7 Literary Adventures for Every Day of the Week

In this update of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Tom Marshfield is banished from his Midwest parish in the wake of a sex scandal. He keeps a journal of all his thoughts and desires, and at the center of it all is his growing infatuation with a woman named Ms. Prynne.

On a hot August day in 1966, sixteen people were gunned down at the University of Texas. It was the first school shooting in American history. This novel follows three students caught in the massacre—decades later, they must confront the day that changed their lives forever.

This moving, heartbreaking, and powerful book follows Mitch Albom and his longtime relationship with his college professor and mentor, Morrie Schwartz. Knowing that Morrie was dying, their meetings turned into one final “class,” a lesson on how to live.

Chronicling five young mothers who began a writing group in the 1960s, as their journals become filled with stories, the world around them changes: the Vietnam War erupts, a man lands on the moon, and the burgeoning women’s movement alters how they view their lives.

Gabriel Syme is a poet and policeman who infiltrates a den of anarchists, but as he becomes more enmeshed in his mission, he realizes that he’s not the only one in disguise. Set against the gothic backdrop of Edwardian London, this detective story and metaphysical thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This sports literature classic follows a champion high school football team in a sleepy Texas town divided by class and race.

What makes Saturday night so special? New Yorker writer Susan Orlean investigated by spending the evening with different people across the country. This collection samples the nightlife of Los Angeles hipsters, Boston coeds, and small-town Indiana cruisers. It’s an entertaining and enlightening portrait of the night memories are made of.