Books for Book Clubs

The Berkeley Heights Public Library has two book groups. The Evening Book Group's book selections over the years can be found on our website here. The Morning Book Group's lists are here. Librarians are often asked for book recommendations for local book groups. Here is a list of five books that each book group especially enjoyed in the last few years. Please ask our reference librarians if you would like more recommendations for your reading group.

Evening Book Group
 All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
 The Round House by Louise Erdrich
 The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
 We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Morning Book Group
The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah
 A Man Called Ove by F. Backman
 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
 The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
 In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

Other sources to consult for picking a book for a book group:
Reading Group Guides
GoodRead's Book Group Suggestions
Amazon Book Club Picks

Ask Alice

Holidays over, now we can read!

Now that all the relatives are gone and the holidays are over, people ask themselves,
'What should I read in the new year?'
Who better to ask than your local library staff?
And so I asked Alice who works in the Circulation Department of the library, challenging her to list a few good books with a one sentence annotation. Alice recommends the following books that she has read in the last couple of months:
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, "fascinating magic realism on a familiar topic."
Moonglow by Michael Chabon, "a 'fake' memoir of Chabon's grandfather - clever and funny as well as moving."
Napoleon's Last Island by Thomas Keneally, "good historical fiction on a less-known topic."
Out of Bounds by Val McDermid, "well written detective story that keeps you turning pages."
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden,
"Absolutely delightful fantasy based on Russian fairy tales."
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi,  " The African-American experience from two very different view points."

Thanks, Alice!

What I Read in 2016

Best Book  of My Reading Year:
The Risk Pool by Richard Russo.
 I started reading Everybody's Fool, Richard Russo's much anticipated 2016 sequel to Nobody's Fool, but I had to return the book before I finished because it became due and there was a long waiting list. I will get back to that book when I can - Russo books require a fair commitment of time. Meanwhile, I owned a copy of The Risk Pool (1994) that features a shiftless, but charming, character who reminded me of the Sully in Nobody's Fool, one of my favorite books and favorite characters. Reading the Risk Pool over Thanksgiving week was a total immersion experience. It is a slow read, highly recommended for Russo fans, and readers who enjoy a deep dive into character and place, told with a sly, dark wit.

Short Novels, almost Novellas
Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent (Reviewed in this blog)

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich (Reviewed in this blog)

Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith

Mysteries:
Cozies:
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd, a Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley
Smile and Be a Villain, a Dorothy Martin mystery by Jeanne M. Dams
No Corners for the Devil, a Cornish mystery by Olive Etchells
Dearly Departed, an Amy's Travel mystery by Hy Conrad
The Perfect Murder, the 1st Inspector Ghote mystery by H.R.F. Keating
The Darling Dahlias and the 11 O'Clock Ladies by Susan Wittig Albert
Threats at Three by Ann Purser
Dead Bolt (Haunted Home Renovation Mystery, #2) by Juliet Blackwell

Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation (The Grantchester Mysteries #5) by James Runcie

Blood Orange (China Bayles, #24) by Susan Wittig Albert
Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, #3) by Dorothy L. Sayers

Hard-boiled:    
An Obvious Fact (Walt Longmire #12) by Craig Johnson (This is Cowboy genre, not Cozy)
The Highwayman (Walt Longmire, #11.5) by Craig Johnson

Night Passage (Jesse Stone, #1) by Robert B. Parker


 By M.C. Beaton, one of my favorite mystery  authors:
Agatha Raisin Pushing up Daisies (Agatha Raisin, #27)
Death of a Valentine (Hamish Macbeth, #25)
Death of a Nurse (Hamish Macbeth, #31)

By Elly Griffiths:
The Zig Zag Girl (Stephens & Mephisto Mystery, #1) and the second in this new, renamed 'Magic Men' series,  Smoke and Mirrors
The Woman in Blue (Ruth Galloway, #8)

By Agatha Christie:
Black Coffee (Hercule Poirot, #7) by Agatha Christie
Closed Casket, a new Hercule Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah and Agatha Christie


Spies 
A Murder of Quality (George Smiley #2) by John le Carré
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
I started John le Carré’s memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life, but did not have time to finish before the holds list demanded I return the book.
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum (unfinished, this was a long slog and I finally decide to go with the movie versions)
Journey to Munich, a Daisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear
Princess Elizabeth's Spy, a Maggie Hope novel by Susan MacNeal
 
Humor   
By Bill Bryson: (author reviewed on this blog)
The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain by Bill Bryson
Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

The Rosie Project (Don Tillman, #1) by Graeme Simsion
The Diamond Caper by Peter Mayle
The Revolving Door of Life, a 44 Scotland Street novel by Alexander McCall Smith

Read for the Tuesday Library Book Group  
The View from the Castle by Alice Munro
Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Tea with the Fireflies by Shona Patel
    
Thanks to Jane Austen
North By Northanger: Or The Shades of Pemberley (Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries, #3) by Carrie Bebris
Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice (The Austen Project, #4) by Curtis Sittenfeld
  
Medicine and Health (see blog post about reading while sick)

No Laughing Matter by Joseph Heller

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
A Lucky Life Interrupted: A Memoir of Hope by Tom Brokaw
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
   
Fiction, not otherwise classified in this list
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Election by Tom Perrotta 


Children's Books
Beyond the Pawpaw Trees: The Story of Anna Lavinia by Palmer Brown
The Silver Nutmeg: The Story of Anna Lavinia and Toby by Palmer Brown
     
The Secret Garden & A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
   
I am gradually rereading the Harry Potter series:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (#1 in the series) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2 in the series) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3 in the series) by J.K. Rowling

Christmas Books
Mistletoe Murders: and other stories by P.D. James
A New York Christmas by Anne Perry

Related posts from this blog:
What I Read in 2014
My Year of Reading 2013
My Year of Reading 2013, continued
The Year in Books 2012
The Blog Christmas Posts recapped


   

   

   

   

GoodReads Best Books 2016 for Mysteries and Thrillers

Here is the list of the most popular mysteries and thrillers of 2016 according to the GoodReads poll of its readers. Go to the GoodReads website for more lists by genre of the top 2016 books


The GoodReads' Mystery and Thriller 2016 WINNER is:
End of Watch by Stephen King 'The spectacular finale to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes (winner of the Edgar Award) and Finders Keepers—In End of Watch, the diabolical “Mercedes Killer” drives his enemies to suicide, and if Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney don’t figure out a way to stop him, they’ll be victims themselves.'

The Nominees were... (from most popular by GoodReads' votes to least votes)
End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) by Stephen King
A Great Reckoning (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #12) by Louise Penny The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Brotherhood in Death (In Death, #42) by J.D. Robb
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad, #6) by Tana French
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
The Last Mile (Amos Decker, #2) by David Baldacci
The Black Widow (Gabriel Allon, #16) by Daniel Silva
The Widow by Fiona Barton
The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti
The Girl In The Ice (DCI Erika Foster, #1) by Robert Bryndza
The Kept Woman (Will Trent, #8) by Karin Slaughter
Into the Light (The Light, #1) by Aleatha Romig
Play Dead (D.I. Kim Stone, #4) by Angela Marsons
The Queen's Accomplice (Maggie Hope Mystery #6) by Susan Elia MacNeal
Redemption Road by John Hart

Ideas for Book Groups

'What book do you recommend for our book group to read?' is one of our most common questions here at  Berkeley Heights Public Library Reference Department. Here is the list we provided to our two library book groups to select their 2017 reading choices. The annotations are taken from Amazon, our library catalog (marked OPAC), or my own notes (marked 'Anne'). Our book groups will meet in January to brainstorm this list and other titles for consideration for our 2017 reading season.

Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams (2015) 'Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler's problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she's finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.Indomitable heroines, a dazzling world of secrets, champagne at the Paris Ritz, and a sweeping love story for the ages, in New York Times bestselling author Beatriz William's final book about the Schuyler sisters.' –OPAC content

As Good as Gone by Larry Watson (2016) 'It’s 1963, and Calvin Sidey, one of the last of the old cowboys, has long ago left his family to live a life of self-reliance out on the prairie. He’s been a mostly absentee father and grandfather until his estranged son asks him to stay with his grandchildren, Ann and Will, for a week while he and his wife are away. So Calvin agrees to return to the small town where he once was a mythic figure, to the very home he once abandoned.' - Amazon

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain (2016) 'Paula McLain, author of the phenomenal bestseller The Paris Wife, now returns with her keenly anticipated new novel, transporting readers to colonial Kenya in the 1920s. Circling the Sun brings to life a fearless and captivating woman—Beryl Markham, a record-setting aviator caught up in a passionate love triangle with safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen, who as Isak Dinesen wrote the classic memoir Out of Africa.' – Amazon. If your group has not yet read the lyrical classic, Out of Africa, that would make a good pairing with this title. - Anne

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave (2016) “Set in London during the years of 1939–1942, when citizens had slim hope of survival, much less victory; and on the strategic island of Malta, which was daily devastated by the Axis barrage, Everyone Brave is Forgiven features little-known history and a perfect wartime love story inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents.” – Amazon. The author's earlier book Little Bee (2009) is a good choice for groups that have not yet read it. - Anne

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (2015) Many a therapist will tell you that honesty and transparency is the glue that keeps a relationship together. Lauren Groff cleverly turns this concept on its head in Fates and Furies, demonstrating that sometimes it’s what you don’t say—to protect your partner’s vanity, their reputation, their heart—that makes a marriage hum. –Erin Kodicek, Amazon

Glory Over Everything: beyond the Kitchen House by Kathleen Grisson (2016) From the author of the New York Times bestseller and beloved book club favorite The Kitchen House, a novel of family and long-buried secrets along the treacherous Underground Railroad.-Amazon. Our group liked Grisson's earlier work, a fictional account of plantations and slavery, The Kitchen House. - Anne

Grunt, the curious science of humans at war by Mary Roach (2016) “Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries –-- panic, exhaustion, heat, noise --- and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat.” –bookreporter.com. I love wacky and intrepid science reporter Mary Roach. The Tuesday group read Packing for Mars which is a great pairing with The Martian by Andy Weir, which the group read. Generally the groups prefer fiction to non-fiction, but read one or two memoirs or other non-fiction titles per year. - Anne

Guests on Earth by Lee Smith (2013) “It's 1936 when orphaned thirteen-year-old Evalina Toussaint is admitted to Highland Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, a mental institution known for its innovative treatments for nervous disorders and addictions. Taken under the wing of the hospital s most notable patient, Zelda Fitzgerald, Evalina witnesses the cascading events leading up to the tragic fire of 1948 that killed nine women in a locked ward, Zelda among them. Author Lee Smith has created, through her artful blending of fiction and fact, a mesmerizing novel about a world apart a time and a place where creativity and passion, theory and medicine, tragedy and transformation, are luminously intertwined.”- OPAC notes. Lee Smith and her publishing house, Algonquin Books, are favorites of mine and we recommend both to reading groups often. - Anne

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016) 'Effia and Esi are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery.'-Amazon

LaRose, a novel by Louise Erdrich (2016) “North Dakota, late summer, 1999. Landreaux Iron stalks a deer along the edge of the property bordering his own. He shoots with easy confidence—but when the buck springs away, Landreaux realizes he’s hit something else, a blur he saw as he squeezed the trigger. When he staggers closer, he realizes he has killed his neighbor’s five-year-old son, Dusty Ravich.” –Amazon. Louise Erdrich's books are usually a sure bet with our book groups. She does not disappoint. - Anne

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub (2016) 'From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Vacationers, a smart, highly entertaining novel about a tight-knit group of friends from college— and what it means to finally grow up, well after adulthood has set in. Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring.' - Amazon. I loved The Vacationers and would recommend it to book groups looking for a fun summer read; I think Modern Lovers would appeal mostly to an under fifty crowd. - Anne

Mothering Sunday, a romance by Graham Swift (2016) “A luminous, intensely moving tale that begins with a secret lovers’ assignation in the spring of 1924, then unfolds to reveal the whole of a remarkable life. Twenty-two-year-old Jane Fairchild has worked as a maid at an English country house since she was sixteen. For almost all of those years she has been the clandestine lover to Paul Sheringham, young heir of a neighboring house. The two now meet on an unseasonably warm March day—Mothering Sunday—a day that will change Jane’s life forever.” – amazon.com. The book groups have read other titles by Graham Swift which are short, well-written, very understated and discussable. Now I just have to remember which title. hmm - Anne

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid (2014)( an Austen  Project boo - retelling by modern authors) “Internationally best-selling crime writer Val McDermid has riveted millions of readers worldwide with her acutely suspenseful, psychologically complex, seamlessly plotted thrillers. In Northanger Abbey, she delivers her own, witty, updated take on Austen’s classic novel about a young woman whose visit to the stately home of a well-to-do acquaintance stirs her most macabre imaginings, with an extra frisson of suspense that only McDermid could provide.” - Amazon

Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian (2015) “When Orhan’s brilliant and eccentric grandfather, Kemal Türkoglu, who built a dynasty out of making kilim rugs, is found dead, submerged in a vat of dye, Orhan inherits the decades-old business. But Kemal has left the family estate to a stranger thousands of miles away, an aging woman in a retirement home in Los Angeles. Intent on righting this injustice, Orhan unearths a story that, if told, has the power to undo the legacy upon which Orhan’s family is built, a story that could unravel his own future. - Amazon

Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (2015) Based on the story of King David, traces his journey from an obscure shepherd to a hero and king before his fall. Peeling away the myth to bring David to life in Second Iron Age Israel, Brooks traces the arc of his journey from obscurity to fame, from shepherd to soldier, from hero to traitor, from beloved king to murderous despot and into his remorseful and diminished dotage. – OPAC content

Siracusa by Delia Ephron (2016) “New Yorkers Michael, a famous writer, and Lizzie, a journalist, travel to Italy with their friends from Maine—Finn; his wife, Taylor; and their daughter, Snow. “From the beginning,” says Taylor, “it was a conspiracy for Lizzie and Finn to be together.” Told Rashomon-style in alternating points of view, the characters expose and stumble upon lies and infidelities past and present. Snow, ten years old and precociously drawn into a far more adult drama, becomes the catalyst for catastrophe as the novel explores collusion and betrayal in marriage.” – bookreporter.com

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (2015) “Abby and Red Whitshank worry about Denny, their ever-mysterious son. Their other, more accountable grown offspring live nearby with their children, and Jeannie and the son nicknamed “Stem” work for Red, who carried forward his father Junior’s construction company. Retired social worker Abby and Red still live in the handsome, obsessively well-constructed house Junior built for a wealthy client, then slyly managed to make his own. During chaotic family gatherings, disorienting crises, and abrupt domestic reconfigurations (all subtly laced with motifs of blue and Wizard of Oz allusions), simmering resentments and secrets bubble up.” –Booklist

Station Eleven by Emily Mandel St. John (2014) A movie star who's decided to pound the boards as King Lear collapses and dies mid-performance, and shortly thereafter civilization collapses and starts dying as well. The narrative then moves between the actor's early career and a journey through the blasted landscape 15 years after the book's opening events. Indie Next darling Mandel breaks out with a major publisher.- OPAC content

The Ghost Map, The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson (2007) (non-fiction) “It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.” - Amazon

The Girls by Emma Cline (2016) Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence. - Amazon

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (2016) “For the last 20 years, Jean Perdu has been the captain of a floating bookshop in Paris, a so-called literary apothecary where the proprietor can readily diagnose any psychological ills of the hapless readers who board the book barge and efficiently prescribe just the right book or books to address the ailment. If a reader is in search of levity after the loss of a friend or consolation in the wake of a bad breakup, Monsieur Perdu has just the thing.” –bookreporter.com

The Rainbow Comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper (2016) A touching and intimate correspondence between Anderson Cooper and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, offering timeless wisdom and a revealing glimpse into their lives. - Amazon

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (2013) The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers. –Chicago Tribune (Note: I loved this very funny book, a light read and very well done. Especially for fans of the tv show 'The Big Bang Theory'– Anne)

The Sound of Glass by Karen White (mystery) (2016) “Two years after the death of her husband, Merritt Heyward receives unexpected news—Cal’s family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by his reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt.” - Amazon

The Summer Before the War, a novel by Helen Simonson (2016)  “A novel to cure your Downton Abbey withdrawal . . . a delightful story about nontraditional romantic relationships, class snobbery and the everybody-knows-everybody complications of living in a small community.”—The Washington Post. “The bestselling author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand returns with a breathtaking novel of love on the eve of World War I that reaches far beyond the small English town in which it is set.” - Amazon

This is Your Life, Harriet Chance by Jonathon Evison (2015) “With Bernard, her husband of fifty-five years, now in the grave, seventy-eight-year-old Harriet Chance impulsively sets sail on an ill-conceived Alaskan cruise that her late husband had planned. But what she hoped would be a voyage leading to a new lease on life becomes a surprising and revelatory journey into Harriet’s past.” - Amazon

We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas (2014) An epic tale about an Irish American couple and the constraints of the American dream, this first novel is benefiting from tremendous in-house enthusiasm. Eileen Tumulty, raised by her immigrant parents in Woodside, NY, in the 1940s and 1950s, is determined not to settle for some boisterous, glad-handing type. Serious-minded scientist Ed Leary seems exactly the right sort to carry her to the larger world, but their marriage founders as she realizes that he really doesn't care about increasingly bigger, better homes, cars, and jobs. The portrait of a marriage and of a crucial time in American history; great for book clubs. – OPAC content

Coming of Age Books

Coming-of-Age

Try asking people for examples of coming-of-age novels.  Most readers agree that these stories follow the changes experienced as a character matures from youth or adolescence to adulthood.  Perhaps adulthood should not be measured in years, but in a character’s evolving and expanding view of the world.  Maybe it is when the character realizes that he/she is not the center of the world, but a participant.  Scarlett O’Hara took so long to reach that point that I was surprised to find Gone With the Wind on one coming-of-age list.  I think readers could argue if Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird should be replaced on coming-of-age lists by Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman.

Older lists of coming-of-age novels contain books such as Anne of Avonlea, David Copperfield, and The Secret Garden.  Slightly newer lists will contain Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Lord of the Flies, and S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders.  An even newer list will have Nick & Norah’s Playlist, Secret Life of Bees, Kite Runner, Perks of being a Wallflower, Eleanor & Park, About a Boy and Fangirl.  John Green has dominated the market with Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Fault in Our Stars.  J.K Rowling gave us the Harry Potter series and Suzanne Collins created Katnis Everdeen and the Hunger Games trilogy.  We have watched all of these characters mature whether we like or dislike the adults they became.

Although I have read and enjoyed many of the titles mentioned above, my coming-of-age list would include Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Banks, Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford and Montana 1948 by Larry Watson.  It is an eclectic mix, spanning from 17^th century Holland to the mid-century United States. Whatever your definition of coming-of-age novels may be, these books can be enjoyed long after adolescence.

-S. Bakos

Related lists:
Coming of Age books on Goodreads
11 Coming-of-Age Books from the Huffington Post

Flavia Comes of Age

Bildungsroman definition 
Great Coming of Age Novels on Pinterest

Harry Potter Comes of Age

Chick Lit - Not to be confused with Literature

Chiclets

Wikipedia defines chic lit as genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly. Really, a marketing wizard somewhere decided to label a profitable segment of sales with a phrase reminiscent of chiclet candy.  If you don’t remember, chiclets are cute, sweet, minty and come in a variety of pretty colors.  What more could you want in chewing gum or books?  Although chick lit will never be confused with literary fiction (defined by Wikipedia as a term principally used for fictional works that hold literary merit) many authors of books geared to a female audience fall into a larger commercial or mainstream category, defined as somewhere between chick lit and literary masterpieces.  Reviewers and critics should be very cautious in applying the chick lit label to writers presenting a more realistic, balanced and less-escapist approach to issues confronting women.

Putting aside my small chiclet tirade, I read chick lit.  Some of my colleagues would consider that statement to be embarrassing, but I have already confessed in earlier posts to having crazy cats named after the Blues Brothers. Have I ever mentioned my fondness for the two Hellboy movies?  I especially like chick lit during the summer and I prefer series to stand-alones.  The authors listed below, a mix of chick lit and mainsteam/commercial, manage to include laughter, a few serious issues, knowledge of some field I know nothing about (restoration, wine and beer making, dolphins, etc), and love.  Their books hold more than a box of chiclets ever could.

My favorite series:

       Darcy Burke                     Ribbon Ridge

       Mary Alice Monroe         Lowcountry Trilogy (currently 4 books – Lowcountry Wedding just out)

       Wendy Wax                      Ten Beach Road (my new favorite)

       Beth Kendrick                  Black Dog Bay (Once Upon a Wine due in July)

       Kristan Higgins                Blue Heron

Lit Chicks, perhaps less judgmental sounding than Chick Lit,  would also include Jennifer Weiner, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Beth Harbison, Susan Mallery, and Sophie Kinsella.

Happy beach reading.  

-S. Bakos

              

Most Popular Books to Download from eLibraryNJ

Below is a list of 'The 50 Most Viewed Titles' on eLibraryNJ which Berkeley Heights Public Library offers to its patrons as a resource for free downloadable books.  I take this to mean that the following ebooks or e-audiobooks are also the most downloaded, or close enough that I won't quibble with their statistical vocabulary. Anyway, what follows are some popular ebooks at the end of the summer of 2015 in New Jersey. If you use eLibraryNJ to download books, you can put a hold on books that are currently checked out. eLibraryNJ has a free app from Overdrive (the parent company of this resource) for IOS and Android devices. search for Overdrive in your app store.

Rank,Title,Publisher,Format,Views
1,"The Girl in the Spider's Web: A Lisbeth Salander Novel, Continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series",Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,260
2,The Girl on the Train: A Novel,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,240
3,All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel,Scribner,eBook,182
4,The Martian: A Novel,Crown/Archetype,eBook,155
5,The Nightingale,St. Martin's Press,eBook,146
6,What Alice Forgot,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,137
7,If I Could Turn Back Time: A Novel,St. Martin's Press,eBook,132
8,"Alert: Michael Bennett Series, Book 8","Blackstone Audio, Inc.",Audiobook,130
9,Thrill Me,HQN Books,eBook,128
10,"Go Set a Watchman: To Kill a Mockingbird Series, Book 2",HarperCollins,eBook,128
11,Silver Linings: A Rose Harbor Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,123
12,"Torment: Fallen Series, Book 2",Random House Children's Books,eBook,121
13,Wildest Dreams,MIRA,eBook,121
14,In the Unlikely Event,Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,119
15,Kiss Me,HQN Books,eBook,114
16,"The English Spy: Gabriel Allon Series, Book 15",HarperCollins,eBook,114
17,"Otherwise Engaged: Ladies of Lantern Street Series, Book 3",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,114
18,"Beyond Shame: Beyond Series, Book 1","Tantor Media, Inc.",Audiobook,114
19,Purity: A Novel,"Farrar, Straus and Giroux",eBook,112
20,Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian,Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,112
21,"Nemesis: FBI Thriller Series, Book 19",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,105
22,The Stranger,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,103
23,Who Do You Love: A Novel,Atria Books,eBook,103
24,Barefoot Season,MIRA,eBook,103
25,The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony,eBook,100
26,"The Girl in the Spider's Web: Millennium Series, Book 4",Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group,Audiobook,100
27,"The Heir: The Selection Series, Book 4",HarperCollins,eBook,98
28,"X: Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series, Book 24",Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group,Audiobook,94
29,Evening Stars,Harlequin,eBook,94
30,Circling the Sun: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,94
31,The Rumor,"Blackstone Audio, Inc.",Audiobook,91
32,Luckiest Girl Alive: A Novel,Simon & Schuster,eBook,89
33,"Ever After: Nantucket Brides Trilogy Series, Book 3",Random House Publishing Group,eBook,89
34,The Liar,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,89
35,The Girl on the Train: A Novel,Books on Tape,Audiobook,89
36,Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,87
37,X,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,87
38,"Hot Ticket: Sinners on Tour Series, Book 3","Sourcebooks, Inc.",eBook,87
39,The Marriage of Opposites,Simon & Schuster,eBook,87
40,"The Target: Will Robie Series, Book 3","Blackstone Audio, Inc.",Audiobook,87
41,The Confession: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,84
42,"Dark Ghost: Dark Series, Book 27",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,84
43,All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel,Simon & Schuster Audio,Audiobook,84
44,The Taming of the Queen,Touchstone,eBook,84
45,Wonder,Random House Children's Books,eBook,82
46,"Bared to You: Crossfire Series, Book 1",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,82
47,The Aviator's Wife: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,82
48,"Safe at Last: Slow Burn Series, Book 3",HarperCollins,eBook,82
49,Gray Mountain: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,82
50,Me Before You,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,82

What I Read in 2014

Because December is a good time to think back on the year, I was just tidying up my reading journal to see what I read in 2014. What I read was lots of very light mysteries of the type called cozies, with a monthly foray into something a bit more literary for the library book group and the occasional detour into the quirky. I did not read much non-fiction this year, but I did follow up on mystery series that I enjoy,  re-read some classics and discovered some new authors.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Best Holiday Title: A Nantucket Christmas by Nancy Thayer (2013)
Best Rediscovered mystery series: The Riddle of the Third Mile, an Inspector Morse mystery by Colin Dexter (1997)
Best mystery on which a TV series is based: In a Dry Season, a DCI Banks mystery by Peter Robinson (1999)
Best Book Group Selection: The Round House by Louise Erdrich (2012)
Best Sherlock Holmes recreation: 'The Baker Street' series by Michael Robertson (2009 - 2014)
Best Mystery Series Debut: The Outsmarting of Criminals by Steven Riglosi (2014)
Best Books about Bookshops: Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley  (1917) and
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (2014)
Best Summer/Beach Read: The Vacationers by Emma Straub (2014) and Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (2012)
Best Continuation of Classic Mystery: The Monogram Murders, the new Hercule Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah (2014)
Best Re-read Classic: Dubliners by James Joyce (1917)
Best Self-Help: 10% Happier by Dan Harris (2014)
Best Foodie Book or book on which movie was based: The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard Marais (2010)
Best Fixing Up an Old House Memoir: Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett (2005)




My Year of Reading 2013, the first six months
My Year of Reading 2013, the second half
The Year in Books 2012

The Time of Year for Best Book List Roundups

While looking through the library blog, I came across this end of year post from six years ago. It made me realize that those end of  year look-backs are coming to tell us what happened in 2014. What happened to whom and where in the world it happened. For librarians, it's all about what we read and what we can recommend to our readers. So before I get to 2014, take a look at what we were reading not that long ago. If you missed these books, they  will no doubt be waiting on the shelves for you to check out. (Note: some of the links from 2008 no longer work - apologies.)

Best Books Lists 2008  (first posted on 12/26/2008)

Best books lists are typically compiled in November and December each year by various book reviewers. There are lists of best non-fiction, fiction, mystery, science fiction and other genres. There are high-brow lists and lists aimed at recreational readers. There are lengthy, subdivided lists and the punchy best five or best ten lists. The overall effect can be like listening to the weather report, at the end you still don't know what the weather will be like tomorrow. There is just too much information and the mind starts to tune it out. Well, mine does anyhow.

Some library patrons print out best books lists and carry them in their wallets all year, working their way systematically through them. Others produce rumpled scraps of paper with faded or illegibly scribbled titles of books recommended by friends, or heard about on the radio or television. Some people rely on their memory and others just browse the shelves when they get to the library. Some people put themselves on reserve for most bestsellers and others never read bestsellers. Some swear by Oprah picks and others find her taste very depressing.

Fortunately enough books are published each year so that there should be something for everyone. The trick is to figure out what it is. As I was browsing through the New Fiction shelves on Tuesday for myself in anticipation of two days off and optimistically thinking there would be time to read, a patron asked for a recommendation. Since I was stumped myself about what to read next, we looked together. My Director and I recommended the Inn at Lake Devine by one of my favorite authors, Laura Lipman and Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman because the patron seemed to like character-driven, psychological fiction like Jodi Picoult's and Sara Gruen's. I took home Bailey White's holiday stories as told on NPR, Nothing with Strings which was terrific, and Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders as the latest evidence of my 2008 addiction to the Grande Dame of Mysteries.

Take a look at these end of year lists to find what you plan to read in 2009 or come ask at the Reference Desk and we'll see if we can come up with a list made just for you.

NPR, the Complete Holiday Book Recommendations 2008

Amazon's Top 100 Editors Picks and the Top 100 Customer Favorites

Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year

Louisa Ermelino writes in PW, "There were the authors we expected to deliver, and they did: Louise Erdrich with The Plague of Doves, Richard Price with Lush Life, Jhumpa Lahiri with Unaccustomed Earth, Lydia Millet with How the Dead Dream. A breakthrough surprise about cricket, Netherland by Joseph O'Neill, delighted us, while Tim Winton's Breath took ours away. We listened to our elders in How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People; thought about our planet with The Soul of the Rhino; examined our history in The Hemingses of Monticello and Abraham Lincoln: A Life; and, thanks to Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, we even considered Jesus for President."

The PW Fiction list starts with Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News? the third novel featuring PI Jackson Brodie which I just started and expect to be as good as the first two.

Library Journal's Best Books 2008

The New York Times 10 Best Books 2008

USA Today's list of 10 Books We Loved Reading in 2008 probably coincides most closely with my own tastes because it includes Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows which I enjoyed and which both appear on several other lists.

Sure Bets for Readers

What to Read: Sure Bets (originally posted March 27, 2013) 

or how does the librarian know what her patrons want to read next?

'Sure bets' according to librarian Joyce Saricks in her 'At Leisure' column in the December 1, 2012 Booklist are,
'titles and sometimes authors that appeal to a wide range of readers, that fly off displays, and that we turn to when our minds go blank and we can't think of anything to suggest to a waiting reader. These aren't current best-sellers but, rather, older titles we treasure.'

However you define it, every reference librarian likes to have certain books to recommend for each type of reader that will be available on the shelf. That's why bestsellers don't fit into this category very well. If a patron NEEDS a book to read RIGHT NOW, recommending a book with a weeks-long waiting list is probably not a helpful suggestion.

Of the books and authors Ms. Saricks recommends, I agree that for fun non-fiction, Mary Roach and Bill Bryson might work for readers who like science (Roach's 'Packing for Mars' is very funny and informative) and who like just plain laugh-out-loud writing (Bryson's 'A Walk in the Woods' has been very well-received by many patrons I have recommended it to.)

Here are some 'sure bets' I have recommended and heard back from readers who enjoyed them:

For readers who want an action/adventure type of mystery, Stuard Woods' Florida-based mysteries deliver a good page-turning experience with a tough-guy edge and a little sex but not too much gore.

For readers who like dark mysteries, try Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch police procedurals set in Los Angeles. Readers who liked the TV series 'The Wire' would be a good fit for this author.

For readers who want cozy, reassuring, character-based novels, our Library Director has had success recommending Mary Ann Shaffer's 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel pie Society'. Unfortunately the author died before the book was published so this is a stand-alone title. But if readers like this historical cozy, they might enjoy Adriana Trigiani's 'Big Stone Gap' series based in West Virginia.

Trigiani falls almost in the 'chic lit' category but without the shopping aspect. For more good writing in the chic lit genre, try anything by Jennifer Weiner.

Some readers are WWII fans, for them recommend 'Unbroken, a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption' by Lauren Hillenbrand.

My favorite genre is cozy mystery, so if I find a fellow cozy fan who has not yet discovered Alexander McCall Smith's 'Number One Ladies Detective Agency' series, I can feel confident that reader is going to have a lot of good reading ahead of her.

Putting the right book in the right hands at the right time that suits the reader's mood just that that moment is a great feeling. What are some of your sure bets?

Browsing the New Non-Fiction Shelf

Working in a library presents constant temptation when new books come in or when browsing through the stacks and happening upon books that look too good to pass up. Like everyone else though, librarians and library staff can't read everything even though we work surrounded by thousands of books. Here are some interesting finds from the new non-fiction shelf today. Check them out and let me know how you like them. Be sure to come in and browse the new books sections for more tempting titles.
'The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook' by Christina Dymock. Fall seems like a good time of year to dust of the old crock pot (now called a slow cooker) and create some yummy stews, soups and even desserts. 641.5884 DYM 

'The Mom Inventors Handbook, how to turn your great idea into the next big thing' by Tamara Monosoff. Do you wake up at night with nifty ideas that you just know would sell if you just knew how to market it, get the copyright and so on? This is the book for  you. 658.1 MON

'Treat Petites, tiny sweets and savory pleasures' by Fiona Pearce. Teeny, tiny desserts, so small they barely count calorie-wise, right? The pictures in this little cookbook will make you hungry enough to either run to a bakery or whip up a batch of cute little cupcakes or meringues. 641.86 PEA

'I Just Graduated... Now What? Honest answers from those who have been there' by Kathrerine Schwarzenegger. 646.7 SCH For the perennial problem of what to do with a liberal arts degree as well as for any college graduate, celebrities offer stories from their own career experiences. I think parents should hand this kind of book to kids before they pick their major, but this advice may be better late than never.

Quality of Books Declining: not a new complaint

Whenever I hear that the quality of books is declining, I think of the essay by Washington Irving written over 200 years ago that posits that very complaint. It is not a new complaint at all. Is it even true?
Read excerpts of Irving's thoughts in this blog post 'The Mutability of Literature' from a year ago.
http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-mutability-of-literature.html

Take a look at the New York Times bestseller lists back to the 1950's on the Hawes Publications site, 

then take a look at this list of the Harvard Classics (which can all be downloaded free from this OpenCulture website.) The list of Harvard Classics volume by volume follows. (Courtesy of Wikipedia states the Open Culture website.) What do you think? Do the New York Times bestseller lists have anything to compare to the Harvard Classics?

Vol. 1: FRANKLIN, WOOLMAN, PENN
His Autobiography, by Benjamin Franklin
The Journal of John Woolman, by John Woolman (1774 and subsequent editions)
Fruits of Solitude, by William Penn
VoTexts in the Harvard Classics collection (courtesy of Wikipedia):
l. 2. PLATO, EPICTETUS, MARCUS AURELIUS
The Apology, Phaedo, and Crito, by Plato
The Golden Sayings, by Epictetus
The Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius
Vol. 3. BACON, MILTON’S PROSE, THOS. BROWNE
Essays, Civil and Moral, and New Atlantis, by Francis Bacon
Areopagitica and Tractate of Education, by John Milton
Religio Medici, by Sir Thomas Browne
Vol. 4. COMPLETE POEMS IN ENGLISH, MILTON
Complete poems written in English, by John Milton
Vol. 5. ESSAYS AND ENGLISH TRAITS, EMERSON
Essays and English Traits, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Vol. 6. POEMS AND SONGS, BURNS
Poems and songs, by Robert Burns
Vol. 7. CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE, IMITATIONS OF CHRIST
The Confessions, by Saint Augustine
The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis
Vol. 8. NINE GREEK DRAMAS
Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Furies, and Prometheus Bound, by Aeschylus
Oedipus the King and Antigone, by Sophocles
Hippolytus and The Bacchae, by Euripides
The Frogs, by Aristophanes
Vol. 9. LETTERS AND TREATISES OF CICERO AND PLINY
On Friendship, On Old Age, and letters, by Cicero
Letters, by Pliny the Younger
Vol. 10. WEALTH OF NATIONS, ADAM SMITH
The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith
Vol. 11. ORIGIN OF SPECIES, DARWIN
The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin
Vol. 12. PLUTARCH’S LIVES
Lives, by Plutarch
Vol. 13. AENEID, VIRGIL
Aeneid, by Virgil
Vol. 14. DON QUIXOTE, PART 1, CERVANTES
Don Quixote, part 1, by Cervantes
Vol. 15. PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, DONNE & HERBERT, BUNYAN, WALTON
The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan
The Lives of Donne and Herbert, by Izaak Walton
Vol. 16. THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
Stories from the Thousand and One Nights
Vol. 17. FOLKLORE AND FABLE, AESOP, GRIMM, ANDERSON
Fables, by Aesop
Children’s and Household Tales, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen
Vol. 18. MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA
All for Love, by John Dryden
The School for Scandal, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
She Stoops to Conquer, by Oliver Goldsmith
The Cenci, by Percy Bysshe Shelley
A Blot in the ‘Scutcheon, by Robert Browning
Manfred, by Lord Byron
Vol. 19. FAUST, EGMONT, ETC. DOCTOR FAUSTUS, GOETHE, MARLOWE
Faust, part 1, Egmont, and Hermann and Dorothea, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Dr. Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe
Vol. 20. THE DIVINE COMEDY, DANTE
The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri
Vol. 21. I PROMESSI SPOSI, MANZONI
I Promessi Sposi, by Alessandro Manzoni
Vol. 22. THE ODYSSEY, HOMER
The Odyssey, by Homer
Vol. 23. TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST, DANA
Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Vol. 24. ON THE SUBLIME, FRENCH REVOLUTION, ETC., BURKE
On Taste, On the Sublime and Beautiful, Reflections on the French Revolution, and A Letter to a Noble Lord, by Edmund Burke
Vol. 25. AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ETC., ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES, J.S. MILL, T. CARLYLE
Autobiography and On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill
Characteristics, Inaugural Address at Edinburgh, and Sir Walter Scott, by Thomas Carlyle
Vol. 26. CONTINENTAL DRAMA
Life is a Dream, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Polyeucte, by Pierre Corneille
Phèdre, by Jean Racine
Tartuffe, by Molière
Minna von Barnhelm, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
William Tell, by Friedrich von Schiller
Vol. 27. ENGLISH ESSAYS: SIDNEY TO MACAULAY
Vol. 28. ESSAYS: ENGLISH AND AMERICAN
Vol. 29. VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE, DARWIN
The Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles Darwin
Vol. 30. FARADAY, HELMHOLTZ, KELVIN, NEWCOMB, ETC
The Forces of Matter and The Chemical History of a Candle, by Michael Faraday
On the Conservation of Force and Ice and Glaciers, by Hermann von Helmholtz
The Wave Theory of Light and The Tides, by Lord Kelvin
The Extent of the Universe, by Simon Newcomb
Geographical Evolution, by Sir Archibald Geikie
Vol. 31. AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BENVENUTO CELLINI
The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
Vol. 32. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS
Essays, by Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
Montaigne and What is a Classic?, by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
The Poetry of the Celtic Races, by Ernest Renan
The Education of the Human Race, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Letters upon the Aesthetic Education of Man, by Friedrich von Schiller
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, by Immanuel Kant
Byron and Goethe, by Giuseppe Mazzini
Vol. 33. VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
An account of Egypt from The Histories, by Herodotus
Germany, by Tacitus
Sir Francis Drake Revived, by Philip Nichols
Sir Francis Drake’s Famous Voyage Round the World, by Francis Pretty
Drake’s Great Armada, by Captain Walter Bigges
Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Voyage to Newfoundland, by Edward Haies
The Discovery of Guiana, by Sir Walter Raleigh
Vol. 34. FRENCH AND ENGLISH PHILOSOPHERS, DESCARTES, VOLTAIRE, ROUSSEAU, HOBBES
Discourse on Method, by René Descartes
Letters on the English, by Voltaire
On the Inequality among Mankind and Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar, by Jean Jacques Rousseau
Of Man, Being the First Part of Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes
Vol. 35. CHRONICLE AND ROMANCE, FROISSART, MALORY, HOLINSHEAD
Chronicles, by Jean Froissart
The Holy Grail, by Sir Thomas Malory
A Description of Elizabethan England, by William Harrison
Vol. 36. MACHIAVELLI, MORE, LUTHER
The Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli
The Life of Sir Thomas More, by William Roper
Utopia, by Sir Thomas More
The Ninety-Five Theses, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, and On the Freedom of a Christian, by Martin Luther
Vol. 37. LOCKE, BERKELEY, HUME
Some Thoughts Concerning Education, by John Locke
Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists, by George Berkeley
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, by David Hume
Vol. 38. HARVEY, JENNER, LISTER, PASTEUR
The Oath of Hippocrates
Journeys in Diverse Places, by Ambroise Paré
On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals, by William Harvey
The Three Original Publications on Vaccination Against Smallpox, by Edward Jenner
The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever, by Oliver Wendell Holmes
On the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery, by Joseph Lister
Scientific papers, by Louis Pasteur
Scientific papers, by Charles Lyell
Vol. 39. FAMOUS PREFACES
Vol. 40. ENGLISH POETRY 1: CHAUCER TO GRAY
Vol. 41. ENGLISH POETRY 2: COLLINS TO FITZGERALD
Vol. 42. ENGLISH POETRY 3: TENNYSON TO WHITMAN
Vol. 43. AMERICAN HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
Vol. 44. SACRED WRITINGS 1
Confucian: The sayings of Confucius
Hebrew: Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes
Christian I: Luke and Acts
Vol. 45. SACRED WRITINGS 2
Christian II: Corinthians I and II and hymns
Buddhist: Writings
Hindu: The Bhagavad-Gita
Mohammedan: Chapters from the Koran
Vol. 46. ELIZABETHAN DRAMA 1
Edward the Second, by Christopher Marlowe
Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
Vol. 47. ELIZABETHAN DRAMA 2
The Shoemaker’s Holiday, by Thomas Dekker
The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson
Philaster, by Beaumont and Fletcher
The Duchess of Malfi, by John Webster
A New Way to Pay Old Debts, by Philip Massinger
Vol. 48. THOUGHTS AND MINOR WORKS, PASCAL
Thoughts, letters, and minor works, by Blaise Pascal
Vol. 49. EPIC AND SAGA
Beowulf
The Song of Roland
The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel
The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs
Vol. 50. INTRODUCTION, READER’S GUIDE, INDEXES
Vol. 51. LECTURES
The last volume contains sixty lectures introducing and summarizing the covered fields: history, poetry, natural science, philosophy, biography, prose fiction, criticism and the essay, education, political science, drama, travelogues, and religion.