Books

Title	Author	Summary
A Covenant of Water	Abraham Verghese	A multigenerational family saga set in Kerala, India, centered on a family marked by a mysterious condition involving water.
A History of Western Philosophy: From the Pre-Socratics to Postmodernism	C. Stephen Evans	A survey of Western philosophy from ancient Greek thinkers to postmodernism.
A Little History of Philosophy	Nigel Warburton	An accessible introduction to philosophy told through short accounts of influential thinkers and ideas.
A Long Game: Notes on Fiction Writing	Elizabeth McCracken	Reflections and advice on the practice and craft of writing fiction.
A New History of Western Philosophy	Anthony Kenny	A four-part history of Western philosophy, from ancient Greece to modern times.
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression	Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe	An account of how the Great Depression changed American food, cooking, nutrition, and food programs.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn	Betty Smith	Francie Nolan grows up in a poor Brooklyn family and finds hope through books, family, and imagination.
A Void	Georges Perec	A detective novel written in French without using the letter e.
Accelerando	Charles Stross	A family navigates a future transformed by artificial intelligence and accelerating technological change.
Airtight Garage	Moebius (Jean Giraud)	A surreal science-fiction comic set in an eccentric, intricately imagined universe.
Among Friends	Hal Ebbott	Friends gather for a summer visit, where relationships and long-buried tensions come to the surface.
Ancillary Justice	Ann Leckie	A former starship AI, now in a human body, seeks justice and confronts questions of identity, power, and empire.
Armor	John Steakley	A soldier fights in an alien war in a novel about survival, courage, and the cost of combat.
The God of Small Things	Arundhati Roy	Twins in Kerala revisit a childhood shaped by family conflict, forbidden love, and tragedy.
Arzach	Moebius (Jean Giraud)	A largely wordless fantasy comic following a mysterious rider through dreamlike landscapes.
Autobiography of a Yogi	Paramahansa Yogananda	Yogananda recounts his spiritual journey, teachers, and encounters with yoga and Indian religious traditions.
Bauhaus Typography at 100	Edited by Elizabeth Otto and Patrick Rössler	An illustrated exploration of Bauhaus typography and its influence on modern graphic design.
Beautyland	Marie-Helene Bertino	A woman who believes she was sent to Earth from another planet reports on human life in this unusual, tender novel.
Being and Nothingness	Jean-Paul Sartre	A major work of existential philosophy on consciousness, freedom, responsibility, and self-deception.
Big Ideas: The Little Book of Philosophy	DK (Dorling Kindersley); edition-specific contributors	An illustrated introduction to major philosophers, movements, and concepts.
Black Static	Various contributors; edited by Andy Cox	A British horror-fiction magazine featuring stories, reviews, and features.
Blood Music	Greg Bear	Engineered cells develop intelligence and trigger a radical transformation of humanity and the world.
Blueberry Series	Jean-Michel Charlier (writer) and Jean Giraud (artist), among later contributors	A classic Western comics series following cavalry officer Mike Blueberry through frontier conflicts and intrigue.
Bread of Angels	Patti Smith	A memoir reflecting on Smith’s childhood, artistic development, relationships, and life in music and literature.
Buckeye	Patrick Ryan	Two Ohio families’ lives unfold across decades amid war, family secrets, love, and the past’s lasting effects.
Buttefly Skin	Sergey Kuznetsov	A dark psychological thriller about a journalist investigating a serial killer and the disturbing world surrounding the crimes.
Careless People	Sarah Wynn-Williams	A memoir of the author’s experiences working at Facebook, including its culture, leadership, and consequences.
Chain-Gang All-Stars	Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah	In a near-future America, incarcerated people fight in a televised league that exposes the violence and spectacle of mass incarceration.
Christopher Okigbo	Christopher Okigbo	The entry appears to name the Nigerian poet rather than a specific book; the intended work is unclear.
Codex Seraphinianus	Luigi Serafini	An illustrated encyclopedia of an imaginary world, written in an invented script and filled with surreal imagery.
The Diamond Age	Neal Stephenson	In a nanotechnology-shaped future, a young girl receives an interactive book that educates and transforms her life.
Discipline Is Destiny	Ryan Holiday	A modern Stoic guide to self-control, temperance, and discipline in everyday life.
Down with the System	Serj Tankian	A memoir about the System of a Down frontman’s Armenian heritage, music career, activism, and spiritual life.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Robert Louis Stevenson	A doctor separates his respectable self from his darker impulses, with disastrous consequences.
Engines of Creation	K. Eric Drexler	A popular-science exploration of molecular nanotechnology, its potential uses, and possible risks.
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers	Gilbert Shelton	Counterculture underground comics following three hapless characters through comic misadventures.
Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology	Edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel	Stories blending literary and speculative fiction to unsettle the boundary between the familiar and fantastic.
Flesh	David Szalay	István’s life changes through accidents, relationships, military service, and work, taking him from modest beginnings into wealthy society.
Foster	Claire Keegan	A young girl sent to live with relatives for a summer experiences a level of care and belonging unfamiliar to her.
George Saunders	George Saunders	The entry names an author, not a specific book; the intended title is unclear.
Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife	Unclear	The title appears to concern Gertrude Stein and her legacy, but the exact book and author are unclear.
Get in Trouble	Kelly Link	A short-story collection mixing everyday life with the uncanny, strange bargains, and unexpected realities.
Ghosts of 42nd Street	Anthony Bianco	A history of New York’s 42nd Street and its transformations as an entertainment district.
Ghosts of My Life	Mark Fisher	Essays on culture, music, and film exploring nostalgia and futures that never arrived.
Gone to See the River Man	Kristopher Triana	A woman’s fixation on an imprisoned killer leads her on a disturbing journey connected to his past.
Greenwood	Michael Christie	A multigenerational family saga linking forests, family history, environmental change, and climate crisis.
Heart the Lover	Lily King	A woman reflects on a formative college love triangle and its lasting effects on her life.
Helmut Esslinger	Helmut Esslinger	The entry appears to name a designer rather than a specific book; the intended work is unclear.
Hollow	Brian Catling	A dark fantasy of faith, violence, and transformation set in a strange, hallucinatory world.
How Philosophy Works: The Concepts Visually Explained	DK (Dorling Kindersley)	An illustrated introduction to philosophical ideas, thinkers, and schools of thought.
Human Diastrophism: A Love and Rockets Book	Gilbert Hernández	In Palomar, a serial killer’s crimes intensify local tensions and disrupt the community.
I Ching	Traditionally attributed to multiple authors; compiled over centuries	An ancient Chinese classic used as a text of divination and a source of philosophical reflection.
Ice	Anna Kavan	A dreamlike, apocalyptic novel in which a man pursues a woman through a world threatened by advancing ice.
Idiot’s Guides: Philosophy	Various contributors; edition-specific	An introductory guide to major philosophical questions, thinkers, and traditions.
Interzone	Various contributors; edited by Neil Clarke in recent editions	A science-fiction magazine publishing speculative fiction and related features.
Ironweed	William Kennedy	A former baseball player wanders Albany during the Depression, confronting the past and the people he has lost.
Kindred	Octavia E. Butler	A modern Black woman is repeatedly transported to the antebellum South, where survival binds her to a white ancestor.
King of Ashes	S. A. Cosby	A man returns home to care for his injured father and becomes entangled in his family’s criminal business.
Last Seen	Unclear	The title is too ambiguous to identify a specific book and author confidently.
Martyr!	Kaveh Akbar	An Iranian-American poet searches for meaning, identity, and artistic purpose while grappling with family history and loss.
Masala Noir	Various contributors; edited by Meera Nair	A collection of crime fiction centered on South Asian characters and settings.
Metal Hurlant	Various contributors	A French science-fiction comics magazine known for its influential artists and stories.
Minor Black Figures	Brandon Taylor	A young artist in New York navigates ambition, relationships, race, class, and the art world.
Mother Mary Comes to Me	Arundhati Roy	A memoir reflecting on Roy’s life and her complex relationship with her mother.
My Friends	Fredrik Backman	A teenager discovers how a long-ago group of friends and a famous painting connect to her own life.
Object Compendium	Unclear	The title is insufficient to identify a particular book and author.
Occult America	Mitch Horowitz	A history of occult and esoteric movements and their influence on American culture.
Parable of the Sower	Octavia E. Butler	In a collapsing near-future America, a young woman develops a new belief system while seeking a safer place to live.
Perdido Street Station	China Miéville	A scientist in a sprawling, fantastical city unleashes a menace that threatens its inhabitants.
Perfection	Vincenzo Latronico; translated by Sophie Hughes	A couple pursue an idealized, curated lifestyle in Berlin, while the novel examines the compromises beneath it.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer	Patrick Süskind	A man with an extraordinary sense of smell becomes obsessed with capturing the perfect scent.
Philosophy 101: An Essential Primer on the History of Thought	Paul Kleinman	A concise introduction to key philosophers, ideas, and movements in the history of philosophy.
Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions	James A. Anderson and David A. G. White	An accessible guide to philosophical questions and the ways philosophers approach them.
Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction	Edward Craig	A concise overview of what philosophy is and how it addresses fundamental questions.
Philosophy: The Classics	Nigel Warburton	A guide to key works in the history of philosophy, explaining their main arguments and importance.
Pilgrim	Mitchell Luthi	The title and author entry are insufficient to identify the book’s subject confidently.
Plainsong	Kent Haruf	In a small Colorado town, a pregnant teenager and two elderly brothers find unexpected forms of family and belonging.
Pluto: Animal Lover	Yoshihisa Tagami	A manga story about a young woman’s life and relationships, told through an eccentric, surreal lens.
Polio	Naomi Rogers	A history of polio and the people, science, public health efforts, and social changes surrounding the disease.
Prey	Michael Crichton	Nanotechnology escapes human control at a research facility, threatening the people who created it.
Queen City Jazz	Kathleen Ann Goonan	A science-fiction novel about a post-apocalyptic America reshaped by nanotechnology and a mysterious disease.
Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression	Errol Lincoln Uys	A history of young people who rode freight trains while traveling in search of work and opportunity during the Depression.
Sandman	Neil Gaiman, with art by multiple artists	A fantasy-comics series about Dream, one of the Endless, and the worlds of dreams, myth, and human life.
Say Nothing	Patrick Radden Keefe	A nonfiction account of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, explored through the disappearance of Jean McConville and the lives around the case.
Solaris	Stanislaw Lem	Scientists studying a mysterious oceanic planet encounter manifestations of memories and human consciousness.
Space 1969	Edited by Richard Grossinger	An illustrated account of the cultural and historical moment surrounding the 1969 Moon landing.
Stag Dance	Torrey Peters	A collection of linked stories exploring gender, desire, identity, and relationships.
Summoned by Bells	John Betjeman	An autobiographical verse memoir of Betjeman’s childhood, schooling, and early adulthood.
Tales of Times Square	Josh Alan Friedman	A collection of stories and observations about the people and subcultures of New York’s Times Square.
Tech-Heaven (The Nanotech Succession)	Linda Nagata	A science-fiction novel about nanotechnology, powerful corporations, and the changing nature of humanity.
The Antidote	Karen Russell	A novel set in a drought-stricken American town, where a prairie witch and others preserve memories and confront history.
The Art of Moebius Series	Moebius (Jean Giraud)	A series of art books showcasing Moebius’s imaginative illustrations and comics work.
The Berry Pickers	Amanda Peters	A Mi’kmaq family’s grief over a missing child reverberates across decades and shapes two lives.
The Bluest Eye	Toni Morrison	A young Black girl in 1940s Ohio longs for blue eyes, amid racism, poverty, and painful family circumstances.
The Butcher of Nazareth	Anwar H. Khan	The title and author entry are not sufficiently clear to summarize confidently.
The Complete Maus	Art Spiegelman	A graphic memoir portraying the Holocaust through the experiences of the author’s father, with Jews depicted as mice and Germans as cats.
The Correspondent	Virginia Evans	An older woman’s life and relationships unfold through the letters she writes and receives.
The Devils of Loudun	Aldous Huxley	A nonfiction account of alleged demonic possession and political and religious conflict in 17th-century France.
The Glow	Brooks Stanwood	A man’s life changes after he encounters a mysterious wellness product and the culture built around it.
The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century	Stanislas Klossowski de Rola	An illustrated study of alchemical engravings and their symbolism.
The Great Alone	Kristin Hannah	A family moves to remote Alaska, where isolation and a father’s trauma test their chances of survival.
The Hecatomb	Christopher Ruocchio	The title alone is insufficient to identify a specific book and author with confidence.
The Invincible	Stanislaw Lem	A spacecraft crew investigates a vanished expedition on a planet where evolving machines pose an alien threat.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny	Kiran Desai	Two young people navigate family expectations, migration, and love across India and the United States.
The Network Effect	Martha Wells	A sentient security unit protects its human companions during a mission involving alien technology and corporate intrigue.
The New Weird	Edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer	An anthology of fiction blending horror, fantasy, and science fiction in strange, often urban settings.
The Norton Introduction to Philosophy	Edited by Gideon Rosen, Alex Byrne, Joshua Cohen, and Seana Shiffrin	A collection of philosophical readings and introductions to core questions and arguments.
The Nose	Nikolai Gogol	A man discovers that his nose has vanished and is living an independent life in St. Petersburg.
The Occult: Witchcraft and Magic	Christopher Dell	An illustrated survey of occult traditions, witchcraft, magic, and their representations in art and history.
The Overcoat	Nikolai Gogol	A low-ranking clerk’s new overcoat briefly transforms his life before a loss leads to a strange and tragic aftermath.
The Oxygen Farmer	Colin Todhunter	A science-fiction novel set in a future where oxygen is scarce and a farmer’s work becomes central to survival.
The Phenomenology of Spirit	G. W. F. Hegel	A major philosophical work tracing the development of consciousness and knowledge toward self-understanding.
The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained	DK (Dorling Kindersley)	An illustrated introduction to influential philosophical ideas and thinkers.
The Princess of 42nd Street	Dawn Powell	A satirical novel about ambition, performance, and social life in New York.
The Reformatory	Tananarive Due	A Black boy is sent to a brutal reform school in Jim Crow Florida, where he encounters both human cruelty and supernatural forces.
The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne	Ron Currie	A Maine crime-family matriarch faces threats to her power and family in a darkly comic crime novel.
The Stalker	Paula Bomer	A psychological novel about obsession, relationships, and the consequences of crossing personal boundaries.
The Stars Look Down	A. J. Cronin	A mining-town doctor confronts unsafe working conditions and the forces shaping the lives of miners and their families.
The Story of Philosophy	Will Durant	A popular history of major Western philosophers and the ideas that shaped their eras.
The Sweetness of Water	Nathan Harris	Two formerly enslaved brothers and a Confederate soldier’s family confront freedom, grief, and change in post-Civil War Georgia.
The Swallowed Man	Edward Carey	A reimagining of Pinocchio narrated by Geppetto, who finds himself inside a whale.
The Three-Body Problem	Liu Cixin; translated by Ken Liu	A Chinese scientist’s contact with an alien civilization sets humanity on a path toward an existential crisis.
The Voynich Manuscript	Unknown	An illustrated manuscript written in an undeciphered script; the entry may refer to a study or facsimile, not a single identifiable book.
The Wisdom of Insecurity	Alan Watts	A philosophical reflection on anxiety, uncertainty, and the difficulty of living fully in the present.
The Year of Magical Thinking	Joan Didion	Didion reflects on grief and shock after her husband’s death and her daughter’s serious illness.
Things Fall Apart	Chinua Achebe	Okonkwo’s life and community are transformed by colonialism and the arrival of Christian missionaries in Nigeria.
Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy	Simon Blackburn	An introduction to philosophical questions about knowledge, identity, freedom, and morality.
UnWorld	Jayson Greene	A novel about a young girl’s disappearance and the family and community left to confront the loss.
Vampires in the Lemon Grove	Karen Russell	A short-story collection featuring strange, imaginative characters and situations that blend the fantastic with ordinary life.
Video Art: The First 50 Years	Edited by Barbara London	A history of video art, its artists, technologies, and development over five decades.
w0rldtr3	(Author unclear from title alone)	The title is insufficient to identify the book and author confidently.
What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy	Thomas Nagel	A brief, accessible exploration of central philosophical questions about knowledge, free will, morality, and meaning.
Wild Dark Shore	Charlotte McConaghy	A family living on a remote island faces environmental danger and personal secrets when a stranger arrives.
Worlds Beyond Time	Edited by Jonathan Strahan	An anthology of science-fiction stories imagining distant futures and worlds beyond our own.
Writers and Lovers	Lily King	A young writer struggles with grief, financial uncertainty, and romantic choices while trying to finish her novel.
Y: The Last Man	Brian K. Vaughan (writer) and Pia Guerra (artist)	A comics series following the last surviving man and his pet monkey after a mysterious event kills nearly all male mammals.