An Annotated Listing of Book Sets
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SHAKER HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY Annotated List of Book Sets for Book Discussion Groups Award Abbreviations A Alex Award NBA National Book Award ALAN ALA Notable NBCC National Book Critics Circle Award B Booker Prize O Orange Prize EAP Edgar Allan Poe-Mystery P Pulitzer H Hugo Award PEN PEN/Faulkner Award N Nobel W Whitbread Book Award NM Newbery Medal TITLE INDEX Abraham (2002) Non-Fiction, 229 pages Bruce Feiler Traveling through war zones and into the caves of ancient Mesopotamia, Feiler journeys to the heart of three Monotheistic faiths to search for the possible reconciliation through Abraham, the shared ancestor of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The Accidental Tourist (1985) Fiction, NBCC, 342 pages Anne Tyler This amusing study of human behavior is the story of Macon Leary, a travel book author who meets Muriel, an odd character whose vitality challenges Leary to question his safe responses to the world. The Age of Innocence (1920) Fiction, P, 362 pages Edith Wharton The strict social rituals and etiquette of 1920s New York society set the stage for attorney Newland Archer’s moral dilemma. Although engaged to May Welland, Archer is strongly attracted to Welland’s nonconformist cousin Ellen. All the Pretty Horses (1992) Fiction, NBA, NBCC, 302 pages Cormac McCarthy On the cusp of adulthood, a young man begins an odyssey on horseback across Texas and Mexico and begins to understand the world around him. An American Childhood (1987) Autobiography, 255 pages Annie Dillard This is a vivid and thoughtful evocation of Dillard’s 1950s childhood in Pittsburgh. Among the Missing (2001) Stories, 258 pages Dan Chaon This collection of short stories by Cleveland Heights author Chaon features an eclectic assortment of characters coping with life. The book was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award. Angle of Repose (1971) Fiction, P, 569 pages Wallace Stegner Retired history professor, Lyman Ward, returns to his childhood home to write a book about his paternal grandparents’ marriage and their experiences living in the American western frontier in the late 19th century. Antelope Wife (1998) Fiction, 240 pages Louise Erdrich The author’s story brings to life the cultures and mix of people who live in Minneapolis, once a hunting ground for the Ojibway. Atonement (2002) Fiction, 384 pages Ian McEwan Guilt and innocence, punishment and atonement are recurring themes in this tragic tale of the stunning consequences of a young girl’s lie. Away (2007), ALAN, Fiction, 247 pages Amy Bloom When immigrant Lillian Leyb finds out her three-year-old daughter may still be alive in Siberia, she begins an epic transcontinental journey home ultimately walking the Yukon trail toward the Bering Strait. Bachelor Brothers’ Bed and Breakfast (1996) Fiction, 152 pages Bill Richardson Unmarried fraternal twins, Hector and Virgil, run a bed and breakfast for bibliophiles on an island near Vancouver Island. Richardson’s book won Canada's Stephen Leacock Award for Humor. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2001) Fiction, 192 pages Sijie Dai This first novel is the inspiring tale of two boys who are sent to a remote Chinese village for “re-education” during the Cultural Revolution. The cast of richly developed characters adds to a timeless lesson in friendship and loyalty. Be Sweet: A Conditional Love Story (1998) Autobiography, 329 pages Roy Blount Jr. Blount reflects on his relationship with his mother in this memoir filled with humorous anecdotes, candid thoughts and complex emotions. The Bean Trees (1988) Fiction, 232 pages Barbara Kingsolver A poor but adventurous Kentucky girl manages to avoid pregnancy in high school and earns enough money to buy a car and travel west. Behind You (2004) Teen Fiction, 118 pages Jacqueline Woodson This sequel to Woodson’s “If You Come Softly” is the tender, thoughtful and powerful story of what follows in the wake of the interracial love affair between 15 year-old Jeremiah, who is African-American, and his classmate Elie, who is white. Grades 8 and up. Bel Canto (2001) Fiction, O, PEN, 318 pages Ann Patchett Joined by no common language except music, a band of terrorists and their international hostages forge unexpected bonds. Beloved (1987) Fiction, P, 275 pages Toni Morrison Set in post-Civil War Ohio, an escaped slave finds catharsis by sharing her gruesome past with an understanding man in this stunning novel about slavery. Between, Georgia (2007) Fiction, 294 pages Joshilyn Jackson In this fictional town between Athens and Atlanta with a population of ninety, Nonny is caught in the decades old family feud between her adopted family and her biological one. Black Girl/White Girl (2007) Fiction, 272 pages Joyce Carol Oates In this novel of dark suspense and racial tension, Genna reflects on the tragic events leading up to the death of her college roommate in the mid 1970s. The Bone People (1984) Fiction, B, 445 pages Keri Hulme This 1985 Booker Prize-winning first novel explores both destruction and healing within families as well as the personal costs of losing touch with traditions and cultures. Breathing Lessons (1988) Fiction, P, 338 pages Anne Tyler A middle-aged Baltimore couple comes to terms with one another as they discuss old friends and their grown children on the drive to a distant funeral. Breathing Underwater (2001) Teen Fiction 263 pages Alex Finn Caitlin’s so lucky to have handsome high school superstar Nick crazy in love with her. Or is she? This contemporary tale of dating violence is seen through the eyes of the male offender and takes readers on a journey from a court-mandated restraining order to the roots of Nick’s anger. Grades 9 and up. The Buffalo Soldier (2002) Fiction, 432 pages Chris Bohjalian When their twin daughters are killed in a flash flood, a Vermont couple takes in a 10-year-old African-American foster child in an attempt to rekindle their failing marriage. A Child’s Christmas in Wales (1980) Fiction, 45 pages Dylan Thomas Welsh poet Dylan Thomas recollects the happy celebration of Christmas when he was a child. Edward Ardizzone illustrated this edition. The Children’s Blizzard (2004) Nonfiction, 307 pages David Laskin The year was 1888, the month January, the day unusually warm and sunny, which provided an unusual break in the weather. Many, especially the children, decided not to wear coats or hats or boots or gloves. Suddenly the weather changed and a terrible storm hit. Cold Mountain (1997) Fiction, NBA, 449 pages Charles Frazier In this evocative novel set during the Civil War, a disillusioned confederate soldier deserts his unit and walks back to his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains and to the woman he loved. The Color of Water (1996) Biography, 291 pages James McBride In this black man’s tribute to his white mother, McBride writes about his mother’s heart, strength and determination in raising 12 children, who rose from poverty instilled with a respect for education, religion—and their mother. The Color Purple (1982) Fiction, P, NBA, 251 pages Alice Walker A Southern black woman, who experiences rape and human degradation, sacrifices herself to save her sister in this story about the power of love. Crossing to Safety (1987) Fiction, 341 pages Wallace Stegner Stegner explores the bonds of a long friendship between two couples despite vast differences in their upbringing and social status. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003) Fiction, A, 226 pages Mark Haddon When a 15 year-old autistic boy is suspected of killing the neighbor’s poodle, he adopts the methods of his favorite sleuth – Sherlock Holmes – to solve the murder in this touchingly humorous novel. A Dangerous Friend (1999) Fiction, 256 pages Ward Just Colonialism and idealism clash in this provocative book set in 1965 Saigon when a group of young civilians set out to reform Vietnam. The Daughter of Time (1951) Mystery, 185 pages Josephine Tey A Scotland Yard detective convalescing from a bad fall becomes intrigued with an old scandal about Richard III. The Devil in the White City: Murder Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (2003) Nonfiction, 447 pages Erik Larson This is the brilliant, chillingly-told true story of H. H. Holmes, the serial killer who stalked the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982) Fiction, 303 pages Anne Tyler In alternating chapters, family members look back on their childhood and come to terms with their mother and themselves. Disgrace (1999) Fiction, B, 220 pages J. M. Coetzee This short but powerful Booker Prize-winning novel is the story of the social, racial and political complexities of post-apartheid South Africa. The Dive from Clausen’s Pier (2002) Fiction, A, 413 pages Ann Packer After a tragic accident leaves her fiancé paralyzed, 23-year-old Carrie Bell leaves her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin for an extended stay in New York. Dreams from My Father (1995) Biography, 453 pages Barack Obama Written by the senator from Illinois, this memoir chronicles his life as the son of a black Kenyan father and a white American mother. The Elegance of the Hedgehog (2006) Fiction, 325 pages Muriel Barbery The lives of 54-year-old concierge Rene Michel and extremely bright, suicidal 12-year-old Paloma Josse are transformed by the arrival of a new tenant, Kakuro Ozu. Empire Falls (2001) Fiction, P, 483 pages Richard Russo Set in a depressed Maine mill town, this rural epic examines the founding family’s influence over the town and its people. Fahrenheit 451 (1953) Fiction, NBA, 165 pages Ray Bradbury In this science fiction, fireman Guy Montag’s curiosity about forbidden books leads him from a life of surround sound and video “families” to a life on the run.