Welcome to the official sign-up post for the 2025 American Masterpieces Chapter-a-Day Read-Along. This year we will be reading some of the most important and beloved works of American literature, including two Pulitzer Prize winners and a book that some call “the great American novel.” This is the eighth year of the chapter-a-day read-along, and in all those years we have not read one book by an American author. So 2025 will be the year of American classics: Roots by Alex Haley; Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; and Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. These are all sweeping epics of grand scope, spanning vast landscapes and capturing difference facets of the American experience.
I invite you to join me in reading these masterpieces in 2025. We’ll be reading them in one chapter a day, from January 1 to December 31, a full year exploring the human spirit in the context of the American story. Each of these books has the power to move a reader emotionally and spiritually.
We’ll be reading the books in order of increasing complexity and depth. Roots is the most accessible of the three and yet is still a powerful and thoughtful read; Lonesome Dove offer a more expansive and layered story with complex characters and moral dilemmas; Moby-Dick blends its narrative with deep philosophical and symbolic explorations, and is in some ways the most challenging of the three — in other words, the perfect book to read slowly and patiently.
How to Participate in the 2025 Chapter-a-Day Read-Along
- Get a copy of any of the books you don’t already own. Get them from the library, your local bookstore, a thrift store, or online. (See below for affiliate links to purchase them online.)
- Leave a comment below introducing yourself, sharing where you are from, and explaining why you are joining the read-along.
- Download the daily schedule: Nick’s 2025 American Masterpieces Chapter-a-Day Reading Schedule
- Commit to reading a chapter a day, savoring the words, characters, and events of the stories. It can be a very meditative experience to limit oneself to only one chapter a day, rereading and reflecting on the words and events of the story. But if you get behind or race ahead, no worries. Life happens.
- I encourage you to join me in posting a quote from the current chapter each day on either Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Bluesky, or X. I will be posting on all five, using the hashtag #AmericanReadalong. (See the note below about new ways to follow the read-along this year.) My posts will stay on track with the reading schedule, and I only ask that you please respect the reading experience of those who may not know the full stories. In other words, no spoilers!
- You will find the official 2025 read-along graphic next to this list. Feel free to use it on your website if you wish.
- Subscribe to the Chapter-a-Day Read-Along email newsletter so you don’t miss any read-along posts throughout the year. You can subscribe via email by using the form at the end of this post or in the sidebar.
- Note: New This Year! I have gone all in this year and created dedicated social media accounts for the Chapter-a-Day Read-Along which should make it much easier for you to follow. Rather than search for hashtags, you can simply click the links to take you to the service of your choice and follow the Chapter-a-Day Read-Along account:
And now, here are the specific details about what we will be reading in 2025!
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley – 912 pp. (January 1 to April 30)
(Purchase the paperback or Kindle edition)
Our American Masterpieces read-along begins with Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley. When Roots was published in 1976, it became an instant phenomenon. Critics hailed it as a groundbreaking work that combined historical and genealogical research with the art of storytelling. The book spent months on bestseller lists, won a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, and inspired a landmark television miniseries in 1977 starring a host of great actors including James Earl Jones, Levar Burton, and Ben Vereen. I still remember watching the miniseries as a pre-teen and the profound effect it had on me. Roots became a cultural moment, sparking conversations about identity, history, and the legacy of slavery.
Roots blends elements of family saga, memoir, and historical fiction, but it is more than that; it is an exploration of identity, heritage, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. Haley traces the journey of his own ancestors, beginning with Kunta Kinte, a young man from The Gambia in West Africa, who is captured and sold into slavery in the United States. From there, the book spans several generations, illustrating the brutal realities of slavery, the resilience of Black families in the face of unimaginable hardship, and the ongoing quest for freedom and dignity. For Americans, Roots offers both a reckoning with the painful history of our country and a powerful reminder of the indomitable will to survive and thrive in the most oppressive of circumstances. It is a reminder to all of us that our roots, no matter how deeply buried in history, are a vital part of who we are today.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – 864 pp. (May 1 to August 10)
(Purchase the paperback or Kindle edition)
We next move on to the American West and the book that The Atlantic called “a literary masterpiece, a sprawling epic that captures the grit and beauty of the American frontier,” Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove.
Published in 1985, this Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece follows the journey of two retired Texas Rangers, Augustus “Gus” McCrae and Woodrow F. Call, as they embark on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Like Roots, Lonesome Dove inspired its own TV miniseries in 1989 starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. Unlike Roots, I did not see the Lonesome Dove miniseries when it first aired, and though I have read and enjoyed the book, to this day I still have not seen the miniseries. Maybe 2025 is finally the year I watch it.
Lonesome Dove combines adventure, humor, and tragedy in a single narrative. McMurtry explores themes of friendship, loyalty, ambition, and the bittersweet passage of time. Gus and Call are flawed yet deeply compelling characters whose bond anchors the story. Reading Lonesome Dove is like stepping into a world that is as beautiful as it is brutal, where the line between civilization and wilderness blurs. Summer is a perfect time for us to sink into this true classic of American literature.
Moby-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville – 672 pp. (August 11 to December 31)
(Purchase the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, the Penguin Classics Paperback Edition, or the Kindle edition)
(Also available for free online at Project Gutenberg or as a free audiobook at Libribox)
After the wide open spaces of the American West, we move to the near-cosmic setting of the wild, unbound ocean in Moby-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville. Moby-Dick stands as one of the towering achievements of American literature, and is one of my personal desert-island books. I last read the novel in 2023, but even though I read it so recently, I can’t wait to experience it again. It is one of those books that is endlessly rereadable, and some have called it “the great American novel.”
Published in 1851, the novel takes readers on a voyage aboard the whaling ship Pequod, led by the fanatical Captain Ahab in his relentless pursuit of the white whale, Moby Dick. What sets Moby-Dick apart is Melville’s unmatched blend of poetic language and philosophical depth. The novel is richly layered, offering readers insights into the whaling industry of the 19th century, reflections on the vastness of the sea, and explorations of good and evil, fate and free will, and humanity’s place in the cosmos.
From August to December, as the year becomes darker, colder, and more inviting of introspection, we’ll engage with this most challenging yet rewarding works of literature. Melville’s masterpiece invites us to wrestle with big questions while appreciating the beauty of its poetic language, inspired by Shakespeare and the King James Bible. As a way to prepare ourselves to read this rich novel, we will first read the Book of Jonah, one of the books that Melville drew from as he wrote Moby-Dick. The Book of Jonah is short–only four chapters–and it’s best to read it in the King James Version, because Melville’s cadences and language in Moby-Dick are said to have been modeled after the KJV.
And there you have it, the 2025 American Masterpieces Chapter-a-Day Read-along! By the time we reach December 31, 2025, we will have read three of the giants of American literature.
Conclusion and Reading Schedule
To recap, here is a broad outline of the reading schedule, along with links to purchase them online (Links are affiliate links):
- Roots (January 1-April 30) – (Paperback or Kindle edition)
- Lonesome Dove (May 1-August 10) – (Paperback or Kindle edition)
- Moby-Dick (with the book of Jonah) (August 11-December 31) – (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, Penguin Classics Paperback Edition, or Kindle edition) (Moby-Dick is also available for free online at Project Gutenberg or as a free audiobook at Libribox)
Of course, I hope you read the entire year with me, but you’re free to participate as much or as little as you like. As in the past, I will continue to post a line a day on social media to help encourage you to keep reading. I’ll be using the same hashtag for all three books, #AmericanReadalong. However, as I mentioned above, the quotes will be posted on dedicated Chapter-a-Day Read-along accounts on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Bluesky, and X.
Stay tuned for my introductory post for Roots toward the end of December, and leave a comment on this post or on social media to let me know if you’re participating!
2025 American Masterpieces Chapter-a-Day Read-along Schedule
Here is the detailed read-along schedule, and you can also download it as a pdf here: Nick’s 2025 American Masterpieces Chapter-a-Day Reading Schedule
Date | Book |
Roots | |
1/1/2025 | Chapter 1 |
1/2/2025 | Chapter 2 |
1/3/2025 | Chapter 3 |
1/4/2025 | Chapter 4 |
1/5/2025 | Chapter 5 |
1/6/2025 | Chapter 6 |
1/7/2025 | Chapter 7 |
1/8/2025 | Chapter 8 |
1/9/2025 | Chapter 9 |
1/10/2025 | Chapter 10 |
1/11/2025 | Chapter 11 |
1/12/2025 | Chapter 12 |
1/13/2025 | Chapter 13 |
1/14/2025 | Chapter 14 |
1/15/2025 | Chapter 15 |
1/16/2025 | Chapter 16 |
1/17/2025 | Chapter 17 |
1/18/2025 | Chapter 18 |
1/19/2025 | Chapter 19 |
1/20/2025 | Chapter 20 |
1/21/2025 | Chapter 21 |
1/22/2025 | Chapter 22 |
1/23/2025 | Chapter 23 |
1/24/2025 | Chapter 24 |
1/25/2025 | Chapter 25 |
1/26/2025 | Chapter 26 |
1/27/2025 | Chapter 27 |
1/28/2025 | Chapter 28 |
1/29/2025 | Chapter 29 |
1/30/2025 | Chapter 30 |
1/31/2025 | Chapter 31 |
2/1/2025 | Chapter 32 |
2/2/2025 | Chapter 33 |
2/3/2025 | Chapter 34 |
2/4/2025 | Chapter 35 |
2/5/2025 | Chapter 36 |
2/6/2025 | Chapter 37 |
2/7/2025 | Chapter 38 |
2/8/2025 | Chapter 39 |
2/9/2025 | Chapter 40 |
2/10/2025 | Chapter 41 |
2/11/2025 | Chapter 42 |
2/12/2025 | Chapter 43 |
2/13/2025 | Chapter 44 |
2/14/2025 | Chapter 45 |
2/15/2025 | Chapter 46 |
2/16/2025 | Chapter 47 |
2/17/2025 | Chapter 48 |
2/18/2025 | Chapter 49 |
2/19/2025 | Chapter 50 |
2/20/2025 | Chapter 51 |
2/21/2025 | Chapter 52 |
2/22/2025 | Chapter 53 |
2/23/2025 | Chapter 54 |
2/24/2025 | Chapter 55 |
2/25/2025 | Chapter 56 |
2/26/2025 | Chapter 57 |
2/27/2025 | Chapter 58 |
2/28/2025 | Chapter 59 |
3/1/2025 | Chapter 60 |
3/2/2025 | Chapter 61 |
3/3/2025 | Chapter 62 |
3/4/2025 | Chapter 63 |
3/5/2025 | Chapter 64 |
3/6/2025 | Chapter 65 |
3/7/2025 | Chapter 66 |
3/8/2025 | Chapter 67 |
3/9/2025 | Chapter 68 |
3/10/2025 | Chapter 69 |
3/11/2025 | Chapter 70 |
3/12/2025 | Chapter 71 |
3/13/2025 | Chapter 72 |
3/14/2025 | Chapter 73 |
3/15/2025 | Chapter 74 |
3/16/2025 | Chapter 75 |
3/17/2025 | Chapter 76 |
3/18/2025 | Chapter 77 |
3/19/2025 | Chapter 78 |
3/20/2025 | Chapter 79 |
3/21/2025 | Chapter 80 |
3/22/2025 | Chapter 81 |
3/23/2025 | Chapter 82 |
3/24/2025 | Chapter 83 |
3/25/2025 | Chapter 84 |
3/26/2025 | Chapter 85 |
3/27/2025 | Chapter 86 |
3/28/2025 | Chapter 87 |
3/29/2025 | Chapter 88 |
3/30/2025 | Chapter 89 |
3/31/2025 | Chapter 90 |
4/1/2025 | Chapter 91 |
4/2/2025 | Chapter 92 |
4/3/2025 | Chapter 93 |
4/4/2025 | Chapter 94 |
4/5/2025 | Chapter 95 |
4/6/2025 | Chapter 96 |
4/7/2025 | Chapter 97 |
4/8/2025 | Chapter 98 |
4/9/2025 | Chapter 99 |
4/10/2025 | Chapter 100 |
4/11/2025 | Chapter 101 |
4/12/2025 | Chapter 102 |
4/13/2025 | Chapter 103 |
4/14/2025 | Chapter 104 |
4/15/2025 | Chapter 105 |
4/16/2025 | Chapter 106 |
4/17/2025 | Chapter 107 |
4/18/2025 | Chapter 108 |
4/19/2025 | Chapter 109 |
4/20/2025 | Chapter 110 |
4/21/2025 | Chapter 111 |
4/22/2025 | Chapter 112 |
4/23/2025 | Chapter 113 |
4/24/2025 | Chapter 114 |
4/25/2025 | Chapter 115 |
4/26/2025 | Chapter 116 |
4/27/2025 | Chapter 117 |
4/28/2025 | Chapter 118 |
4/29/2025 | Chapter 119 |
4/30/2025 | Chapter 120 |
Lonesome Dove | |
5/1/2025 | Chapter 1 |
5/2/2025 | Chapter 2 |
5/3/2025 | Chapter 3 |
5/4/2025 | Chapter 4 |
5/5/2025 | Chapter 5 |
5/6/2025 | Chapter 6 |
5/7/2025 | Chapter 7 |
5/8/2025 | Chapter 8 |
5/9/2025 | Chapter 9 |
5/10/2025 | Chapter 10 |
5/11/2025 | Chapter 11 |
5/12/2025 | Chapter 12 |
5/13/2025 | Chapter 13 |
5/14/2025 | Chapter 14 |
5/15/2025 | Chapter 15 |
5/16/2025 | Chapter 16 |
5/17/2025 | Chapter 17 |
5/18/2025 | Chapter 18 |
5/19/2025 | Chapter 19 |
5/20/2025 | Chapter 20 |
5/21/2025 | Chapter 21 |
5/22/2025 | Chapter 22 |
5/23/2025 | Chapter 23 |
5/24/2025 | Chapter 24 |
5/25/2025 | Chapter 25 |
5/26/2025 | Chapter 26 |
5/27/2025 | Chapter 27 |
5/28/2025 | Chapter 28 |
5/29/2025 | Chapter 29 |
5/30/2025 | Chapter 30 |
5/31/2025 | Chapter 31 |
6/1/2025 | Chapter 32 |
6/2/2025 | Chapter 33 |
6/3/2025 | Chapter 34 |
6/4/2025 | Chapter 35 |
6/5/2025 | Chapter 36 |
6/6/2025 | Chapter 37 |
6/7/2025 | Chapter 38 |
6/8/2025 | Chapter 39 |
6/9/2025 | Chapter 40 |
6/10/2025 | Chapter 41 |
6/11/2025 | Chapter 42 |
6/12/2025 | Chapter 43 |
6/13/2025 | Chapter 44 |
6/14/2025 | Chapter 45 |
6/15/2025 | Chapter 46 |
6/16/2025 | Chapter 47 |
6/17/2025 | Chapter 48 |
6/18/2025 | Chapter 49 |
6/19/2025 | Chapter 50 |
6/20/2025 | Chapter 51 |
6/21/2025 | Chapter 52 |
6/22/2025 | Chapter 53 |
6/23/2025 | Chapter 54 |
6/24/2025 | Chapter 55 |
6/25/2025 | Chapter 56 |
6/26/2025 | Chapter 57 |
6/27/2025 | Chapter 58 |
6/28/2025 | Chapter 59 |
6/29/2025 | Chapter 60 |
6/30/2025 | Chapter 61 |
7/1/2025 | Chapter 62 |
7/2/2025 | Chapter 63 |
7/3/2025 | Chapter 64 |
7/4/2025 | Chapter 65 |
7/5/2025 | Chapter 66 |
7/6/2025 | Chapter 67 |
7/7/2025 | Chapter 68 |
7/8/2025 | Chapter 69 |
7/9/2025 | Chapter 70 |
7/10/2025 | Chapter 71 |
7/11/2025 | Chapter 72 |
7/12/2025 | Chapter 73 |
7/13/2025 | Chapter 74 |
7/14/2025 | Chapter 75 |
7/15/2025 | Chapter 76 |
7/16/2025 | Chapter 77 |
7/17/2025 | Chapter 78 |
7/18/2025 | Chapter 79 |
7/19/2025 | Chapter 80 |
7/20/2025 | Chapter 81 |
7/21/2025 | Chapter 82 |
7/22/2025 | Chapter 83 |
7/23/2025 | Chapter 84 |
7/24/2025 | Chapter 85 |
7/25/2025 | Chapter 86 |
7/26/2025 | Chapter 87 |
7/27/2025 | Chapter 88 |
7/28/2025 | Chapter 89 |
7/29/2025 | Chapter 90 |
7/30/2025 | Chapter 91 |
7/31/2025 | Chapter 92 |
8/1/2025 | Chapter 93 |
8/2/2025 | Chapter 94 |
8/3/2025 | Chapter 95 |
8/4/2025 | Chapter 96 |
8/5/2025 | Chapter 97 |
8/6/2025 | Chapter 98 |
8/7/2025 | Chapter 99 |
8/8/2025 | Chapter 100 |
8/9/2025 | Chapter 101 |
8/10/2025 | Chapter 102 |
Moby-Dick Pre-read: Book of Jonah (King James Version) | |
8/11/2025 | Jonah Chapter 1 |
8/12/2025 | Jonah Chapter 2 |
8/13/2025 | Jonah Chapter 3 |
8/14/2025 | Jonah Chapter 4 |
Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale | |
8/15/2025 | Etymology |
8/16/2025 | Commentary on the Extracts |
8/17/2025 | Extracts |
8/18/2025 | Chapter 1 |
8/19/2025 | Chapter 2 |
8/20/2025 | Chapter 3 |
8/21/2025 | Chapter 4 |
8/22/2025 | Chapter 5 |
8/23/2025 | Chapter 6 |
8/24/2025 | Chapter 7 |
8/25/2025 | Chapter 8 |
8/26/2025 | Chapter 9 |
8/27/2025 | Chapter 10 |
8/28/2025 | Chapter 11 |
8/29/2025 | Chapter 12 |
8/30/2025 | Chapter 13 |
8/31/2025 | Chapter 14 |
9/1/2025 | Chapter 15 |
9/2/2025 | Chapter 16 |
9/3/2025 | Chapter 17 |
9/4/2025 | Chapter 18 |
9/5/2025 | Chapter 19 |
9/6/2025 | Chapter 20 |
9/7/2025 | Chapter 21 |
9/8/2025 | Chapter 22 |
9/9/2025 | Chapter 23 |
9/10/2025 | Chapter 24 |
9/11/2025 | Chapter 25 |
9/12/2025 | Chapter 26 |
9/13/2025 | Chapter 27 |
9/14/2025 | Chapter 28 |
9/15/2025 | Chapter 29 |
9/16/2025 | Chapter 30 |
9/17/2025 | Chapter 31 |
9/18/2025 | Chapter 32 |
9/19/2025 | Chapter 33 |
9/20/2025 | Chapter 34 |
9/21/2025 | Chapter 35 |
9/22/2025 | Chapter 36 |
9/23/2025 | Chapter 37 |
9/24/2025 | Chapter 38 |
9/25/2025 | Chapter 39 |
9/26/2025 | Chapter 40 |
9/27/2025 | Chapter 41 |
9/28/2025 | Chapter 42 |
9/29/2025 | Chapter 43 |
9/30/2025 | Chapter 44 |
10/1/2025 | Chapter 45 |
10/2/2025 | Chapter 46 |
10/3/2025 | Chapter 47 |
10/4/2025 | Chapter 48 |
10/5/2025 | Chapter 49 |
10/6/2025 | Chapter 50 |
10/7/2025 | Chapter 51 |
10/8/2025 | Chapter 52 |
10/9/2025 | Chapter 53 |
10/10/2025 | Chapter 54 |
10/11/2025 | Chapter 55 |
10/12/2025 | Chapter 56 |
10/13/2025 | Chapter 57 |
10/14/2025 | Chapter 58 |
10/15/2025 | Chapter 59 |
10/16/2025 | Chapter 60 |
10/17/2025 | Chapter 61 |
10/18/2025 | Chapter 62 |
10/19/2025 | Chapter 63 |
10/20/2025 | Chapter 64 |
10/21/2025 | Chapter 65 |
10/22/2025 | Chapter 66 |
10/23/2025 | Chapter 67 |
10/24/2025 | Chapter 68 |
10/25/2025 | Chapter 69 |
10/26/2025 | Chapter 70 |
10/27/2025 | Chapter 71 |
10/28/2025 | Chapter 72 |
10/29/2025 | Chapter 73 |
10/30/2025 | Chapter 74 |
10/31/2025 | Chapter 75 |
11/1/2025 | Chapter 76 |
11/2/2025 | Chapter 77 |
11/3/2025 | Chapter 78 |
11/4/2025 | Chapter 79 |
11/5/2025 | Chapter 80 |
11/6/2025 | Chapter 81 |
11/7/2025 | Chapter 82 |
11/8/2025 | Chapter 83 |
11/9/2025 | Chapter 84 |
11/10/2025 | Chapter 85 |
11/11/2025 | Chapter 86 |
11/12/2025 | Chapter 87 |
11/13/2025 | Chapter 88 |
11/14/2025 | Chapter 89 |
11/15/2025 | Chapter 90 |
11/16/2025 | Chapter 91 |
11/17/2025 | Chapter 92 |
11/18/2025 | Chapter 93 |
11/19/2025 | Chapter 94 |
11/20/2025 | Chapter 95 |
11/21/2025 | Chapter 96 |
11/22/2025 | Chapter 97 |
11/23/2025 | Chapter 98 |
11/24/2025 | Chapter 99 |
11/25/2025 | Chapter 100 |
11/26/2025 | Chapter 101 |
11/27/2025 | Chapter 102 |
11/28/2025 | Chapter 103 |
11/29/2025 | Chapter 104 |
11/30/2025 | Chapter 105 |
12/1/2025 | Chapter 106 |
12/2/2025 | Chapter 107 |
12/3/2025 | Chapter 108 |
12/4/2025 | Chapter 109 |
12/5/2025 | Chapter 110 |
12/6/2025 | Chapter 111 |
12/7/2025 | Chapter 112 |
12/8/2025 | Chapter 113 |
12/9/2025 | Chapter 114 |
12/10/2025 | Chapter 115 |
12/11/2025 | Chapter 116 |
12/12/2025 | Chapter 117 |
12/13/2025 | Chapter 118 |
12/14/2025 | Chapter 119 |
12/15/2025 | Chapter 120 |
12/16/2025 | Chapter 121 |
12/17/2025 | Chapter 122 |
12/18/2025 | Chapter 123 |
12/19/2025 | Chapter 124 |
12/20/2025 | Chapter 125 |
12/21/2025 | Chapter 126 |
12/22/2025 | Chapter 127 |
12/23/2025 | Chapter 128 |
12/24/2025 | Chapter 129 |
12/25/2025 | Chapter 130 |
12/26/2025 | Chapter 131 |
12/27/2025 | Chapter 132 |
12/28/2025 | Chapter 133 |
12/29/2025 | Chapter 134 |
12/30/2025 | Chapter 135 |
12/31/2025 | Epilogue |
The background image for the 2025 read-along graphic is from Landscape by Albert Bierstadt
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I am thrilled with your 2025 Chapter A Day picks. I’m 72 years old and read Moby Dick in high school! So it’s high time I read it again. I read Roots when it was first published and loved it. Reading it again will be a treat. And Lonesome Dove is the absolute favorite book of my life. Thank you for bringing me back to it.
I’m so glad you like the choices! I think it’s going to be a great year of reading!
What an interesting combination for this year! Exciting!
Thanks, I hope the three of them go well together and make for some great discussion!