Top Picks
TopPicks Index
Top 10 Famous Fictional Heroines
In exploring the world of literature, these heroines come immediately to mind: Edna Pontellier, Madame Bovary, Moll Flanders, Anna Karenin, Lily Bart, Jane Eyre, Hester Prynne, Elizabeth Bennet, Daisy Miller, and Murasaki Shikibu. Other heroines include: Lucy Honeychurch, Antonia Shimerdas, Ellen Olenska, Josephine (Jo) March, and Isabel Archer. Read more about famous fictional heroines. These novels feature just a few of the many...
Top 5 The Awakening Books
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin was published in 1899, and Willa Cather called it a Creole Bovary. The book was thought to be immoral and scandalous, with Edna Pontellier committing adultery and then suicide.
Top 10 Banned Classics
Books are still being banned every day, but do you know which of the great classics have been banned? Here's a list of ten...
Top 8 John Steinbeck Novels
John Steinbeck became known as an important American writer with his epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. Other early works include Tortilla Flat (1935), In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and The Long Valley (1938). He was also known for a profusion of short stories, nonfiction works, and more.
Top 10 Must Reads in Literature
This list is by no means all-inclusive, but it should give you an idea of a few great classics, which really are worth reading at least once. Read more about these must reads in literature, and then enjoy more works by these classic writers.
Top 7 Of Mice and Men Books
John Steinbeck's classic novel, Of Mice and Men, was first published in 1937. Despite the controversies and book banning that have surrounded the text, this story of George and Lennie in the Salinas Valley has become one of Steinbeck's most beloved works. Read more about Of Mice and Men.
Top 10 Beowulf Books
Written around the tenth century A.D., Beowulf is one of the greatest works of the Medieval era. It describes a Scandinavian warrior of the sixth century. Read more about Beowulf.
Top 10 Brave New World Books
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World was published in 1932. This Utopian/dystopian future offers soma and other carnal pleasures, while manipulating the people into mind-numbing dependance.
Top 10 The Lord of the Rings Collections
With The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, the world was introduced to the genre of fantasy, drawn in by the magic and adventure of Middle Earth. Many who have read the The Lord of the Rings can't help but read the pages over and over again...
Top 6 Books About "Treasure Island"
Treasure Island is Robert Louis Stevenson's story about Jim Hawkins and his adventures with murderous pirates. Read about Long John Silver, and the rest of the pirate gang in this tale.
Top 10 Charles Dickens Books
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a popular novelist in the Victorian period. With novels like Hard Times, Dickens attacked social injustices in the Industrial Revolution.
Top 10 The Hobbit Books
With The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien introduced the world to his Middle-earth, with all the elves, wizards, orcs, trolls, spiders, wolves, Smaug, and the hobbits--small creatures with hairy feet. Meet Bilbo Baggins, and read more about Tolkien's famous work, The Hobbit.
Top 10 Studying the Bible as Literature
It doesn't matter whether you believe the Bible to be fact or a fable... It remains an important reference source in the study of literature. These books should help you in your study of the Bible as literature. Read more.
Top 10 Books About "A Christmas Carol"
Charles Dickens is famous for his book about Old Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghost Marley. Here are the top books about A Christmas Carol. Read on.
Top 10 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Books
Originally published in 1884, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the journey of a young boy down the Mississippi River. Huck encounters thieves, murders, and various adventures. The book has also encountered censorship... Read more about Mark Twain's famous book: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Top 6 John Greenleaf Whittier Books
John Greenleaf Whittier became for his abolitionist poetry. His works include Snow-Bound (1866), and other works about rural life in New England. Read more about the poetry of John Greenleaf Whittier.
Top 10 Emily Dickinson Books
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was an American writer, who lived during the time of the Civil War and Walt Whitman. She was a poet and a recluse, so she was not well-known during her lifetime. In her upstairs room, she created some of the most memorable poetry of her age. These books discuss her life, her loves, and her relationship with words.
Top 10 Ernest Hemingway Books
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was a popular and controversial writer in his time, famous for books like The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, In Our Time, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and other works. With F. Scott Fitzgerald, he was part of the Lost Generation of writers.
Top 10 Gustave Flaubert Books
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) is most famous for Madame Bovary, which was banned when it first appeared. These books explore the life and works of Gustave Flaubert. Read more about Gustave Flaubert.
Top 10 Henrik Ibsen's Plays
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright, famous for A Doll's House, The Master Builder, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, and Hedda Gabler. Read more about the works of Henrik Ibsen.
Top 10 Dracula Books
Dracula is one of the most infamous literary monsters of all time. Bram Stoker's novel brought Dracula to life in 1897, but the original Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, lived in the 15th century. Read more about Bram Stoker's famous Dracula.
Top 7 Irish Writers Books
Irish literature is filled with them: playwrights, novelists, short story writers, poets, essayists, historians, humorists, and philosophers. They come with names like Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats. Read more about the lives and works of famous Irish writers.
Top 7 Anthologies of Irish Writing
With a rich history of famous writers like William Congreve, James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Edmund Burke, and Samuel Beckett, no literary study is complete without a look at the world of Irsih literature. Read more about Irish writing with these anthologies and collections.
Top 10 Books About What to Read
If you're wondering what great classics you should read, here are some books that will help. These books list hundreds of works from Homer through Edgar Allan Poe and Gustave Flaubert to Virginia Woolf and Franz Kafka. Read more about what to read in literature.
Top 10 The Hound of the Baskervilles Books
The Hound of the Baskervilles, a tale of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was first published in serial form in 1901, then in book form in 1902. It's the story of an age-old curse and it's deadly ramifications to the Baskerville family. The mystery goes back generations, but Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on the case.