What Should I Read? - Leisure Reading — Literature - Library Guides at University of Notre Dame

Read for the plot of it!

Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.

--Francis Bacon

Author Websites

Does your favorite author have a great website? Feel free to recommend it!

Louisa May Alcott Society
Formed in May 2005 as an allied author organization of the American Literature Association (ALA)
Jane Austen
She may have died in 1817, but Jane Austen is as popular as ever
Fredrik Backman
#1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and Anxious People, as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction
Leigh Bardugo
Author of the Shadow & Bone series on Netflix
George Bernanos
French author, and a soldier in World War I
The Bronte Society and Parsonage Museum
One of the oldest literary societies in the world, founded in 1893
Wanda Brunstetter
This author is a trendsetter in the currently popular genre of Amish fiction
Octavia Butler
Renowned African American author who received a MacArthur “Genius” Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work
Kristy Cambron
A vintage-inspired storyteller writing from the space where art, history, and faith intersect. She’s a Christy Award-winning author of historical fiction
Orson Scott Card
The author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools
G. K. Chesterton
The Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton aims to promote Catholic education, evangelization, and the social teaching of the Church with the help and guidance of the great English writer
Agatha Christie
Born in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie became, and remains, the best-selling novelist of all time
Suzanne Collins
This author's Hunger Game Trilogy is very popular with teens and adults
Arthur Conan Doyle
Over 125 years after his creation, Sherlock Holmes remains the most popular fictional detective in history. Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for the 60 stories he wrote about Sherlock Holmes
Fyodor Dostoevsky
The International Dostoevsky Society was created in 1971 to further the study of this remarkable writer and his work

Does your favorite author have a great website? Feel free to recommend it!

Janet Evanovich
Many people can't wait for the latest book by this author of humorous mysteries
Dick and Felix Francis
One of the top mystery writers of the 20th Century, Dick Francis' mysteries all revolve around the exciting world of horse racing; he was assisted and later followed as an author by his youngest son, Felix
Diana Gabaldon
Best selling author of the Outlander novels, a historical, sci-fi, adventure-romance story
Neil Gaiman
The website for one of the best modern science fiction / fantasy writers
Sue Grafton
Author of the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series
Graham Greene Birthplace Trust
Non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote interest and research into the life and works of the author Graham Greene (1904–1991) and to run the yearly Graham Greene International Festival
John Green
This author wrote The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns
Daniel Handler
Author of seven novels, and the alter ego of Lemony Snicket
Elly Griffiths
The pen name of Domenica de Rosa, a British crime novelist
Charlaine Harris
Author of the popular Sookie Stackhouse vampire novels, the basis for the "True Blood" tv series
Georgette Heyer
Amazingly prolific writer who created the Regency England genre of romance novels.
Carl Hiaasen
This mystery writer sets most of his books in his native Florida
Khaled Hosseini
In March 2001, while practicing medicine, Hosseini began writing his first novel, The Kite Runner, which was published by Riverhead Books in 2003

Does your favorite author have a great website? Feel free to recommend it!

Stephen King
The "King" of horror has a great website with lots of information about his books, movies, and more
Ursula Le Guin
Celebrated author whose body of work includes 23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 13 children’s books, five essay collections, and four works of translation
C. S. Lewis
British writer and lay theologian, best known for his Narnia series
George R. R. Martin
The television series "A Game of Thrones" has led many viewers to discover this author's popular fantasy books
Stephenie Meyer
If you can't get enough of the Twilight series, this website is for you
Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles, her first novel, was awarded the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a New York Times Bestseller
L. M. Montgomery
Canadian Author of the popular Anne of Green Gables books, now a series on Netflix
Erin Morgenstern
Author of the New York Times Best Seller The Night Circus
Toni Morrison Society
Initiates, sponsors, and encourages critical dialogue, scholarly publications, and projects devoted to the study of the works of Toni Morrison

Does your favorite author have a great website? Feel free to recommend it!

Patrick Ness
Multi-award winner of adult and young adult novels, including A Monster Calls, made into a movie with Liam Neeson
Terry Pratchet
This popular fantasy author recently died but his books live on

Does your favorite author have a great website? Feel free to recommend it!

Julia Quinn
The author of the popular Bridgerton series, now on Netflix
Katherine Reay
This award-winning author who lives in Chicago loves to bring history into her books
Veronica Roth
This Chicago author wrote the popular Divergent trilogy
Patrick Rothfuss
Author of The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss was born in Madison, Wisconsin to awesome parents who encouraged him to read and create through reading to him, gentle boosts of self-esteem, and deprivation of cable television
Rainbow Rowell
The official website of the author of Fangirl and Landline
J. K. Rowling
The official website of the Harry Potter author

Does your favorite author have a great website? Feel free to recommend it!

Brandon Sanderson
American author of epic fantasy and science fiction
Andrezej Sapkowski
Polish author of the Witcher saga
L.. J. Smith
American young adult author of books combining the genres of horror, science fiction, fantasy, and romance; Vampire Diaries is one of her most popular series
Lemony Snicket
The unfortunate author of a very unfortunate series of books about three unfortunate children, now a series on Netflix
Nicholas Sparks
Several of this author's books have been made into popular movies
Bram Stoker
Irish author, best known today for his 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula
J. R. R. Tolkien
The official website of the Tolkien Estate providing information about the famous professor, artist, scholar, linguist, and author of The Lord of the Rings
Adriana Trigiani
This well-known author was a a student in the Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s Theater Department.

Does your favorite author have a great website? Feel free to recommend it!

Evelyn Waugh Society
Non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote, for the public benefit, interest and research into the life and works of the English author Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)
Andy Weir
Andy Weir built a two-decade career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full-time
P. G. Wodehouse
Famous for his Jeeves and Wooster characters
Howard Zinn
Historian, author, professor, playwright, and activist

Book Awards, Reviews, Reader's Advisory, and Literary Societies

These best seller lists will help you find books that are the most popular in genre categories. Some are updated weekly, and some include foreign titles.

Amazon Best Sellers
Updated once an hour, and it is broken down by categories.
Amazon Charts
Charts comes out once a week, tracking the books that have sold the most copies in any format (on Amazon, and in its Kindle store, Audible store, and brick-and-mortar storefronts), and the most read or listened-to books on Kindle and Audible.
Indiebound Best Sellers
Compiled by the American Booksellers Association, or ABA. The ABA uses sales data drawn from about 550 independent bookstores to create its list, but it doesn’t rank titles by overall sales volume. Instead, it weights the books on its list according to the sales rank each one reaches at each individual store.
Los Angeles Times Best Seller List
Best sellers, reviews, feature stories, and more
New York Times Best Seller List
This preeminent list has been published since 1942
Nielson BookData
Provides weekly bestseller charts to The Sunday Times, The Guardian and a number of other international newspapers, as well as ad-hoc data and insight to support commentary on the book market.
Publishers' Weekly Best Seller List
This weekly news magazine focused on the international book publishing business. Besides this bestseller list, PW also offers pre-publication book reviews.
USA Today's Best Seller List
USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list ranks the 150 top-selling book titles each week based on sales analysis from U.S. booksellers. Contributors represent a variety of outlets: bookstore chains, independent bookstores, mass merchandisers and online retailers.

Looking for a good book to read next? These award-winners might inspire you!

50 Books 50 Covers
This time-honored competition aims to identify the 50 best-designed books and book covers
Association of Catholic Publishers Excellence in Publishing Awards
Awards for the best in Catholic publishing
BookBrowse Awards
Besides offering their own award, this website showcases the latest winners of other book award prizes
The Caldecott Medal
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children
Catholic Press Book Awards
The Catholic Press Association Press's program allows Catholic journalists, authors, publishers, and media professionals to showcase their hard work from the previous year
The Christy Awards
Established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of the novel of faith in contemporary culture
The Edgar Awards
Each spring, Mystery Writers of America present the Edgar Awards, widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious awards in the genre
The Eric Hoffer Book Award
Honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers
Hugo Awards
Presented annually since 1955, science fiction’s most prestigious award
Indie Book Awards
Open to independent authors and publishers worldwide
The Man Booker Prize
Fiction at its finest, in the United States and internationally
National Book Awards
The National Book Foundation has been giving genre awards since 1950
The Newbery Award
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children
Nobel Prize for Literature
One of the world's most prestigious literary prizes
PEN Literary Awards
Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama
Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards
Given annually to outstanding scholarly books published in the United States. Winning works, which are drawn from the fields of the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences and mathematics, must be of broad interest and accessible to the general reader
Pulitzer Prize
An American literary prize since 1917
The Reading List
An American Library Association award that seeks to highlight outstanding genre fiction that merits special attention by general adult readers and the librarians who work with them
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
This prize, established in 1978, is given to women playwrights

These websites provide book reviews, series information, and other information to help you select your next book to read.

100 Books Every Man Should Read
This list found on The Art of Manliness website contains some classics that have strong male characters
100 Books To Read Before You Die
The BBC has an esteemed list of 100 books they think every person should read before they die -- a literary bucket list, if you will
African American Literature Book Club
The oldest, largest, and most frequently visited web site dedicated to books by, or about, people of African descent
BookBrowse
Book reviews, author biographies, readalikes, and more (some information may only be available to members)
Booklist
Thousands of reviews from the American Library Association
Bookpage
Many readers turn to Bookpage first for information on new and forthcoming titles
Century Past
Helping readers find books in the world’s largest free online libraries
Chicklit Club
Rated titles, reviews, and interviews
Dinner and A Book
This program on the local PBS station will inspire you on two levels: reading and recipes!
Fantastic Fiction
This resource helps you know what to read next in your book series
Gnooks
Gnod is a self-adapting system that learns about the outer world by asking its visitors what they like and what they don't like, in this case literature
Goodreads
Share books with friends on the largest website for readers
Guys Read
Great website for teachers, this is a web-based literacy program for boys and men founded by author Jon Scieszka
Hooked to Books
Their mission is simple: to help you become the best book-loving version of yourself
Key Reporter Book Reviews
Book reviews of fiction and nonfiction sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa International Honor Society
LibraryThing
Catalogs your books online, easily, quickly and for free
Modern Library
Although this is a publishing website, Modern Library offers readers' advisory in the form of top 100 lists, reading guides, educational resources, and even some entertaining Shakespeare games
Movies Based on the Book
The folks at Mid-Continent Public Library can help you read the book before you see the movie with this list
National Public Radio Books
Great source of non-fiction book reviews and author interviews
Publishers Weekly
Weekly news magazine focused on the international book publishing business
Whichbook
Recommendations are based on emotions and elements of the book

Alliance of Literary Societies
The umbrella organization for literary societies and groups in the UK
American Literature Association
A coalition of societies devoted to the study of American literature
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Provides support, advocacy, resources, and community to nearly 50,000 writers, 550 college and university creative writing programs, and 150 writers’ conferences and centers
The Authors Guild
Supports working writers and their ability to earn a living from authorship
National Book Foundation
Celebrates the best literature in America, expands its audience, and ensures that books have a prominent place in American culture
Pen America
The mission of Pen America is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible
Poets & Writers Foundation
The nation’s largest nonprofit organization serving creative writers
The Royal Society of Literature
Founded in 1820, the RSL is the UK’s charity for the advancement of literature
The Society of Authors
The UK trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers