Many different universities and colleges provided the author with the names of works they recommend or use in first-year English classes. I remember seeing the first edition of this book when I was in high school and falling madly in love with it. Unfortunately, it was at the public library and someone lost it a month after I checked it out. I am an obsessive list-maker and this adds fuel to the fire of my two passions, lists and literature. Not all the books listed in here are predictable, canonical works, either. I'm surprised how many are out-of-print, making the search for great reading material even more fun. One gripe: no comprehensive index. I may just make my own.