (2011)
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House Jon Meacham (2008)
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis (1991)
American Sphinx Joseph J. Ellis (1996)
American Talleyrand: The Career and Contemporaries of Martin Van Buren, The by Holmes Alexander (1935)
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer Fredrik Backman (2016)
And That’s Not All Joan Plowright (2001)
Angela’s Ashes Frank McCourt (1996)
Angle of Repose Wallace Stegner (1971)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life Barbara Kingsolver (2007)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank (1995)
Apple of My Eye Helene Hanff (1978)
Art of Racing in the Rain, The Garth Stein (2008)
B
Barrel Fever David Sedaris (1995)
Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison (1992)
Batavia’s Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History’s Bloodiest Mutiny Mike Dash (2002)
Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana’s Cajun Coast Mike Tidwell (2003)
Before I Go to Sleep S.J. Watson (2011)
Behind the Scenes at the Museum Kate Atkinson (1995)
Bel Canto Ann Patchett (2005)
Beloved Toni Morrison (1987)
Big Rock Candy Mountain, The Wallace Stegner (1943)
Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, The Mark Obmascik (2004)
Birchwood John Banville (1973)
Birds in Fall Brad Kessler (2006)
Black Flower, The Howard Bahr (1997)
Black Water Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
Blackburn Bradley Denton (1993)
Blaze of Glory, A Jeff Shaara (2012)
Bleak House Charles Dickens (1853)
Blind Assassin, The Margaret Atwood (2000)
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before Tony Horwitz (2002)
Book Shop, The Penelope Fitzgerald (1978)
Book Thief, The Markus Zusak (2005)
Books: A Memoir Larry McMurtry (2008)
Bossypants Tina Fey (2011)
Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, The Caroline Alexander (2003)
Brief History of the Dead, The Kevin Brockmeier (2006)
Brick Lane Monica Ali (2004)
Britt-Marie Was Here Fredrik Backman (2016)
Brothers and Sisters Bebe Moore Campbell (1998)
Buster Keaton: A Legend in Laughter Larry Edwards (1995)
C
Caine Mutiny, The Herman Wouk (1951)
Caleb’s Crossing Geraldine Brooks (2011)
California Fault Thurston Clarke (1995)
Case Histories Kate Atkinson (2004)
Casual Vacancy, The J.K. Rowling (2012)
Charlotte Temple Susanna Rowson (1791)
Charming Billy Alice McDermott (1997)
Charms for the Easy Life Kaye Gibbons (1993)
Circus Fire, The Stewart O’Nan (2000)
City, The Joel Kotkin (2005)
Civil Action, A Jonathan Haar (1995)
Cleopatra: A Life Stacy Schiff (2010)
Clockers Richard Price (1992)
Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond and the Dark Hollywood Dream Sam Staggs (2002)
Cloudsplitter Russell Banks (1998)
Coffee Trader, The David Liss (2003)
Cold Mountain Charles Frazier (1997)
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Jared Diamond (2004)
Collector of Hearts, The Joyce Carol Oates (1998)
Columbine Dave Cullen (2009)
Commitments, The Roddy Doyle (1997)
Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker, The Robert Mankoff (2004)
Confederates in the Attic Tony Horwitz (1998)
Corelli’s Mandolin Louis De Bernieres (1995)
Corrections, The Jonathan Franzen (2001)
Count of Monte Cristo, The Alexandre Dumas (1844)
Crazy in Alabama Mark Childress (1993)
Crossing, The Cormac McCarthy (1994)
Cup of Gold John Steinbeck (1929)
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Mark Haddon (2003)
Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese (2009)
D
Daughter of the Queen of Sheba Jacki Lyden (1997)
Dead Man Walking Sister Helen Prejean (1993)
Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation’s Leaders Brady Carlson (2016)
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson (2015)
Death in the Family, A James Agee (1957)
Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery John Gregory Brown (1994)
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness Edward Abbey (1968)
Desperate Characters Paula Fox (1970)
Devil in the White City, The Erik Larson (2003)
Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble Dan Lyons (2016)
Dive From Clausen’s Pier, The Ann Packer (2002)
Dogs of Babel, The Carolyn Parkhurst (2003)
Down the River Edward Abbey (1982)
Drop City T.C. Boyle (2003)
Duane’s Depressed Larry McMurtry (1999)
E
East of Eden John Steinbeck (1952)
11/22/63 Stephen King (2011)
Ella Minnow Pea Mark Dunn (2001)
Ellen Foster Kaye Gibbons (1990)
Emily Alone Stewart O’Nan (2011)
Emma Jane Austen (1815)
Empire Falls Richard Russo (2002)
Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure Frank Worsley (1931)
Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The Caroline Alexander (1999)
Ethan Frome Edith Wharton (1911)
Expecting Adam Martha Beck (1999)
Eyre Affair, The Jasper Fforde (2001)
F
Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E.J. Kaufmann, and America’s Most Extraordinary House Franklin Toker (2003)
Far Cry From Kensington, A Muriel Spark (1988)
Far From the Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy (1874)
Fast Food Nation Eric Schlossesr (2001)
Fay William Wegman (1999)
Felicia’s Journey William Trevor (1994)
Film Club, The David Gilmour (2008)
Final Solution, The Michael Chabon (2004)
First Light Charles Baxter (1987)
Forsyte Saga, The John Galsworthy (1906-1922)
44 Scotland Street Alexander McCall Smith (2005)
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation Joseph J. Ellis (2000)
Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang Joyce Carol Oates (1993)
Freedomland Richard Price (1998)
Frozen Thames, The Helen Humphreys (2009)
Full Cupboard of Life, The Alexander McCall Smith (2003)
G
Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin (1996)
Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton, The Edith Wharton (1973)
Girl Waits With Gun Amy Stewart (2015)
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Stieg Larsson (2005)
Gods and Generals Jeff Shaara (1996)
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief Lawrence Wright (2013)
Gone for Good Mark Childress (1998)
Good Lord Bird, The James McBride (2013)
Good Scent From a Strange Mountain, A Robert Olen Butler (1993)
Great Deliverance, A Elizabeth George (1883)
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (2008)
H
H is For Hawk Helen Macdonald (2014)
Happiest Toddler on the Block, The Harvey Karp (2004)
Hard Times Charles Dickens (1854)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets J.K. Rowling (1999)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J.K. Rowling (2005)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J.K. Rowling (1999)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J.K. Rowling (2003)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone J.K. Rowling (1998)
Haunting of Hill House, The Shirley Jackson (1959)
Heart of Midlothian, The Sir Walter Scott (1818)
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, A Dave Eggers (2000)
Heartburn Nora Ephron (1983)
Heat of the Day, The Elizabeth Bowen (1948)
Heaven’s Prisoners James Lee Burke (1988)
Help, The Kathryn Stockett (2009)
Henry Clay: The Essential American David S. Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler (2010)
High Fidelity Nick Hornby (1995)
His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman (2000)
His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman (1997)
His Excellency: George Washington Joseph J. Ellis (2004)
Horseman, Pass By Larry McMurtry (1961)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Jamie Ford (2009)
Hours, The Michael Cunningham (1998)
House of the Seven Gables, The Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
House on Coliseum Street, The Shirley Ann Grau (1961)
House Tells the Story: Homes of the American Presidents, The Adam Van Doren (2015)
How Reading Changed My Life Anna Quindlen (1998)
How the States Got Their Shapes Mark Stein (2008)
Hunger Games, The (2008)
I
I, Claudius Robert Graves (1934)
I, Fatty Jerry Stahl (2004)
Icy Sparks Gwyn Hyman Rubio (1998)
In A Sunburned Country Bill Bryson (2001)
In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer Irene Gut Opdyke (1999)
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex Nathaniel Philbrick (2001)
In the Woods Tana French (2007)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster Jon Krakauer (1997)
Intrusions Ursala Hegi (1995)
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time and the Deadliest Hurricane in History Erik Larson (1999)
Island of the Blue Dolphins Scott O’Dell (1960)
Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott (1819)
J
James Madison Garry Wills (2002)
James Monroe Gary Hart (2005)
Jane Austen Book Club, The Karen Joy Fowler (2004)
Jennie Gerhardt Theodore Dreiser (1911)
John Adams David McCullough (2002)
John Quincy Adams Lynn Hudson Parsons (1997)
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters John Steinbeck (1969)
Judi Dench: With a Crack in Her Voice John Miller (1998)
Justice Larry Watson (1995)
K
Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
Kite Runner, The Khaled Hosseini (2004)
Known World, The Edward P. Jones (2003)
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883 Simon Winchester (2003)
L
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Christopher Moore (2002)
Last Night at the Lobster Stewart O’Nan (2007)
Last Town on Earth, The Thomas Mullen (2006)
Lesson Before Dying, A Ernest J. Gaines (1994)
Letter From New York Helene Hanff (1992)
Life After Life Kate Atkinson (2013)
Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, The Bill Bryson (2006)
Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, The Marie Kondo (2014)
Life of Pi Yann Martel (2001)
Light Between Oceans, The M.L. Stedman (2012)
Light in August William Faulkner (1932)
Little Children Tom Perrotta (2004)
Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds Scott Weidensaul (1999)
Lost World, The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1912)
Louise Brooks: A Biography Barry Paris (1989)
Love Warps the Mind a Little John Dufresne (1997)
Lovely Bones. The Alice Siebold (2002)
Lying Awake Mark Salzman (2000)
M
Madeleine’s Ghost Robert Girardi (1995)
Main Street Sinclair Lewis (1920)
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand Helen Simonson (2010)
Man Called Ove, A Fredrik Backman (2012)
Mansfield Park Jane Austen (1814)
Map of the World, A Ruth Hamilton (1994)
March, The E.L. Doctorow (2005)
Martian, The Andy Weir (2011)
Mary and O’Neil Justin Cronin (2001)
Maus Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
Mayor of Casterbridge, The Thomas Hardy (1866)
Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris (2000)
Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden (1997)
Midnight Rising Tony Horwitz (2011)
Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil John Berendt (1994)
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Winifred Watson (1938)
Mr. Standfast John Buchan (1919)
Mists of Avalon, The Marion Zimmer Bradley (1982)
Moby Dick Herman Melville (1851)
Mohawk Richard Russo (1986)
Montana 1948 Larry Watson (1993)
Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, The Bill Bryson (1990)
My First Summer in the Sierra John Muir (1911)
My Life in France Julia Child (2005)
My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor Alec Guinness (1996)
My Old Man and the Sea: A Father and Son Sail Around Cape Horn David Hays and Daniel Hays (1995)
Mystery at Lilac Inn, The Carolyn Keane (1931)
N
Naked David Sedaris (1997)
Nana Emile Zola (1880)
Nanny Diaries, The Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (2002)
Namesake, The Jhumpa Lahiri (2003)
Napoleon Paul Johnson (2002)
A New-England Tale Catharine Maria Sedgwick (1822)
Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
Night Elie Wiesel (1958)
Night to Remember, A Walter Lord (1955)
No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, The Alexander McCall Smith (1998)
Nobody’s Fool Richard Russo (1993)
Northanger Abbey Jane Austen (1818)
Notes From a Small Island Bill Bryson (1995)
O
Oblivion Josephine Hart (1995)
October Light Robert Gardner (1976)
Odds, The Stewart O’Nan (2012)
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck (1937)
Old Curiosity Shop Charles Dickens (1841)
Old Glory: A Voyage Down the Mississippi Jonathan Raban (1981)
Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, The Michael Pollan (2006)
On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon Kaye Gibbons (1998)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ken Kesey (1962)
One for the Road Tony Horwitz (1987)
One Good Turn Kate Atkinson (2006)
One-Room Schoolhouse: Stories About the Boys, The Jim Heynen (1993)
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd Jim Fergus (1998)
One True Thing Anna Quindlen (1994)
Outsiders, The S.E. Hinton (1967)
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe Laurence Bergreen (2003)
P
Palace Walk Naguib Mahfouz (1956)
Pastures of Heaven, The John Steinbeck (1932)
Pax Sarah Pennypacker (2016)
Paying Guests, The Sarah Waters (2015)
Peace Like a River Lief Enger (2001)
Pentimento Lillian Hellman (1973)
Perfect Storm, The Sebastian Junger (1997)
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Marjane Satrapi (2003)
Persepolis 2 Marjane Satrapi (2004)
Peyton Place Grace Metalious (1956)
Picture Lillian Ross (1950)
Picture of Dorian Gray, The Oscar Wilde (1891)
Pigs in Heaven Barbara Kingsolver (1993)
Plot Against America, The Philip Roth (2004)
Pompeii Robert Harris (2003)
Praise Song for the Widow Paule Marshall (1983)
Prayer for the Dying, A Stewart O’Nan (1999)
Prep Curtis Sittenfeld (2005)
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen (1813)
Private Alters Katherine Mosby (1995)
Professor and the Madman, The Simon Winchester (1998)
Pure Drivel Steve Martin (1998)
R
Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism and Scott’s Antarctic Quest Sir Ranulph Fiennes (2004)
Rape of Nanking, The Iris Chang (1997)
Reader, The Bernhard Schlink (1999)
Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi (2003)
Reality and Dreams Muriel Spark (1997)
Red Badge of Courage, The Stephen Crane (1895)
Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park Marie Winn (1998)
Reserve, The Russell Banks (2008)
Return of the Native, The Thomas Hardy (1878)
Right Ho, Jeeves P.G. Wodehouse (1934)
Road From Coorain, The Jill Ker Conway (1989)
Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe (1719)
Round House, The Louise Erdrich (2012)
S
Sacred Hunger Barry Unsworth (1992)
San Miguel T.C. Boyle (2012)
Secret Life of Bees, The Sue Monk Kidd (2002)
Secrets of Mary Bowser Lois Leveen (2012)
Series of Unfortunate Events: Books 1-10, A Lemony Snicket (1999-2003)
Series of Unfortunate Events: The End, A Lemony Snicket (2006)
Series of Unfortunate Events: The Penultimate Peril, A Lemony Snicket (2005)
Shadows of Blue & Gray: The Civil War Writings of Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce
Sharpe’s Rifles Bernard Cornwell (1988)
Shipping News, The E. Annie Proulx (1993)
Sights Unseen Kaye Gibbons (1995)
Small Island Andrea Levy (2004)
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory Caitlin Doughty (2014)
Snow Angels Stewart O’Nan (1995)
Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson (1995)
Soloist, The Mark Salzman (1994)
Sparrow, The Mary Doria Russell (1996)
Speed Queen, The Stewart O’Nan (1997)
Spectator Bird, The Wallace Stegner (1976)
Sport of Kings, The C.E. Morgan (2016)
Star Called Henry, A Roddy Doyle (1999)
Started Early, Took My Dog Kate Atkinson (2011)
Storm of Swords, A George R.R. Martin (2000)
Straight Man Richard Russo (1997)
Summerland Michael Chabon (2002)
Sun and Shadow Ake Edwardson (1999)
Sunk Without a Sound: The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde Brad Dimock (2001)
Swamplandia! Karen Russell (2011)
Sweet Hereafter, The Russell Banks (1992)
Sweet Summer Bebe Moore Campbell (1989)
T
Tales of the City Armistead Maupin (1979-1989)
Tambora: The Eruption That Changed the World Gilles D’Arcy Wood (2014)
Tender Bar, The J.R. Moehringer (2005)
Tears of the Giraffe Alexander McCall Smith (2000)
Telegraph Avenue Michael Chabon (2012)
That Old Cape Magic Richard Russo (2009)
Thirty-Nine Steps , The John Buchan (1915)
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War Drew Gilpin Faust (2008)
Three Musketeers, The Alexandre Dumas (1844)
Thunderstruck Erik Larson (2006)
Thurber Carnival, The James Thurber (1944)
Time of Our Singing, The Richard Powers (2003)
To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf (1927)
Tortilla Flat John Steinbeck (1935)
Town Like Alice, A Nevil Shute (1963)
Tracks of Angels, The Kelly Dwyer (1994)
Travels With Charley in Search of America John Steinbeck (1962)
Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Betty Smith (1943)
Trial of Abigail Goodman, The Howard Fast (1993)
Trouble Fay Weldon (1993)
U
Uncommon Reader, The Alan Bennett (2007)
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West Stephen Ambrose (1996)
Underground Railroad, The Colson Whitehead (2016)
Understanding Exposure Bryan Peterson (2004)
V
Van, The Roddy Doyle (1991)
Vernon God Little DBC Pierre (2003)
Virgin Suicides, The Jeff Eugenides (1993)
Voyage Long and Strange, A Tony Horwitz (2008)
W
Walk in the Woods, A Bill Bryson (1998)
Walking Into the River Lorian Hemingway (1992)
War of the Worlds, The H.G. Wells (1898)
War That Saved My Life, The Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (2016)
Warden, The Anthony Trollope (1855)
Washington Square Henry James (1880)
Water for Elephants Sara Gruen (2006)
Way We Live Now, The Anthony Trollope (1875)
Wayward Bus, The John Steinbeck (1947)
Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation Peter L. Bernstein (2006)
Well, The Elizabeth Jolley (1986)
West of Sunset Stewart O’Nan (2015)
Wieland: or the Transformation: An American Tale Charles Brockden Brown (1798)
Wish You Were Here Stewart O’Nan (2002)
Without You, There Is No Us: My Time With the Sons of North Korea’s Elite Suki Kim (2014)
What It Felt Like Henry Allen (2000)
When the Emperor Was Divine Julie Otsuka (2002)
When the Light Goes Larry McMurtry (2007)
Where’d You Go, Bernadette Maria Semple (2012)
White Devils Paul McAuley (2004)
Wishful Drinking Carrie Fisher (2008)
Woman in Black, The Susan Hill (1983)
Woman Who Walked Into Doors, The Roddy Doyle (1996)
Women, The T.C. Boyle (2009)
Wonder Boys Michael Chabon (1995)
Wordy Shipmates. The Sarah Vowell (2008)
Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton Lafleur, The John Gregory Brown (1996)
Writing Class, The Jincy Willett (2008)
Y
Year of Magical Thinking, The Joan Didion (2005)
Yiddish Policeman’s Union, The Michael Chabon (2007)
Year of Silence, The Madison Smartt Bell (1987)
Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine Bebe Moore Campbell (1992)
Z
Zombie Joyce Carol Oates (1995)
2 Things @ Once 