Publication year 2017
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Place, Memory, Justice
Jewish American Literature
Including Pulitzer Prize winners like Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking Maus and Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, the texts in this collection celebrate the literary contributions and stories of Jewish Americans.
The Street
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
The Time Keeper
The Toll
The Triumph of Achilles
The Uses of Enchantment
The View From Saturday
The Way We Live Now
The Western Canon
The Whipping Boy
The Wide Window
The Woods
They Feed They Lion
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Thirteen Reasons Why
This Is Not About Us
This Is Our Youth
Titan
To Night Owl From Dogfish
Tragedy and the Common Man
Publication year 2017
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Place, Memory, Justice
Publication year 1962
Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction
Themes Science & Technology, Community, Order & Chaos
Tags Science & Nature, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Philosophy, World History, Sociology
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) by Thomas Kuhn stands as a seminal work that revolutionized the philosophy of science. As a scholar who shifted his focus from physics to the history of science, and later to the philosophy of science, Kuhn challenged prevailing notions about the nature of scientific progress, introducing concepts such as paradigms, normal science, and scientific revolutions. Situated at the nexus of science, history, and philosophy, Kuhn’s work upended the view... Read The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Aging, Death, Future, The Past
Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Symbolic Narrative, Inspirational
The Time Keeper (2012) by American author Mitch Albom is a fable that explores the themes of Humans’ Relationship with Time, The Need to Live in the Present, and the Acceptance of One’s Mortality. The inventor of the world’s first clock, Dor, is punished for measuring time and banished to a cave for thousands of years where he becomes an ageless Father Time. Eventually, he is granted his freedom with the condition that he must... Read The Time Keeper Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Death, Future, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger
Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Publication year 1985
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Power & Greed, Conflict, Grief
Tags Lyric Poem, Mythology, Confessional, Love & Sexuality, US History, American Literature, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1975
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Literature, Order & Chaos, Mothers, Fathers, Childhood & Youth, Language
Tags Psychology, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Parenting, Love & Sexuality, Philosophy, Philosophy, Literary Criticism, Psychology, Fantasy
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (1976) won acclaims such as the US National Book Award and the National Book of Critics Circle Award. Its author, Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990), was an Austrian-born psychoanalyst and public intellectual who worked primarily in the United States. Bettelheim wrote The Uses of Enchantment to persuade parents and educators that the European fairy tale, with all its fantastical and violent content, was a greater aid... Read The Uses of Enchantment Summary
Publication year 1996
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Teamwork, Loneliness, Friendship, Animals
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Disability, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
The View From Saturday by American author Elaine Lobl Konigsburg was published in 1996 and won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children’s literature in 1997—Konigsburg’s second Newbery Medal. She is one of only six writers to win the award twice (her first was awarded for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in 1968). Prior to becoming a writer of children’s and young adult fiction and publishing over 20 works from... Read The View From Saturday Summary
Publication year 1986
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Fear, Community, Sexual Identity, Grief
Tags LGBTQ+, Health, American Literature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1994
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Art, Beauty, Fame, Literature
Tags World History, Philosophy
Publication year 1986
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship
Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, World History, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
The Whipping Boy is a middle grade historical novel written by American author Sid Fleischman and published in 1986. The novel won the Newbery Medal (awarded by the American Library Association) in 1987. When it was published, Fleischman had already written many books for both young and adult readers, often incorporating his interest in history, and setting books in different locales and time periods. In 1994, the novel was adapted into a film called Prince... Read The Whipping Boy Summary
Publication year 2000
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Childhood & Youth, Death, Family, Good & Evil
Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure
The Wide Window is a middle grade novel first published in 2000. It is published under the name Lemony Snicket, the pen name of novelist, playwright, musician, and screenwriter Daniel Handler. This mock-gothic adventure story blends elements of mystery, humor, and fantasy with a macabre setting in which a family of three orphans—Violet, Sunny, and Klaus Baudelaire—is sent to live with their fearful Aunt Josephine. Throughout the novel, the Baudelaire children must contend with their... Read The Wide Window Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Conflict, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Future, The Past, Family, Social Class, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies
Tags Horror & Suspense
Publication year 1972
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Hate & Anger, Race, Conflict
Tags Free Verse, Race & Racism, Social Class
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Community, Immigration, Nation, Fate, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (2007) is a literary detective novel by American author Michael Chabon. It is set in an alternate history where the United States government created the District of Sitka in Alaska as a temporary refugee settlement for European Jews after the State of Israel was destroyed in 1948. In the novel’s present timeline, Detective Meyer Landsman investigates the murder of his neighbor, Emanuel Lasker, against the backdrop of Sitka’s imminent Reversion to... Read The Yiddish Policemen's Union Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mental Health
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Depression & Suicide, Bullying, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Mental Illness
Tormented by false rumors and betrayals, high-schooler Hannah Baker dies by suicide—but leaves behind a set of tapes for 13 of her classmates explaining how they contributed to her death in Thirteen Reasons Why (2007) by Jay Asher. This suspenseful young adult drama—Asher’s debut novel—was inspired by a close family member who attempted suicide when she was Hannah’s age. She survived and shared with Asher the feelings and events that led to her suicide attempt... Read Thirteen Reasons Why Summary
Publication year 2026
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Memory, Death, The Past, Family, Community, Music
Tags Literary Fiction, Jewish Literature, Contemporary Literature
Publication year 1996
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Apathy, Friendship
Tags Drama
This Is Our Youth is a theatrical play of the realistic fiction genre, written by Kenneth Lonergan. It originally premiered in 1996 off-Broadway. It takes place in the US in 1982, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, and centers around the lives of privileged youth who lack direction and fear The Disillusionment of Adulthood. Lonergan was inspired by his own experiences of listlessness and feeling lost in his youth in the early 1980s, as well as The... Read This Is Our Youth Summary
Publication year 1998
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Fame, Family, Fathers, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Economics
Tags US History, Business & Economics, Finance, Leadership, World History, Biography
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Sexual Identity
Tags LGBTQ+, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor
Publication year 1949
Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction
Themes Social Class, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Literature