Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners

About the Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners
To provide reading recommendations to students of all ages who plan to continue their education beyond high school.

Administered by:

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) logo
NameTitleYear
Bernier-Grand, CarmenFrida: Viva la Vida! Long Live Life!2009 - Selection
Bryson, BillA Short History of Nearly Everything2009 - Selection
Melville, GregGreasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future2009 - Selection
McKibben, BillAmerican Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau2009 - Selection
Macaulay, DavidThe Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body2009 - Selection
Macaulay, DavidMosque2009 - Selection
Leopold, AldoA Sand County Almanac2009 - Selection
Jones, ChrisOut of Orbit: The Incredible True Story of Three Astronauts Who Were Hundreds of Miles Above Earth W2009 - Selection
Hoose, Phillip M.The Race to Save the Lord God Bird2009 - Selection
George, RoseThe Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why it Matters2009 - Selection
Flannery, TimThe Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth2009 - Selection
Firlik, KatrinaAnother Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brian Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside2009 - Selection
Doctorow, CoryLittle Brother2009 - Selection
Chen, JoanneThe Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair With Our Favorite Treats2009 - Selection
Casey, SusanThe Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks2009 - Selection
Best, JoelDamned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists2009 - Selection
Preston, RichardThe Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring2009 - Selection
Ayres, IanSuper Crunchers: Why Thinking-By-Numbers is the New Way to Be Smart2009 - Selection
Anderson, M.T.Feed2009 - Selection
Adams, ScottGod's Debris: a Thought Experiment2009 - Selection
Zusak, MarcusThe Book Thief2009 - Selection
Thompson, CraigBlankets2009 - Selection
Stoppard, TomRosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead2009 - Selection
Sebold, AliceLucky: A Memoir2009 - Selection
Roth, PhilipThe Plot Against America2009 - Selection
Myers, Walter DeanSunrise Over Fallujah2009 - Selection
Murakami, HarukiKafka on the Shore2009 - Selection
McCarthy, CormacThe Road2009 - Selection
Maguire, GregoryWicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West2009 - Selection
Kyle, ArynThe God of Animals2009 - Selection
Kidd, Sue MonkThe Secret Life of Bees2009 - Selection
Pollan, MichaelThe Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World2009 - Selection
Roach, MaryStiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers2009 - Selection
Jones, LlyodMister Pip2009 - Selection
D'Aluisio, FaithHungry Planet: What the World Eats2009 - Selection
Kostigen, ThomasThe Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time2009 -
Wheelan, CharlesNaked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science2009 - Selection
Walls, JeannetteThe Glass Castle: A Memoir2009 - Selection
Wallis, DavidKilled Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression2009 - Selection
Urrea, Luis AlbertoThe Devil's Highway: A True Story2009 - Selection
Stern, JessicaTerror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill2009 - Selection
Smith, Jodi R.R.From Clueless to Class Act: Manners for the Modern Man2009 - Selection
Scheff, NicTweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines2009 - Selection
Sheff, DavidBeautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Addiction2009 - Selection
Pope, LorenColleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges2009 - Selection
Pipher, MaryThe Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community2009 - Selection
Picoult, JodiNineteen Minutes2009 - Selection
Relin, David OliverThree Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace Once School at a Time2009 - Selection
Mortenson, GregThree Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace Once School at a Time2009 - Selection
Menzel, PeterHungry Planet: What the World Eats2009 - Selection
Schroeder, GeraldHidden Face of God: How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth2009 - Selection
McCormick, PatriciaSold2009 - Selection
Kohl, JanaA Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere2009 - Selection
Keen, LisaOut Law: What LGBT Youth Should Know Abouth Their Legal Rights2009 - Selection
Juette, MelvinWheelchair Warrior: Gangs, Disability, and Basketball2009 - Selection
Berger, Ronald J.Wheelchair Warrior: Gangs, Disability, and Basketball2009 - Selection
Gladwell, MalcolmThe Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference2009 - Selection
George, Mary W.The Elements of Library Research: What Every Student Needs to Know2009 - Selection
Casnocha, BenMy Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey through Silicon Valley2009 - Selection
Bolles, Richard NelsonWhat Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers2009 - Selection
Beah, IshmaelA Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier2009 - Selection
Albom, MitchTuesdays with Morrie: an Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson2009 - Selection
Teresi, DickLost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--From the Babylonians to the Maya2009 - Selection
Smith, GinaThe Genomics Age: How DNA Technology is Transforming the Way We Live and Who We Are2009 - Selection
Silverstein, KenThe Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor2009 - Selection
Keillor, GarrisonGood Poems2009 - Selection
Ishiguro, KazuoNever Let Me Go2009 - Selection
Blumenthal, KarenLet Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America2009 - Selection
Landis, Deborah NadoolmanDressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design2009 - Selection
Chang, IrisThe Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II2009 - Selection
Chandrasekaran, RajivImperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone2009 - Selection
Bagdasarian, AdamForgotten Fire: A Novel2009 - Selection
Alexie, ShermanThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian2009 - Selection
Ahmad, DohraRotten English: A Literary Anthology2009 - Selection
Weller, SheilaGirls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon - And the Journey of a Generation2009 - Selection
Strickland, CarolThe Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern2009 - Selection
Sandler, MartinPhotography: An Illustrated History2009 - Selection
Polly, MatthewAmerican Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New2009 - Selection
Partridge, ElizabethThis Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie2009 - Selection
Partridge, ElizabethJohn Lennon: All I Want is the Truth2009 - Selection
Yeck, JoanneOur Movie Heritage2009 - Selection
McGreevey, TomOur Movie Heritage2009 - Selection
Martin, SteveBorn Standing Up: A Comic's Life2009 - Selection
King, MelissaShe's Got Next: A Story of Getting In, Staying Open, and Taking a Shot2009 - Selection
Chotjewitz, DavidDaniel Half-Human: And the Good Nazi2009 - Selection
Jacobs, A.J.The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible2009 - Selection
Howe, PeterShooting Under Fire: The World of the War Photographer2009 - Selection
Hemphill, StephanieYour Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath2009 - Selection
Gruen, SaraWater for Elephants: A Novel2009 - Selection
Greenberg, JanHeart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art2009 - Selection
Freedman, RussellThe Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights2009 - Selection
Follett, KenPillars of the Earth2009 - Selection
Engle, MargaritaThe Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Fancisco Manzano2009 - Selection
D'Orso, MichaelEagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska2009 - Selection
Diamant, AnitaThe Red Tent: A Novel2009 - Selection
Campbell, JosephThe Power of Myth2009 - Selection
Moyers, BillThe Power of Myth2009 - Selection
Bryson, BillShakespeare: The World as Stage2009 - Selection
Bowker, JohnWorld Religions: The Great Faiths Explored and Explained2009 - Selection
Orgel, DorisDaniel Half-Human: And the Good Nazi2009 - Selection
Delisle, GuyPyongyang: A Journey in North Korea2009 - Selection
Hosseini, KhaledThe Kite Runner2009 - Selection
Williams, DavidBitterly Divided: The South's Inner Civil War2009 - Selection
Haddon, MarkThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time2009 - Selection
Green, JohnLooking for Alaska2009 - Selection
Gaines, ErnestA Lesson Before Dying2009 - Selection
Foer, Jonathan SafranExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close2009 - Selection
Dunn, MarkElla Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters2009 - Selection
Cisneros, SandraCaramelo2009 - Selection
Cameron, PeterSomeday This Pain Will be Useful to You2009 - Selection
Bond, JennyWho the Hell is Pansy O'Hara?: The Fascinating Stories Behind of the World's Best-Loved Books2009 - Selection
Sheedy, ChrisWho the Hell is Pansy O'Hara?: The Fascinating Stories Behind of the World's Best-Loved Books2009 - Selection
Anderson, M.T.The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. II: The Kingdom on the Waves2009 - Selection
Anderson, M.T.The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. I: The Pox Party2009 - Selection
Allison, DorothyBastard Out of Carolina2009 - Selection
Horwitz, TonyA Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World2009 - Selection
Wolf, AllanNew Found Land: Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery2009 - Selection
Weiner, TimLegacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA2009 - Selection
Diamond, JaredCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed2009 - Selection
Ung, LoungFirst They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers2009 - Selection
Spiegelman, ArtThe Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale2009 - Selection
Satrapi, MarjaneThe Complete Persepolis2009 - Selection
Saenz, Benjamin AlireSammy and Juliana in Hollywood2009 - Selection
Roberts, GeneThe Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation2009 - Selection
Klibanoff, HankThe Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation2009 - Selection
Maltman, ThomasThe Night Birds: A Novel2009 - Selection
Larson, ErikThe Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America2009 - Selection
Jones, Edward P.The Known World2009 - Selection
Fleming, Anne MarieThe Magical Life of Long Tack Sam2009 - Selection
Fadiman, AnneThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of 2009 - Selection
Eggers, DaveWhat is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng: A Novel2009 - Selection
Egan, TimothyThe Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl2009 - Selection
Diaz, JunotThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao2009 - Selection
Rogers, ElizabethThe Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time2009 -