One of the few authors to attain both commercial success and literary acclaim, Toni Morrison, a longstanding member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is widely read by high school students and general readers. Her books have been adapted into highly extolled films such as "Beloved," largely because, even when set in the past, they grapple with issues and emotions relevant to contemporary society.

Designed for students and general readers, "Reading Toni Morrison" is a handy introduction to Morrison's works and their place in the world. The book begins with a look at Morrison's...

"Reading Joan Didion" is the ideal way to enter this extraordinary and versatile author's world a world that counts among its citizens burned-out hippies, cynical and delusional players in the film and music scene, and even members of the Charles Manson family.

In addition to looking closely at major works of fiction, "Reading Joan Didion" also focuses on Didion the essayist, critic, and founding member of the New Journalism Movement, which uses fiction-like narrative techniques to go deeper into subjects that traditional objective reporting allows. Also covered is the rich...

One of today's most important novelists, Cormac McCarthy is at the peak of a long and productive career. The film adaptation of his "No Country for Old Men" is a major motion picture, and his fiction is widely read in book clubs. This volume looks at his works, characters, themes, and contexts and relates his writings to current events and popular culture. Chapters include sidebars of interesting information, along with questions to stimulate book club discussions and student research.

One of today's most important novelists, Cormac McCarthy is at the peak of a long and productive...

A tour-de-force in Asian American writing, Amy Tan has created works that are essential to high school and undergraduate literature classes and are often book club selections. "Reading Amy Tan" is a handy resource that offers both groups plot summaries of five of Tan's novels, as well as character and thematic analysis. The handbook also provides an overview of Tan's life and discusses how she emerged onto the scene as a novelist.

Tan's typical themes, including Asian American issues and mother-daughter relationships, are examined in relation to today's current events and pop culture....

One of the most important emerging novelists today, Khaled Hosseini has enjoyed critical success and popular accolades. His first book, "The Kite Runner," was voted Reading Group Book of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and was made into a major motion picture. His second book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns," seems destined to follow the same path. Written for book club members and students, this guide overviews Hosseini's works, themes, characters, and contexts and relates his fiction to current events and popular culture. Sidebars present interesting information, and chapters contain questions to...

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon is considered one of the most distinguished contemporary American novelists. "Reading Michael Chabon," the first full-length volume on the writer, views his career as bridging the gap between literary and popular culture. Designed for book club members and high school and college students, this reference guide will help readers keep track of Chabon's intricate plots and draw thematic connections between and among his major novels. It will also help them understand his fiction as cultural commentary on contemporary masculinity and Jewish...

"Reading Julia Alvarez" reviews the author's acclaimed body of writing, exploring both the works and the woman behind them. The guide opens with a brief biography that includes the saga of the Alvarez family's flight from the Dominican Republic when Julia was ten, and carries her story through the philanthropic organic coffee farm that she and her husband now operate in that nation.

The heart of the book is a broad overview of Alvarez's literary achievements, followed by chapters that discuss individual works and a chapter on her poetry. The book also looks at how the author's writings...

Long before "Twilight" achieved epic levels of popularity, Laurell K. Hamilton was reshaping the image of the vampire with her own take on the vampire mythos in her "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" fantasy novel series. While Hamilton's work draws on traditional vampire and fairy lore, her interpretation of these subjects brought new dimensions to the genres, influencing the direction of urban fantasy over the past two decades.

"Reading Laurell K. Hamilton" focuses upon Hamilton's two bestselling series, the "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series and the "Merry Gentry series." The volume is...