Top Picks
TopPicks Index - page 2
Top 10 Jonathan Swift - Books About Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift is famous for Gulliver's Travels (1726), A Modest Proposal (1729) and other tales of humor, satire, and imagination. Read more about the life and works of the famous Irish writer, Jonathan Swift.
Top 10 Protest Literature
Protest Literature has existed in different forms throughout literary history. Some of the greatest writers in history have employed their talents toward awakening the public to injustices locally and world-wide.
Top 10 The Jungle Books
The Jungle (1906) was one of Upton Sinclair's most famous novels. The novel was revolutionary, leading to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and meat inspections. Read more about The Jungle.
Top 10 Elizabeth I Books
Elizabeth I is known for her poetry, speeches, and letters. Writers like Spenser, Marlowe and Shakespeare created masterworks of literature during her reign. Read more about the life and works of Elizabeth I.
Top 10 Edith Wharton Books
Edith Wharton was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, with works that include: The House of Mirth (1905), The Custom of the Country (1913), and The Age of Innocence (1920). Read more about the life of Edith Wharton.
Top 10 Sappho Books
Sappho (c 610-570 BC) wrote works of poetry, but those works comes down to us in fragments, even though she was one of the greatest and most famous poets in world literature. Read more about the life and works of Sappho.
Top 10 Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Brontë was born in 1816, and died in 1855. In the intervening years, she wrote a collection of poems and three novels: The Professor, Jane Eyre (1847), and Villette (1852). A fourth novel was left unfinished upon her death. Read more about Charlotte Brontë's life and works.
Top 10 Leaves of Grass Books
Walt Whitman first published Leaves of Grass in 1855, with 12 poems. In subsequent editions, Whitman expanded his works. Controversy has also surrounded Walt Whitman's celebration of America.
Top 10 The Sound and the Fury Books
First published in 1929, William Faulkner's novel, The Sound and the Fury, was one of his first books. Other early books include: Mosquitoes (1927), Sartoris (1929), and As I Lay Dying (1930). Read about one of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, which is considered by some to be his greatest work.
Top 7 My Last Duchess - Books About My Last Duchess - Robert Browning
My Last Duchess, (1842) by Robert Browning, is a great example of dramatic dialogue, a poetic form used to narrate and dramatize Victorian concerns. Here are a few books related to My Last Duchess.
Top 10 J.R.R. Tolkien Mythology Books
J.R.R. Tolkien's epic legendarium offers a view into Middle-Earth, with all of its hobbits, dragons, orcs, and elves. Tolkien's tales are unforgettable. Read more about the tales, and their influence on world literature.
Top 10 Demian Books
Hermann Hess wrote Demian in 1919 after a serious of traumatic events: his son was seriously ill, his father died, his wife had a nervous breakdown, etc. Demian was published under a pseudonym, Emil Sinclair, and it was immediately successful.
Top 10 Canterbury Tales Books
The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400) is sometimes considered the first collection of short stories in English. The entire collection was probably written between the years 1387 and 1400. Read the full text, along with critical material related to The Canterbury Tales.
Top 10 Walt Whitman Books
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) lived through the Civil War; his poetry dramatically depicts the tragic loss. Of course, Whitman is perhaps most famous for Leaves of Grass, his popular and controversial poetry anthology. Read more about the life and works of Walt Whitman.
Top 10 Paradise Lost Books
John Milton's Paradise Lost first appeared in 1667, arranged in 10 books. In 1674, the 2nd edition was in 12 books. This epic poem retells/rethinks the Genesis tale of Adam and Eve. In the end, "the world was all before them, where to choose / their place of rest, and Providence their guide: / They hand in hand with wand'ring steps and slow, / Through Eden took their solitary way."
Top 10 Christina Rossetti Books
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) was part of the Pre-Raphaelite movement in the Victorian period. Rossetti's family was very involved in literature and the arts. Read more about the life of Christina Rossetti.
Top 10 The Time Machine Books
H.G. Wells (1866-1946) published his first novel, The Time Machine, in 1895 as a critique of Victorian England. It's the story of a time traveler, who visits the future to see the evolved civilization of the Eloi and the Morlocks. Read more about Wells' first work.
Top 10 Plagiarism Books
What is plagiarism? Why is originality so important? These books explore the history of plagiarism, along with discussions of scandals in publishing, academia, and beyond. The bottom line is: Don't do it!
Top 10 Mark Twain Books
Mark Twain (1835-1910), pseudonym for Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is considered one of the greatest American writers. He's famous for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889), along with stories, essays, articles, and more. Read more about Mark Twain.
Top 10 Kate Chopin - Books About Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin (1851-1904) wrote stories and novels about Louisiana, capturing the culture and intricacies. After the publication of Kate Chopin's scandalous novel, The Awakening, the literary world ignored her stories for the next 70 years. Read about the life and works of Kate Chopin.
Top 10 Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Books About Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) was a famous Victorian poet, known for poems like How do I Love Thee, and for her love affair with Robert Browning, whom she also married. Find more details related to the life and works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Top 7 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway's classic novella, "The Old Man and the Sea" is one of his most famous works. It was a bestseller when it was first published. Read more about The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, with these top books.
Top 10 J.R.R. Tolkien Books
J.R.R. Tolkien has been called "the author of the century" by at least one author, and his books have been consistently popular. Tolkien is known for more than just his tales of hobbits and elves; his work consists of numerous essays, letters, poems, and other works. These books discuss Tolkien's life and the importance of his works.
Top 10 Lord Byron Books
(1788-1824) British writer. George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron was one of the English "Romantics." His works include: "Don Juan," "Manfred," "Marino Faliero," "Sardanapalus," "The Two Foscari," and "Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage." Read about Byron's life.
Top 9 Cupid / Eros in Literature
Cupid is the god of love in Roman mythology. He was the son of Venus and Mercury. In Greek mythology, he was Eros, son of Aphrodite and Hermes. He fell in love with a mortal woman, Psyche; but their romance ended in tragedy. In popular culture, Cupid has also been depicted as a winged being, with a bow and arrows. Read more about the legend of Cupid.