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Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (c. 1466-1536) was one of the most influential Renaissance humanists, and his 1509 satire Praise of Folly has become his best-known and most popular work. Originally written in Latin, the book is presented as a long speech or “declamation” delivered by a personified Folly. Erasmus uses the character of Folly as a mouthpiece to criticize and to poke fun at the foibles of human nature in general as well as many... Read Praise Of Folly Summary

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Rich People Problems, a contemporary romantic comedy of manners, was published in 2017. It is the third and final book in Kevin Kwan’s “Crazy Rich Asians” trilogy, which includes the first installment, the eponymous Crazy Rich Asians (2013), and the second, China Rich Girlfriend (2015). Crazy Rich Asians was adapted into a film, released in 2018 and starring Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh. The film was a box-office success.Plot SummaryRich People Problems opens with the... Read Rich People Problems Summary

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Slaughterhouse-Five is a 1969 science fiction novel written by the American author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The novel deals with anti-war themes and time travel while centering its narrative around the bombing of Dresden, Germany during World War II. Slaughterhouse-Five is considered one of the most important anti-war and science fiction novels of the 20th century and has been adapted into films, theatre productions, and radio plays. Plot SummaryThe narrative of Slaughterhouse-Five is told in a... Read Slaughterhouse-Five Summary

“Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby” is a short story by American author Donald Barthelme. Originally published in a 1973 issue of The New Yorker, it was later included in Barthelme’s 1976 anthology, Amateurs. The narrative follows the extended and absurd deliberation of a group of friends about how to hang their friend for committing an unnamed offense. With the friends embodying a range of logistical roles and viewpoints concerning the act... Read Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby Summary

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Gary Shteyngart’s 2010 novel Super Sad True Love Story is a futuristic tale of love, mortality, family, and technology. In the tradition of science fiction and apocalyptic storytelling, Shteyngart creates a world full of all-consuming technology that distracts from the fall of America and the rise of a new global economy. Told through the diaries of an old-timey Russian Jewish protagonist, Lenny Abramov, and the online messages of his youthful Korean-American love interest, Eunice Park... Read Super Sad True Love Story Summary

Tenth of December: Stories (2013) is American author George Saunders’s fourth short story collection. Saunders is widely regarded as one of the modern masters of the short story form, and this collection features stories written between 1995 and 2012, some of which were previously published in various literary outlets. The book was a bestseller and was widely praised on release, winning both the Story Prize and the Folio Prize. This guide refers to the 2013... Read Tenth of December Summary

Originally published in 1994, Thank You for Smoking is a political satire novel centered around Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for the fictional Academy of Tobacco Studies, an organization founded by the tobacco industry with the true purpose of countering negative scientific data and public condemnation of tobacco. Nick’s job has made him a pariah, as he has humiliated everyone from grieving relatives of cancer victims to federal employees. He also must watch his back, as... Read Thank You for Smoking Summary

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The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, by Mordecai Richler, originally published in 1959, follows the exploits of a working-class Jewish boy growing up in a turbulent neighborhood and family in Montreal, Canada. Told in four parts, the novel chronicles Duddy’s relentless pursuit of higher social status and monetary success. Duddy travels on both sides of the law in his business dealings, keeping company with moguls and outlaws alike. He ends up working in industries that he... Read The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Summary

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, published in 1968, is a debut novel by Ayi Kwei Armah, one of the most noteworthy writers of postcolonial Ghana. Armah was born in Takoradi, Ghana, in 1939. He was educated at schools in Ghana and private institutions in America, including Harvard University. He has also worked as a translator, scriptwriter, and a university lecturer.The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born focuses on life in post-independence Ghana and... Read The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born Summary

Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, published in 1987, is a critically acclaimed, sprawling saga of the vivid world of New York City in the 1980s. Modeled after Charles Dickens’s socially realistic novels, the book is a satire on the excesses and disparities of New York society. Powered by diverse, opinionated characters and iconic locations, the plot follows the wealthy, married Manhattan investment broker Sherman McCoy as his American Dream begins to unravel. Sherman’s... Read The Bonfire of the Vanities Summary

Written in the late 1300s, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is one of the greatest surviving works of Middle English literature, and was a huge influence on later writers from Shakespeare to Keats, among many others.This guide refers to Neville Coghill’s modern English translation (Penguin, 2003).Plot SummaryThe Canterbury Tales tells the story of a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury to visit the holy shrine of St. Thomas Becket. This is a story... Read The Canterbury Tales Summary

The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde, is a story about forgiveness, love, and the clash of Old World and New World beliefs. Through a satirical approach, Wilde highlights the shortcomings of each set of beliefs and how the characters overcome those shortcomings to bridge the two worlds.The story begins with Hiram Otis and Lord Canterville discussing the ghost that haunts Canterville Chase, where the Otis family will be living. When they arrive, they find a... Read The Canterville Ghost Summary

When the story begins, a man named Erwin Martin, who never smokes, is buying cigarettes. Mr. Martin works for a company called F & S, where he is in charge of the filing department. Mr. Martin has already been contemplating—and planning—the murder of a coworker for over a week. Two years prior, a woman named Ulgine Barrows joined F & S, where she quickly proposed changes to the department—changes that Mr. Martin finds intolerable.Later, as... Read The Catbird Seat Summary

John Collier (1901-1980) is best known for his short stories, many of which are constructed as fantastic parables of modern day life. He also wrote poetry and screenplays, and was a developer for the television show “The Twilight Zone.” “The Chaser” first appeared in his short story collection Fancies and Goodnights, which won the 1952 Edgar Award and the 1952 International Fantasy Award. It is a cautionary parable of love, capitalism, and the wisdom of... Read The Chaser Summary