How does the era of the book’s composition play into the novel?
Although To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) is set during the 1930s, Harper Lee wrote it in the 1950s, as the civil rights movement became increasingly organized and impactful in the United States; this contemporary context looms over the events of the novel. One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), written during a period of rapid political and social change in many parts of Latin America, explores the phenomenon of historical change in the region through its portrayal of the fictional Buendía family and Macondo, the town the family founds.
Would you want to be friends with the protagonist? Or is the protagonist unlikable? If so, why?
Stephen King is a master of putting everyman characters in extreme circumstances, and The Stand (1978) is no exception. Confronted with the atrocities of a postapocalyptic world, smart, unassuming Stuart Redman transforms into a leader and voice of reason. Jane Eyre (1847) offers an entirely different narrative, but the novel’s first-person point of view allows readers to sympathize with the struggles of the eponymous protagonist.
APPENDICES
THE GREAT AMERICAN READ: 100 BOOKS
BY RELEASE YEAR
1605 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
1678 The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
1726 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
1813 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
1818 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
1844–1846 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
1847 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
1847 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
1951 Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
1861 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
1865 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
1866 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1868 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
1869 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
1890 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
1899 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
1903 The Call of the Wild by Jack London
1908 Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
1922 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
1925 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1926 The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
1929 Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos
1936 Gone with The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
1937 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
1938 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
1939 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
1939 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
1943 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
1943 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
1949 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
1950–1956 The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C. S. Lewis
1951–1993 Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
1951 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
1952 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
1952 Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
1954–1955 The Lord of the Rings Series by J. R. R. Tolkien
1958 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
1959 A Separate Peace by John Knowles
1959 The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
1960 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1961 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
1961 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
1962 Another Country by James Baldwin
1965 Dune by Frank Herbert
1967 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
1967 The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
1969 The Godfather by Mario Puzo
1972 Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
1978 The Stand by Stephen King
1978–2014 Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
1979 Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews
1979 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
1980 The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
1980 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1982 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1984 The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
1985 The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
1985 Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
1986 This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
1987 Watchers by Dean Koontz
1987 Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon
1987 Beloved by Toni Morrison
1987–2003 Hatchet Series by Gary Paulsen
1988 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
1989 Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
1989 Mind Invaders by Dave Hunt
1989 A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
1989 The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
1990 Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
1990–2013 The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
1991-present Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
1993 The Giver by Lois Lowry
1993-present Alex Cross Mysteries by James Patterson
1995–2007 Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
1996–present A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R. R. Martin
1996 The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
1997 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
1997–2007 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
1999 The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
1999 The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
2000 White Teeth by Zadie Smith
2002 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
2003 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
2003 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
2004 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
2005 Looking for Alaska by John Green
2005–2008 Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
2005 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2007 The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
2007 The Shack by William P. Young
2008–2010 The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
2009 The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2011 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
2011–present Fifty Shades Series by E. L. James
2011 (self-published as e-book); 2014 The Martian by Andy Weir
2012 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2013 Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2016 Ghost by Jason Reynolds
THE GREAT AMERICAN READ: 100 BOOKS
BY GENRE
ACTION & ADVENTURE
The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (1980)
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844–1846)
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)
Hatchet Series by Gary Paulsen (1987–2003)
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1951)
COMING OF AGE/YOUNG ADULT
A Separate Peace by John Knowles (1959)
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (1908)
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (1972)
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (1951)
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (1952)
Ghost by Jason Reynolds (2016)
The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)
Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling (1997–2007)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)
Looking for Alaska by John Green (2005)
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton (1967)
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1961)
CHRISTIAN
The Pilgrim’s Progress by
John Bunyan (1678)
This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti (1986)
The Shack by William P. Young (2007)
FANTASY
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C. S. Lewis (1950–1956)
Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov (1951–1993)
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (1999)
The Lord of the Rings Series by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954–1955)
Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon (1991–present)
A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R. R. Martin (1996–present)
Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon (1987)
Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer (2005–2008)
The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (1990–2013)
GOTHIC
Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews (1979)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
HISTORICAL
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005)
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)
Gone with The Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009)
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1985)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (1997)
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (1989)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
HUMOR
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1980)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605)
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut (1959)
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (1978–2014)
LITERARY
Another Country by James Baldwin (1962)
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (2007)
The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah (1999)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (1989)
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943)
White Teeth by Zadie Smith (2000)
MYSTERY & DETECTIVE
Alex Cross Mysteries by James Patterson (1993–present)
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2002)
ROMANCE
Fifty Shades Series by E. L. James (2011–present)
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (1996)
SCIENCE FICTION
Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (2008–2010)
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (1990)
Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (1995–2007)
The Martian by Andy Weir (2011, self-published as e-book); 2014)
Mind Invaders by Dave Hunt (1989)
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011)
The Stand by Stephen King (1978)
Watchers by Dean Koontz (1987)
THRILLERS
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003)
The Godfather by Mario Puzo (1969)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy (1984)
VISIONARY & METAPHYSICAL
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (1988)
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (1922)
WORLD
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1866)
Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos (1929)
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1967)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
RESOURCES FOR READERS
ON DEVICES
Plug in to literary communities from your devices. Visit PBS’s The Great American Read’s website: pbs.org/greatamericanread
LITERARY WEB
Just a few of the wonderful websites that cater to book lovers.
Book Riot: bookriot.com
Celebrating writers, readers, and genres, check out Book Riot for reviews, recommendations, and literary lists.
Electric Literature: electricliterature.com
The literary magazine for the Internet age. Read reviews, browse articles, and read original fiction.
Literary Hub: lithub.com
Daily news about literature and culture, with tons of publishing and bookstore partners.
Los Angeles Review of Books: lareviewofbooks.org
A nonprofit with a magazine and quarterly publication, the LARB also offers reviews and interviews on its website.
The Millions: themillions.com
Founded in 2003, this online magazine focuses on books, arts, and culture.
The Page-Turner: newyorker.com/books/page-turner
Book reviews and features on literature from The New Yorker.
The Paris Review: theparisreview.org
The online arm of the printed review, this is an excellent space for reviews, essays, and interviews by favorite authors.
AUDIO ABOUT BOOKS
Tune into the literary podcast world for reviews of upcoming releases, interviews with favorite writers, and literary news.
All the Books!: Weekly excitement about new book releases, from Book Riot.
Books on the Nightstand: Conversations about books between two publishing vets.
KCRW’s Bookworm: This long-running show features interviews with authors and host Michael Silverblatt.
Literary Disco: Bimonthly book recommendations in a range of genres.
Slate Audio Book Club: A monthly podcast where Slate’s critics discuss new and notable books and book club picks.
SOCIAL BOOKWORMS
Books meet social media! Book clubs go viral. Totally #amreading.
Goodreads: goodreads.com
Display your virtual “read” and “to read” shelves and connect with other readers and authors.
LibraryThing: librarything.com
Check out other users’ libraries and display your own. Even find recommendations from readers who read like you do.
Oprah’s Book Club: oprah.com/app/books.html
Still going strong, visit the website and sign up for a newsletter for Oprah’s picks.
Reese’s Book Club: instagram.com/reesesbookclubxhellosunshine/?hl=en
A book club via Instagram, with selections by actress Reese Witherspoon.
The Rumpus Book Club: therumpus.net/bookclub/
For a fee, join the Rumpus Book Club and get a brand-new read every month, then discuss it online with the group and the author.
AUTHOR SOCIETIES
Alice Walker Literary Society: www.emory.edu/alicewalker/sub-about.htm
The Brontë Society: www.bronte.org.uk/bronte-200/join-the-bronte-society
C. S. Lewis Society of California: www.lewissociety.org
Dickens Society: http://dickenssociety.org
F. Scott Fitzgerald Society: www.fscottfitzgeraldsociety.org
The Hemingway Society: www.hemingwaysociety.org
International Dostoevsky Society: https://dostoevsky.org
International John Bunyan Society: https://johnbunyansociety.org
Jack London Society: https://jacklondonsociety.org
The Jane Austen Society of North America: www.jasna.org
Joseph Conrad Society of America: http://josephconrad.org
The Kurt Vonnegut Society: http://blogs.cofc.edu/vonnegut/vonneguts-life/
The L. M. Montgomery Literary Society: http://lmmontgomeryliterarysociety.weebly.com
The Lewis Carroll Society of North America: www.lewiscarroll.org
Louisa May Alcott Society: www.louisamayalcottsociety.org
The Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario: http://lucymaudmontgomery.ca
Margaret Atwood Society: https://atwoodsociety.org
The Melville Society: http://melvillesociety.org
The Orwell Society: https://orwellsocietyblog.wordpress.com
The Oscar Wilde Society: http://oscarwildesociety.co.uk
The Tolkien Society: www.tolkiensociety.org/author/
The Toni Morrison Society: www.tonimorrisonsociety.org
IN PERSON
Visit historic literary places and surround yourself with literature fans.
BOOK FESTIVALS
There’s nothing better than a day spent with thousands of fellow book lovers. There are countless book festivals across America. Here are a few big ones.
AJC Decatur Book Festival: decaturbookfestival.com
Books by the Banks: Cincinnati Regional Book Festival: booksbythebanks.org
Brooklyn Book Festival: brooklynbookfestival.org
LA Times Festival of Books: latimes.com/books/festivalofbooks/
Miami Book Fair: miamibookfair.com