The Red Pony by John Steinbeck was published in installments from 1933 to 1936, as a novella in 1937, and in a short story collection, The Long Valley, in 1945. Steinbeck drew upon his experience living in the Salinas Valley. The four stories that make up The Red Pony are considered works of classic literature and bildungsroman, or coming-of-age stories. Steinbeck also wrote the screenplay for the 1949 film adaptation of The Red Pony, and... Read The Red Pony Summary

Brian Goldstone’s There Is No Place for Us (2025) is a work of narrative nonfiction that documents the intersecting lives of five working-class Black families struggling to find secure housing in modern Atlanta, Georgia. Through immersive, multiyear reporting, the book follows single mothers and couples as they navigate a landscape of soaring rents, extended-stay motels, and systemic barriers that push them into being unhoused despite their full-time employment. The book explores several themes, including The... Read There Is No Place for Us Summary

There’s Always This Year is a collection of essays and poems published in 2024 by acclaimed poet and memoirist Hanif Abdurraqib. Acclaimed for its experimental format and exploration of the intersection of race and sports in America, There’s Always This Year explores the influence of basketball on the author’s life as he navigates the cultural and practical struggles involved in being Black in America. Abdurraqib particularly reflects on his relationship with basketball superstar LeBron James... Read There's Always This Year Summary

Published in 2025, The Rest of Our Lives is a work of literary fiction by British-American novelist Ben Markovits. The novel traces narrator Tom Layward’s haphazard attempts to orient to middle age. When Tom drops off his daughter at college, he makes the impromptu decision to continue driving across the country by himself. Throughout his unplanned journey, Tom reflects on his unhappy marriage, his controversial beliefs, and his professional disappointments. Written from Tom’s first-person point... Read The Rest of Our Lives Summary

The Rise of Silas Lapham is an 1885 Realist novel by William Dean Howells. The novel tells the story of Silas Lapham, who rises from poverty but struggles to grasp the social etiquette of elite American society. Howells is credited with establishing Realism as a literary genre in America. Realist novels such as The Rise of Silas Lapham were a response to the time period’s Sentimental novels, which Howells opposed. The novel explores themes of... Read The Rise of Silas Lapham Summary

The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen, features sixteen-year-old Jessica Carlisle as its protagonist and first-person narrator. After setting a personal record in the 400-meter dash at a track meet, Jessica’s team bus is struck by another vehicle, resulting in the death of one student and the loss of Jessica’s leg. The story encompasses Jessica’s coming-of-age as she learns to adapt to changes in her life and overcome the significant challenges of having a physical... Read The Running Dream Summary

Sandman Omnibus Volume 1 is an collection of the first 37 issues of DC’s Sandman comic plus the one-shot Sandman Special by Neil Gaiman, which ran from 1989 to 1996. This volume features a range of artists including:Sam Keith, Michael Dringenberg , Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli, Kelley Jones, Charles Vess, Colleen Doran, Steve Parkhouse, Shawn, McManus, Bryan Talbot, Matt Wagner, Mark Buckingham, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, P.Craig Russell, Stan Woch, Dave McKean... Read The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1 Summary

In the early hours of June 22, 2024, a man in a blood-soaked tuxedo walks into a Rio de Janeiro police station to confess. The novel rewinds to trace the events that brought him there.Dante, the first-person narrator, is a young gay man from Pingo d'Água, a small town in the Brazilian state of Paraná. In 2018, he moves to Rio de Janeiro with three childhood friends: Miguel, a medical student; Hugo, a talented but... Read The Secret Dinner Summary

Elizabeth Arnott’s 2026 thriller, The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives, is a work of historical fiction set against the social and political turmoil of 1966 California. The novel follows three women, Beverley, Elsie, and Margot, who have formed an unlikely friendship after their husbands were convicted as some of the state’s most notorious serial killers. Living under a cloud of public shame and suspicion, the women decide to use their unique, hard-won knowledge of male... Read The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives Summary

Written by Irish American author Tana French, The Secret Place (2014) combines elements of thrillers and police procedurals and follows Dublin detectives Stephen Moran and Antoinette Conway as they pursue new leads in a year-old murder case on the grounds of a private Catholic boarding school. As the detectives sort through hidden pieces of evidence and conflicting stories, they interview two groups of female students who provide only partial, often conflicting stories. The murder victim... Read The Secret Place Summary

The Setting Sun (1947), by Japanese author Osamu Dazai, tells the story of a declining aristocratic family in post-World War II Japan. The narrative is presented from the perspective of Kazuko, a young woman from a once-prosperous family, and chronicles her experiences as her family falls into ruin. The novel explores themes involving The Decline of the Old Order in Japanese society, The Lingering Effects of Trauma, and The Persistence of Optimism. This guide uses the... Read The Setting Sun Summary

Jenny Jackson, a veteran book editor and author of the best-selling debut novel Pineapple Street (2023), returns with The Shampoo Effect (2026), a work of contemporary fiction that blends social satire and romantic drama. The story follows Caroline Lash, a 28-year-old writer who quits her New York publishing job to accept a fellowship in the insular seaside town of Greenhead, Massachusetts. As an outsider, she’s both fascinated and alienated by the town’s social dynamics, particularly... Read The Shampoo Effect Summary

Jasmine Warga’s The Shape of Thunder explores the aftermath of a devastating school shooting. The relationship of Cora and Quinn, neighbors and best friends, is strained when Quinn’s older brother, Parker, murders Cora’s older sister, Mabel, at their high school. They rediscover their friendship when Quinn and Cora attempt to time travel to stop the shooting. The Shape of Thunder received a Goodreads Choice Award and was shortlisted for the 2021 Goodreads Best Middle Grade... Read The Shape of Thunder Summary

Annie Proulx’s novel The Shipping News (1993) is a work of literary fiction that earned both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award. The story follows Quoyle, a large, ineffectual third-rate newspaperman from upstate New York. After a series of personal calamities, including the deaths of his parents and his cruel, unfaithful wife, Quoyle moves with his two young daughters and paternal aunt to their ancestral home on the stark coast of... Read The Shipping News Summary

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway that was first published in Cosmopolitan in 1936. It explores themes of power and dominance, courage and cowardice, and the nature of masculinity. The story details a hunting party and love triangle in which a husband, a wife, and their hired huntsman struggle for dominance and power over one another. This guide references the collection The Snows of Kilimanjaro... Read The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber Summary

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris is a psychological thriller and crime novel published in 1988. The novel follows FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling as she becomes increasingly involved in the investigation of serial killer Buffalo Bill. The book is the sequel to Harris’s 1981 novel Red Dragon and includes several continuing characters, like the serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The novel won the 1988 Bram Stoker Award and 1989 Anthony Award for Best... Read The Silence Of The Lambs Summary

J.K. Rowling has published seven novels in the Cormoran Strike mystery series under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, beginning in 2013 with The Cuckoo’s Calling. The Silkworm was released in 2014 as the second installment of the series. The novel received praise for its intricate plotting and satirical take on the publishing industry, though it also drew criticism for its controversial portrayals of gender and graphic imagery. Set in the London literary world, The Silkworm satirizes... Read The Silkworm Summary

The Sirens is British-Australian author Emilia Hart’s second book, published in 2025. Both this and Hart’s debut novel, Weyward (2023), were New York Times bestsellers. The Sirens was also selected as a Good Morning America book club pick, a LibraryReads selection, and an Indie Next pick. The novel weaves together the stories of three different women, connected across time, from 1800 to 2019. Through their narratives, Hart explores themes including Female Connections as Protective Influence... Read The Sirens Summary

The Sisters (2025) is a work of literary autofiction by acclaimed Swedish author Jonas Hassen Khemiri, whose novel The Family Clause (2018) was a finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature. His first novel to be written in English, The Sisters follows the lives of the three Swedish Tunisian Mikkola sisters as they navigate adulthood from the turn of the millennium onward. Their story is framed by the obsessive recollections of a writer... Read The Sisters Summary

The Skin I’m In is a 1998 middle-grade novel by American author Sharon G. Flake. A Coretta Scott King Honor Book, The Skin I’m In follows 13-year-old Maleeka Madison III and her struggle with self-confidence while being bullied for her dark complexion. Guided by the new and unusual English teacher, Miss Saunders, Maleeka hones her talent for creative writing and develops self-love. The text explores such themes as bullying, poverty, grief, and beauty standards. Other... Read The Skin I'm In Summary