Make sure the verb agrees with the subject and not with another noun that falls in between.

The simple subject is books, not list.

Be careful when you use phrases beginning with as well as, along with, in addition to, together with, or similar prepositions. They do not make a singular subject plural.

The president, along with many senators, opposes the bill.

Though this sentence has a grammatically singular subject, it suggests the idea of a plural subject. The sentence makes better sense with a compound subject: The driver and a passenger were injured in the accident.