Esther's Classic Literature Blog

It's been a sweltering hot day, and now I can hear the thunder outside; it's going to be a stormy night. Tomorrow is the first day of August. The month of ... Read More

Fantasy, madness and adventure... And, this novel has them all? Gulliver's Travels is an exploration of fantastical places, human nature, and the inner reaches of the human mind. Here's a quote ... Read More

A new movie about Jane Austen is coming out this week. It's called: Becoming Jane Austen. One of the promo-lines is: "Their love was her greatest inspiration." The other is: ... Read More

In a blog post for The Sun-Sentinel, Chauncey Mabe dives into the whole discussion of reading, literacy and the Harry Potter phenomenon. He cites a study from the National Endowment ... Read More

Why does the American dream sometimes seem so unattainable in literature? From whence does this cynicism come? In The Big Sleep, we read: "You were dead, you were sleeping the big ... Read More

A few years ago, I commuted to work on the bus every day. I'd walk down the hill to the bus stop--rain or shine. And, I spent the next 45 ... Read More

Are there secrets in books and literature you wish you never knew? Perhaps there's trivia you've discovered about an author, which changes the way you think about his/her life and ... Read More

We're wrapping up our discussions on Of Mice and Men, and you've all voted to read Madame Bovary next. If you haven't already joined us in our discussions, please take ... Read More

It was sunny 5 minutes ago, and now it's pouring (not just a gentle sprinkle, but raining so hard that I'd no doubt be washed away if I was outside). ... Read More

When I travel, I invariably discover literary reminders in the most off-the-wall places. It goes beyond those instances of striking up a conversation about James Joyce in a diner, or ... Read More

I found myself reading Cyrano de Bergerac this weekend. I fell upon it, and found myself well into it before I really realized it. Cyrano de Bergerac is the most ... Read More

Ernest Hemingway once wrote: "All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that ... Read More

What's so important about the death of Edgar Allan Poe? The Poe Shadow is an entertaining detective story--one could almost imagine that the tale comes from the pen of Edgar Allan ... Read More

What can we learn from a rat, a mole, a toad, and other creatures? I still remember when I first read The Wind in the Willows. It's a great entertainment experience ... Read More

If you've ever tried to get your manuscript published, you can probably appreciate the prank one author from Bath tried. According to BBC News and The Guardian, David Lassman (who ... Read More

How does dying affect art: literature and music? In this collection of essays, Edward Said explores the last works of writers and musicians, including Thomas Mann, Constantine P. Cavafy, and Samuel ... Read More

As Harry Potter mania is reaching a fevered pitch, some critics are rising up in protest--futile as that may be. In a recent blog post on The Guardian, Nicholas Lezard ... Read More

Where the Red Fern Grows is a famous work by Wilson Rawls. The novel is a coming of age story, involving Billy Colman and his dogs. In the novel, Rawls ... Read More

In a recent post, MediaBistro GallyCat reported about a decline in bookstore sales. According to Publishers Weekly, sales are down by 4.3%. Is this just one decline in the rocky ... Read More

The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous (and controversial) novels of the 20th century. This book, by J.D. Salinger first appeared on July 16, 1951. But, ... Read More

Oh, to be on a seashore--walking and dreaming; thinking and running; sitting and watching... Whether sun, or moon, or stars--do you ever wish you could see the ocean, or walk ... Read More

Some of you have offered your suggestions for our August 2007 Book Club. The suggestions include: Death in Venice, The Iliad, The Secret Agent, Madame Bovary, and Lord of the ... Read More

Mike recently sent me a note to let me know about his new book-related site. Here's what he says: "Bibliomancy is the ancient practice of letting a book (usually the ... Read More

I've just been watching the 1975 movie based on Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I've been hearing (and reading) about the movie for years. It's one of ... Read More

In a recent article for The Guardian, Caryl Phillips writes about James Baldwin's return home (from Paris, France). Phillips writes: "By leaving the relative 'obscurity' of Paris, and stepping on ... Read More

In The Student's Serenade, Anne Bronte writes: "I have slept upon my couch, But my spirit did not rest, For the labours of the day Yet my weary soul opprest; "And, before my dreaming eyes Still ... Read More

Reading is important. But, the next step is making sure that you remember what you've read! Memory is sometimes a tricky thing. You may have just read the text, and ... Read More

Born on July 12, 1817, Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American writer, poet, philosopher and naturalist. I've always loved Walden (1854)--it reminds me of my grandfather (who lived on ... Read More

E.B. White was born on July 11, 1899, in Mount Vernon, New York. White is known as a famous novelist and essayist, known for The Trumpet of the Swan, Charlotte's ... Read More

With the much-anticipated release of the final Harry Potter book just days away, we must now pause for a few moments to reflect... What was life like before the young ... Read More

I both love and hate reading in bed when I want to fall asleep. Some days, I can only get in a few words of reading before my lids close ... Read More

I can hear Harry Potter now: "Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the greatest wizard of them all?(Well, I can imagine it anyway...) You can find out who was voted the ... Read More

If Tom Jones is going on a journey, he must be following a quest, especially if he has a place to go, a reason to go, challenges, trials, and a ... Read More

It's true. When somebody mentions Shelley, which Shelley comes to mind? Is it the famous author of Frankenstein or the revolutionary Romantic poet (famous for his association with Lord Byron ... Read More

Ernest Hemingway's six-toed cats are in the news again, according to an AP article, via Forbes.com. The cats are listed as an attraction of the Hemingway Home & Museum in ... Read More

On July 7, 1907, Robert Heinlein was born in Butler, Missouri. He would become one of the greatest masters of the science fiction genre (with Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac ... Read More

Who wrote the poem that appears by the Statue of Liberty? Emma Lazarus is famous as the poet of The New Colossus, which appears on the plaque by the Statue of ... Read More

Why would you kill a mockingbird? Harper Lee is famous for her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (she also received the Pulitzer Prize). In this famous work of fiction, Harper Lee ... Read More

It's the 4th of July. We call it Independence Day in the U.S.--the day we all hang out, watch the fireworks, and think about how many years this country has ... Read More

Andrew Gallix just posted a blog entry on The Guardian Book Blog about "slow-cooked books." He says: "what often passes for fiction today would have been considered no more than ... Read More

You may just get a whole lot more than you bargained for... At least, with one recent banning story, the place was apparently inundated with a deluge of water. (Take ... Read More

In Sonnets from the Portuguese, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote: "The face of all the world is changed, I think, Since first I heard the footsteps of thy soul Move still, oh, still, beside ... Read More

For July 2007, we're reading John Steinbeck's classic novel, Of Mice and Men, which was first published in 1937. Despite the controversies and book banning that have surrounded the text, ... Read More

We all known that William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes are two of the most famous writers of all times. And, it's fairly well known that they were contemporaries. But, ... Read More