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Guy in a black leotard. In a cage. Not eating. Weird? Yes. Popular? Absolutely. Kafka's short story includes iconic artist-figures: a mouse singer...
What? She gets a rose and we don’t? Who is this Emily person anyway? What’s she done to deserve such a delightful, aromatic gift?
Brave New World is supposed be an exciting book about a negative utopia and the corrupt powers of authority. So where’s the big car chase? What's...
This video discusses the major ideas of the satirical American war novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. The horror of war meets…absurdity and humor?...
She was just a girl who found herself in some unimaginably awful circumstances. If you feel like gaining some valuable perspective on the drama in...
The ultimate young-kid-lost-in-the-wilderness book. And yes, there are a lot of them.
In Julie of the Wolves, a girl is thrown into the wild, far away from civilization. Find out how she fares by watching this video.
This video summarizes the plot of Brave New World from the point of view of John (you know, the “savage”). It covers the escapism, social casts...
The Great Gatsby is set in and around New York City and Long Island. On the big L.I., there are two areas known as "West Egg" and "East Egg." East...
This video provides a summary of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. When George and Lennie find new work during the Great Depression, fights, frie...
This video summarizes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby goes from a rich party guy in love with a married woman to dead. W...
Have you ever read a book and thought, "Whoa, this sounds like my life"? If you feel that way about The Fault in Our Stars, you're in for some majo...
Can you really learn about human nature by removing yourself from the company of other humans? Henry David Thoreau thought it was a possibility and...
Stephen Crane wrote The Red Badge of Courage about the Civil War not long after the war had ended. And get this: he didn't even fight in the war. W...
The Old Man and the Sea was actually Hemingway's second title. His editor wouldn't let him use The Middle Aged Man and the Stubborn Fish.
The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield’s Worst Weekend Ever, and this video tells the story of that story. From losing the fe...
Lisbeth Salander is a tough nut to crack. Hero? Villain? Somewhere in the middle? We're not sure, but we're hesitant to accuse her of anything...especially after what she did to the last guy.
In The Giver, society is completely conformist. Neutrality rules the day, and no emotion is good emotion. Lois Lowry's novel challenges the value of conformity and points out the highs and lows of life—as well as how highs and lows are life. Mind. Blown.
Why was Jay Gatsby so great? Was it his ability to get away with bootlegging, his enduring love for Daisy, or his ability to throw epic parties that attracted hundreds of people? Or, was it something else—something deeper?
Take a stroll with us through the shady back alleys of Venice. If you were looking for a relaxing ride through the gondola canals...well, wrong travel guide.
How did Scrooge go from being naughty to nice so quickly, and why? (Hint: contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with the ghost of Santa Claus...thank goodness.) Just one question to think about in Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol.
Puritan adultery=big scarlet “A.” Puritan's know how to keep it simple. What’s not so simple? Hester Prynne’s adamant refusal to reveal who the father of her child, Pearl, is. Someone give her a big fuschia “P” for perplexing.
Monster isn't about the kind of monsters that hide under your bed. These ones are way worse.
One video to rule them all. One video to find them. One video to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Or something like that. The Lord of the Rings trilogy revolves around that one ring. Will the ring bring darkness or light, precious?
We tend to think of Shakespeare as the timeless author who did nothing but craft beautiful, hilarious plays for our enjoyment. However, the fact is that he was a human being affected by the attitudes and beliefs of his time, just like the rest of us. Sorry to burst your Shakespearean bubble of bliss!
A dead man floats to shore. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke or a horror movie, but wait: it gets weirder. He's super tall, super good-looking, and all the local villagers get hearts in their eyes at the mere thought of him. He's still dead, though, so where does the story go from here?
Anne Frank thought of herself as a normal teenage girl, but the legacy she left through her diary was special and powerful.
Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains just exploded.