Books and beyond

Catching Up on the Classics: The Best American Novels of the Twentieth Century Still Readable Today by Eleanor Gehres

Many of us, now that we’re “older”, are trying to fill in gaps from our reading past. Maybe we just read the Cliff Notes version in school, or maybe we missed important books entirely. Certain novels come up in conversation and we can’t remember much about them, even if read back in high school. It leaves us with a nagging feeling of incompleteness.

Eleanor Gehres’ book helps us fill in the gap. She has created a 150-title guide that can be used to find interesting and important American literature. Entries are organized by decade and come with short plot descriptions and reasons why they are included. Here you’ll find J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Jack London’s Call of the Wild, and Lost Horizons by James Hilton. Both obscure and famous novels are covered, but all are recommended by Gehre, a Denver librarian. It’s a great way to find some good reads!