the last book i read essay

How to Answer: What Is the Last Book You Read?

Asking about recent reads is a common question many interviewers will ask. Sometimes this question will be phrased as “what book would you recommend that I read?” Or perhaps, “tell me about your favorite book.” If you are not an avid reader, do not fear! Here is how to craft a response that is genuine, intelligent, and insightful.

What Is The Purpose?

Talking about books with a potential employer – what is the purpose of this? What are they really trying to find out? There are a few differing opinions on the matter. First, this could simply be a conversation starter. The interviewer wants to get to know you a little bit and is curious about what kinds of books you read. Another purpose of this question could be to see how well-read you are (in other words, how many books you read, and what kind). In some corporate environments, being well-read is really important to the company.

Take Time To Prepare

Regardless of the purpose behind the question, we will help you to answer it to the best of your ability. Having a quick summary and keynotes from your book of choice at the ready can be an extreme advantage during your next interview. The truth is, you can choose to talk about any book you have read in the past, not just your last read. Carefully explore options available in the literary world and find ways to professionally talk about them. If you’re having trouble deciding which book to bring up in conversation, this is the blog for you. Keep reading to learn how to answer: what is the last book you read?

Choose a Book You Have Actually Read

While in theory, it might seem like a good idea to do a quick google search for a complex and scholarly novel, it is best to choose a book you have actually read. Simply reading the SparkNotes version will not give you the ability to intelligently summarize the book and have a conversation on it. What if that happens to be the interviewer’s favorite book, and wants to talk more about it? Nope, better to be honest, no matter what book you choose. Maybe choose a book that shares a little bit about you as a person. If you are interested in airplanes, pick a book that focuses on aviation. If you are a history geek, choose a book that focuses on the era that you are most interested in. This is a great way to spark some interesting conversation and help the interviewer get to know you better.

Example: My father was a piolet so I have always been interested in airplanes. The aviation-based novel I just completed inspired me to get my piolet’s license!

Or: To be honest, I’ve always loved cooking books. I enjoy simply reading them to learn about different recipes and techniques. I read them as someone else would read a novel!

Why these are good responses:

You are sharing a unique personal fact about yourself
These responses sound genuine, truthful, and personal
Further conversation might spark from your responses

Choose a Book That Teaches a Lesson

If you are still having trouble finding the perfect book to talk about, and are not an avid reader, find a book that teaches a lesson. Pieces of literature that are based around morals, values, and lessons will show your interviewer that you strive to learn. Being interested in growing and learning new things is a great trait that is very attractive to many interviewers. Try looking into The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. You can order yourself a copy off Amazon, here ! If you like reading YA novels, try to think about one that you learned something from.

Example: The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People has helped me uncover methods to work more productively in a team-based environment.

Why this is a good response:

Choosing books that specifically focus on teaching the reader show that you are willing to learn
Shows that you have a growth mindset
Communicates that you are committed to teamwork

Find a Success-Based Read

Another fabulous topic you can search for when finding a book to discuss in an interview are success story-based reads. These can be autobiographies or short stories of triumph in any area that interests you. For example, you can choose a book that tells the story of a successful businessperson, inventor, athlete, or artist. Stories that focus on success are a great way to show your interviewer you strive for the best. It can also be a great way to segue into talking about your own personal success stories. If you are looking for a book that is sure to get you inspired, check out Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. You can find the link to order yourself a copy on Amazon, here !

Example: The book Grit by Angela Duckworth inspired me to never give up on any task I set my mind to. The success stories in this book inspired me to go back to school to finish my undergraduate degree.

Shows that you learned something from the book you read
Communicates that you have been impacted positively
Segways into sharing more accomplishments and strengths

What if Books Are Just Not Your Thing?

For some people, the thought of finishing an entire book seems almost impossible. If your most recent read was not a book, that is okay, too! Be honest with your interviewer if you prefer to spend your time reading other types of writing. If you are interested in poetry, for example, you can talk about your favorite poet. If you are a movie fan, speak about a script you have read recently and films you have watched that were inspired by your reading.

Even if your answer might sound a little unconventional, it will help your interviewer get to know you and discover if you are a good fit for the company. Sometimes revealing a hobby that is writing-related will allow you to connect further with the interviewer. Even if the only reading you do is the newspaper, that says something about your style, and you should be honest and genuine with the interviewer!

Example: I enjoy reading poetry in my free time, my favorite poet is Edgar Allen Poe. His poetry inspired me to begin writing poems myself.

Shows your genuine interests
Does not seem fabricated/lets the employer know more about you
Gives you a unique competitive edge to help your interview stand out

More to explore:

How to Answer: What are your pet peeves? – here
How to Answer: How do you boost your confidence? – here
How to Answer: What salary expectations do you have? – here

If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to impressing your interviewer. Do you have any book recommendations you would like to share? Let us know!

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How to answer: What’s the last book you read?

Reading is not only a great way to relax and unwind, but it can also be a valuable tool for personal and professional growth. As a job seeker, it’s important to stay informed and continuously expand your knowledge base. One way to do this is by reading books that are relevant to your industry or that can help you develop new skills. So, what’s the last book you read?

Whether you’re actively searching for a new job or simply looking to enhance your career prospects, reading can provide you with a competitive edge. By immersing yourself in books that cover topics such as leadership, communication, or industry-specific knowledge, you can gain valuable insights and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments. Additionally, reading can help you improve your critical thinking abilities, enhance your vocabulary, and even boost your creativity. So, don’t underestimate the power of a good book when it comes to your professional journey.

What's the last book you read?/books you must read

How to Answer a Question: What’s the last book you read?

There are actually several ways to approach this question, but let me break it down for you. First, let’s talk about why interviewers ask it and what a typical answer might be. Then, I’ll share with you what the ideal response should be, as well as what makes a good or even a great answer.

And of course, I’ll throw in an extra tip to help you absolutely nail this question. Sound good? Let’s dive in!

Why did the interviewer ask this?

To understand more about your interests, values, and how you spend your free time.

Typical Answer

[Specific book title].

Wrong Answer

Does the back of the cereal box count?

Good Answer

State the title and give a brief summary or takeaway.

Great Answer

[Specific book title]. I found the insights on [specific topic or theme] particularly enlightening because [personal connection or application].

Last Tip on How to Answer What’s the last book you read?

Be honest. If you don’t read much, share another way you learn or consume content.

If you’re into this tip, you can download 121 Interview Questions and Answers for free! It’s a great way to get more insights on how to answer those common questions in the best way possible.

Practice Your Answers in a Mock Job Interview

Answering this question is a breeze if you know how! But what really counts is practice. The best way to do that? Give mock interviews a shot! You can learn more about mock interviews here , or try out this Free Mini-Interview .

Final Thoughts on the Question: What’s the last book you read?

In conclusion, by following these simple tips on how to answer the question, “What’s the last book you read?”, you will be able to confidently share your reading journey with others. Remember to be honest and authentic in your response, as it will not only showcase your true interests but also inspire others to explore new literary adventures. Embrace the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations about books, and who knows, you might even discover a new favorite author or genre along the way!

So, the next time someone asks you about the last book you read, don’t shy away from the question. Instead, embrace it as an opportunity to connect with others through the power of storytelling. Share your thoughts, recommendations, and the impact the book had on you. By doing so, you will not only inspire others to pick up a book but also create a ripple effect of curiosity and passion for reading. Remember, every book holds a unique story, and by sharing yours, you have the power to ignite a love for reading in someone else’s life.

Jan Tegze, author of the bestseller “ Full Stack Recruiter ” and “ Job Search Guide: Be Your Own Career Coach ,” has over 15+ years of invaluable experience. Jan’s extensive background in full life cycle recruiting and profound understanding of international sourcing, recruitment branding, marketing, and pioneering sourcing techniques.

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How to Answer "What Was the Last Book You Read?" in an Interview

Introduction

Interviews can be interesting & sometimes the interviewer hits you with interesting questions that you haven’t been expecting. Job interviews often include the question, "What was the last book you read?" While it may seem like a simple question,how you answer can be important.

So, let's prepare to answer this common question, even if your reading habits are missing.

1. Make a List of Your Favorite Books, Articles, and Essays

By preparing a list of books, articles, and essays you are communicating to the recruiter that you are organized and well prepared. This also makes it easy for you to recall the most interesting topic you can touch at the time of interview. Note down a list of books that covers all aspects of the theme like leadership, time management, self improvement etc.

2. Analyze What You Liked and Your Big Takeaways

Every book you enjoy has something special about it. Maybe it's a great story, useful life lessons, or interesting ideas. Take some time to think about what made you like each of your favorite things to read. Was it an exciting story, or did you learn something about dealing with people that helps you at work? These thoughts will help you answer more honestly and convincingly.

3. Relate Your Favorites to Relevant Skills or Lessons

A book is knowledge of the river, lessons that may be relevant to us are following through it. Always try to communicate those key learnings you have utilized in a real scenario if possible. By mentioning your learning and application in practical life shows that you are a productive person and you can use what resources you have available to do your job better.

4. Tell a Story About Your Favorite Reads

Story is a powerful way to communicate. Tell a tale about the book rather than just naming it. Share how a book has affected your life and career. You should have a story that is meaningful and makes your answer more interesting and memorable. This shows you have good communication & presentation skills.

In job interviews, even simple questions like "What was the last book you read?" can be important. Our reading choices can become a powerful way to show your adaptability, knowledge, and ability to use what you learn in real life. So, the next time you get this question, be ready to share your reading journey and show employers how it can benefit them. By Tapesh Kushmi Tharu

Recruitment Officer, Jobs Sniper Pvt. Ltd.

Using Psychology

Job interview question: what was the last book you read.

by jmalouff | Dec 6, 2020 | Job hunting , Social psychology , Work | 0 comments

A friend of mine recently had a management-consultant job interview in which he was asked to name the last book he read. I don’t know how he answered — he is not a regular book reader.

My immediate perverse thoughts turned to what answers would be most unhelpful for him getting hired: Mein Kampf, AA Group Handbook, Eat the Rich .

I have a good answer ready if I am asked that question for a psychology-professor position: I am reading The Body by Bill Bryson.

I could regale the interviewers with fascinating facts. For instance, a few percent of people lose their sense of smell. Some unluckier people perceive all smells as that of poop. Also, I would describe Cotard’s Delusion, in which individuals are absolutely convinced they are dead.

Aside from telling the truth about the last book I read, I would be paralyzed with doubt about how to answer. Would naming a biography of, say, George Washington, mean that I am living in the past? What if the bio was of a crackpot psychologist like Wilhelm Reich, who ended up in prison?

It might be safer if I named Be Here Now by Ram Dass. It is a classic related to mindfulness, a topic much in vogue with psychologists.

I have read all the above books. I do not think my current honest answer would say more about me than any of the other books. I have read self-help books for all sorts of disorders out of curiosity or as part of a research project on the value of self-help books. I would not want to give that explanation during a job interview.

Once when visiting the public library, a nice staff member told me I had a book overdue, I asked which book, and she whispered the title — something about beating alcoholism.

Now let’s turn to you. What was the last book you read? What does your answer (or long pause) mean about you?

What might you read next and then proudly mention to anyone who was interested?

Finally, let’s turn back to my management-consultant pal. What would be the best book for him to read before his next job interview so he has a good answer ready for the question?

I suggested he read a recently published book on job interviews. He might learn something useful, and the interviewers will think he is goal focused.

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

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This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.

What is the last book you read, and your rating?

The last book I've read was The Giver, by Lois Lowry , I rated 5/5 stars.

This book surprised me, I didn't expect it to be that good! It makes you be grateful for the life we have, the world we're living in (although there are many things wrong with people who create war).

Has anyone read this book? What did you think of it?

And as the title already says, what is your last book and your rating?

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Writingskills

6 Paragraphs on ‘A Book I Have Recently Read’

A Book I Have Recently Read: Books are the best resources of people. With which no earthly wealth can be compared. By reading books we can keep our mind healthy and happy. A good book opens the eyes of the human mind as well as expands and develops the knowledge and intellect and helps to light the mind. Many people like to read story books or other kinds of books. Reading books is a good habit. ‘A Book I Have Recently Read’ is an important paragraph for the students. In this post I have presented 6 paragraphs on ‘A Book I Have Recently Read’.

A Book I Have Recently Read

Reading books is my passion. I have recently read a book named “ Pather Panchali “. It was written by famous writer Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay. The novel is about a little village boy named Apu. The main characters of the book are Apu, Durga, Harihar and Sarbajaya. Harihar and Sarbajaya, a rustic couple, spent their days in miserable distress. But they dreamt of a rosy future. Apu and Durga are their children. Durga died a premature death. It was a great shock to the family. One cannot shed tears when one reads about the death of Apu’s dearest sister Durga. The novel gives us a very living picture of the beauty of a remote village in Bengal. The story reminds us of the hardship of the thousands of poor and helpless people of our country. Really it is an immortal creation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.

Also read : Paragraph on Black Fungus or Mucormycosis

I have little time to read books other than school books. But l heard the story of “Ramer Sumati” written by Saratchandra Chattapadhyay from my grandpa. The story charmed me very much. Recently I managed to have a copy of the book which I finished in a single sitting. It is entirely the story of a joint family of rural Bengal. Here are a few principal characters – Ramlal, the hero, Shyamlal, his step-brother and Narayani, the wife of Shyamlal. Apart from them there are Shyamla’s son and Digambari, his mother-in-law. Ramlal lost his mother when he was only two and a half years old. Narayani, the sister-in-law brought him up with all motherly love and affection. Digambari could not tolerate the sweet relationship between the two. Ramlal was very wayward and that was at the root of all problems. The ancestral home was partitioned and Ramlal was separated much to the pain of Narayani. The author’s portrayal of the characters of Ramlal and Narayani is simply unique. Details of the book cannot be given in this short span. But everybody should go through the book whenever he gets a chance.

Also read : Paragraph on Corona Virus (Covid-19)

I am a genuine book lover. Reading books is my passion. Whenever I get spare time I read story books, novels etc. I am a big fan of cricket as well. My father recently gifted me the autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar “Sachin Tendulkar – Playing It My Way” on my birthday. The book is really very interesting. Sachin Tendulkar is not only a great player but also has become an icon. So a chance to peek into the life of such an icon is always sought after. The chapters describe all the important events of his life. The reader is bound to respect the legend more after going through the book. The book not only brings out Sachin’s passion for cricket but also reveals how caring a father and gentle son he is. I will cherish the experience of reading the book forever and this will be a guide force in my life. I wish to read it once again in future.

A Book I Have Recently Read

Miranda in “The Tempest”

Reading books is my passion. I have recently read William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. It is the last play of the great playwright, which was written in 1611 at Stafford. Prospero was a learned man. He did not like to rule Milan as merely a Duke. His power was his wisdom. His brother, Antonio, took advantage of this craving for knowledge and conspired to drive him away from Milan with the help of the king of Naples, Alonoso.

Prospero and his daughter eventually took shelter in an alien island. It was a mystic land of which Prospero was little aware. Caliban was an evil spirit which was living in that island. Gradually, Prospero dominated Caliban and became a supreme power by way of his white magic. Dr. Faustus of Marlowe exercised necromancy, but Prospero used his magic for the welfare of the world. Hence his magic was a boon not a bane. His daughter, Miranda, was a lovable and beautiful young lady. Caliban wanted to seduce Miranda, but in vain. At last Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, came to the mysterious land. Miranda was very much appalled to see a beautiful young man for the first time. Seeing Ferdinand, she cried out, “O brave new world.” Later Miranda and Ferdinand fell in love. Prospero wanted to test Ferdinand’s devotion to his daughter. Ferdinand won the mind of Prospero. Using his white magic, Prospero taught everyone including his brother good lessons. Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian realized their misdeed. Gonzalo, who helped Prospero once to escape from his cruel brother, was rewarded.

Finally, everyone was reconciled. Prospero returned to Milan with his daughter and he freed Ariel, the spirit which helped Prospero in fulfilling his desires while living in the alien island. The happy reunion of the play implies the fact that Prospero is a major figure who by way of using his white magic helps everyone reconcile in spite of shortcomings. Honesty and goodness have been rewarded. I felt much aesthetic pleasure while reading the play. Shakespeare’s language, his style, above all, his blending of tragedy and comedy gave to my mind a soothing effect which I cannot forget ever.

Books are our best friends. Even in today’s world of internet and mobile, the importance of books cannot be ignored. I am a genuine book lover. Reading books is my passion. Whenever I get spare time I read story books, novels etc. Recently I have read Bibhutibhushan’s classic novel ‘Chander Pahar’. I loved the book so much that I have lost count of the number of times I flipped through the book even after I had finished reading it.

The book ‘Chander Pahar’ records the adventures of Shankar, the main character of the novel. Shankar, a young bengali boy, faces many adventures in Africa where he goes in connection with his job on the railways. He encounters many ferocious animals like lions, black mamba etc. But the real adventure begins when Shankar accompanies Diago Alverage, a European adventurer, to the Kilimanjaro mountain in search of diamonds. In the course of the events Diago gets killed by a terrible animal called ‘Buniyp’ and Shankar is left all alone in that unknown land of adversity and danger. But he braves it with extraordinary courage and valour.

After a great struggle, he is saved from the desert. Shankar is the embodiment of courage. I love the character very much. I am attracted by Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay’s great narrative skill. He makes the description of African jungles and Shankar’s adventures alive with his narrative skill. Author’s creativity makes Shankar’s character one of the most popular characters of Bengali literature. Whenever I read the novel, I find myself engrossed in it. My mind also travels with Shankar in the land of Africa and feels the adventure. This is why ‘Chander Pahar’ holds such a special place in my mind.

‘The Story of My Life’ by Helen Keller

Books are our best friends. Even in today’s world of internet and mobile, the importance of books cannot be ignored. I am a genuine book lover. Reading books is my passion. Whenever I get spare time I read story books, novels etc. Of all the books I have read, I like ‘The Story of My Life’ by Helen Keller the most. The episode centres round the hard struggle of life of Helen Keller. She writes with a natural ease and power, hardly equaled by any other writer of that category. In this book we see that Helen Keller became blind and deaf after a serious illness in her childhood. However, the day when Miss Sullivan came to her as her teacher was the most memorable day in her life. After a long hard process Helen learnt to read, in raised letters in Braille method . She learnt to write also in a special type of typewriter. In the book ‘The Story of My Life’ an account of the first twenty two years of Helen Keller’s life has been given. During this time she came into contact with many noble and affectionate persons. In her autobiography Helen describes her experiences with so much ease and sincerity in such a lucid style that it cannot but arouse love and wonder for her. But the most striking feature of this book is her strong will and iron determination to cross all the hurdles of a handicapped person in her own life. And therefore, it has the universal appeal to all the readers throughout the world. Everybody should go through the book whenever he gets a chance.

Paragraph on ‘My Hobby”

Paragraph On ‘My Aim In Life’

8 thoughts on “6 Paragraphs on ‘A Book I Have Recently Read’”

I am very thankful to this passages… 💛💛💛

The essay is the most important part of a college application, so you need to focus and make a good essay to convince the university accept you. You even get help from essay writing expert to ensure you acceptance. Check out, please DigitalEssay.net

thank you very much

helpful page…..

Very useful site. Check also <a href=" https://www.suggestionpedia.com>suggestion and hs suggestion</a> for West Bengal student.

What was the last book you read? – Question 11

VIDEO COMING AFTER THE LIVE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE – COME AND JOIN US!

Woodward English Conversation Question 11

What was the last book you read? What was it about?

The last book I read was ….
It was about …

Fiction or Non-fiction – What is the difference?

Was the book fiction or non-fiction?

fiction ( not real , created from the imagination of an author) e.g. a book about a princess and a dragon

non-fiction ( real , provides us with facts and/or events based on real people or true events) e.g. a biography, history books, 1001 facts about a topic

What do you like to read?

I like to read…

short stories
online articles
motivational stories
self-help books
biographies
encyclopedias / wikipedia
non-fiction books

Where do you like to read?

in bed at night
in a library
on a blanket in a park
in a quiet place
on a beanbag

English Conversation

English conversation questions 10-19.

What is your favorite movie? Why do you like it? - Question 10
What was the last book you read? - Question 11
What is important for a healthy relationship? - Conversation Question 12
What would be an ideal date for you? English Conversation Question 13
How would you describe yourself in three words? Question 14
Why are you learning English? Q15
What is your country famous for? Q16

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The Last Book I Loved: Took House

Kasey jueds.

March 7, 2023

Took House was one of the first books of poems I’d read since the start of the pandemic. One of the first and only poetry books I could read, for months. In the middle of the night, anxious and insomniac, I read one poem, read it again, read another. The poems knew something about me, something I myself didn’t know, or couldn’t articulate. The poems did the saying, the impossible saying, for me.

That fall I walked the dirt road between the house in upstate New York where we were staying and the larger, paved road that led to the post office and to an old cemetery. Evenings, we often heard coyotes call from the narrow valley between two mountains, as clear and close as I had ever heard them before. I read that coyotes call to their packs after hunting alone. I felt the poems in Took House calling me. There, in the words and the silence surrounding them, a kindred wildness. The way they said, You do not have to be alone.

I’d never met these particular poems before but immediately felt, Oh, I’ve missed you .

“Set the dark to hushing,” the poem “A Brief History of Coyotes” begins. This oddness of diction—strange but somehow familiar, startling, touching a truth that feels unsayable otherwise—is a hallmark of Camp’s poems, one of the first things I loved about her work. “Set the dark to hushing”: in my mind, a dial, tuning the night to a frequency only just audible to humans, turning our ears toward the mysterious beings near and within us. In conversation with Camp, she said, “It’s where I want to live in a poem, where the language makes sense but isn’t predictable.”

The poem “Beyond our house, their muzzles” contains the gather and surround of wildness, the way the humans, “listening through the wall” to the coyotes’ howls, feel both protected and not by those walls, and seem to long for the world outside, even with its violence, as inside they have “knuckled back to silence.”

I wanted to read the poems in Took House in two opposing ways. I wanted to read and keep reading, to read the book like a novel, turning page after page in the small light of my lamp in the middle of the night. And I wanted to read slowly, to read each poem over and over, to take into my lungs the richness of their language and imagery, their capacious selves.

Among the many things I love about this book: its focus on a heart in extremity, and the way—though the circumstances are different—the poems bring me closer to my own interior life, show me something necessary and hidden about myself in their startling language.

Took House is composed of three braided strands: poems centered on a relationship, compelling and un-refusable and doomed; poems speaking with and to pieces of visual art (in a former career, Lauren Camp worked as an artist, and her knowledge of visual art is wide and deep); and poems responding to the more-than-human world of the southwestern U.S., raptors in particular. The poems comprising the different strands stand next to each other without overt explanation of their relationships, allowing those relationships to be intuited.

Another of the many things I love about this book: the way the poems question the relationship of art to suffering help me to ask that question myself in a new and urgent way. A question without an answer, or maybe as many answers as there are poems. “Find the Color of Survival” begins

I want to talk about what I believe is beautiful, and this is complicated by all the oil of that year.

What is, or can be, beautiful in the midst of anguish? How does art help us to hold our brokenness, the brokenness of the world? The poems of Took House use art—making it, being with it—to think and feel toward a way to contain, absorb, and make meaning of the overwhelming feelings the speaker’s relationship calls up in her. From “Find the Color of Survival”:

… at home I lifted a broad brush to each sorrow. One day soon every form will be transparent— but first, with you I’m looking at even what I cannot stand to see.

Another of the many things I love about this book: the wild beings that inhabit it. Of course the humans, who bring their own wildness, but also the birds and trees and huge sky of the desert Southwest. The raptors of the poems, like the pieces of visual art the speaker loves, are real and true, dimensional, alive. And, too, they hold up the speaker’s inner being, her wildness, to herself. The raptor poems seem to ask, how do we understand desire, the sometimes-violence of it? What is “natural” to us, in terms of want, and how can it be honored? Where are its limits? In “Golden Eagle,” the bird’s

narrow awful face quickens on perishable landscape, everything in the open— In the very next lines, the poem swerves, much like an eagle tilting suddenly toward prey: At the table, was I greedy? I hardly ate. Only what I needed.

This vertiginous shifting, present in so many poems, also feels wild to me, and thrilling, and disconcerting, and real. The elements of Took House’s world—sky, wine, paint, desert, desire—exist in such proximity, sometimes colliding, their connections inexplicable but revealed in the way Camp places them as they are: side by side, appearing and disappearing and returning.

From the restraint—conscious, willed—of “I hardly ate,” to the next poem, “Flavor,” which begins “I’d been careful all my life” and then shows us what happens when care and restraint can no longer be maintained:

the taste of punishment as strong and sweet as pardon.

Wildness both compels and repels. The speaker doesn’t always want to look but can’t help seeing. She wants and doesn’t want the wildness that overtakes her.

One last thing, for now, that I love about this book: its willingness to dwell, despite everything, in beauty. And beauty in the widest, deepest sense: beauty that encompasses desperation and need as well as “the bones of roses” and the desert sky. Perhaps this is joy rather than beauty, a desire to open to all of life. Or not a desire: the speaker cannot help herself. She can’t not look, can’t refuse immersion. But the wild world, the capaciousness of art, the poems themselves—all these help in their ways. From “Perennials”:

Because I was opened by another, I will always carry these remnants of pouring light in my body.

The first time I read this poem, I read “another” as the lover, but now I read it as all the beings that inhabit this pulsing, expansive, and wildly alive book: the lover, the coyotes, the hawks and eagles, the paintings and sculptures, the mountains, and the moon and sun.

Kasey Jueds’s first book of poems, Keeper , won the 2012 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press. Her recent poems have been published or are forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Denver Quarterly, Salamander, Provincetown Arts, Cave Wall, Water~Stone , and Crazyhorse , and her reviews appear in Salamander and Jacket2 . She lives in Philadelphia.

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Describe a Book You Have Read Recently

Posted by David S. Wills | Jan 6, 2018 | IELTS Tips , Speaking , YouTube | 0

Today we’re going to look at a question from IELTS speaking part two, also known as the “long answer” question. In this part of the exam, as you probably know, you are expected to speak for about two minutes on a given topic . The topic will be presented to you on a “cue card” and you will then have a minute to make notes before you speak. Today, the topic is books and we will explore how to describe a book you have read recently .

There are lots of different ways that this question could be phrased, and so, as always, you can’t just memorise an answer. In fact, in IELTS it’s always a bad idea to memorize answers. You have questions like “describe your favourite book” or “describe a book that you read in your childhood,” but today I’m going to give you a more general question.

In this lesson, we will learn several things:

How to read the cue card
Note-making skills
Some useful vocabulary
How to answer this cue card fully

The Cue Card: Describe a book you have read recently

As I said, there are many IELTS cue cards about books. You could be asked about your favorite book or a book you really love, but in this case we will just look at a book you have read recently:

Describe a book you have read recently. You should say: what kind of book it is who wrote the book what the story of the book is and explain if it is a good book or not.

Once you have read the cue card, you must think about it quickly. Analyse the topic and ask yourself what exactly you should talk about. In this case, you may ask:

Can I talk about any book? – no, only one you’ve read recently
Could it be a book that I dislike? – yes, that is possible
Must it be a book that I enjoyed? – no, the final part of the question makes it clear that you don’t have to have liked it
Should I talk about the plot? – yes, that is fulfilling the third bullet point

You should quickly choose a book, think about how to explain it, and then try to talk about the ideas on the cue card.

describe a book you have read recently [ielts speaking]

Making Notes

So the first thing you should do is make a few notes on the topic. Of course, as we’ve discussed before, you really shouldn’t write too much. Remember – you just have one minute! Don’t write down sentences or else you’ll only have enough to speak for ten or twenty seconds. Instead, write the ideas you want to discuss or the vocabulary you may need.

In this case, of course we first have to think about the book itself. What was its name, and who was the author? It doesn’t have to be an English book, but you do need to be able to give the English title and – if it was written by an English-speaking author, you also must be able to say their name. Here in China, many famous foreigners have Chinese names, or at least their names are adapted to make it easier for Chinese speakers to pronounce, and so they sound weird to an English speaker. For example, my students always talk about “Jobs” when they mean “Steve Jobs.” So make sure you know the name.

Then you need to think about the tasks outlined in the cue card and make notes on them so that you don’t forget any part of it. This is where you need to make useful notes.

So the first thing we need to talk about, according to the cue card, is the “kind of” book. Another way of saying that is “ genre .” This means, is it a mystery novel or a romance? Is it a horror novel or a coming-of-age story? There are so many kinds of novels. Of course, you don’t need to know them all, but being able to talk about the ones that you actually like is important. Go beyond that and consider being able to discuss the book further in terms of adjectives – is it thrilling? Hilarious? Shocking? Provocative? These are some good vocabulary items to note down during your one minute.

When it comes to genre, you can borrow many words from your movie vocabulary . Here is a video about describing movies. Most of those words can be re-used for describing books:

Next you should really think about the plot of the novel. You don’t need to say everything. Instead, summarize it. Think about the main action and key scenes. Talk briefly about the beginning and ending, or any important moments.

When talking about the plot of a film or book, you can use the present simple or past simple. This is because these events exist outside of time as they are immortalized in a text. They are, in a sense, always happening.

For example, you could equally say:

Romeo kissed Juliet

Romeo kisses Juliet.

A great way of learning how to do this effectively is to go on Wikipedia or IMDB and then find descriptions of movies. Obviously, you should not try to memorize these, but you can definitely borrow some language or even structure.

Structuring your Answer

The important things about IELTS speaking part 2 are that you actually answer all parts of the question, and that you do it in between 1 and 2 minutes. The order in which you give the details is not important. Therefore, you can talk about any of the cue card suggestions first or last. However, be sensible and think of a logical order in your head. Make sure these are in your notes so that you don’t forget anything.

Sample Answer – Describe a Book

Here’s my answer to the above question.

Recently, I read a novel called Before the Fall by Noah Hawley, who is the writer of some popular TV shows. It’s hard to give the genre because it’s a quite unusual book; however, it is both a drama and a mystery to some degree. The story is about a plane crash. This happens at the beginning of the book, and after that we get the back story of the people who were on the plane. We don’t know why the plane crashed although it seems like an accident. However, the mystery element comes into the book as the story develops because we are shown too many coincidences. The book also details the relationship between a man and a boy who survive the crash, and this gives the story its heart. I really enjoyed this book. Normally I prefer to read non-fiction books but in this case I was attracted to Before the Fall because I really liked the writer’s TV work and I was curious about how he would handle a novel. Ultimately, I was not disappointed. His ability to tell a good story made him an excellent novelist.

Here’s my recording of the sample answer. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel for more IELTS videos. I try to post about once every 1-2 weeks.

I answered the “who wrote it” and “what kind of book” parts very quickly at the beginning and spent more time on the plot and my reaction to the book. It’s important you take into consideration while planning that some parts of the question simply aren’t possible to talk about that much.

Note also the verb “detail” in that second paragraph. It’s a reporting verb used in slightly formal speech meaning roughly the same as “tells”.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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Topic 1: Describe a book you have recently read

What kind of book it is
What it is about
What sort of people would enjoy it
And explain why you liked it.

Sample Answer:

I consider myself as a bookworm so when it comes to describing a book I read, I am really confused since I don’t know which one to choose, but I will tell you about the book that I have just ﬁnished most recently – Angels and Demons – a bestselling mystery-thriller novel written by Dan Brown. The whole story revolves around the protagonist named Robert Langdon who is on a quest to rescue the Pope and discover the underlying mysteries of the Catholic church. Though the book involves a lot of religious issues, it can cater to all kinds of readers as there aren’t many technical terms. From my point of view, it is a true masterpiece, enchanting and captivating, ﬁlled with conspiracies and plot twists that really send shivers down my spine. I was so fascinated by the book that I had to ﬁnd the ﬁlm adaptation online to watch afterwards, and it did not let me down at all. The movie was so action-packed that it kept me on the edge of my seat.

What I especially like about the book is that it is very thought-provoking and it kept me thinking for a very long time after I had ﬁnished reading. I appreciate the moral lessons of the book. The story, though may sound distant to our lives, conveys meanings that are relatable to readers, and I am grateful that I learnt something from the book.

All in all, it is an outstanding book that I would deﬁnitely recommend to my friends.

Topic 2: Describe a book that you would like to read again

What the book was about
Why you read it the first place
What you learned from this book
And explain why you would like to read it again.

Sample Answer

Okay so I would like to tell you about the book called Harry Potter, which is a fantasy novel, written by the British author J. K. Rowling. It’s one that I can reread time and time again.

The book describes the life of a young wizard named Harry Potter and his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. Harry has to struggle to kill the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, whose aim is to become immortal and destroy all those who stand in his way of ruling the world.

The reason why this book comes to mind is that it is a reminder of my childhood. It was a gift for my birthday from my parents to reward my high score in an exam at school. Up until now, I can still remember clearly how fascinated I was when I received it.

Thanks to this book, I realized that determination and effort play essential roles in achieving my goals. Since then, I have always worked hard to overcome all obstacles and challenges in my life.

Harry Potter will always be on my to-read list for a number of reasons. Firstly, I have always been a great admirer of science fiction books so I love the way that the author describes the whole magical world with the magic school, Hogwarts, and the flying brooms. Secondly, reading this book not only helps me to relax after a long day of work or study but also cheers me up whenever I am feeling blue.

Source: zim.vn

Another Topics:

Describe a book that enjoyed reading because you had to think a lot.

IELTS Speaking Part 2: describe a book answer

Describe a book you liked to read in your childhood

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[…] Sample Answer […]

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Surprising Job Interview Question – What is the Last Book You Read?

A long time ago, human beings used to cut trees into thin, rectangular strips. They then used carbon and varnish to print symbols on these shaved trees. The symbols represented a story, and these tree shavings were referred to as “books” (pronounced B- oo -Ks).

Contrary to popular belief, these “Books” still exist today. Sure, they may appear to have been replaced by television and video games, but they are still around, gathering dust in bookshelves so that when guests come by they can see how well read you are.

Employers are allowed to ask a variety of non-work related questions at a job interview. They can ask you what books you have recently read. Here are some bad answers:

“I like to read Inuyasha fan fiction.”
“I prefer to wait for the movie.”
“I like to read erotic novels.”
“I only read the Bible.”
“The last book I read was ‘How to Manipulate the Hiring Manager at Your Job Interview.’”
“The last book I read was ‘Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus’ by John Gray”
“I have been educating myself in the ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ series.”
“I don’t like reading.”

Really, you want to stay away from anything that makes you look unprofessional. Don’t mention books that fall in the following genres:

Science Fiction
Fan Fiction
Cheesy Romance
Pop Mystery (Dean Koontz)
Vampires/Teen Books Made Into Movies

Non-fiction, classics, standard fiction, poetry, essay writing and some of the more well written mystery novels are all fair game. Be ready to explain the book in its entirety, because if the employer has read the book they are going to want to talk about it with you to ensure you are not making it up. Remember, what you read says a lot about who you are. You want the employer to think that you are a brilliant and educated individual, and your guilty pleasures (like romance novels) should be kept out of the workplace.

Answers for Those That Have Not Read Books Recently

The hard part is coming up with an answer if you have not read any books recently, or you have only read books that will reflect poorly on your candidacy. If that is the case, you can answer like so:

“Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to read for pleasure in quite some time. However, I have been brushing up on some basic sales books. I recently completed ‘Close Like the Pros’ by Steve Marx, and ‘Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling’ by Sam Richter. I have also recently completed ‘Presentation Zen’ by Garr Reynolds. Once I have finished brushing up on sales techniques though, I plan to start ‘The Journeyor’ by Gary Jennings.”

Ideally you will be able to answer this question with a book or two you have recently completed and another book you are starting, and all of these books will reflect highly on you as a person. However, if you truly have not read any books recently, an answer like the one above should be useful for winning over the interviewer.

Take Away Interview Tips

Only choose books that make you look refined and intelligent.
Mention books you have read recently and a book you are planning to start.

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"The last book I've read is" vs past-simple

I've troubles understanding why the tenses for the following sentence should be in the past:

The last book I have read is Animal Farm, and it' s really good.

I've been corrected ( not from a native ), stating that, instead of using the present-simple and the present-perfect, I should use the past-simple:

The last book I read was Animal Farm, and it was really good.

I understand that the past-simple for read may be preferred since it's a finished action in the past. But, that book still is the last book I read, and the book still is good.

If that book was a pizza, I may understand that you won't be able to eat it again, so it was good, but a book still is : unless I'm not sure anymore, or I don't have an opinion anymore.

present-perfect
present-tense
past-simple

When you wish to convey the idea that of the several books you have finished reading, the name of the most recent is Animal Farm :

The last book I read is called Animal Farm .

We say read (past tense) because the statement refers to an event completed in the past; last makes the point that the book was the final book read in a series of books which began and ended in the past. Last does not imply any relevance to the present. In fact, last could be said to exclude the present. Hence the present perfect is inappropriate.

You could also say

The last book I read was Animal Farm . The last book I read is Animal Farm .

There's no clear case to be made for insisting on a past-tense predicate there.

Also, "read" suggests an act completed. If you wanted to say that the book you have been occupied with, not necessarily finishing it, you could say:

The book I've been reading most recently is Animal Farm .

There, we can use the present perfect.

If you've finished it:

The book I've read most recently is Animal Farm .

"Recently" looks at time from the point of view of the present. Hence, the present perfect is appropriate.

Thanks. Yeah I guess I thought of using present-perfect because I may be an avid reader, so in a sense I could talk in an "open point of view". (yup, I don't really know how to explain it with simple words). edit : For example if I said this month the present-perfect should be okay (if the month isn't over yet). – drM. Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 13:07
Right. If the time-words exclude the present, you can't use the present perfect. You could say "this month", "this year", "this decade", even "this millenium" and still use the present perfect. The this links the statement to the present. – TimR Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 13:15
But "last" would conflict with "this". "The last book I've read this week" would have a time-clash. – TimR Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 13:16
That " last " conflict with " this " is a game-changer for me! I've never thought about it, I just assumed it didn't create problems with this . Is there an obvious way to say this week I've read A.F. implying it's the last one? I could say "[...] and I've yet to decide the next one" , but maybe there's a better way. – drM. Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 13:24
1 "Is there an obvious way to say this week I've read A.F. implying it's the last one?" "Most recently" is what you want to say in that case. The book I've read most recently is A.F. – TimR Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 13:48

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Describe a book you have recently read – IELTS Cue Card Sample Answers

Updated On Sep 18, 2023

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Sample answer 1, sample answer 2.

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This article contains the Describe a book you have recently read Cue Card Sample Answers.

During Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test, you will have exactly one minute to prepare and speak on a specific topic. This is the IELTS cue card task. You can learn how to communicate clearly and successfully by reviewing sample answers.

This IELTS cue card gives you an opportunity to share one of your opinions about a book you have recently read.

Practise IELTS Speaking Part 2 by referencing the Cue Card Sample Answers below.

Before you start, take a look at the introduction to Speaking Part 2 below!

Learn How to Prepare a Cue Card now!

Describe a book you read

You should say:

Who wrote this book?
What it is about?
When you read it?
And explain why you liked it.

Being a bibliophile, I try my best to complete at least one book a week. Earlier, I used to read 4-5 books a month. However, gradually, the numbers declined as I got held up in other important tasks. So, with the new year, I have taken a resolution to finish a minimum of 2 books a month. Having said that, I spent the last week reading A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks.

The main protagonists of this book are Miles Ryan and Sarah Andrews. The former loses his wife to a hit-and-run accident. After going through a tough time in his life and spending two years trying to find the person behind this accident, Miles begins dating his son – Jonah’s – teacher, Sarah Andrews.

With time, their relationship turns stronger, and they fall deeply in love with each other. However, Miles comes across new evidence pertaining to the death of his wife. And, this person is somehow related to Sarah.

This is a romantic novel that showcases the attributes of love, sacrifice, and letting go. I like the way the author described diverse emotions keenly and precisely. Also, I liked the way of writing that the author put forth in this book.

On a Saturday evening, I was lying down with this book called “ Tell me your dreams” by Sidney Sheldon. Thanks to the maid, who served hot tea.

The book had an irresistible start. Initially, it describes three women, their love life and the mysterious ways in which their lovers are killed. After some time, the plot becomes gripping. It is revealed that they are three personalities of the same woman, Ashley, who suffered from multiple personality disorder and had murdered the men mercilessly.

Later, it is revealed that Ashley had a traumatic childhood which caused her to create these identities. Ashley is represented by a lawyer friend of her father. The court finally accepts that it was Ashley’s condition that made her kill and orders psychiatric treatment. She gets treated in the hospital and regains sanity.

The book has revealed an episode in the life of a psychiatrically affected person. It gave me an insight into the lives of women experiencing wounding disturbances in their childhood. Infact, when I come across news about murders, especially when the charges are against a lady, I suspect whether the woman is really guilty. The book cast such an effect on me.

Grant: agree to give or allow (something requested) to. Eg: He was granted permission to take leave
Curious: interested in learning about people or things around you Eg: Rose was curious about her results.
Impulsively: without forethought; on impulse; suddenly. Eg: Rose impulsively decided to buy the diamond necklace.
Found out: discover something or come to know about something. Eg: The treasure box hidden in the backyard was found out.
Novelty: the quality of being new, original, or unusual Eg: The tourists are still a novelty on this remote island
In hindsight: the ability to understand an event or situation only after it has happened Eg: In hindsight, I should have taken the job offer.

Related Cue Cards:

An educational trip
Describe something interesting you learned from the internet
Interesting Conversation
Describe a piece of good news that you heard or received

Explore More Interesting Cue cards >>

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Janet had been an IELTS Trainer before she dived into the field of Content Writing. During her days of being a Trainer, Janet had written essays and sample answers which got her students an 8+ band in the IELTS Test. Her contributions to our articles have been engaging and simple to help the students understand and grasp the information with ease. Janet, born and brought up in California, had no idea about the IELTS until she moved to study in Canada. Her peers leaned to her for help as her first language was English.

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Films and computer games which contain violence are very popular. Some people believe they have a negative effect on society and so should be banned. Other people, however, say they are just harmless and help people to relax. In this cutting edge era, action games and combact skills based films are most famous among youth. Many people believe that it may hazardous for society and it has been forbidan while bunch of people consider that it is non-toxic and useful for releave the stress. In my prespective although it has s ...
You agreed to take a particular job over the summer, but due to unforeseen circumstances, you can no longer take the position. Write a letter including: - Explaining your situation - An apology - Express that you would be interested in the position next summer Dear Sir, I am writing this letter to inform you that I will be unable to join the job over the summer due to unavoidable circumstances as mentioned below. I have always dreamt of working for this position ever since childhood. Working as locomotive pilot has always been my dream. Knowing that I wo ...
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The Most Anthologized Essays of the Last 25 Years

In which joan didion appears more than once.

Depending on who you are, the word “essay” may make you squirm. After all, here in America at least, our introduction to the essay often comes complete with five paragraphs and “repeat but rephrase” and other soul-killing rules. But in actuality, essays are nothing like the staid, formulaic, boring things they make you write in high school. They’re all over the place. They’re wild. Or at least they can be. After all, the word essay comes from the French verb essayer , which means “to try.” Essays are merely attempts, at expression, or at proof; they claim to be nothing more. I’ve always thought that was lovely.

For this list, I looked at 14 essay anthologies, plus the three volumes of Lee Gutkind’s The Best Creative Nonfiction and John D’Agata’s three-part survey of the form ( The Next American Essay, The Lost Origins of the Essay , and The Making of the American Essay ), for a total of 20 books published between 1991 and 2016. I ignored all themed anthologies, as well as any limited to a specific year or publication. This is the last survey of anthologies in a series—earlier this month, I looked at the most anthologized short stories and the most anthologized poems —and considering all three lists together affords the ability to compare the way the different forms are canonized and read in America.

Of the three, I was most surprised by the data here. The essay is perhaps the most ravenous of forms, but these anthologies included letters, speeches (notably, a fair number of presidential addresses), excerpts from longer, reported works of non-fiction, and a number of works that I consider stories (like Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” which most agree is a short story, and some argue is a poem, but is certainly not an essay) or even actual poetry (John D’Agata, I know you’re a rebel and all, but “ For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffrey ,” while incredible, is not an essay). On the other hand, several essays that I consider top-notch classics didn’t make the cut (like Jo Ann Beard’s “The Fourth State of Matter,” and Gay Talese’s “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” which each appear only once in all the anthologies I surveyed). And Michel de Montaigne, who essentially coined the term, is only feebly represented. The better news is that five of the nine most anthologized essays are by writers of color, which is significantly better than either of the other lists do in that regard.

Below, I’ve separated my findings into four lists: the most anthologized essays (this should be self-explanatory), the most anthologized essayists (the authors with the most essays total across the anthologies), the most widely anthologized essayists (the authors with the most discrete essays across the anthologies), and the one hit wonders (those essays that were their authors only piece represented across the anthologies, albeit multiple times). At the end, there’s the full list, consisting of all duplicated essays and all essayists who had at least three pieces among the books I surveyed.

Most Anthologized Essays

Nine inclusions:

“Once More to the Lake,” E. B. White

Seven inclusions:

“Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Six inclusions:

“How it Feels to be Colored Me,” Zora Neale Hurston “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan “The Death of the Moth,” Virginia Woolf

Five inclusions:

“Stranger in the Village,” James Baldwin “No Name Woman,” Maxine Hong Kingston “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell

Four inclusions:

“On Keeping a Notebook,” Joan Didion “The Search for Marvin Gardens,” John McPhee “The Way to Rainy Mountain,” N. Scott Momaday

Three inclusions:

“Graduation,” Maya Angelou “Notes of a Native Son,” James Baldwin “The Pain Scale,” Eula Biss “Seeing,” Annie Dillard “Learning to Read,” Frederick Douglass “Of the Coming of John,” W.E.B. Du Bois from Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America , Barbara Ehrenreich “On Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner “The Crack-up,” F. Scott Fitzgerald “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” Stephen Jay Gould “Illumination Rounds,” Michael Herr “Salvation,” Langston Hughes “The Declaration of Independence,” Thomas Jefferson “The Undertaking,” Thomas Lynch “Aria: a Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” Richard Rodriguez “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples “Civil Disobedience,” Henry David Thoreau “Consider the Lobster,” David Foster Wallace “Yeager,” Tom Wolfe

Two inclusions:

from Two or Three Things I Know for Sure , Dorothy Allison “How To Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa “Graven Images,” Saul Bellow “Time and Distance Overcome,” Eula Biss “I Want a Wife,” Judy Brady “Why Don’t We Complain?,” William F. Buckley Jr. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” Nicolas Carr “The Dream,” Winston Churchill “Remarks to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women Plenary Session,” Hillary Rodham Clinton “Silent Dancing,” Judith Ortiz Cofer “Music Is My Bag: Confessions of a Lapsed Oboist,” Meghan Daum “The White Album,” Joan Didion “On Going Home,” Joan Didion “On Morality,” Joan Didion “Total eclipse,” Annie Dillard “Living Like Weasels,” Annie Dillard from An American Childhood , Annie Dillard “Somehow Form a Family,” Tony Earley “Life with Daughters: Watching the Miss America Pageant,” Gerald Early “The Solace of Open Spaces,” Gretel Ehrlich “Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson “Young Hunger,” M.F.K. Fisher “When Doctors Make Mistakes,” Atul Gawande “He and I,” Natalia Ginzburg “Mirrorings,” Lucy Grealy “The Lost Childhood,” Graham Greene “Apotheosis of Martin Luther King,” Elizabeth Hardwick “On the Pleasure of Hating,” William Hazlitt “The Courage of Turtles,” Edward Hoagland “A Small Place,” Jamaica Kincaid “Dream Children: a Reverie,” Charles Lamb “Coming Home Again,” Chang-Rae Lee “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs “Of Some Verses on Virgil,” Michel de Montaigne “Two Ways to Belong in America,” Bharati Mukherjee “Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney,” Barack Obama “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato “Oranges and Sweet Sister Boy,” Judy Ruiz “Under the Influence,” Scott Russell Sanders “The Men We Carry in our Minds,” Scott Russell Sanders “Letter to President Pierce, 1855,” Chief Seattle “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective,” Leslie Marmon Silko “What Should a Billionaire Give—and What Should You?,” Peter Singer “A Century of Cinema,” Susan Sontag “Regarding the Pain of Others,” Susan Sontag “Decolonizing the Mind,” Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o “Walking,” Henry David Thoreau “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” Henry David Thoreau “Ain’t I a Woman?,” Sojourner Truth “Advice to Youth,” Mark Twain “In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens,” Alice Walker “Writing and Analyzing a Story,” Eudora Welty “The Clan of One-Breasted Women,” Terry Tempest Williams “A Preface to Persius,” Edmund Wilson “In Search of a Room of One’s Own,” Virginia Woolf

The Most Anthologized Essayists ( the authors with most essays published among the anthologies )

Sixteen essays: Joan Didion

Fourteen essays: Annie Dillard

Thirteen essays: Virginia Woolf

Eleven essays: James Baldwin George Orwell E. B. White

Nine essays: Richard Rodriguez Henry David Thoreau

Eight essays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Susan Sontag Jonathan Swift

Seven essays: Samuel Johnson Michel de Montaigne Mark Twain Eudora Welty

Six essays: Francis Bacon Barbara Ehrenreich Stephen Jay Gould Maxine Hong Kingston Zora Neale Hurston Charles Lamb John McPhee David Sedaris Amy Tan

Five essays: Maya Angelou Eula Biss M.F.K. Fisher Atul Gawande William Hazlitt Jamaica Kincaid Nancy Mairs H.L. Mencken N. Scott Momaday Adrienne Rich Lewis Thomas Alice Walker David Foster Wallace Tom Wolfe

The Most Widely Anthologized Essayists ( authors with most discrete essays published among the anthologies )

Ten essays:

Joan Didion

Nine essays:

Annie Dillard

Seven essays:

Samuel Johnson Richard Rodriguez Virginia Woolf

Six essays:

Sir Francis Bacon Michel de Montaigne George Orwell David Sedaris Seneca Susan Sontag Mark Twain Eudora Welty

Five essays:

James Baldwin Charles Lamb H.L. Mencken Adrienne Rich Lewis Thomas Henry David Thoreau

Four essays:

Max Beerbohm G.K. Chesterton Barbara Ehrenreich M.F.K. Fisher Atul Gawande Stephen Jay Gould William Hazlitt Jamaica Kincaid Phillip Lopate Barry Lopez Nancy Mairs Cynthia Ozick Anna Quindlen Scott Russell Sanders Robert Louis Stevenson James Thurber Alice Walker

One Hit Wonders ( authors with a only single essay represented across the anthologies )

“How it Feels to be Colored Me,” Zora Neale Hurston “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan

“On Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner “Illumination Rounds,” Michael Herr “The Declaration of Independence,” Thomas Jefferson “The Undertaking,” Thomas Lynch

from Two or Three Things I Know for Sure , Dorothy Allison “How To Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa “Graven Images,” Saul Bellow “I Want a Wife,” Judy Brady “Why Don’t We Complain?,” William F. Buckley Jr. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” Nicolas Carr “Remarks to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women Plenary Session,” Hillary Rodham Clinton “Music Is My Bag: Confessions of a Lapsed Oboist,” Meghan Daum “Somehow Form a Family,” Tony Earley “Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson “He and I,” Natalia Ginzburg “Mirrorings,” Lucy Grealy “The Lost Childhood,” Graham Greene “Apotheosis of Martin Luther King,” Elizabeth Hardwick “Coming Home Again,” Chang-Rae Lee “Two Ways to Belong in America,” Bharati Mukherjee “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato “Oranges and Sweet Sister Boy,” Judy Ruiz “Letter to President Pierce, 1855,” Chief Seattle “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective,” Leslie Marmon Silko “Decolonizing the Mind,” Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o “Ain’t I a Woman?,” Sojourner Truth “The Clan of One-Breasted Women,” Terry Tempest Williams

The Full List ( all essays by writers with at least one duplication or three disparate essays anthologized )

“The Great American Desert,” Edward Abbey “The Cowboy and his Cow,” Edward Abbey “Havasu,” Edward Abbey

“Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie “Indian Education,” Sherman Alexie “Captivity,” Sherman Alexie

from Two or Three Things I Know for Sure , Dorothy Allison (x 2)

“Graduation,” Maya Angelou (x 3) “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Maya Angelou “Champion of the World,” Maya Angelou

“How To Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa (x 2)

“Of Truth,” Sir Francis Bacon “Of Revenge,” Sir Francis Bacon “Of Boldness,” Sir Francis Bacon “Of Innovations,” Sir Francis Bacon “Of Masques and Triumphs,” Sir Francis Bacon “Antithesis of Things,” Sir Francis Bacon

“Stranger in the Village,” James Baldwin (x 5) “Notes of a Native Son,” James Baldwin (x 3) “Alas, Poor Richard,” James Baldwin “The Fight: Patterson vs. Liston,” James Baldwin “Equal in Paris,” James Baldwin

“Going Out for a Walk,” Max Beerbohm “Laughter,” Max Beerbohm “Something Defeasible,” Max Beerbohm “A Clergyman,” Max Beerbohm

“Graven Images,” Saul Bellow (x 2)

“What Reconciles Me,” John Berger “Photographs of Agony,” John Berger “Turner and the Barber’s Shop,” John Berger

“The Pain Scale,” Eula Biss (x 3) “Time and Distance Overcome,” Eula Biss (x 2)

“Blindness,” Jorge Luis Borges “Borges and I,” Jorge Luis Borges “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Teritus,” Jorge Luis Borges

“I Want a Wife,” Judy Brady (x 2)

“Why Don’t We Complain?,” William F. Buckley Jr. (x 2)

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” Nicholas Carr (x 2)

“The Glass Essay,” Anne Carson from Short Talks , Anne Carson “Kinds of Water,” Anne Carson

“Marginal world,” Rachel Carson “The Obligation to Endure,” Rachel Carson “A Fable for Tomorrow,” Rachel Carson

“A Piece of Chalk,” G.K. Chesterton “On Running After One’s Hat,” G.K. Chesterton “A Defense of Penny Dreadfuls,” G.K. Chesterton “On Sandals and Simplicity,” G.K. Chesterton

“The Dream,” Winston Churchill (x 2) from “We Shall Fight on the Beaches,” Winston Churchill from “This Was Their Finest Hour,” Winston Churchill

“Silent Dancing,” Judith Ortiz Cofer (x 2) “More Room,” Judith Ortiz Cofer “Myth of the Latin Woman: I just met a girl named Maria,” Judith Ortiz Cofer

“Another Country,” Edwidge Danticat “Uncle Moïse,” Edwidge Danticat “Westbury Court,” Edwidge Danticat

“Music Is My Bag: Confessions of a Lapsed Oboist,” Meghan Daum (x 2)

“On Keeping a Notebook,” Joan Didion (x 4) “The White Album,” Joan Didion (x 2) “On Going Home,” Joan Didion (x 2) “On Morality,” Joan Didion (x 2) “Goodbye to All That,” Joan Didion “In Bed,” Joan Didion “At the Dam,” Joan Didion “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Joan Didion from Salvador , Joan Didion “The Santa Ana,” Joan Didion

“Seeing,” Annie Dillard (x 3) “Total Eclipse,” Annie Dillard (x 2) “Living Like Weasels,” Annie Dillard (x 2) rom An American Childhood , Annie Dillard (x 2) “Sight into Insight,” Annie Dillard “On Foot in Virginia’s Roanoke Valley,” Annie Dillard from For the Time Being , Annie Dillard “The Chase,” Annie Dillard “The Stunt Pilot,” Annie Dillard

“Learning to Read,” Frederick Douglass (x 3) from “Fourth of July Oration,” Frederick Douglass

“Of the Coming of John,” W.E.B. Du Bois (x 3) “A Mild Suggestion,” W.E.B. Du Bois

“Somehow Form a Family,” Tony Earley (x 2)

“Life with Daughters: Watching the Miss America Pageant,” Gerald Early (x 2) “Digressions,” Gerald Early

from Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America , Barbara Ehrenreich (x 3) “Serving in Florida,” Barbara Ehrenreich “Cultural Baggage,” Barbara Ehrenreich “War Without Humans: Modern Blood Rites Revisited,” Barbara Ehrenreich

“The Solace of Open Spaces,” Gretel Ehrlich (x 2) from the Journals, Gretel Ehrlich “Lijiang,” Gretel Ehrlich

“On Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner (x 3)

“Brown Wasps,” Loren Eiseley “The Angry Winter,” Loren Eiseley “The Snout,” Loren Eiseley

“Tradition and the Individual Talent,” T.S. Eliot “Marie Lloyd,” T.S. Eliot “The Dry Salvages,” T.S. Eliot

“The American Scholar,” Ralph Waldo Emerson “The Conservative,” Ralph Waldo Emerson “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson (x 2)

“Young Hunger,” M.F.K. Fisher (x 2) “Once a Tramp, Always,” M.F.K. Fisher “The Flaw,” M.F.K. Fisher “Paris Journal,” M.F.K. Fisher

“The Crack-up,” F. Scott Fitzgerald (x 3) “Sleeping and Waking,” F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Learning to Write,” Benjamin Franklin from the Autobiography , Benjamin Franklin “The Levee,” Benjamin Franklin

“When Doctors Make Mistakes,” Atul Gawande (x 2) from “Overkill,” Atul Gawande “Final Cut,” Atul Gawande “Why Boston’s Hospitals Were Ready,” Atul Gawande

“He and I,” Natalia Ginzburg (x 2)

“Java Man,” Malcolm Gladwell “None of the Above: What I.Q. Doesn’t Tell You about Race,” Malcolm Gladwell “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell

“Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” Stephen Jay Gould (x 3) “Creation Myths of Cooperstown,” Stephen Jay Gould “A Biological Homage to Mickey Mouse,” Stephen Jay Gould “The Median Isn’t the Message,” Stephen Jay Gould

“Mirrorings,” Lucy Grealy (x 2)

“The Lost Childhood,” Graham Greene (x 2)

“Apotheosis of Martin Luther King,” Elizabeth Hardwick (x 2)

“No Name Woman,” Maxine Hong Kingston (x 5) “Tongue-Tied,” Maxine Hong Kingston

“On the Pleasure of Hating,” William Hazlitt (x 2) “On Going a Journey,” William Hazlitt “The Fight,” William Hazlitt “Brummelliana,” William Hazlitt

“Illumination Rounds,” Michael Herr (x 3)

“The Courage of Turtles,” Edward Hoagland (x 2) “The Threshold and the Jolt of Pain,” Edward Hoagland “Heaven and Nature,” Edward Hoagland

“Salvation,” Langston Hughes (x 3) “Bop,” Langston Hughes

“How it Feels to Be Colored Me,” Zora Neale Hurston (x 6)

“The Declaration of Independence,” Thomas Jefferson (x 3)

“The Boarding house,” Samuel Johnson “The Solitude of the Country,” Samuel Johnson “Dignity and Uses of Biography,” Samuel Johnson “Conversation,” Samuel Johnson “Debtors’ Prisons (1),” Samuel Johnson “Debtors’ Prisons (2),” Samuel Johnson “To Reign Once More in Our Native Country,” Samuel Johnson

“A Small Place,” Jamaica Kincaid (x 2) “On Seeing England for the First Time,” Jamaica Kincaid “Girl,” Jamaica Kincaid “Biography of a Dress,” Jamaica Kincaid

“Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. (x 7) “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Dream Children: a Reverie,” Charles Lamb (x 2) “New Year’s Eve,” Charles Lamb “A Chapter on Ears,” Charles Lamb “The Superannuated Man,” Charles Lamb from “On Some of the Old Actors,” Charles Lamb

“Coming Home Again,” Chang-Rae Lee (x 2)

“Second Inaugural Address,” Abraham Lincoln (x 3) “First Inaugural Address,” Abraham Lincoln “The Gettysburg Address,” Abraham Lincoln

“Against Joie de Vivre,” Phillip Lopate “Portrait of my Body,” Phillip Lopate “On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character,” Phillip Lopate “The Dead Father: A Rememberance of Donald Barthelme,” Phillip Lopate

“Flight,” Barry Lopez “Grown Men,” Barry Lopez “The Raven,” Barry Lopez “Landscape and Narrative,” Barry Lopez

“The Fourth of July,” Audre Lorde “Poetry is Not a Luxury,” Audre Lorde “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism,” Audre Lorde

“The Undertaking,” Thomas Lynch (x 3)

“On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs (x 2) “Ron her Son,” Nancy Mairs “Body in Trouble,” Nancy Mairs “Disability,” Nancy Mairs

“My Confession,” Mary McCarthy “Artists in Uniform,” Mary McCarthy “Yonder Peasant, Who Is He?,” Mary McCarthy

“The Case for Single-Child Families,” Bill McKibben “Waste Not, Want Not,” Bill McKibben “Curbing Nature’s Paparazzi,” Bill McKibben

“The Search for Marvin Gardens,” John McPhee (x 4) “Under the Snow,” John McPhee from Annals of the Former World , John McPhee

“On Being an American,” H.L. Mencken “Hills of Zion,” H.L. Mencken “Reflections on Journalism,” H.L. Mencken “The Libido for the Ugly,” H.L. Mencken “Funeral march,” H.L. Mencken

“The Way to Rainy Mountain,” N. Scott Momaday (x 4) “An American Land Ethic,” N. Scott Momaday

“Of some verses on Virgil,” Michel de Montaigne (x 2) “Of books,” Michel de Montaigne “Of a monstrous child,” Michel de Montaigne from “On Cannibals,” Michel de Montaigne “Of Democritus and Heraclitus,” Michel de Montaigne “Of Experience,” Michel de Montaigne

“Two Ways to Belong in America,” Bharati Mukherjee (x 2)

“This is Not Who We Are,” Naomi Shihab Nye “Thank You in Arabic,” Naomi Shihab Nye “One Village,” Naomi Shihab Nye

“Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney,” Barack Obama (x 2) “A More Perfect Union,” Barack Obama

“Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell (x 5) “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell (x 2) “Such, Such were the Joys,” George Orwell “Reflections on Gandhi,” George Orwell “The Moon under Water,” George Orwell “A Hanging,” George Orwell

“Drugstore in Winter,” Cynthia Ozick “The Lesson of the Master,” Cynthia Ozick “Highbrow Blues,” Cynthia Ozick “Portrait of the Essay as a Warm Body,” Cynthia Ozick

“The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato (x 2)

“An Animal’s Place,” Michael Pollan “Why “Natural” Doesn’t Mean Anything Anymore,” Michael Pollan “What’s Eating America,” Michael Pollan

“Future is Now,” Katherine Anne Porter “St. Augustine and the Bullfight,” Katherine Anne Porter “The Necessary Enemy,” Katherine Anne Porter

“Between the Sexes, a Great Divide,” Anna Quindlen “Stuff Is Not Salvation,” Anna Quindlen “The War We Haven’t Won,” Anna Quindlen “Homeless,” Anna Quindlen

“Split at the Root,” Adrienne Rich “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying,” Adrienne Rich “Taking Women Students Seriously,” Adrienne Rich “Claiming an Education,” Adrienne Rich from “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Adrienne Rich

“Aria: a Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” Richard Rodriguez (x 3) “Late Victorians,” Richard Rodriguez “Going Home Again,” Richard Rodriguez from Crossing Borders , Richard Rodriguez from Darling , Richard Rodriguez “Private Language, Public Language,” Richard Rodriguez “‘Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans,” Richard Rodriguez

“Oranges and Sweet Sister Boy,” Judy Ruiz (x 2)

“Under the Influence,” Scott Russell Sanders (x 2 ) “The Men we Carry in our Minds,” Scott Russell Sanders (x 2) “The Singular First Person,” Scott Russell Sanders “The Inheritance of Tools,” Scott Russell Sanders

“Letter to President Pierce, 1855,” Chief Seattle (x 2)

“Repeat After Me,” David Sedaris “Loggerheads,” David Sedaris “A Plague of Tics,” David Sedaris “Guy Walks into a Bar Car,” David Sedaris “The Drama Bug,” David Sedaris “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa,” David Sedaris

“On Noise,” Seneca “Asthma,” Seneca “Scipio’s Villa,” Seneca “Slaves,” Seneca “Epistle 47,” Seneca “Sick,” Seneca

“Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective,” Leslie Marmon Silko (x 2)

“What Should a Billionaire Give—and What Should You?,” Peter Singer (x 2) from Animal Liberation , Peter Singer

“A Century of Cinema,” Susan Sontag (x 2) “Regarding the Pain of Others,” Susan Sontag (x 2) “Notes on ‘Camp,'” Susan Sontag from “Freak Show,” Susan Sontag “Unguided Tour,” Susan Sontag from “AIDS and Its Metaphors,” Susan Sontag.

“Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton (x 3) “Seneca Falls Keynote Address,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples (x 3) “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” Brent Staples

“Aes Triplex,” Robert Louis Stevenson “The Lantern-bearers,” Robert Louis Stevenson “An Apology for Idlers,” Robert Louis Stevenson “On Marriage,” Robert Louis Stevenson

“A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift (x 6) “Good Manners and Good Breeding,” Jonathan Swift “A Meditation upon a Broom-stick,” Jonathan Swift

“Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan (x 6)

“Decolonizing the Mind,” Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (x 2)

“Lives of a Cell,” Lewis Thomas “Notes on Punctuation,” Lewis Thomas “To Err is Human,” Lewis Thomas “Becoming a Doctor,” Lewis Thomas “The Medusa and the Snail,” Lewis Thomas

“Civil Disobedience,” Henry David Thoreau (x 3) “Walking,” Henry David Thoreau (x 2) “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” Henry David Thoreau (x 2) “The Battle of the Ants,” Henry David Thoreau “Night and Moonlight,” Henry David Thoreau

“The Secret Life of James Thurber,” James Thurber “Sex Ex Machina,” James Thurber “My Own Ten Rules for a Happy Marriage,” James Thurber “Snapshot of a Dog,” James Thurber

“Ain’t I a Woman?,” Sojourner Truth (x 2)

“Advice to Youth,” Mark Twain (x 2) “Corn-pone Opinions,” Mark Twain “Italian without a master,” Mark Twain “Thoughts of God,” Mark Twain from Life on the Mississippi “Letters from the Earth,” Mark Twain

“In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens,” Alice Walker (x 2) “Looking for Zora,” Alice Walker “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self,” Alice Walker “Becoming What We’re Called,” Alice Walker

“Consider the Lobster,” David Foster Wallace (x 3) “Ticket to the Fair,” David Foster Wallace “Shipping Out: On the (Nearly Lethal) Comforts of a Luxury Cruise,” David Foster Wallace

“Once More to the Lake,” E.B. White (x 9) “The Ring of Time,” E.B. White “About Myself,” E.B. White

“Writing and Analyzing a Story,” Eudora Welty (x 2) “Sweet Devouring,” Eudora Welty “Clamorous to Learn,” Eudora Welty “One Writer’s Beginnings,” Eudora Welty “The Little Store,” Eudora Welty “Listening,” Eudora Welty

“The Clan of One-Breasted Women,” Terry Tempest Williams (x 2)

“A Preface to Persius,” Edmund Wilson (x 2) “Old Stone House,” Edmund Wilson “Life is a Narrative,” Edmund Wilson

“Yeager,” Tom Wolfe (x 3) “Putting Daddy On,” Tom Wolfe “The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby,” Tom Wolfe

The Death of the Moth,” Virginia Woolf (x 6) “In Search of a Room of One’s Own,” Virginia Woolf (x 2) “Leslie Stephen,” Virginia Woolf “Harriette Wilson,” Virginia Woolf “Ellen Terry,” Virginia Woolf “Street Haunting,” Virginia Woolf from Three Guineas , Virginia Woolf

Anthologies Surveyed:

The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present , ed. Philip Lopate (1997); The Best American Essays of the Century, ed. Joyce Carol Oates and Robert Atwan (2001); Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present , ed. Lex Williford and Michael Martone (2007); The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction , 14th edition, ed. Melissa Goldthwaite, Joseph Bizup, John Brereton, Anne Fernald, Linda Peterson (2015); The Norton Book of Personal Essays , ed. Joseph Epstein (1997); The Best Creative Nonfiction , ed. Lee Gutkind, Volumes 1, 2, & 3 (2007); The Signet Book of American Essays , ed. M. Jerry Weiss and Helen Weiss (2006); The Oxford Book of Essays , ed. John Gross (1991); 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology , Samuel Cohen (2011); The Eloquent Essay: An Anthology of Classic & Creative Nonfiction , ed. John Loughery (2000); The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose , Third Edition, ed. Laura Buzzard, Don LePan, Nora Ruddock, Alexandria Stuart (2016); The Next American Essay , ed. John D’Agata (2003) & The Lost Origins of the Essay , ed. John D’Agata (2009) & The Making of the American Essay , ed. John D’Agata (2016); Contemporary Creative Nonfiction , ed. B. Minh Nguyen and Porter Shreve (2005); Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: The Art of Truth , ed. Bill Roorbach (2001); 40 Model Essays , Second edition, ed. Jane E. Aaron and Ellen Kuhl Repetto (2003); The Seagull Reader: Essays , Third Edition, ed. Joseph Kelly (2015)

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Should You Read 'It Ends with Us' Before 'It Starts with Us'? Here's the Right Order

In fact, here's how to read all of Colleen Hoover's book in order.

preview for It Ends With Us: Official Trailer (Sony Pictures)

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

Hoover, or CoHo as she's been nicknamed, writes in the New Adult category, mixing classic YA writing with older characters and more serious (or spicier!) themes. Fans love her work for its accessible style and fan favorite romantic tropes. The trademarks of a Colleen Hoover book are men with secrets, angsty heartbreak and emotional romance. Some of her books cross genres, including paranormal and psychological thrillers , and many tackle tough topics like abuse and poverty. Basically, if you love Hallmark Christmas movies but wish they were darker and steamier, Hoover will have a book for you.

But with all the CoHo books out there, some in series and some as standalones, how do you read the Colleen Hoover books in order ? We have a guide. And don't forget to join the Good Housekeeping Book Club for more on our favorite reads.

What Colleen Hoover book should I read first?

Hoover has written four book series. You can read one or all of the series, in any sequence.

The Slammed Trilogy

The hopeless saga.

The Maybe Trilogy I
t Ends (and Starts) With Us

According to Goodreads , Colleen Hoover’s most reviewed books are It Ends With Us and Verity . So if you’re curious about Hoover and want to join the conversation, these are the books fellow bookworms are most likely to have read. You could also start from the beginning with Slammed, the debut novel that launched Hoover’s career. But the best place to start is always the book that sounds most interesting to you.

Colleen Hoover books in order

Hoover has published books both as standalones and as parts of series. The standalones can be read in any order, but make sure to follow the right order for each series — it can be confusing!

Slammed (2012)

This was Hoover’s debut novel and the beginning of a trilogy. Eighteen-year-old Layken has just lost her father and is trying to be strong for her family. Her new neighbor, Will, a fan of slam poetry, sparks a relationship with her — but a startling secret threatens to destroy it.

RELATED: An Extremely Opinionated List of the Best Romance Novels

Point of Retreat (2012)

This second installment of the Slammed trilogy continues to follow Layken and Will’s relationship as it is put to the test by a surprise from Will’s past. Can they fight for their future together, or will they retreat and give up on their love?

This Girl (2013)

The third and final book in the Slammed trilogy, this book is told from Will’s perspective. Although Layken and Will have surmounted several obstacles in their relationship, Will’s past continues to threaten their future together.

Hopeless (2012)

High school senior Sky meets hunky Dean, a classmate with a promiscuous reputation who can’t seem to leave her alone. But something about him sparks memories of Sky's dark past, and Dean is keeping a secret that may shatter Sky’s ability to trust.

Losing Hope (2013)

This Hopeless sequel is told from Dean’s perspective as he is haunted by his guilt over a little girl he couldn’t save. It delves into both his and Sky’s past, and how they impacted each other in childhood.

Finding Cinderella (2013)

This novella follows Daniel and Six, two friends of Dean and Sky. An 18-year-old Daniel meets a girl who agrees to pretend to be in love with him for an hour, then disappears. A year later, he hasn’t forgotten her when a mysterious girl named Six enters his life.

All Your Perfects (2018)

This book is part of the larger world of the Hopeless Saga but could also be read as a standalone. However, it is important to read if you want to understand the final Hopeless installment, which includes continuing storylines from this book. It follows Quinn and Graham as they try to fix their struggling marriage.

Finding Perfect (2019)

This book ties together several different CoHo stories. It’s the sequel to All Your Perfects but also the last installment in the Hopeless Saga. It’s narrated by Daniel from Finding Cinderella and follows his tight-knit group of friends: Six, Holder, Sky and Breckin.

The Maybe Trilogy

Maybe Someday (2014)

Sydney has a great life in college — until she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her. Facing his betrayal, she finds herself captivated by her neighbor Ridge, who plays the guitar on his balcony every evening.

Maybe Not (2014)

This enemies-to-lovers roommate romance follows Warren, a fan favorite character from Maybe Someday . When he and his new female roommate Maggie clash, he starts to wonder: Could Maggie love somebody as passionately as she seems to hate Warren?

Maybe Now (2018)

Maybe Now follows Sydney, Ridge, Warren and Maggie. As Maggie tries to cross off her bucket list in the face of her illness, Sydney battles jealousy at Maggie’s continued presence in Ridge’s life. Can they all learn to reconcile, or will they risk their relationships?

It Ends (and Starts) With Us

It Ends with Us (2016)

Flower shop owner Lily falls deeply in love with handsome, seemingly perfect neurosurgeon Ryle. But Lily’s family history of domestic violence and Ryle’s unexpected dark side complicate their relationship as Atlas, a homeless boy from Lily’s youth, suddenly re-enters her life.

It Starts with Us (2022)

This sequel to It Ends With Us dives into both Lily’s and Atlas’s perspectives as they reconnect after two long years. But to find their happiness, they must navigate Ryle’s jealousy and both of their pasts.

Standalone Books

If you don’t want the commitment of reading a whole series, one of Colleen Hoover's standalone books can be a great start. You can read these in any order because they aren’t related, but here they are chronologically.

Ugly Love (2014)

Confess (2015).

November 9 (2015)
Too Late (2016)
Never Never (2016)
Without Merit (2017)
Verity (2018)
Regretting You (2019)
Heart Bones (2020)
Layla (2020)
Reminders of Him (2022)

In this enemies-to-lovers romance, nurse Tate and airline pilot Miles strike up what is supposed to be a strictly physical relationship. But when their relationship is complicated by Miles’s mysterious past, hearts are broken and love turns ugly.

Twenty-one-year old Auburn is trying to rebuild her life after a devastating loss when she looks for a job at an art studio. Instead, she meets mysterious artist Owen. But as their relationship grows, she discovers that Owen is keeping a major secret—one that could ruin everything.

Sarah Vincent (she/her) covers the latest and greatest in books and all things pets for Good Housekeeping . She double majored in Creative Writing and Criminal Justice at Loyola University Chicago, where she sat in the front row for every basketball game. In her spare time, she loves cooking, crafting, studying Japanese, and, of course, reading.

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} All the Best Books to Read Next

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On the centennial of his birth, James Baldwin remains relevant today

Andrew Limbong

Recalling the words of writer James Baldwin, who was born 100 years ago

James Baldwin sitting at a table, holding a cigarette, beside a tray of teacups.

The author James Baldwin would have turned 100 on Aug, 2. Evening Standard/Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption

James Baldwin would have celebrated his 100th birthday Friday — on Aug. 2. On NPR and elsewhere, you can find deep examinations of his legacy – as everything from an orator, a fashion icon, to civil rights activist. But he was, of course, a writer first and foremost.

So, we thought: Why not spend a moment breaking down a few of his sentences to figure out what made his writing so affecting, so indelible, so good that it’s still worth reading today?

We’ve chosen a few lines from two of his most well-known books — his essay collection The Fire Next Time and his novel Go Tell It on the Mountain . In many ways, these books are in conversation with each other. The opening essay to The Fire Next Time is Baldwin’s letter to his 14-year-old nephew describing the faulty institutions that make up his life — his family, his faith, and his country. And the second essay opens like this: “I underwent, during the summer that I became fourteen, a prolonged religious crisis.” In Go Tell it on the Mountain , Baldwin writes a bit of fiction drawn from his own life, about a 14-year-old boy who is finding out those very same faults, as well as figuring out his own sexuality. And it opens on a very similar day of crisis.

For each book, we’ve enlisted the help of an expert to talk about what they find interesting about Baldwin’s writing style, and what legacy each work leaves. The interviews, which follow below, have been edited for length and clarity.

The Fire Next Time

The two essays in The Fire Next Time were published in the 1960s. But they still sounded new in the early 2000s when Jesmyn Ward first read them. Ward is the author of a number of books including Sing, Unburied Sing and her memoir The Men We Reaped . We called her up for this book in particular because she edited a 2016 collection of political essays and poetry titled The Fire This Time , as a nod to Baldwin. “I wanted to let him know, wherever he may be, that there are those of us who look up to him and who are attempting to do the same work that he did with the same honesty and same fearlessness” said Ward. The first essay, titled “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” starts like this:

Dear James: I have begun this letter five times and torn it up five times. I keep seeing your face, which is also the face of your father and my brother. Like him, you are tough, dark, vulnerable, moody – with a very definite tendency to sound truculent because you want no one to think you are soft.

What tone is he setting here?

JW: That first sentence in the first sentence – “I've begun this letter five times and turn it up five times.” Right there, he's signaling to his nephew, we're about to talk about something that's very difficult. But softens that with the next line, “I keep seeing your face.” Following up with such a careful, close sort of observation about his nephew's characteristics in the way that they sort of echo his father and his grandfather. That's love, right? Because I love you enough to see you clearly.

You were born where you were born and face the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being.

This is another example of his straightforward honesty with his nephew. But what did you make of it?

JW: It's all still true. That’s one of the things that is so genius about specifically this letter. There are these moments in the texts where he doesn't use his nephew's name and he just uses you. And in those moments, especially in moments like this, when he is so straightforward about what he sees in America. And where he is so straightforward about how the world has been constructed to jail, or to confine in some ways. And it feels like he's speaking to me. It feels like this wise, older wise person is sitting with me and they're telling me something about my life and about the circumstances of my life that I dimly understood, but was not able to articulate.

This entire country has been constructed in a way that it is very easy to be terrified and bewildered and to sink into despair and hatred. And so I think that often when we return to Baldwin, what we want is we want someone to acknowledge our emotions. But then also just to say at the same time, you feel this way because this place has been constructed in this way and it is all predicated on this false understanding of your not being human. And in this section, he just makes room for your emotions. For you to feel what you feel. But then also gives you something of a gift that you can take out into the outside world and use it to help you navigate this really difficult reality.

In the next essay, titled “Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind,” he goes to interview Elijah Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam, and has this dinner. And it’s rare to read something where Baldwin is not the big dog in the room. What do you make of James Baldwin the reporter being packaged inside Baldwin the essayist?

JW: I felt for Baldwin at that moment. There are so many levels of awareness that he's sort of struggling with. He's not the most important person in the room and in the minds of the people around him. He's not the most erudite person in the room. And he's also aware of the fact that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is courting him. [Muhammad] wants [Baldwin] to buy into his philosophy. And Baldwin is aware of the fact that he can't.

A couple of times throughout the essay he talks about the fact that, after this dinner, he's going to meet up with some white friends and he's going to have drinks. And these are people who he cares about and who he loves and who are part of his social circle. And who he can't just relegate to the category of white devil. It's very interesting to me how Baldwin is juggling all these different awarenesses and how, at the same time, there are things about the Black Muslims philosophy that he understands.

And I looked around the table. I certainly had no evidence to give them that would outweigh Elijah’s authority or the evidence o f their own lives or the reality of the streets outside.

He's a writer. So he sees the human. He observes the human. He understands. He's able to look at each of these people that he's interacting with and he's able to understand something of what they are struggling with and something of what they brought to this moment. All of that is what makes him the great writer who he is.

Go Tell It on the Mountain

When it comes to Baldwin’s fiction work, there are plenty of books worthy of examination. But there’s something special about Go Tell It on the Mountain . “He describes this as the book he had to write if he was ever going to write anything else,” says McKinley Melton, associate professor and chair of Africana studies at Rhodes College. “I often think of it as a revisitation of his childhood with a narrative perspective that knows and understands all of the things a young Baldwin wishes he had known and understood when he was 14.”

The novel follows a boy named John undergoing that same crisis of faith Baldwin described in The Fire Next Time . But he opens it a little differently in fiction.

go tell it on the mountain cover jpg.jpg

Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father. It had been said so often that John, without ever thinking about it, had come to believe it himself. Not until the morning of his fourteenth birthday did he really begin to think about it, and by then it was already too late.

That last clause kind of reads like a horror story.

MM: There’s something deeply ominous about the way that that opening paragraph closes. You open with this idea of, oh, this is just an introduction to a young man who's stepping into a role that the father has laid out. You come into it feeling kind of hopeful and optimistic and, oh, what a beautiful thing that everybody's envisioning this future for this young man. And we think about everything that it means when people say, oh, that kid's going to be a preacher . We see him as an orator, we see him as an intellectual, we'll see him as charming, we see him as engaging. We see a leader when we look at this kid. And so there's something very optimistic about that opening that then turns by the end of the novel into. But that was actually the source of his doom.

I want to jump ahead a few pages. There’s this guy named Elijah. He’s a couple years older, and he teaches Sunday school.

John stared at Elisha all during the lesson, admiring the timbre of Elisha’s voice, much deeper and manlier than his own, admiring the leanness, and grace, and strength, and darkness of Elisha in his Sunday suit, wondering if he would ever be holy as Elisha was holy.

MM: This is another sentence that I often will pause with students to kind of think about and say, what's going on here? And then they just say, “Oh, my God, he has a crush.” Yeah, he has a crush. Absolutely. But then we look at it and, I look at this passage and, because of all of the ways that the different clauses bounce off of one another throughout the sentence, you're kind of leaving this saying, well, does John have the hots for Elisha? Because John is learning that he's probably gay. Or is John admiring Elisha because he is all of the things that John has been told he's supposed to be in terms of this kind of striving toward being a preacher when he grows up and the kind of idea of being saved in the idea of being holy, in the idea of looking good in a Sunday suit.

The middle chunk of the book goes into the lives of his aunt, his mother, and his step father. And I want to focus on his step father, Gabriel. And if you grew up in the church you know that the people who are sinners and then find God are often the most vociferously faithful. And Gabriel definitely fits that mold. There’s a bit where he has an affair with a woman named Esther, and he gets Esther pregnant.

Near the end of that summer he went out again into the field. He could not stand his home, his job, the town itself – he could not endure, day in, day out, facing the scenes and the people he had known all his life. They seemed suddenly to mock him, to stand in judgement on him; he saw guilt in everybody’s eyes.

John is scared of hell and eternal damnation. Gabriel seems more scared of other people, and very earthly judgements, right?

MM: I often think about the unfolding of this novel. We start with John in this moment of chaos and a lack of understanding. And then the novel takes us back through each of these characters who we come to understand better. We come to understand John better. He's struggling with sin in a space that feels deeply private, deeply unspoken. Gabriel is differently positioned because he's already in that position of prominence. He's standing at the pulpit. He's you know, they're both afraid of judgment. Right. But John is afraid of revelation. And Gabriel fears that everybody already knows. Gabriel is afraid of the judgment that comes based on the fact that, like, oh, they already know who I've always been .

But ultimately, both of them are struggling with this sense of judgment and condemnation and the fear of being, quote unquote, discovered for being less than the holy men that they have aspired to be. But I think what Baldwin is saying is: I'm not just critiquing the church, or the Black church, or the fundamentalist church. I'm asking us to think about what damage does it do to us when we are so deeply, deeply wedded to certain beliefs that don't allow us the fullness of our humanity? And if you're going to be sympathetic for John, you have to figure out a way to be sympathetic for Gabriel, even if his actions don't invite sympathy in the same way.

How long would it take to read the greatest books of all time?

The economist consulted bibliophile data scientists to bring you the answer.

Explore the 500 highest ranked books

One hundred years of solitude, gabriel garcía márquez, 1967.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

James joyce, 1922.

The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger, 1951

Nineteen eighty-four, george orwell, 1949.

In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust, 1913

Vladimir nabokov, 1955.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee, 1960

Herman melville, 1851.

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen, 1813

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë, 1847

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes, 1605

Crime and punishment, fyodor dostoevsky, 1866, anna karenina, leo tolstoy, 1877, the grapes of wrath, john steinbeck, 1939.

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy, 1869

The lord of the rings, j.r.r. tolkien, 1954, joseph heller, 1961, madame bovary, gustave flaubert, 1857, charlotte brontë, 1847, the sound and the fury, william faulkner, 1929, alice's adventures in wonderland, lewis carroll, 1865, middlemarch, george eliot, 1871, adventures of huckleberry finn, mark twain, 1884, heart of darkness, joseph conrad, 1899, toni morrison, 1987.

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri, 1321

Invisible man, ralph ellison, 1952.

The Odyssey

Homer, 740BC

Frankenstein, mary shelley, 1818, the stranger, albert camus, 1942, the brothers karamazov, fyodor dostoevsky, 1880, great expectations, charles dickens, 1860, to the lighthouse, virginia woolf, 1927, mrs dalloway, virginia woolf, 1925, homer, 750bc, midnight's children, salman rushdie, 1981, franz kafka, 1925, on the road, jack kerouac, 1957, the master and margarita, mikhail bulgakov, 1967, brave new world, aldous huxley, 1932, the magic mountain, thomas mann, 1924, gulliver's travels, jonathan swift, 1726, david copperfield, charles dickens, 1850, les misérables, victor hugo, 1862, gone with the wind, margaret mitchell, 1936, the sun also rises, ernest hemingway, 1926, their eyes were watching god, zora neale hurston, 1937, things fall apart, chinua achebe, 1958, the color purple, alice walker, 1982, the red and the black, stendhal, 1830, a passage to india, e.m. forster, 1924, slaughterhouse-five, kurt vonnegut, 1969, lord of the flies, william golding, 1954, absalom, absalom, william faulkner, 1936, daphne du maurier, 1938, the scarlet letter, nathaniel hawthorne, 1850, the life and opinions of tristram shandy, gentleman, laurence sterne, 1759, the diary of a young girl, anne frank, 1947, silent spring, rachel carson, 1962, the little prince, antoine de saint-exupéry, 1943, the portrait of a lady, henry james, 1881, voltaire, 1759, little women, louisa may alcott, 1868, one thousand and one nights, as i lay dying, william faulkner, 1930, a portrait of the artist as a young man, james joyce, 1916, richard wright, 1940, the handmaid's tale, margaret atwood, 1985, henry david thoreau, 1854, vanity fair, william makepeace thackeray, 1848, the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, douglas adams, 1979, animal farm, george orwell, 1945, virgil, 19bc, in cold blood, truman capote, 1966, robinson crusoe, daniel defoe, 1719, the bell jar, sylvia plath, 1963, for whom the bell tolls, ernest hemingway, 1940, oedipus the king, sophocles, 429bc, the old man and the sea, ernest hemingway, 1952, tess of the d'urbervilles, thomas hardy, 1891, william shakespeare, 1600, johann wolfgang von goethe, 1808, bram stoker, 1897, niccolo machiavelli, 1532, a clockwork orange, anthony burgess, 1962, the age of innocence, edith wharton, 1920, leaves of grass, walt whitman, 1855, vladimir nabokov, 1962, henry fielding, 1749, the picture of dorian gray, oscar wilde, 1891, the tin drum, günter grass, 1959, the golden notebook, doris lessing, 1962, jane austen, 1815, waiting for godot, samuel beckett, 1952, the leopard, giuseppe tomasi di lampedusa, 1958, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, ken kesey, 1962, charlotte's web, e.b. white, 1952, all quiet on the western front, erich maria remarque, 1928, jorge luis borges, 1944, the big sleep, raymond chandler, 1939, the canterbury tales, geoffrey chaucer, 1476, treasure island, robert louis stevenson, 1883, the count of monte cristo, alexandre dumas, 1844, fahrenheit 451, ray bradbury, 1953, paradise lost, john milton, 1667, the name of the rose, umberto eco, 1980, fyodor dostoevsky, 1869, frank herbert, 1965, michel de montaigne, 1580, love in the time of cholera, gabriel garcía márquez, 1985, wide sargasso sea, jean rhys, 1966, the unbearable lightness of being, milan kundera, 1984, the stories of anton chekhov, anton chekhov, 1900, a farewell to arms, ernest hemingway, 1929, the good soldier, ford madox ford, 1915, willa cather, 1918, under the volcano, malcolm lowry, 1947, on the origin of species, charles darwin, 1859, the complete tales and poems of edgar allan poe, edgar allan poe, 1902, the hound of the baskervilles, arthur conan doyle, 1902, the metamorphosis, franz kafka, 1915, journey to the end of the night, louis-ferdinand céline, 1932, sons and lovers, d.h. lawrence, 1913, first folio, william shakespeare, 1623, the wind in the willows, kenneth grahame, 1908, the heart is a lonely hunter, carson mccullers, 1940, doctor zhivago, boris pasternak, 1957, the second sex, simone de beauvoir, 1949, rabbit, run, john updike, 1960, fathers and sons, ivan turgenev, 1862, franz kafka, 1926, harry potter and the philosopher's stone, j.k. rowling, 1997, albert camus, 1947, nikolai gogol, 1842, song of solomon, toni morrison, 1977, sophocles, 441bc, joseph conrad, 1900, the autobiography of malcolm x, alex haley, 1965, the maltese falcon, dashiell hammett, 1930, the republic, plato, 379bc, the interpretation of dreams, sigmund freud, 1899, the man without qualities, robert musil, 1930, fyodor dostoevsky, 1872, orlando: a biography, virginia woolf, 1928, steppenwolf, hermann hesse, 1927, confessions, st augustine, 397, buddenbrooks, thomas mann, 1901, the house of mirth, edith wharton, 1905, portnoy's complaint, philip roth, 1969, the spy who came in from the cold, john le carré, 1963, doctor faustus, thomas mann, 1947, the talented mr. ripley, patricia highsmith, 1955, the tale of genji, murasaki shikibu, 1010, i know why the caged bird sings, maya angelou, 1969, the three musketeers, howards end, e.m. forster, 1910, the call of the wild, jack london, 1903, the long goodbye: a novel, raymond chandler, 1953, bleak house, charles dickens, 1852, an american tragedy, theodore dreiser, 1925, light in august, william faulkner, 1932, the woman in white, wilkie collins, 1860, winnie the pooh, a.a milne, 1926, all the king's men, robert penn warren, 1946, the house of the spirits, isabel allende, 1982, tender is the night, f. scott fitzgerald, 1934, the double helix: a personal account of the discovery of the structure of dna, james d. watson, 1968, franz kafka: the complete stories, franz kafka, 1971, fear and loathing in las vegas: a savage journey to the heart of the american dream, hunter s. thompson, 1971, blood meridian, cormac mccarthy, 1985, uncle tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe, 1852, brideshead revisited, evelyn waugh, 1945, a confederacy of dunces, john kennedy toole, 1980, a room of one's own, virginia woolf, 1929, the complete stories of flannery o'connor, flannery o'connor, 1971, the shining, stephen king, 1977, watership down, richard adams, 1972, the structure of scientific revolutions, thomas kuhn, 1962, the adventures of augie march, saul bellow, 1953, gravity's rainbow, thomas pynchon, 1973, upton sinclair, 1906, lady chatterley's lover, d.h. lawrence, 1928, the time machine, h.g. wells, 1895, the remains of the day, kazuo ishiguro, 1989, one day in the life of ivan denisovich, aleksandr solzhenitsyn, 1962, j.r.r. tolkien, 1937, poems of emily dickinson, emily dickinson, 1890, the secret history, donna tartt, 1992, the prime of miss jean brodie, muriel spark, 1961, the moviegoer, walker percy, 1961, the gulag archipelago, aleksandr solzhenitsyn, 1973, joseph conrad, 1904, and then there were none, agatha christie, 1939, communist manifesto, karl marx, friedrich engels, 1848, saul bellow, 1964, the waste land, t.s. eliot, 1922, a wizard of earthsea, ursula k. le guin, 1968, the awakening, kate chopin, 1899, gargantua and pantagruel, françois rabelais, 1532, u.s.a. trilogy, john dos passos, 1930, a wrinkle in time, madeleine l'engle, 1962, a house for mr. biswas, v.s. naipaul, 1961, giovanni boccaccio, 1349, a tree grows in brooklyn, betty smith, 1943, father goriot, honoré de balzac, 1835, the ambassadors, henry james, 1903, ian mcewan, 2001, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, c.s. lewis, 1950, dangerous liaisons, pierre choderlos de laclos, 1782, fairy tales and stories, hans christian andersen, 1835, the pickwick papers, charles dickens, 1836, rudyard kipling, 1901, housekeeping, marilynne robinson, 1980, white teeth, zadie smith, 2000, collected poems of w.b. yeats, william butler yeats, 1933, euripides, 431bc, of mice and men, john steinbeck, 1937, war of the worlds, h.g. wells, 1898, the world according to garp, john irving, 1978, the corrections, jonathan franzen, 2001, atlas shrugged, ayn rand, 1957, william shakespeare, 1606, the god of small things, arundhati roy, 1997, tropic of cancer, henry miller, 1934, stephen king, 1978, women in love, d.h. lawrence, 1920, the adventures of tom sawyer, mark twain, 1876, cold comfort farm, stella gibbons, 1932, jude the obscure, thomas hardy, 1895, the once and future king, t.h. white, 1958, the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, robert louis stevenson, 1886, sinclair lewis, 1922, the complete sherlock holmes, arthur conan doyle, 1927, hermann hesse, 1922, a tale of two cities, charles dickens, 1859, kingsley amis, 1954, democracy in america, alexis de tocqueville, 1835, the charterhouse of parma, stendhal, 1839, samuel beckett, 1951, the good soldier svejk, jaroslav hašek, 1921, bonfire of the vanities, tom wolfe, 1987, the life of samuel johnson, james boswell, 1791, j.m. coetzee, 1999, american pastoral, philip roth, 1997, andré malraux, 1933, isaac asimov, 1951, oedipus at colonus, sophocles, 401bc, aeschylus, 458bc, if this is a man, primo levi, 1947, neuromancer, william gibson, 1984, the mayor of casterbridge, thomas hardy, 1886, the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay, michael chabon, 2000, jean paul sartre, 1938, confessions of zeno, italo svevo, 1923, the things they carried, tim o'brien, 1990, william shakespeare, 1605, go tell it on the mountain, james baldwin, 1953, giovanni's room, james baldwin, 1956, the murder of roger ackroyd, agatha christie, 1926, the counterfeiters, andré gide, 1925, a sentimental education, gustave flaubert, 1869, are you there god it's me, margaret, judy blume, 1970, sir walter scott, 1819, a.s. byatt, 1990, of human bondage, w. somerset maugham, 1915, the chronicles of narnia, anne of green gables, l.m. montgomery, 1908, the turn of the screw, henry james, 1898, the godfather, mario puzo, 1969, if on a winter's night a traveller, italo calvino, 1979, the adventures of oliver twist, charles dickens, 1837, twenty thousand leagues under the sea, jules verne, 1870, stranger in a strange land, robert a. heinlein, 1961, the left hand of darkness, ursula k. le guin, 1969, the wind-up bird chronicle, haruki murakami, 1994, brighton rock, graham greene, 1938, epic of gilgamesh, a prayer for owen meany, john irving, 1989, the haunting of hill house, shirley jackson, 1959, thus spake zarathustra, friedrich nietzsche, 1883, ivan goncharov, 1859, winesburg, ohio, sherwood anderson, 1919, the end of the affair, graham greene, 1951, jane austen, 1817, the sea, the sea, iris murdoch, 1978, the flowers of evil, charles baudelaire, 1857, the sorrows of young werther, johann wolfgang von goethe, 1774, a room with a view, e.m. forster, 1908, the stories of john cheever, john cheever, 1978, do androids dream of electric sheep, philip k. dick, 1968, invisible cities, italo calvino, 1972, the good earth, pearl s. buck, 1931, a season in hell, arthur rimbaud, 1873, at swim two-birds, flann o'brien, 1939, the moonstone, wilkie collins, 1868, pedro páramo, juan rulfo, 1955, marguerite duras, 1984, the joy luck club, amy tan, 1989, cormac mccarthy, 2006, knut hamsun, 1890, infinite jest, david foster wallace, 1996, jorge luis borges, 1962, white noise, don delillo, 1985, look homeward, angel, thomas wolfe, 1929, i, claudius, robert graves, 1934, the alchemist, paulo coelho, 1988, the tempest, memoirs of hadrian, marguerite yourcenar, 1951, the poems of robert frost, robert frost, 1913, the histories of herodotus, herodotus, 450bc, darkness at noon, arthur koestler, 1940, the confessions of jean-jacques rousseau, jean-jacques rousseau, 1782, mahabharata, vyasa, 400bc, children's and household tales, brothers grimm, 1812, a vindication of the rights of woman, mary wollstonecraft, 1792, the red badge of courage, stephen crane, 1895, djuna barnes, 1936, east of eden, john steinbeck, 1952, berlin alexanderplatz, alfred döblin, 1929, naked lunch, william s. burroughs, 1959, martin amis, 1984, a doll's house, henrik ibsen, 1879, finnegans wake, james joyce, 1939, out of africa, isak dinesen (karen blixen), 1937, the tartar steppe, dino buzzati, 1940, the old wives' tale, arnold bennett, 1908, the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum, 1900, metamorphoses, the elements of style, e.b. white, william strunk jr., 1918, the mill on the floss, george eliot, 1860, speak, memory, vladimir nabokov, 1951, zorba the greek, nikos kazantzakis, 1946, a bend in the river, v.s. naipaul, 1979, a good man is hard to find, flannery o'connor, 1953, pippi longstocking, astrid lindgren, 1945, cry, the beloved country, alan paton, 1948, thomas hobbes, 1651, let us now praise famous men, james agee, 1941, e. l. doctorow, 1975, his dark materials, philip pullman, 1995, samuel richardson, 1748, blaise pascal, 1670, a suitable boy, vikram seth, 1993, albert einstein, 1916, sophie's choice, william styron, 1979, death of virgil, hermann broch, 1945, émile zola, 1885, the power and the glory, graham greene, 1940, the general theory of employment, interest and money, john maynard keynes, 1936, the last of the mohicans, james fenimore cooper, 1826, pilgrim's progress, john bunyan, 1678, the day of the locust, nathanael west, 1939, malone dies, homage to catalonia, george orwell, 1938, the complete works of plato, plato, 387bc, a dance to the music of time, anthony powell, 1951, a brief history of time, stephen hawking, 1988, le morte d'arthur, thomas malory, 1485, the secret garden, frances hodgson burnett, 1911, stories of ernest hemingway, ernest hemingway, 1987, rabbit redux, john updike, 1971, the daughter of time, josephine tey, 1951, the princess of cleves, madame de la fayette, 1678, ethan frome, edith wharton, 1911, zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, robert m. pirsig, 1974, our mutual friend, charles dickens, 1864, the shipping news, annie proulx, 1993, the decline and fall of the roman empire, edward gibbon, 1776, i capture the castle, dodie smith, 1948, a christmas carol, charles dickens, 1843, the electric kool-aid acid test, tom wolfe, 1968, the bacchae, euripides, 405bc, 2001: a space odyssey, arthur c. clarke, 1968, black lamb and grey falcon, rebecca west, 1941, rabbit is rich, john updike, 1981, the crying of lot 49, thomas pynchon, 1966, virginia woolf, 1931, regeneration, pat barker, 1991, the feminine mystique, betty friedan, 1963, wings of the dove, henry james, 1902, the hunchback of notre-dame, victor hugo, 1831, a fine balance, rohinton mistry, 1995, the day of the jackal, frederick forsyth, 1971, the return of the native, thomas hardy, 1878, never let me go, kazuo ishiguro, 2005, the forsyte saga, john galsworthy, 1906, nights at the circus, angela carter, 1984, meditations, marcus aurelius, 161, the brief wondrous life of oscar wao, junot diaz, 2007, the poisonwood bible, barbara kingsolver, 1998, the rainbow, d.h. lawrence, 1915, kristin lavransdatter, sigrid undset, 1920, critique of pure reason, immanuel kant, 1781, bonjour tristesse, francoise sagan, 1954, so long, see you tomorrow, william maxwell, 1980, the civil war, shelby foote, 1958, murder on the orient express, agatha christie, 1934, the death of ivan ilyich, leo tolstoy, 1886, american psycho, bret easton ellis, 1991, through the looking glass, lewis carroll, 1871, witold gombrowicz, 1937, the thirty-nine steps, john buchan, 1915, das kapital, karl marx, 1867, the siege of krishnapur, j. g. farrell, 1973, art spiegelman, 1980, silas marner, george eliot, 1861, main street, sinclair lewis, 1920, the varieties of religious experience, william james, 1902, independent people, halldor laxness, 1934, schindler's list, thomas keneally, 1982, the french lieutenant's woman, john fowles, 1969, the phantom tollbooth, norton juster, 1961, the vicar of wakefield, oliver goldsmith, 1766, the private memoirs and confessions of a justified sinner, james hogg, 1824, sister carrie, theodore dreiser, 1900, don delillo, 1997, play it as it lays, joan didion, 1970, patrick süskind, 1985, where the wild things are, maurice sendak, 1963, the death of the heart, elizabeth bowen, 1938, the affluent society, john kenneth galbraith, 1958, notes from the underground, fyodor dostoevsky, 1864, the wealth of nations, adam smith, 1776, collected poems, wallace stevens, 1954, eugene onegin, alexander pushkin, 1833, a streetcar named desire, tennessee williams, 1947, waiting for the barbarians, j.m. coetzee, 1980, the golden bowl, henry james, 1904, the education of henry adams, henry adams, 1907, far from the madding crowd, thomas hardy, 1874, a hero of our time, mikhail lermontov, 1840, stanislaw lem, 1961, the man who loved children, christina stead, 1940, crash: a novel, j. g. ballard, 1973, james joyce, 1914, life and fate, vasily grossman, 1980, sophocles, 409bc, the autobiography of alice b. toklas, gertrude stein, 1933, marilynne robinson, 2004, moll flanders, daniel defoe, 1722, jeffrey eugenides, 2002, the alexandria quartet, lawrence durrell, 1957, black beauty, anna sewell, 1877, harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban, j.k. rowling, 1999, cloud atlas, david mitchell, 2004, the glass bead game, hermann hesse, 1943, life, a user's manual, georges perec, 1978, the savage detectives, roberto bolaño, 1998, john fowles, 1965, philosophical investigations, ludwig wittgenstein, 1953, the cherry orchard, anton chekhov, 1904, yevgeny zamyatin, 1924, the bluest eye, toni morrison, 1970, call it sleep, henry roth, 1934, the secret agent, joseph conrad, 1907, death in venice, thomas mann, 1912, the postman always rings twice, james m. cain, 1934, confucius, 479bc, the third policeman, flann o'brien, 1967, octavia e. butler, 1979, w.g. sebald, 2001, red harvest, dashiell hammett, 1929, ada or ardor, vladimir nabokov, 1969, nine stories, j.d. salinger, 1953, the fountainhead, ayn rand, 1943, the unnamable, samuel beckett, 1953, george eliot, 1859, henryk sienkiewicz, 1896, the right stuff, tom wolfe, 1979, breakfast at tiffany's, truman capote, 1958, rabbit at rest, john updike, 1990, the art of war, sun tzu, 475bc, the way we live now, anthony trollope, 1875, the english patient, michael ondaatje, 1992, the naked and the dead, norman mailer, 1948, the betrothed, alessandro manzoni, 1827, the souls of black folk, w.e.b. du bois, 1903, the book of disquiet, fernando pessoa, 1982, the thorn birds, colleen mccullough, 1977, prometheus bound, aeschylus, 479bc, season of migration to the north, al-tayyib salih, 1966, flannery o'connor, 1952, the house of the seven gables, nathaniel hawthorne, 1851, roberto bolaño, 2004, the federalist papers, alexander hamilton, james madison, john jay, 1787, journey to the west, wu cheng'en, 1592, de rerum natura, lucretius, 55, cousin bette, honoré de balzac, 1846, harry potter and the goblet of fire, j.k. rowling, 2000, charlie and the chocolate factory, roald dahl, 1964, the sheltering sky, paul bowles, 1949, the sonnets, william shakespeare, 1609, the nicomachean ethics, aristotle, 340bc, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, john le carré, 1974, alan moore, 1987, effi briest, theodor fontane, 1895.

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Landslides in Southern India Kill More Than 100 People

Rescue workers struggled to reach isolated villages in the state of Kerala, where torrential rains have washed away terrain. The death toll was expected to rise.

By Sameer Yasir and Anupreeta Das

Reporting from New Delhi

At least 108 people were killed and dozens more injured in the southern Indian state of Kerala after days of heavy rainfall set off multiple landslides in a hilly region, in what government officials called one of its worst natural disasters.

The landslides in the district of Wayanad — a region whose natural, rugged beauty draws millions of tourists every year — uprooted trees, knocked down communication lines, submerged roads and washed away a bridge. Rescue operations were hindered by the region’s terrain, which made it harder to reach hundreds of residents in the areas that were hit the hardest.

“This is one of the worst natural calamities Kerala has ever witnessed,” said Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, in a statement. Mr. Vijayan said the damage to homes and livelihoods was “immense,” adding that his government had set up relief camps for thousands of people affected.

The death toll rose throughout the day as rescue workers recovered more bodies from under debris, and the number was expected to rise as the search continued, according to government officials. More than 125 people were injured.

“We are fighting nature at its worst,” said Akhilesh Kumar, an official with India’s National Disaster Response Forces who was overseeing the rescue operation along with the Indian Army and firefighters.

In his statement, Mr. Vijayan said the government was sending tankers of drinking water and rations and setting up temporary hospitals. He said there were efforts underway to identify the dead even as search teams looked for other victims of the catastrophe.

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COMMENTS

How to Answer: What Is the Last Book You Read?
First, this could simply be a conversation starter. The interviewer wants to get to know you a little bit and is curious about what kinds of books you read. Another purpose of this question could be to see how well-read you are (in other words, how many books you read, and what kind). In some corporate environments, being well-read is really ...
How to Answer "What Was the Last Book You Read?" in an Interview
1. Make a List of Your Favorite Books, Articles, and Essays. If you're prepping for the most common interview questions, prepare thoughtful answers about the last book you read or your favorite essays. In fact, feel free to create lists of your favorite podcasts, creators, and television shows, too. Even if you're not planning to talk about ...
Interview Question: "What Was the Last Book You Read?"
3. Briefly explain the book. If an interviewer asks you this question, start with the title of the book and a brief explanation. Describe either the premise of the book if it's nonfiction or a plot summary for a fiction story. This helps introduce the interviewer to the book and can allow them to understand the essence of what you've read.
Exploring Literature: What's the last book you read?
Last Tip on How to Answer What's the last book you read? Be honest. If you don't read much, share another way you learn or consume content. If you're into this tip, you can download 121 Interview Questions and Answers for free! It's a great way to get more insights on how to answer those common questions in the best way possible.
How to Answer "What Was the Last Book You Read?" in an Interview
So, let's prepare to answer this common question, even if your reading habits are missing. 1. Make a List of Your Favorite Books, Articles, and Essays. By preparing a list of books, articles, and essays you are communicating to the recruiter that you are organized and well prepared. This also makes it easy for you to recall the most interesting ...
What's The Last Book You Read?
The last book I read was Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. Somehow, I missed reading that classic while in school and a friend of mine thought I would enjoy Whitman. After a few pages, I became really enthralled with how he could execute sharp commentaries as well as gentle subtleties in a single passage.
How do I answer, "What's the last book you read?"
"The last book I read was Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World. I liked it, but it was a best seller a few years ago and the information now ironically feels unoriginal." Scenario #3. If you're applying for any role, you might say: "I have been trying to read more classic books and just finished Catch-22. The audiobook was great ...
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Hilton Als, White Girls (2013) In a world where we are so often reduced to one essential self, Hilton Als' breathtaking book of critical essays, White Girls, which meditates on the ways he and other subjects read, project and absorb parts of white femininity, is a radically liberating book.
What was the last book you read?
A friend of mine recently had a management-consultant job interview in which he was asked to name the last book he read. I don't know how he answered — he is not a regular book reader. My immediate perverse thoughts turned to what answers would be most unhelpful for him getting hired: Mein Kampf, AA Group Handbook, Eat the Rich.
What is the last book you read, and your rating? : r/books
The last book I've read was The Giver, by Lois Lowry, I rated 5/5 stars. This book surprised me, I didn't expect it to be that good! It makes you be grateful for the life we have, the world we're living in (although there are many things wrong with people who create war). ... the last book i finished was The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Nicole ...
6 Paragraphs on 'A Book I Have Recently Read'
6 Paragraphs on 'A Book I Have Recently Read'. A Book I Have Recently Read: Books are the best resources of people. With which no earthly wealth can be compared. By reading books we can keep our mind healthy and happy. A good book opens the eyes of the human mind as well as expands and develops the knowledge and intellect and helps to light ...
What was the last book you read?
Was the book fiction or non-fiction? fiction ( not real, created from the imagination of an author) e.g. a book about a princess and a dragon. non-fiction ( real, provides us with facts and/or events based on real people or true events) e.g. a biography, history books, 1001 facts about a topic.
The Last Book I Loved: Took House
Fall, 2020. Took House was one of the first books of poems I'd read since the start of the pandemic. One of the first and only poetry books I could read, for months. In the middle of the night, anxious and insomniac, I read one poem, read it again, read another. The poems knew something about me, something I myself didn't know, or couldn ...
Describe a Book You Have Read Recently
Describe a book you have read recently. You should say: what kind of book it is. who wrote the book. what the story of the book is. and explain if it is a good book or not. Once you have read the cue card, you must think about it quickly. Analyse the topic and ask yourself what exactly you should talk about.
Describe a book
Topic 1: Describe a book you have recently read. What kind of book it is; What it is about; What sort of people would enjoy it; And explain why you liked it. Sample Answer: I consider myself as a bookworm so when it comes to describing a book I read, I am really confused since I don't know which one to choose, but I will tell you about the book that I have just ﬁnished most recently ...
Surprising Job Interview Question
Employers are allowed to ask a variety of non-work related questions at a job interview. They can ask you what books you have recently read. Here are some bad answers: "I like to read Inuyasha fan fiction.". "I prefer to wait for the movie.". "I like to read erotic novels.". "I only read the Bible.". "The last book I read was ...
"The last book I've read is" vs past-simple
The last book I read is called Animal Farm. We say read (past tense) because the statement refers to an event completed in the past; last makes the point that the book was the final book read in a series of books which began and ended in the past. Last does not imply any relevance to the present. In fact, last could be said to exclude the present.
Describe a book you have recently read
Being a bibliophile, I try my best to complete at least one book a week. Earlier, I used to read 4-5 books a month. However, gradually, the numbers declined as I got held up in other important tasks. So, with the new year, I have taken a resolution to finish a minimum of 2 books a month. Having said that, I spent the last week reading A Bend in ...
The Last Book You'll Ever Read
A supernatural horror thriller for readers of Chuck Palahniuk (Lullaby and Haunted: A Novel), Marisha Pessl (Night Film), and Scarlett Thomas (The End of Mr. Y), The Last Book You'll Ever Read tells the terrifying story of a woman who knows the horrific truth about the past — and future — of humankind, and, when captured in her book SATYR, it becomes the catalyst for worldwide, mind ...
THE LAST BOOK I HAVE READ
The book I read last time is a book by famous Uzbek writer Chingiz Aitmatov's, The Bird's Cry. It consists of short stories based on various events. This book well appeal not only to the reader but also to young people. The poet who wrote this book says: The village lives by its own laws like a living being, the most important of which is to ...
The Most Anthologized Essays of the Last 25 Years
Sojourner Truth. "The Clan of One-Breasted Women," Terry Tempest Williams. The Full List. (all essays by writers with at least one duplication or three disparate essays anthologized) "The Great American Desert," Edward Abbey. "The Cowboy and his Cow," Edward Abbey. "Havasu," Edward Abbey. "Superman and Me," Sherman Alexie.
IELTS Cue Card # 184
Describe a book you have recently read. You should say: what the book is. who wrote the book. what the book is about. and explain how much you enjoyed reading this book. Model Answer 1: I believe that there are only a few people today who don't know A.P.J Abdul Kalam as one of the most brilliant minds and inspirational figures of the 21st ...
How to Read Colleen Hoover's Books in Order: The Full Series List
Hoover has written four book series. You can read one or all of the series, in any sequence. The Slammed Trilogy; The Hopeless Saga; The Maybe Trilogy I; t Ends (and Starts) With Us; According to ...
17 Books Everyone Should Read Before They Die
Even the most casual reader will have heard of Orwell's 1949 dystopian classic, 1984. As well as being an interesting read, this book is incredibly informative, chartering the dangers of a ...
On the centennial of his birth, James Baldwin's words examined
Baldwin is heralded for being everything from an orator, activist and fashion icon. None of that would be true if he weren't a writer first. We asked fans to break down what made his writing work.
How long would it take to read the greatest books of all time?
People read at different speeds, and some books are slower-going than others: one book club took 28 years to read "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce (ranked 325th), a book you can polish off in ...
Opinion
Ms. Griswold is the author of "Circle of Hope: A Reckoning With Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church." In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, a ...
An Olympics Scene Draws Scorn. Did It Really Parody 'The Last Supper
To reference the Last Supper — particularly the da Vinci version, although many paintings have featured the scene — the apostles are usually clustered in three groups of four, connected ...
Books by Rachel Kushner and Richard Powers Are Among Booker Prize Nominees
There are six American novels in the running for the prestigious British literary award, but only two by U.K. authors. By Alex Marshall Reporting from London The 13 novels nominated for the 2024 ...
Landslides in Southern India Kill More Than 100 People
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India's opposition, had previously represented Wayanad District in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament. He said on X that he was deeply anguished and that the ...

How to Answer: What Is the Last Book You Read?

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How to answer: What’s the last book you read?

How to Answer a Question: What’s the last book you read?

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6 Paragraphs on ‘A Book I Have Recently Read’

A Book I Have Recently Read

A Book I Have Recently Read

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What was the last book you read? – Question 11

Woodward English Conversation Question 11

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Describe a Book You Have Read Recently

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