Top Picks
TopPicks Index - page 7
Top 9 Great Writers Speak
If you've ever wanted to hear the voices of some of the greatest writers in literary history reading their works, these collections provide you with the opportunity you've been waiting for... Listen to Tolkien read from "The Lord of the Rings," or Joyce read from "Ulysses." Read on.
Top 10 Books About Jack London
(1876-1916) American writer. Jack London (John Griffith) lived a life that was full of adventure, some of which he dramatized in his most famous works, including "Call of the Wild," "White Fang," and other works. Read more about the life and works of Jack London.
Top 8 Books About American Naturalism
Naturalism is an American literary movement. In general, the concept is one in which everything belongs to nature, is "natural." Naturalist writers include: Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, Stephen Crane, Ellen Glasgow, and Edith Wharton. Read more about American Naturalism.
Top 10 Books About Civil War Literature
Writers have used the Civil War as a backdrop for thier literary writings about American characters. Read "The Red Badge of Courage," and other works.
Top 10 Jack London Collections
Jack London (1876-1916) once wrote: "I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them." He said, "I will use my time." London had a hard life starting out, and he saw quite a lot of adventure, which came out in many of his works: "Call of the Wild," "The Sea-Wolf," "White Fang," and more.
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 Books About How to Read
How do you grasp the meaning of a work of literature? Study, learn, comprehend, and interpret characters, words, and sentences to decipher themes and structures in literature.
Top 10 Books About Freedom and Liberty
Freedom is defined as "the condition of being free from restraints," at liberty from slavery or oppression. Men and women have given their lives in the pursuit of freedom; and revolutionary writers often lead the charge. Read more about their lives and works.
Top 10 Books About Little Red Riding Hood
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a fairy tale with many derivations. Although it is often considered a children's story, some of the evolutions of the tale are brutal and rather grotesque. Read more about Little Red Riding Hood...
Top 10 Books About Huck Finn
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...
Top 10 Books by Washington Irving
Washington Irving was America's first international author, famous for works like "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "Rip Van Winkle," and "The Adventures of Captain Bonneville," and other works. Read the works of Washington Irving.
Top 5 Books About Washington Irving
Washington Irving was America's first internationally acclaimed writer, famous for works like "Rip van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." He traveled around the world in his search for stories. Read more about the life and works of Washington Irving.
Top 10 Books By Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber is famous for books like: "So Big," "Show Boat," "Cimarron," and "Giant." Ferber received the Pulitzer Prize in 1924. Read more about Edna Ferber's works.
Top 8 Books By John Dos Passos
John Dos Passos (1896-1970) is perhaps best known for "Manhattan Transfer" (1925). His other works include novels including "One Man's Initiation" (1920) and "Three Soldiers" (1921); a collection of essays, "Rosinante to the Road Again" (1922); poems collected in "A Pushcart at the Curb" (1922); plays including "The Garbage Man" (1926), "Airways" (1928), and "Fortune Heights" (1934).
Top 10 Books About Literary Forgery
Literary classics haven't just been created... they've also been forged. Read about some of the most famous literary forgeries.
Top 10 Books About "Gone With the Wind"
Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" was published in 1936, and it has become one of the most popular depictions of the Civil War and the Reconstruction.
Top 10 Books About Bibliomania--Addiction to the Classics
Are you addicted to books? You may go to any lengths to find a particular book. Bibliomania is "a gentle madness," a joy that's been enjoyed by bibliomanics, bookworms, book lovers, book hunters, and other readers throughout history. Read about what famous writers have said about thier passions for books; and then discover why you can derive such a pleasure from reading the classics!
Top 10 Slave Narratives
Slave narratives are an important part of American literature. Writers like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs helped to dispell many of the misconceptions of slavery, as they revealed personal experiences.
Top 10 Books About "Walden"
Henry Waldo Thoreau wrote "Walden" between 1845 and 1854. As Thoreau writes, "When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months."
Top 10 Books About Easter in Myth and Literature
In religious tradition, Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, but many Easter traditions are derived from Ostara, a fertility goddess, who is associated with Spring and the rising sun. Read more about the pagan and religious traditions of Easter. Also, find out how how Easter appear in myth and literature.
Top 10 Books About Alexander Pope
(1688-1744) British writer. Alexander Pope was a poet, critic, satirist, and essayist. Pope is famous for "Essay on Criticism," "The Rape of the Lock," and "Essay on Man." Read more about the life of Alexander Pope.
Top 10 Books About William Congreve
(1670-1729) British writer. William Congreve was born in England, and was educated in Dublin, Ireland. Congreve's plays include: "The Old Bachelor" (1693), "Love for Love" (1695), "The Mourning Bride" (1697), and "The Way of the World" (1700). Read more about the life and works of William Congreve.
Top 10 Anthologies of American Literature
American literature has a rich and varied history, from Colonial writers like Anne Bradstreet, through Civil War writers like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, and on through the adventures of Bret Hart, Mark Twain, and Jack London. Read more about American literature.
Top 10 American Literature Anthologies
American literature has a rich and varied history. These books present literature from the Native American trickster and creation tales through Anne Bradstreet, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Sarah Orne Jewett, Bret Hart, Mark Twain, Henry James, Kate Chopin, Jack London, and more.
Top 10 Books About Roger Williams
(1603-1683) Roger Williams was born in London, and he was ordained as a minister after completing his studies at Cambridge. His "Key into the Languages of America" (1643) is his best-known work. Read more about the life and works of Roger Williams.