What do you call the author who inspired Jane Austen? While we should  be referring to Frances Burney as a trailblazer or literary genius, upon hearing her name, most of us would simply say..."Who?" My nighttime reading lately has been Rebecca Romney's Jane Austen's Bookshelf , which explores the books that inspired Jane Austen and plays right into my fascination with the story behind the story. I did my entire Master's thesis on the creative process of Elizabeth Peters , an

In response to many a reader request, I'm proud to present my annotated edition of Emily Brontë's bleak but beautiful classic, Wuthering Heights. I'd never actually read it before this year, and I must say, it was rather surprising.

My biggest goal was to expand my annotated classics series, and I've largely succeeded, even if I did stray a tad off course in the book choices.

I'm not trying to be contrarian, but with all the fanfare surrounding Netflix's recent adaptation of Frankenstein , I can't help but think of the book's far more readable cousin, Dracula . In the A-list annals of Halloween costumes, the two are often paired together, but the reading experience of each is vastly different. Frankenstein is slow and cerebral. You zone out, and 20 pages later, the protagonist is still describing the landscape. Dracula , on the other hand, is a p

Plain white three-ring binders are so boring. Most of us remedy this fact by using different colors for different subjects, but why stop there? Get an A+ in organization with my gorgeous new three-ring binder covers, designed just for you! In true Renaissance Revival style, each design blends timeless art with a modern twist. With beautiful choices for history and English, your cover arrives as an instant digital download. Simply hit "print" and slide it behind your binder's

There’s something so delightful about the unrestrained drama of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet . As I wrote in the foreword to my annotated edition-- on sale now! --very few of the characters act with anything resembling common sense. It’s all, “This is how I feel ! Hang the consequences!” Most of us have probably been tempted to act that way, but we subsume* those instincts so we don’t die of our own stupidity.  Romeo and Juliet  is under no such obligation, giving

Ivanhoe really does feature everything you could want in an English adventure story: sword-fights, Robin Hood, Richard the Lionheart, damsels in distress, knights, heroes, scoundrels, and plenty of derring-do.

I recently drove from Texas to Minnesota, and decided it was high time I dive into some classic literature that's long haunted my TBR pile: specifically, anything by Sir Walter Scott.

It's no secret that some summer reading books are better than others. Over the years, I've developed a few hard-and-fast rules to sort the wheat from the chaff. Follow them to ensure you don't waste your time on something pointless when, trust me, there are countless good books out there. How to Find a Good Summer Reading Book: It can't have been published in the past 10 years - If it's actually good, it'll still be around in a few years. Modern books are usually fads and no