Assembled by the curators of the Library Foundation's award-winning ALOUD series, which is a celebrated series of conversations, reading and performances. All books are signed by the authors, including "Cleopatra" (Stacy Schiff), "The Tell-Tale Brain" (V.S. Ramahandran), "No Biking in the House Without a Helmet" (Melissa Fay Greene), "Hollywood Left and Right" (Steven Ross), "Great House" (Nicole Krauss), "My Hollywood" (Mona Simpson), "The Barbarian Nurseries" (Hector Tobar), "The Obamas" (Jodi Kantor), and "Origins: How the 9 Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of our Lives".

In addition, the winning recipient will receive a one-year membership in the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.