John Updike wrote 61 books before he died Tuesday at age 76. Which are required reading? USA Today's Deirdre Donahue offers her picks:

• "Rabbit, Run" (1960), "Rabbit Redux" (1971), "Rabbit Is "Rich" (1981) "Rabbit at Rest" (1990)

Considered Updike's supreme achievement, this fictional quartet traces the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, creating a portrait of America from Eisenhower to George Bush. Rabbit goes from small-town basketball star to auto salesman to Florida retiree. The series examines marriage, adultery, fatherhood, social upheaval, the American dream — and death.

• "Couples" (1968)

Long before there was sex in the city, Updike wrote this shocker about sex in the suburbs — most of it adulterous.

• "The Early Stories: 1953 to 1975" (2003)

A collection of 103 stories that reveals Updike's mastery of the short form.

• "Golf Dreams" (1996)

Fiction and nonfiction about a sport Updike loved.

• "More Matter: Essays and Criticism" (1999)

Updike the astute critic and cultural observer is on display here, writing about everything from Mickey Mouse to Herman Melville to the Titanic to sex.

• "Terrorist" (2006)

In this novel, Updike reveals his extraordinary versatility by looking at post-9/11 America through the angry eyes of an American-born teenage Muslim fanatic.