Books & Literature

The Dutch philosopher Erasmus said, “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” Why do we value books and literature so highly? This thematic collection gathers books that offer unique insights into the power, energy, and appeal of, well, books!

The Writing Life

by Annie Dillard

Publication year 1989

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Art, Language

Tags Arts & Culture, Biography

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard is a work of creative nonfiction and memoir originally published in 1989 by Harper & Row. As a Pulitzer Prize winning author, Dillard explores the triumphs and struggles of her early writing years while also offering advice and guidance to aspiring writers through imaginative anecdotes. Dillard has called the work “an embarrassing nonfiction narrative,” and she distances herself from all but the final chapter about the pilot, Dave Rahm... Read The Writing Life Summary

The Writing Retreat

by Julia Bartz

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Femininity, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Literature

Tags Horror & Suspense, LGBTQ+, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Writing Retreat Summary

Things in Nature Merely Grow

by Yiyun Li

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Grief, Mothers, Literature

Tags Contemporary Literature, Literary Fiction

Yiyun Li’s 2025 memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, is a work of creative nonfiction that explores the author’s grief after the suicides of her two sons: 16-year-old Vincent in 2017 and 19-year-old James in 2024. In the aftermath of this second, unforeseen tragedy, Li attempts to construct a framework for living within what she terms the “abyss” of her new reality, a permanent state that defies conventional narratives of healing. The memoir continues a... Read Things in Nature Merely Grow Summary

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

by Elena Ferrante

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Fame, Literature, Trust & Doubt, Power & Greed, Nostalgia, Memory, Hate & Anger, Love, Perseverance, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Italian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Relationships, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014) is the third book in pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante’s world-acclaimed adult fiction series The Neapolitan Novels. The four-novel series chronicles the friendship between first-person narrator Elena Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo from childhood to old age in an impoverished neighborhood in Naples, Italy. Translated by Ann Goldstein, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay documents the beginning of middle age, wherein the two women grapple with... Read Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay Summary

Tom Lake

by Ann Patchett

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Love, Coming of Age, Literature, Memory, The Past, Plants, Place

Tags Realistic Fiction, American Literature, Agriculture, Arts & Culture, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

... Read Tom Lake Summary

Troilus and Criseyde

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Publication year 1385

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Love, Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Marriage, Social Class, War, Beauty, Literature, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Classic Fiction, Medieval, Narrative Poem, Romance, Military & War, Education, Education, World History

Troilus and Criseyde is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer written between 1382 and 1386 in Middle English. The poem is divided into five books and features Chaucer’s innovation, the Rhyme royal stanza form, which is a seven-line stanza in iambic pentameter with an ABABBCC rhyme scheme. The poem is set during the Trojan War and tells the tragic story of Troilus, a prince of Troy who falls in love with a young woman named... Read Troilus and Criseyde Summary

True Notebooks

by Mark Salzman

Publication year 2003

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Language

Tags Incarceration, Arts & Culture, Education, Education, Sociology, Biography

True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall is a 2003 nonfiction book by Mark Salzman. In the first three chapters, Salzman, currently writing his latest novel, and stuck, begins volunteering as a writing teacher at Central Juvenile Hall, in Los Angeles. Mark has little connection with the correctional system, and is ambivalent about taking on the role. The facility leaves a powerful impression on Mark; he decides that it might prove to be helpful... Read True Notebooks Summary

Turtle in Paradise

by Jennifer L. Holm

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Fear, Apathy, Memory, Regret, Childhood & Youth, Environment, Plants, Food, Community, Economics, Appearance & Reality, Social Class, Literature, Art, Music, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Friendship, Grandparents, Mothers

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Great Depression, Animals, Realistic Fiction, World History

Turtle in Paradise is a 2010 historical fiction children’s novel by Jennifer L. Holm. Set in the Florida Keys during the Great Depression, the novel follows an 11-year-old girl’s struggles and successes as she visits her aunt and cousins in the town where her mother grew up. The novel won the Golden Kite Award and is a Newbery Honor Book as well as a Junior Library Guild selection. Other works by this author include The... Read Turtle in Paradise Summary

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure

by Dorothy Allison

Publication year 1995

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Family, Gender Identity, Femininity, Masculinity, Race, Good & Evil, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Self Discovery

Tags LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Women`s Studies, Love & Sexuality, Biography

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure is a 1995 memoir by American author and activist Dorothy Allison, a native of Greenville, South Carolina. A coming-of-age story that examines feminism and lesbian identity in the context of the patriarchal norms of the South, the book uses both narrative and photographs to tell the stories of the women in Allison’s family and their complex relationships with the men who both loved and abused them. Her... Read Two or Three Things I Know for Sure Summary

Upstream

by Mary Oliver

Publication year 2016

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Animals, Plants, Place, Self Discovery, Literature

Tags Science & Nature, Classic Fiction

... Read Upstream Summary