Books inspire us. They make us laugh and make us cry. Reading affords us many rich and varied experiences, opening our hearts to new ideas daily. Reading together, we find instances to relate literature to our daily lives (*see blog post “You Are What You Read”).
“Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean.”
– Anne Lamott
Reading quality literature expands our minds and hearts in ways that both educate and evolve our humanity. To share our reading lists is to share a little bit of our souls. I have divided the kids’ reading lists into age/grade years (September-May) for easy searching. My annual reading lists are at the bottom of this page.
Please email and ask us about any of the titles listed. I am sure you will get a robust response!
“It is what you read when you don’t have to, that determines who you will be when you can’t help it.”
– Oscar Wilde
Oliver’s Reading List: 2023-2024, (Grade 12, age 17-18)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackery; For the Love of Physics by Walter Lewin and Warren Goldstein; Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon; A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking; Why I Want a Wife by Judy Brady; The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln; Far From Home: Latino Baseball Players in America by Tim Wendel and Jose Luis Villegas; Moon Beams Sliding (poetry) by Lynne Rey; Foster by Claire Keegan; The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; A Modern Proposal by Jonathan Swift; The Importance of Being Ernest (play) by Oscar Wilde; Believe by Dan Zadra & Kobi Yamada; Tiffany’s Table Manners by Walter Hoving; Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (again); A Country is not a Company by Paul Krugman; Bible, New Testament; Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly; Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill;
Oliver’s Reading List: 2022-2023, (Grade 11, age 16-17)
Ninety Percent Mental by Bob Tewksbury and Scott Miller; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; Dog Songs (poetry) by Mary Oliver; Brave Companions by David McCullough; The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough; A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens; The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann; Standard High School Chemistry by Greg Landry; The Visit by Mark Kimball Moulton; Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; The Red Pony by John Steinbeck; Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck; The Age of Elegance: John Singer Sargent (Phaidon Press); Trees (poetry) by Joyce Kilmer; Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand; The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin; We Dream of Oysters (poetry) by Lynne Rey; Newportant People by Willian Heydt; The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran; Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf by Ben Hogan; Painting as a Pastime by Winston S. Churchill; Harry Truman by Arva Moore Parks; Standard High School Chemistry by Greg Landry; Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon; Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh; Water to Water by David Dewey.
Sophia’s Reading List: 2021-2022, (Grade 12, age 17-18)
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe; Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield; Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys; Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur; Painting as a Pastime by Winston S. Churchill; City of Thieves by David Benioff; Henri Matisse by Clement Greenberg; Van Gogh by Gerald E. Finley; Handbook of Paintings, The Frick Collection by Richard di Liberto; Dans la Lumiere de Vermeer, Musée de L’Orangerie, Paris; Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces at the Musee d’Orsay, Arch Cape Press, NY; Race your Boat Right by Arthur Knapp, Jr. ; Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki ; Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury; Standard High School Chemistry by Greg Landry; Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon; A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann; MacBeth by William Shakespeare; Honey, I Love (poetry) by Eloise Greenfield; Matisse by Harry N. Abrams; Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers; Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells; The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde; In Her Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, edited by Helena Hunt; Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer.
Sophia’s Reading List: 2020-2021, (Grade 11, age 16-17)
Priceless by Robert K. Whittman; Native Son by Richard Wright; The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros; Lord of the Flies by William Golding; Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Witch by Lisa Lister; What Liberal Media: The Truth About Bias and the News by Eric Alterman; Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane; Me Before You by Jojo Moyes; Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway; Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert F. Kennedy; The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd; How to Be an American by Silvia Hidalgo; Tonight we Bombed the U.S. Capitol by William Rosenau; The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman; Winning in One-Designs by Dave Perry; I Used to Have a Plan by Alessandra Olanow; A Nation of Immigrants by John F. Kennedy; The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Sophia’s Reading List: 2019-2020, (Grade 10, age 15-16)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne; Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau; Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky; One Special Summer by Jacqueline and Lee Bouvier; Provenance by Laney Salisbury; The Salt and the Sea by Ruta Sepetys; Christmas with Norman Rockwell by John Kirk; No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thurnberg; The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton; Great Essays in Science by Martin Gardner; How to Read Water by Trista Gooley; Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes; Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert F. Kennedy; Night by Elie Wiesel; The Polio Hole: The Story of the Illness that Changed America by Shelley Fraser Mickle; The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline; The Keeper of Lime Rock: Story of Ida Lewis by Lenore Skomal; Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman; A Separate Peace by John Knowles; Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Oliver’s Reading List: 2021-2022, (Grade 10, age 15-16)
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley; The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams; The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poetry) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert F. Kennedy; How to Be an American by Silvia Hidalgo; Native Son by Richard Wright; Mind Gym by Gary Mack with David Casstevens; A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn; City of Thieves by David Benioff; Looking for a Full Ride by Renee Lopez; The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams; The Confident Athlete by Tami Matheny; The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry; The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told by Jeff Silverman; Committed by Walter Beede, Bryan Eisenberg, & Colter Bostick; Ninety Percent Mental by Bob Tewksbury and Scott Miller; Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Oliver’s Reading List: 2020-2021, (Grade 9, age 14-15)
The Confident Athlete by Tami Matheny; Mind Gym by Gary Mack with David Casstevens; The Polio Hole: The Story of the Illness that Changed America by Shelley Fraser Mickle; Lord of the Flies by William Golding; Blue Chip Kids by David W. Bianchi; Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker; Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown; Animal Farm by George Orwell; Dear Martin by Nic Stone; Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane; The Life You Imagine by Derek Jeter; How Noah’s Flood Shaped Our Earth by Michael J. Oard and John K. Reed; Character is Destiny by John McCain; The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt; The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman; Helium (poetry) by Rudy Francisco; A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
Sophia’s Reading List: 2018-2019, (Grade 9, age 14-15)
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls; Eggs by Jerry Spinelli; The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; The Odyssey by Homer (abridged, Geraldine McCaughrean); A Thousand Mornings (poetry) by Mary Oliver; The Odyssey (Homer) a graphic novel by Gareth Hinds; Helium (poetry) by Rudy Francisco; The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel by Derek Ruiz illustrated by D. Sampere; Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman; Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach; Zofietka by E. Robert Thomas; Longitude by Dava Sobel; Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku; Lois Lowry’s The Giver; Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry; The Story of the World: The Modern Age by Susan Wise Bauer; The Princess Bride by William Goldman; The Physics of Everyday Things by James Kakalios; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson; A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking; The Color of Water by James McBride; A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett; Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Oliver’s Reading List 2019-2020 (grade 8, age 13-14)
The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne; The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton; Ask a Science Teacher by Larry Scheckel; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by B. Alire Sáenz; Spy School: British Invasion by Stuart Gibbs; How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery; Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes; Rhode Island Baseball: The Early Years by Rick Harris; The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank; Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff; A Separate Peace by John Knowles; Learning How to Learn by B.Oakley, Ph.D. and T. Sejnowski, PhD
Sophia’s Reading List: 2017-2018, (Grade 8, age 13-14)
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech; The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson; The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson; Elfin-Mount by Hans Christian Anderson; The Marsh King’s Daughter by Hans Christian Anderson; The Storks by Hans Christian Anderson; The Nightingale by Hans Christian Anderson; The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Anderson; The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson; The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Anderson; The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson; The Swineherd by Hans Christian Anderson; The Flying Trunk by Hans Christian Anderson; The Leaping March by Hans Christian Anderson; The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweeper by Hans Christian Anderson; The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson; The Naughty Boy by Hans Christian Anderson; Poached by Stuart Gibbs; Jane Goodall by Roberta Edwards; Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson; The Help by Kathryn Stockett; Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting; Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth; Big Game by Stuart Gibbs; Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd; Old Yeller by Fred Gipson; Animal Farm by George Orwell; Blue Chip Kids: Money, Investing, and the Stock Market by David Bianchi; A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn; The Martian by Andy Weir; Louis Braille by Margaret Davidson
Sophia’s Reading List: 2016-2017, (Grade 7, age 12-13)
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse; The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White; I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai; Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs; Alcatraz Believe it or Not by T.C. Baker; The Brooklyn Bridge by Megan Stine; The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl; Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt; Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech; Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell; Evil Spy School by Stuart Gibbs; Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling; Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume; The Cay by Theodore Taylor; Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor; Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling; Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery; Are You There God?It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Oliver’s Reading List 2018-2019 (grade 7, age 12-13)
All the Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket; Spy Ski School by Stuart Gibbs; Space Case by Stuart Gibbs; Spaced Out by Stuart Gibbs; The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; The Well by Mildred D. Taylor; The Odyssey (Homer) a graphic novel by Gareth Hinds; Born to Play: My Life in the Game by Dustin Pedroia; The Odyssey by Homer (abridged, Geraldine McCaughrean); Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman; Zofietka by E. Robert Thomas; Poached by Stuart Gibbs; Longitude by Dava Sobel; Bubble by Stewart Foster; The Story of the World: The Modern Age by Susan Wise Bauer; Honey, I Love (poetry) by Eloise Greenfield; Spy School Goes South by Stuart Gibbs; HOOT by Carl Hiaasen; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson; Into the Magic Shop by James R. Doty; The Baseball Fan’s Treasury of Quotations: an Anthology by Hatherleigh Press; American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg; Genius by Derek Jeeter
Oliver’s Reading List 2017-2018 – (Grade 6, age 11-12)
Jim and Me by Dan Gutman; Jane Goodall by Roberta Edwards; Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson; The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech; Abner and Me by Dan Gutman; Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting; Spy School by Stuart Gibbs; Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs; Evil Spy School by Stuart Gibbs; The Crims by Kate Davies; Old Yeller by Fred Gipson; The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; Moo by Sharon Creech; Blue Chip Kids: Money, Investing, and the Stock Market by David Bianchi; A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn; Louis Braille by Margaret Davidson
Sophia’s Reading List: (Grade 6, age 11-12)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (abridged); E is for Ethics by Ian James Corlett; The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; Land of Stories Book 4: Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer; Grace by Mary Casanova; Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan; Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli; Theras and His Town by Caroline Dale Snedeker; The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien; Who is Michelle Obama by Megan Stine; Who was Milton Hershey by James Buckley, Jr.; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll; Who is Malala Yousafzai by Dinah Brown; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling; The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume; Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling; A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (poetry); Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis; Leonardo Da Vinci by Roberta Edwards; Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling; Smile by Raina Telgemeier; Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary; The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by George Beard and H. Hutchins; Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Yona Zeldis McDonough; Who was Dr. Seuss? By Janet B. Pascal; Spy School by Stuart Gibbs; Space Case by Stuart Gibbs; Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White; Jackie Robinson By Gail Herman, John O’Brien; The World Series by Gail Herman and Scott Anderson; Sally Ride by Megan Stine; King Tut by Roberta Edwards; Queen Elizabeth by June Eding
Sophia’s Reading List: (Grade 5, age 10-11)
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; The Witches by Roald Dahl; Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse; Moby Dick by Herman Melville; Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle; American Tall Tales: Paul Bunyan; Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis; Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor; Wonder by R. J. Palacio; Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket; When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket; Shouldn’t You Be in School? by Lemony Snicket; Land of Stories Book 1 The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer; Land of Stories Book 2 A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer; Land of Stories Book 3 The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell Boyce; Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers; Number the Stars by Lois Lowry; The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani; The Misfits by James Howe; Rapunzel, the One with all the Hair by Wendy Mass; Sleeping Beauty, the One who Took the Really Long Nap by Wendy Mass; RUMP: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff; A Year Without Autumn by Liz Kessler; Sisters by Raina Telgemeier; BFG by Roald Dahl
Oliver’s Reading List 2016-2017 – (Grade 5, age 10-11)
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse; The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White; The Cay by Theodore Taylor; Wonder by R.J. Palacia; Ranger Rustler by David A. Kelly; The Grand Canyon by Jim O’Connor; Wrigley Riddle by David A. Kelly; Blubber by Judy Blume; The World Series by Gail Herman (2x!); Alcatraz Believe it or Not by T.C. Baker; Holes by Louis Sachar; Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor; What Were The Twin Towers by Jim O’Connor; Theodore Roosevelt by Michael Burgan; The March on Washington by Kathleen Krull; The Fanatics Guide to Golf by Roland Fiddy; Babe and Me by Dan Gutman; Honus and Me by Dan Gutman; Shoeless Joe and Me by Dan Gutman; Jackie and Me by Dan Gutman; Mickey and Me by Dan Gutman; Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell; Satch and Me by Dan Gutman; Willie and Me by Dan Gutman; The Kid Who Ran for President by Dan Gutman; The Kid Who Became President by Dan Gutman; When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead; The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis ; Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling; King of the Mound: My Summer with Satchel Paige by Wes Tooke; Ted and Me by Dan Gutman ; Ray and Me by Dan Gutman; Born to Play: My Life in the Game by Dustin Pedroia and Edward Delaney
“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”
– C.S. Lewis
Oliver’s Reading List 2015-2016 – (Grade 4, age 9-10)
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo; Caught Stealing by Jake Maddox; Jackie Robinson Strong: Inside and Out by Denise Lewis Patrick; Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo; What is the World Series by Gail Herman; Michelle Obama by Megan Stine; Who is Derek Jeter? by Gail Herman; Bunnicula by James Howe and Deborah Howe; Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (abridged); E is for Ethics by Ian James Corlett; A Strong Right Arm by Michelle Y. Green; Jacques Cousteau by Nico Medina; Masters of Disaster by Gary Paulsen; George Lucas by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso; Pearl Harbor by Patricia Brennan Demuth; What was the March on Washington by Kathleen Krull; The Great Depression by Janet B. Pascal; The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by G. Beard, H. Hutchins; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling; Red Sox Rhymes (poetry) by Dick Flavin; The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey; Who Was King Tut? by Roberta Edwards; Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume; Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling; Who Were the Wright Brothers? By James Buckley Jr.; Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis; The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Oliver’s Reading List: (Grade 3, age 8-9)
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (abridged); The Witches by Roald Dahl; Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse; Moby Dick by Herman Melville (abridged); Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle; American Tall Tales: Paul Bunyan; Biography of Sally Ride by Megan Stine; Neil Armstrong by Roberta Edwards; The Philly Fake by David A. Kelly; The Wrigley Riddle by David A. Kelly; The LA Dodger by David A. Kelly; The SanFrancisco Splash by David A. Kelley; The Missing Marlin by David A Kelly; The Pinstripe Ghost by David A Kelly; The Astro Outlaw by David A Kelly; The All-Star Joker by David A. Kelly; The Underground Railroad by Yona Zeldis McDonough; Race to the Moon by Allison Lassieur; Alvin Ho by Lenore Look; Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl; The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl; The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl; Esio Trot by Roald Dahl; The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
“I’m not saying that you have to be a reader to save your soul in the modern world. I’m saying it helps.”
– Walter Mosley
“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.”
― Anna Quindlen
Lynne’s Reading Lists (Jan- Dec, by year)
LR | 2024 *in progress
Writers & Lovers by Lily King; Tiffany’s Table Manners by Walter Hoving; Go as a River by Shelley Read; The Importance of Being Ernest (play) by Oscar Wilde (2x); Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman; The Way Forward by Yung Pueblo; Big Two-Hearted River by Earnest Hemingway; Little by Little by Taj Arora; Happy Place by Emily Henry;
LR | 2023
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell; The Red Pony by John Steinbeck; Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck; Mercury Presents by Anthony Marra; Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni; Cape Cod Surprise by Carol Newman Cronin; Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney; Born to Rise by Kim Fuller; Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano; Newportant People by William Heydt; Trees (poetry) by Joyce Kilmer; Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand; Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson; Grace by Cody Keenan; Foster by Claire Keegan; The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shefak; The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams; Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan; So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan; A Modern Proposal by Jonathan Swift; The Importance of Being Ernest (play) by Oscar Wilde; Believe by Dan Zadra & Kobi Yamada;
LR | 2022
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan; Mink River by Brian Doyle; Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon; The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles; Tropic of Squalor (poetry) by Mary Karr; How to Love the World (poetry) edited by James Crews; Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod; A Thousand Mornings (poetry) by Mary Oliver; How to Not Always Be Working by Marlee Grace; Rules of Civility by Amor Towles; The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy; The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab; The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles; In Her Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, edited by Helena Hunt; Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland; Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris; The Woozle Beast by John Benson; Dog Songs (poetry) by Mary Oliver; Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus; Brave Companions by David McCullough; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; Of Cats and Men by Sam Kalda; A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens; Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin; Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout; Me Without You by Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar; My Mother’s Secret by J.L. Witterick; The Visit by Mark Kimball Moulton
LR | 2021
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout; More Than Enough by Kara Stevenson Anderson; Sea Wife by Amity Gaige; The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; Bear Town by Fredrik Backman; What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer (poetry); The Midnight Library by Matt Haig; A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza; Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng; I Used to Have a Plan by Alessandra Olanow; Dusk Night Dawn by Anne Lamott; A Promised Land by Barack Obama; The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman; Where You Go is Not Who You’ll Be by Frank Bruni; How to Be an American by Silvia Hidalgo; Dipped In It by Bethany Harvey; Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell; Four Winds by Kristin Hannah; Shakespeare: The World as a Stage by Bill Bryson; The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett; Beach Read by Emily Henry; Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery; West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge; The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys; Frank: Sonnets by Dianne Seuss; Deacon King Kong by James McBride; Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley; Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho
LR | 2020
No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thurnberg; The Dutch House by Ann Patchett; Love & Misadventure by Lang Leav (poetry); Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes; Uncommon Stories by Tom Hanks; The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk W. Johnson; The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank; Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover; Finding Wonders by Jeanine Atkins; The Presidents of the United States of America by the White House Historical Association; A Separate Peace by John Knowles; Night by Elie Wiesel; Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal; The Polio Hole: The Story of the Illness that Changed America by Shelley Fraser Mickle; The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman; The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger; Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple; You Never Forget Your; First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe; The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion; Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck; The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George; The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman; A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler; Lullabies by Lang Leav (poetry); The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells; A Glorious Space by Julie Bogart; Lord of the Flies by William Golding; The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah MacKenzie; The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate; Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo; The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes; Cassoulet Saved Our Marriage by Caroline M Grant/Lisa Catherine Harper; The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
LR | 2019
Becoming by Michelle Obama; Longitude by Dava Sobel; The Story of the World: The Modern Age by Susan Wise Bauer; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; Into the Magic Shop by James R. Doty, MD; Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson; Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield; Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens; Becoming Wise: An inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett; The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart; Lolita by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov; Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann; The Library Book by Susan Orlean; Creative Schools by Lou Aronica and Ken Robinson; My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante; The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (again!); Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi; The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne; Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen; The Keeper of Lime Rock: Story of Ida Lewis by Lenore Skomal; Thirteen Days by Robert F. Kennedy; In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway; How to be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery; Brooklyn by Colm Toíbín; The Nutcracker by Alexander Dumas; Christmas with Norman Rockwell by John Kirk; Christmas Poems and Stories (Portland House)
LR | 2018
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway; Ernest Hemingway on Writing edited by Larry W. Phillips; Red Notice by Bill Browder; Cortadito by Enrique Fernández; The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide; Poems from the Book of Hours by Rainer Maria Rilke; FINDING by Kim Fuller; Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown; Painting as a Pastime by Winston S. Churchill; Old Yeller by Fred Gipson; The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin; Honey, I Love (poetry) by Eloise Greenfield; The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls; A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles; A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn; Helium (poetry) by Rudy Francisco; The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown; Blue Chip Kids: Money, Investing, and Stock Market by David Bianchi; The Black Count by Tom Reiss; Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders; Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott; Letters to my Daughter by Maya Angelou; Felicity (poetry) by Mary Oliver; Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman; The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya; A Thousand Mornings (poetry) by Mary Oliver; The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith; The Odyssey by Homer (abridged/Geraldine McCaughrean); Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach; The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott; West With the Night by Beryl Markham
LR | 2017
Tomorrow is Now by Eleanor Roosevelt; Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance; The Cay by Theodore Taylor; The Space Between Sisters by Mary McNear; The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman; Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown; Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling; Sutton by J.R. Moehringer; A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn; Make Someone Happy: Favorite Postings by Elizabeth Berg; The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin; Party of the Century by Deborah Davis; Sail Cowabunga! A Family’s Ten Years at Sea by Janis Couvreux; Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote; The Patient in Room Nine Says He’s God by Louis M. Profeta, MD; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood; Stop Here, This is the place: A Year in Motherhood by Susan Conley and Winky Lewis; Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson; The Miniaturist: A Novel by Jessie Burton; The Wright Brothers by David McCullough | Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting; The Sun and Her Flowers (poetry) by Rupi Kaur; It’s Up to the Women by Eleanor Roosevelt
LR | 2016
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway; A Moveable Feast by E. Hemingway; The Paris Wife by Paula McLain; Voyaging with Kids by Behan Gifford, Sara Dawn Johnson, Michael Robertson; Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen; Circling the Sun by Paula McLain; To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion by Philip Greene; The Historian’s Daughter by Rashida Murphy; The Sellout by Paul Beatty; Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse; The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White; The Pearl by John Steinbeck; Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell; The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway; Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
LR | 2015
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr; The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd; To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (2nd read); The Mockingbird Next Door by Marja Mills; Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee; The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff; Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne; The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland; Don Quixote (2nd read) by Miguel Cervantes; The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (3rd read)
LR | 2014
Brave Companions by David McCullough; Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter; The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal; The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld by Justin Hocking; Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline; Middlemarch by George Elliot; My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith; Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse; Moby Dick by Herman Melville; Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
LR | 2013
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson; Life after Life by Kate Atkinson; Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray; The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey; Alice Munro’s Runaway; East of Eden by John Steinbeck; Me, Who Dove into the Heart of the World by Sabina Berman; Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt; Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane; The Sound and the Fury by Wm Faulkner; Glitter and Gold by Consuela Vanderbilt Balsan; Strapless by Deborah Davis; Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire; Breathe by Kelly Kittel; The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer
LR | 2012
Priceless by Robert Whittman; Day for Night by Frederick Keiken; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker; Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell; The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga; The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis; Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert; Consuelo and Alva by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart; A Clean Well Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway; The Education of a Lifetime by Robert Khayat; A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra; Old Filth by Jane Gardam; The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam; Provenance by Laney Salisbury; Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson; Wait til Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin
LR | 2011
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese; Don Quixote by Cervantes; The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht; State of Wonder by Ann Patchett; Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch; Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot; The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer; In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larsen; The Greater Journey by David McCullough; Rape of Europa by Lynn Nicholas; The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell
LR | 2010
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann; The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig; Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout; The Known World by Edward P. Jones; The Lost City of Z by David Grann; The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton; Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy; History of Love by Nicole Krauss; Checkhov Short Stories; People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks; March by Geraldine Brooks; Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick; 1776 by David McCullough; The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri; Loving Frank, Nancy Horan; Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy; Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett; The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel
LR | 2009
Don’t Let’s go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller; Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh; Life of Pi, Yann Martel; Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl; The Passion of Artemesia by Susan Vreeland; The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, and Annie Barrows; Song yet Sung by James McBride; The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery; City of Thieves by David Benioff; Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
LR | 2006 – 2008 (incomplete list, but titles of note)
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri; On Green Dolphin Street, Sebastian Faulks; Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland; Peace Like a River, Leif Enger; The Blue Virgin, Tracy Chevalier; Balzac & the Little Chinese Seasmstress, Dai Sijie; The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama; Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama; The Color of Water, James McBride; The Red Tent, Anita Diamant; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert; Ghost Heart by Cecelia Samartin; Middleplace by Kelly Corrigan; Five Quarters of an Orange by Joanne Harris; The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd; The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd; Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott; Kite Runner by Khaled Husseini ; The Help by Kathryn Stockett; Angela’s Ashes Frank McCourt; ‘Tis Frank McCourt; The Unfortunates Laurie Graham; The Future Housewives of America by Laurie Graham; The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho; Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver; Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver; Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver; Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver; High Tide in Tuscon by Barbara Kingsolver; A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel; She Got Up Off the Couch by Haven Kimmel; Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
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