SuperSummary Staff Picks

Browse our Staff Picks Collection to find your next reading recommendation, courtesy of our own team of book lovers. With selections ranging from nonfiction titles to plays, poetry, and novels, this diverse Collection has something to offer every literature lover.

Hard Times

by Studs Terkel

Publication year 1970

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Memory, Social Class, Shame & Pride, Race, Loneliness

Tags US History, Great Depression, Poverty, Depression & Suicide, American Literature, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Biography, Politics & Government

... Read Hard Times Summary

Hell Bent

by Leigh Bardugo

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Good & Evil, Appearance & Reality

Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Hell Bent Summary

Highland Mary

by Robert Burns

Publication year 1792

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Grief, Memory, Death, Place

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, British Literature, Romanticism, Age of Enlightenment

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Hooked

by Emily McIntire

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Revenge, Family, Gender Identity, Self Discovery, Good & Evil

Tags Fairy Tale & Folklore, Romance, Horror & Suspense

... Read Hooked Summary

Indecent

by Paula Vogel

Publication year 2015

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Love, Language, Race, Death, Teamwork, Immigration, War, Equality, Literature

Tags Drama, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Jewish Literature, Gender & Feminism, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature

... Read Indecent Summary

I Write What I Like

by Steve Biko

Publication year 1978

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice, Politics & Government, Community, Colonialism

Tags Race & Racism, History: African , Politics & Government, Social Justice, Philosophy, Philosophy, World History, Biography

... Read I Write What I Like Summary

Less

by Andrew Sean Greer

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity

Tags LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor

Written by Andrew Sean Greer and published in 2017, Less is a satirical comedy novel. It portrays the journey of Arthur Less, who after a difficult breakup plots a round-the-world trip to better understand himself. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Plot SummaryApproaching 50, Arthur Less sits in a hotel lobby waiting to be picked up for a literary event. He is a writer and will be interviewing another writer, albeit a sci-fi author... Read Less Summary

Letters from Cuba

by Ruth Behar

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Perseverance, Race, Self Discovery, Immigration, Friendship

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Latin American Literature, Jewish Literature, Race & Racism, Holocaust, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History

... Read Letters from Cuba Summary

Lift Every Voice and Sing

by James Weldon Johnson

Publication year 1900

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Grief, Equality, Joy, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Justice, Nation, The Past, Future, Race, Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Inspirational, African American Literature, American Literature, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, US History

... Read Lift Every Voice and Sing Summary

Measure For Measure

by William Shakespeare

Publication year 1604

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Justice, Good & Evil, Sexual Identity, Forgiveness, Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, Jacobean Era, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature

Measure for Measure is a play written by William Shakespeare. It was first performed in 1604 and is considered one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” because of its ambiguous tone that shifts between tragedy and comedy. Shakespeare was a prolific poet and playwright during the Elizabethan and Jacobean era. While his earlier works were primarily comedies and histories, Measure for Measure was written during the period in which Shakespeare began to write many of his most... Read Measure For Measure Summary

Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius

Publication year 180

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Fate, Perseverance, Good & Evil

Tags Philosophy, Ancient Rome, Philosophy, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Biography, Self-Improvement, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Meditations is a collection of prose philosophical reflections and exercises composed in Koine Greek by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who lived from 121-180 and ruled from 161-180. Though the precise dating of his compositions is unknown and they are not believed to be presented in chronological order, at least some of the books were written while he was on military campaign in the north of Europe during his reign. Scholars are generally in consensus that... Read Meditations Summary

Meg Merrilies

by John Keats

Publication year 1818

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Environment, Aging, Femininity

Tags Lyric Poem, British Literature, Science & Nature

“Meg Merrilies” (sometimes titled “Old Meg she was a gipsy” or simply “old Meg”) is a short, playful ballad by the English Romantic poet John Keats. It was written on Keats’s walking tour of northern England and Scotland in 1818. At the time, Keats was worried about the health of his brother, Tom, and about his own health; the tuberculosis that would soon kill Tom had already begun to manifest in Keats. While his doctor... Read Meg Merrilies Summary

Nana

by Émile Zola, Transl. Gerhard Krüger

Publication year 1880

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Social Class, Nation, Fame, Beauty, Power & Greed, Femininity, Masculinity

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Love & Sexuality, Realism, Realistic Fiction, Naturalism, Social Class, European History, French Literature

... Read Nana Summary

NOS4A2

by Joe Hill

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Family, Death

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

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Old Pond

by Basho

Publication year 1686

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Animals, Environment, Place, Nostalgia

Tags Asian Literature, Lyric Poem, Japanese Literature, Animals

Many scholars agree that “Old Pond” (1686) by Matsuo Bashō is one of the most—if not the most—famous haiku of all time. The term “haiku” translates as “play verse,” and though “Old Pond” appears whimsical and simple—a frog jumping into water and the subsequent splash—Bashō utilizes various literary devices such as key words and onomatopoeia to ensure this three-line poem is both didactic and enjoyable. “Old Pond” is instructional, especially for its use of common... Read Old Pond Summary

Packing for Mars

by Mary Roach

Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Space, Equality, Teamwork, Place, Gender Identity, Science & Technology

Tags Science & Nature, Humor, US History, Technology, World History

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is one of several bestselling nonfiction works by science writer and humorist Mary Roach. Published in 2010, the work focuses on the human side of space travel and offers behind-the-scenes accounts of peculiar and taboo topics such as sex, vomit, and toilets in space. Roach writes from a candid, outsider’s point of view and demystifies some of the grandeur of space travel by reporting... Read Packing for Mars Summary

Plum Bun

by Jessie Redmon Fauset

Publication year 1928

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Gender Identity, Coming of Age

Tags Harlem Renaissance, Classic Fiction, Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Gender & Feminism, Arts & Culture, African American Literature, Women`s Studies, American Literature, Historical Fiction

Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral recounts the story of a young Black woman in the 1920s who decides to pass as white. Ostensibly a coming-of-age story, the novel features a complex treatment of racial barriers and gender inequalities. While the trajectory of the novel is straightforward and relatively typical for the bildungsroman—young woman leaves home, discovers herself through a series of obstacles she must overcome, and finally learns how to... Read Plum Bun Summary