"Nothing can be said to be certain," wrote Ben Franklin, "except death and taxes." And yet, death is often ignored, dismissed, or delayed as an experience worth contemplating—until we are forced to reckon with it head-on. The books in this collection do their own reckoning.
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 1986
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Community
Tags Self Help, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Humor, Philosophy, Inspirational
In his compilation of essays, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum studies the simplicity embedded in everyday experiences. First published in 1989, this collection captivated a global audience, becoming a cultural touchstone as a #1 New York Times bestseller and selling over 7 million copies. Fulghum draws from his life experiences to craft this collection of essays. This collection, which falls within the self-help, motivational, and personal transformation genres... Read All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Summary
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Siblings, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Music
Tags Grief / Death, Canadian Literature
All My Puny Sorrows, originally published in Canada in 2014, is a work of fiction by Canadian author Miriam Toews. Since its publication, the novel has won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and been shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Folio Prize for Literature, and the Wellcome Book Prize. In 2021, Michael McGowan directed and produced the novel’s film adaptation. All My Puny Sorrows is in large part inspired by autobiographical events from... Read All My Puny Sorrows Summary
Publication year 1929
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: War, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Military / War, Historical Fiction, WWI / World War I, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
All Quiet on the Western Front is a 1929 novel by Erich Maria Remarque which details the experiences of German soldiers at the frontlines of World War I. At the heart of the novel are graphic portrayals of trench warfare and the psychological trauma inflicted on the soldiers as a result. The novel presents a realistic portrait of a horrific war and provides unflattering accounts of the elite classes responsible for such mass destruction. The... Read All Quiet on the Western Front Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Relationships: Teams, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty
Tags History: World, Arts / Culture, Biography
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Objects, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Publication year 2025
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Memoir / Autobiography, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Grief / Death
Publication year 1998
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Publication year 2017
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Lyric Poem, Religion / Spirituality, Christian literature
Publication year 1961
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Colonialism, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags African Literature, Education, Education, African American Literature, French Literature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Ambiguous Adventure is a 1961 novel by author Cheikh Hamidou Kane. The plot of this novel mirrors much of Kane’s life, including his birth in Senegal and studies in Paris. The version used for this guide is the 2012 edition from Melville House Publishing.Ambiguous Adventure discusses the duality of man within the context of colonial and postcolonial societies. The novel splits the colonized and the colonizer into two distinct and opposing cultures: The former (the... Read Ambiguous Adventure Summary
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Fantasy, Mythology, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
American Gods is a 2001 fantasy novel by English author Neil Gaiman. Blending folklore, mythology, religion, and American culture, the novel brings together gods from disparate cultures and times as they reckon with an existential threat. The novel has been adapted for television, and Gaiman has expanded the American Gods universe with indirect sequels such as Anansi Boys. The book won critical acclaim and many awards, including the 2002 Nebula and Hugo awards, two of... Read American Gods Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Self Discovery
Tags Religion / Spirituality, Self Help, Biography, Memoir / Autobiography, Depression / Suicide
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Humor
Anansi Boys is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman, written in 2005. It is set within the same world as his earlier novel American Gods and shares the title character of Anansi. In 2006, the novel won both the Locus Award and the British Fantasy Society Award. Anansi Boys deals with themes of family, duality, and storytelling, drawing from West African mythology and archetypes to create a story rooted in the here and... Read Anansi Boys Summary
Publication year 1978
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Humor
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Gothic Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2015
Genre Novella, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Literary Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Contemporary Literature
Publication year 1989
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Historical Fiction, Natural Disaster, Education, Education, Classic Fiction
Isabel Allende’s “And of Clay Are We Created” is the final piece in her short story collection The Stories of Eva Luna. The collection, originally published in 1989 and printed in English in 1991, chronicles the tales that the writer Eva Luna tells her lover Rolf Carlé as they rest in bed. Allende fashions Eva Luna after Scheherazade, a key character in the framing narrative for the multi-tale Middle Eastern epic One Thousand and One... Read And of Clay Are We Created Summary
Publication year 1939
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Society: Colonialism
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modernism, Classic Fiction
Published in 1939, And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, best-selling novelist of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. With over 100 million copies sold, And Then There Were None is the world’s best-selling crime novel as well as one of the best-selling books of all time. It has had more adaptations than any other work by Agatha Christie, including television programs, films, radio broadcasts, and most... Read And Then There Were None Summary
Publication year 1766
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Lyric Poem, Animals, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Children's Literature, Humor, Classic Fiction