Britton Reading Lists
- Reading Rainbow: Books Whose Title Contains a Color
- Books By a West Virginia Author or About West Virginia
- Pearl's Picks
- Books Set in North America
- Re-Read a Childhood Favorite
- From Book to Movie
- The "B" List
- Award Winners
- Author's Last Name Is a Color
- Books Set or Written During the 1950s
Award Winners
There are 70 fiction titles and 15 nonfiction titles in this list.
Show Fiction Titles Show Nonfiction Titles Show All Titles
Fiction Titles
Christy Awards (Christian/Inspirational Fiction)
The Christy Awards are given each year to a work of Christian fiction that educates, captivates, and entertains the reader.
While investigating a smear campaign against Congressman Graham Hutchings, Orlando P.I. Jackie Havilland and businessman-turned-congressman Wynn Bryant stumble upon a dangerous conspiracy aimed at reshaping the world economy.
In a world of swords, mystical temples and galley ships, Abramm Kalladorne is transformed from a sickly, head-in-the-clouds youth to a legendary hero of strength and courage who finds a special destiny through his faith.
Alena, a young African-American woman living in rural Mississippi in 1919, is contented with her life until a dreadful discovery forces her to move to Chicago, where she must face racial unrest, social changes and challenges to her Christian faith.
Songbird by
Hiding her depression from her popular televangelist husband, gospel singer Charmaine Hopewell finds the mentally ill mother who abandoned her and challenges her husband to support her publicly or risk his ministry.
Unashamed by
The story of Rahab, an ancestor of Christ mentioned in the book of Joshua, is told in this novella, emphasizing her Godliness, devotion, and courage.
Bram Stoker Awards (Horror)
Bram Stoker Awards are presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA). The winners are determined by vote of the active members of HWA. Established in 1987 and named for the author of Dracula, the Bram Stoker Awards honor superior achievement in dark fantasy, horror and the occult. Award categories have varied to include novels, poetry and even nonfiction.
Bag of Bones by
Plagued by vivid nightmares of the summer house he had shared with his late wife, grieving widower Mike Noonan returns to his former Maine getaway, only to find a town in the grip of a ruthless millionaire and tormented by a series of ghostly visitations
On a cold October night, five people gather in a rundown motel on the Jersey shore to make preparations to break into a nearby abandoned hotel - built by a reclusive millionaire during Asbury Park's golden days - but the group of urban explorers, joined for the evening by a reporter, are unprepared for the danger, terror and death awaiting.
Willy Patrick finds her life intersecting with that of a stranger, Timothy Underhill, when she experiences an eerie event involving the death of her daughter, and Timothy receives communications from dead people he had known in his youth.
Looking down from heaven, 14-year-old Susie Salmon recounts her rape and murder and watches her family as they cope with their grief and "the lovely bones" growing around her absence.
Misery by
Paul Sheldon, author of a series of historical romances, wakes up in a secluded farmhouse in Colorado with broken legs and Annie Wilkes, a disappointed fan, hovering over him with drugs, ax and blowtorch and demanding that he bring his heroine back to life.
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (Literary Fiction)
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded annually since 1948 for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.
Jack Burden, a young journalist, becomes involved with Gov. Willie Stark's quest for power.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: A Novel by
In 1939 New York City, Joe Kavalier, a refugee from Hitler's Prague, joins forces with his Brooklyn-born cousin, Sammy Clay, to create comic-book superheroes inspired by their own fantasies, fears and dreams.
The Franciscan Brother Juniper tries to prove that the deaths of five victims of a bridge collapse in 18th-century Peru were part of God's plan.
Laurel Hand is forced to face her Southern past when she returns to Mississippi for her father's funeral.
Larry Cook, an Iowan farmer who has worked a thousand-acre plot owned by his family for generations, abruptly decides to leave his farm to his three daughters and retire. His two eldest daughters are pleased with the decision but his youngest daughter has been cut out by her father and is angry. As the daughters' activity on the land progresses, they notice a change in their father. Events begin to unfold that will threaten and destroy the family and their farm.
Agatha Awards (Mysteries)
The Agatha Awards are given to mystery works published in the previous year.
Traveling to Vermont to attend her father-in-law's birthday, Faith Fairchild discovers the dead body of a local lawyer and wonders if his death was accidental or intentional, in a case complicated by the disappearance of a ski resort's chef.
Against all odds, Bubbles Yablonsky has returned to school, but while on her way to journalism school, she happens upon a crime scene and finds herself drawn into a murder investigation.
As part of her research for talk show host Dr. Cookie Lahven's upcoming book "How to Avoid Getting Dumped All the Time," Wollie Shelley is dating 40 men in 60 days, but her assignment is complicated by an unexpected corpse.
Benni Harper journeys to Morro Bay to claim an inheritance from Jacob Chandler, a man she does not know, and embarks on a baffling hunt for clues to the mysteries of the past.
Fleeing New York to find refuge as a ranger in the remote backcountry of West Texas, Anna Pigeon stumbles into a web of violence and murder when fellow park ranger Sheila Drury is mysteriously killed and another ranger vanishes.
Rita Awards (Romance)
The Rita Award is presented annually by the Romance Writers of America to the best works in romance fiction.
With her wedding day approaching, Claire Cavenaugh prepares to confront her estranged older sister and self-absorbed mother after more than 20 years apart and find out how to transform themselves into a family.
When returning home to her family's lakeside cottage, Kate discovers that a teenager has moved in without permission, and she becomes involved in the girl's situation while dealing with a neighbor with a dangerous secret.
A photograph of young Maddy Marshall dancing with Lieutenant Tull-Martin on the night before he and her brother shipped out during World War II serves as a reminder of a time of innocence, before the realities of war shatter a family forever.
The Surgeon by
A female heart surgeon, terrorized by a serial killer in Boston using the same MO as a killer who attacked her during her internship years in Savannah, works with a detective to solve the crime while trying to stay alive.
Fleeing an unwanted marriage to a despicable aristocrat, Charlotte masquerades as a lady's companion among strangers and is pursued by the seductive Nick Gentry, who offers her a shocking proposal.
Booker Prize
With this highly coveted award, the Booker Prize Foundation annually honors the author of an English language novel published in the United Kingdom in the current year. In addition to other eligibility requirements, the title must not be self-published, and the author must be a citizen of the British Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. The Booker Prize was established in 1968 by publisher Tom Maschler and what was then Booker Brothers. Formerly sponsored by Booker McConnell, Ltd., it is now sponsored by the Man Group.
Amsterdam by
In this contemporary morality play, a woman's death has major consequences for three men, all former lovers of the woman.
In 1969 in Kerala, India, Rahel and her twin brother, Estha, struggle to forge a childhood for themselves amid the destrucion of their family life, as they discover that the entire world can be transformed in a single moment.
Hotel du Lac by
Recounts the holiday of Edith Hope, meek, unmarried, and 39, who, on the mend from a disastrous love affair, becomes intimately involved with her fellow guests at the Swiss Hotel du Lac.
Possessing encyclopedia-like intelligence, unusual zookeeper's son Pi Patel sets sail for America, but when the ship sinks, he escapes on a life boat and is lost at sea with a dwindling number of animals until only he and a hungry Bengal tiger remain.
The Sea by
Following the death of his wife, Max Morden retreats to the seaside town of his childhood summers, where his own life becomes inextricably entwined with the members of the vacationing Grace family.
National Book Award
The prestigious National Book Awards were established in 1950 to recognize American literary works of exceptional merit. The finalists for the fiction category (as well as other categories) are selected by independent judging panels. While sponsored for most years by the National Book Foundation, the awards from 1980 to 1986 were sponsored by the Association of American Publishers, who renamed them the American Book Awards, and made awards in many more categories.
When the late Billy Lynch's relatives and friends gather together to keep his memory alive, stories are woven and memories relived detailing his life in the close Irish-American community and the intricate feelings that resurface.
Twenty-seven-year-old Mark Schluter, suffering from a rare brain disorder that causes him to believe his sister to be an impostor, endeavors to discover the cause of the motor vehicle accident that resulted in his head injury.
In the aftermath of World War II, young men and women living in Europe and Asia reconstruct their lives, including a soldier who learns that material goods and success are not enough, and a woman in Japan who tends to her dying brother.
The narrator traces his life from college and into Harlem where he becomes invisible like other African-Americans.
Three Junes by
Reveals the interconnected lives, loves, and relationships of different generations of the McLeod family over the course of three crucial summers.
Nebula Award
Sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Nebula Award is presented annually to different categories of the science fiction genre.
Days before his release from prison, Shadow learns that his wife has been killed in an accident. On the plane ride back home for the funeral, he meets Mr. Wednesday, who offers Shadow a job. Shadow accepts but soon discovers that Mr. Wednesday is far more dangerous than he could ever have imagined.
Camouflage by
An unidentified artifact, found seven miles below the surface of the sea, stumps the scientists examining it but calls out to the two immortal creatures who have wandered the Earth for centuries, never crossing paths until now.
Molecular biologist Kaye Lang has a theory on human retroviruses and it has just been verified with the discovery of SHEVA, a virus that has slept in our DNA for millions of years and is now waking up. Kaye and her colleagues must race against a genetic time bomb in this international adventure taking place in a cave high in the Alps and in Southern Russia.
Ender's Game by
An expert at simulated war games, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin believes that he is engaged in one more computer war game when, in truth, he is commanding the last Earth fleet against an alien race seeking Earth's complete destruction.
When brain surgery makes a mouse into a genius, dull-witted Charlie Gordon wonders if it might also work for him.
Spur Award
The Spur Award, presented by the Western Writers of America, is given annually for distinguished writing about the American West.
An ambitious and daring young man, Sam Morgan leaves his home in 1820s Pennsylvania to seek adventure and a fortune in the frontier West, accompanied by a colorful assortment of companions he meets along the way.
The Great Caddo Lake Pearl Rush of 1874 saves the riverboat community whose economy is dying due to the railroads, but the death of riverboat owner Judd Kelso haunts the town until Ben Crowell steps forward 40 years later.
Skinwalkers by
With the attempted murder of Officer Jim Chee, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn finds three unsolved homicides may be linked to witchcraft buried deep within the Navajo culture.
While her undertaker husband practices the art of making victims of the untamed American west presentable and dignified after death, a woman devotes her time to safeguarding her marriage in the face of local challenges.
Conned out of his money and land, Hard Luck Yancey stumbles upon black Telluride gold beneath a Sisters of Charity miners' hospital, a discovery that pits him against ruthless mining barons and greedy outlaws.
Hugo Award
The Science Fiction Achievement Awards, or Hugos, are selected annually by popular vote of the World Science Fiction Society. Established in 1953 and named for Hugo Gernsback, an early science fiction publisher. The awards are given for the best science fiction and to individuals for contributions to science fiction writing, art, and publishing.
Dune by
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, this is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family, and bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by
Harry Potter, a fourth-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, longs to escape his hateful relatives, the Dursleys, and live as a normal 14-year-old wizard, but what Harry does not yet realize is that he is not a normal wizard, and in his case, different can be deadly.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by
In 19th-century England, all is going well for reclusive Mr. Norell, who has regained some of the power of England's magicians from the past, until a rival magician, Jonathan Strange, appears and becomes Mr. Norrell's pupil.
Mirror Dance: A Vorkosigan Adventure by
Attempting to live a normal life after a pre-natal accident leaves him in a delicate state after he is born, Miles Vorkosigan learns that he has a jealous clone brother who is plotting to kill and replace him.
Spin by
After witnessing the onset of an astronomical event that has caused the sun to go black and the stars and moon to disappear, Tyler, Jason, and Diane learn that the darkness has been caused by a time-altering, alien-created artificial barrier and that the sun will be extinguished in less than 40 years.
Nobel Prize for Literature
The Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded annually by the Swedish Academy. Literary prizes (as well as awards for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, economics, and peace) are funded from the fortune of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite. The task of selecting the annual literary prize winner was entrusted to the Swedish Academy by Nobel in his will. The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901.
(awarded 1949) The members of a Southern family contribute their individual tribulations to this encompassing impression of rural poverty.
Babbitt by
(awarded 1930) The life of an aggressive, prosperous realtor is described reflecting an image of middle-class America.
(awarded 1938) Wang Lung, a Chinese peasant, rises from poverty to become a rich landowner with the aid of his patient wife in the 1920s.
(awarded 1962) The Joad family, Okie farmers forced from their dustbowl home during the Depression, try to find work as migrant fruit pickers in California.
The New Life by
(awarded 2006) Obsessed with a mysterious book, Osman, a young university student, joins forces with Janan, a beautiful woman, to search for Janan's long-lost love, the elusive Mehmet, a man who understands the darker power of the book.
(awarded 1954) Tells the story of an old fisherman's struggle against natural obstacles that hinder the catch of a huge marlin.
Ravelstein by
(awarded 1976) Encouraged by his friend, Chick, to write down his ideas about humankind, university professor Abe Ravelstein receives unexpected acclaim and bounty and invites Chick to join in his success, a situation that sparks a philosophical journey for both.
Snow by
(awarded 2006) After years of lonely political exile, Turkish poet Ka returns to Istanbul to attend his mother's funeral and learns about a series of suicides among pious girls forbidden to wear headscarves.
Sula by
(awarded 1993) At the heart of Sula is a bond between two women, a friendship whose intensity first sustains, then injures. Sula and Nel are both black, both smart, and both poor. Through their girlhood years, they share everything. All this changes when Sula gets out of the Bottom, the hilltop neighborhood where there hides a fierce resentment at the invisible line that cannot be overstepped.
(awarded 2003) A magistrate in a country village protests the army's treatment of members of the barbarian tribes taken prisoner during a civil war and finds himself arrested as a traitor.
Pulitzer Prize (Fiction)
Arrowsmith by
Sinclair Lewis refused the prize for his work about a man of science who must overcome public ignorance and the petty greed of associates as he seeks knowledge.
After the Civil War ends, Sethe longingly recalls the two-year-old daughter whom she killed when threatened with recapture after escaping from slavery 18 years before.
During a 90-mile drive to her best friend's husband's funeral, Maggie and her husband, Ira, recall and reevaluate the details of their 28-year marriage.
Empire Falls by
Milo Roby tries to hold his family together while working at the Empire Grill in the once-successful logging town of Empire Falls, Maine, with his partner, Mrs. Whiting, who is the heir to a faded logging and textile legacy.
The Hours by
Virginia Woolf is brought back to life in an intertwining of her story with those of two more contemporary women. In Woolf's life, she awakens one morning in London in 1923 with a dream that will become Mrs. Dalloway. In the present, Clarissa Vaughan is planning a party in Greenwich Village for her oldest love, a poet dying from AIDS. And in Los Angeles in 1949, Laura Brown is pregnant and unsettled, trying to prepare for her husband's birthday, but wanting nothing more than to sit and read Woolf.
Real estate agent Frank Bascombe moves into his newly married ex-wife's old home and is looking forward to the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, but somehow nothing turns out the way he expects.
Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet tell the Southern view of the battle at Gettysburg while Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and General John Buford present the Northern view.
When a plantation proprietor and former slave--now possessing slaves of his own--dies, his household falls apart in the wake of a slave rebellion and corrupt underpaid patrollers who enable free black people to be sold into slavery.
Former Texas Rangers leave their unsuccessful cattle business when they hear of good opportunities in newly opened territory.
March by
In a story inspired by the father character in "Little Women" and drawn from the journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott's father, a man leaves behind his family to serve in the Civil War and finds his beliefs challenged by his experiences.
Nonfiction Titles
Pulitzer Prize (Nonfiction)
Admiral Of The Ocean Sea, A Life Of Christopher Columbus by call number: B C7265mo2
An Army At Dawn : The War In North Africa, 1942-1943 by call number: 940.5423 A87a
Angela's Ashes : A Memoir by call number: B M13124
A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by call number: 959.7043 S54b
Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle Of The Civil Rights Revolution by call number: 976.178 M17c
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by call number: 973.4 E47f
The Good War: An Oral History Of World War Two by call number: 940.54 T31gw
Guns, Germs, And Steel: The Fates Of Human Societies by call number: 303.4 D53g 2005
The Guns of August by call number: 940.421 T88g
John Adams by call number: B A2145Mc
The Metaphysical Club by call number: 973.9 M53m
Original Meanings: Politics And Ideas In The Making Of The Constitution by call number: 342.029 R16o
Personal History by call number: B G739
Profiles in Courage by call number: 923.273 K35p
Washington's Crossing by call number: 973.332 F52w