Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Twilight Saga

by Stephenie Meyer

This stunning set, complete with all four hardcover books as well as four collectible prints, makes the perfect gift for fans of the bestselling vampire love story.

Twilight Saga

The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide

Fans of the #1 New York Times bestselling Twilight Saga will treasure this definitive official guide! This must-have hardcover edition--the only official guide--is the definitive encyclopedic reference to the Twilight Saga and provides readers with everything they need to further explore the unforgettable world Stephenie Meyer created in Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn . With exclusive... (more)

The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (Vintage)

The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (Vintage)

by Bruno Bettelheim

The great child psychologist gives us a moving revelation of the enormous and irreplaceable value of fairy tales - how they educate, support and liberate the emotions of children.

The Discarded Image

An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature

by C. S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis' The Discarded Image paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view, as historical and cultural background to the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It describes the "image" discarded by later ages as "the medieval synthesis itself, the whole organization of their theology, science and history into a single, complex, harmonious mental model of the universe." This, Lewis' last book, was... (more)

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo

by J. R. R. Tolkien

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT, PEARL, and SIR ORFEO are masterpieces of a remote and exotic age--the age of chivalry and wizards, knights and holy quests. Yet it is only in the unique artistry and imagination of J.R.R. Tolken that the language, romance, and power of these great stories comes to life for modern readers, in this masterful and compelling new translation.

The Grey Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

35 stories, many from oral traditions, others from French, German, Italian collections: "The Goat-faced Girl," "The Sunchild," "The Street Musicians," "The Twin Brothers," "Prunella," and many more. 59 illustrations.

The Art of Biblical Narrative

by Robert Alter

A distinguished professor of Hebrew and comparative literature examines the Old Testament stories from a literary point of view.

How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read

How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read

by Pierre Bayard

The runaway French bestseller hailed by the New York Times as “a survivor’s guide to life in the chattering classes.” If civilized people are expected to have read all important works of literature, and thousands more books are published every year, what are we supposed to do in those awkward social situations in which we’re forced to talk about books we haven’t read? In this delightfully witty, provocative... (more)

Literary Theory

by Terry Eagleton

“This concise and lucid volume offers a satisfying survey of all the major theories, from structuralism in the 1960s to deconstruction today, that have made academic criticism both intriguing and off-putting to the outsider.” —New York Times Book Review “Literary Theory has the kind of racy readability that one associates more often with English critics who have set their faces resolutely against theory.... (more)

James Joyce's " Ulysses " : A Study (Peregrine Books)

James Joyce's " Ulysses " : A Study (Peregrine Books)

by Stuart Gilbert

With the passing of each year, Ulysses receives wider recognition and greater acclaim as a modern literary classic. To comprehend Joyce's masterpiece fully, to gain insight into its significance and structure, the serious reader will find this analytical and systematic guide invaluable. In this exegesis, written under Joyce's supervision, Stuart Gilbert presents a work that is at once scholarly, authoritative and... (more)

LLES.GILMOUR: VICTORIAN 1830-90_P: THE INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE, 1830 - 1890: THE INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF ENGLISH ... (LONGMAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH SERIES)

LLES.GILMOUR: VICTORIAN 1830-90_P: THE INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE, 1830 - 1890: THE INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF ENGLISH ... (LONGMAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH SERIES)

by Robin Gilmour

This provides students of literature with a critical introduction to the major genres in their historical and cultural context. The Victorian years were a time of unprecedented and profound social, cultural and intellectual change. This is a synthesis of the period, focusing on the themes of science, religion, politics and art. It examines the developments that radically changed the intellectual climate and... (more)

Children's Literature: A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter

Children's Literature: A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter

by Seth Lerer

Ever since children have learned to read, there has been children’s literature. Children’s Literature charts the makings of the Western literary imagination from Aesop’s fables to Mother Goose, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to Peter Pan, from Where the Wild Things Are to Harry Potter. The only single-volume work to capture the rich and diverse history of children’s literature in its full... (more)

The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's Odyssey

The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's Odyssey

by Edith Hall

This broadly conceived and enlightening look at how Homer's Odyssey has resonated in the West offers a thematic analysis of the poem's impact on social and political ideas, institutions, and mores from the ancient world through the present day. Proving that the epic poem is timeless, Edith Hall identifies fifteen key themes in the Odyssey and uses them to illustrate the extensive and diverse effect that Homer's... (more)

Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature

Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature

by Philip Nel

In 1912, a revolutionary chick cries, "Strike down the wall!" and liberates itself from the "egg state." In 1940, ostriches pull their heads out of the sand and unite to fight fascism. In 1972, Baby X grows up without a gender and is happy about it. Rather than teaching children to obey authority, to conform, or to seek redemption through prayer, twentieth-century leftists encouraged children to question the... (more)

The Pink Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

41 Japanese, Scandinavian and Sicilian tales: "The Snow-queen," "The Cunning Shoemaker," "The Two Brothers," "The Merry Wives," "The Man without a Heart," and more. 69 illustrations.

Children's Literature, Briefly (4th Edition)

Children's Literature, Briefly (4th Edition)

by Michael O. Tunnell, James S. Jacobs

Are you looking for a brief introduction to children's literature genres that leaves time to read actual works of children's literature? This new, significantly revised and streamlined edition of Children's Literature, Briefly introduces the reader to the essential foundations of each children's literature genre, supported by practical features and tools to suggest quality books and activities to advance literacy... (more)

Contemporary Marxist Literary Criticism (Longman Critical Readers)

Marxism has had an enormous impact on literary and cultural studies, and all those interested in the field need to be aware of its achievements. This collection presents the very best of recent Marxist literary criticism in one single volume. An international group of contributors provide an introduction to the development, current trends and evolution of the subject. They include such notable Marxist critics as... (more)

45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters

45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters

by Victoria Schmidt

Every novelist, screenwriter and oral storyteller faces the challenge of creating original and exciting characters. Archetypes--mythic, cross-cultural models from which all characters originate--provide a solid foundation upon which to fashion new and vastly different story people. 45 Master Characters explores the most common male and female archetypes, provides instructions for using them to create your own... (more)

X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

Is mind reading an invasion of privacy? What's wrong with genetic experimentation? How many identities can one person have? Are the X-Men advocates of civil rightsand social change? Do mutants have "human" rights? X-Men is one of the most popular comic-book franchises ever, captivating millions with its teeming X-Verse of genetic mutants who have been unleashing their unique special... (more)

Faith Journey Through Fantasy Lands: A Christian Dialogue With Harry Potter, Star Wars, and the Lord of the Rings

Faith Journey Through Fantasy Lands: A Christian Dialogue With Harry Potter, Star Wars, and the Lord of the Rings

by Russell W. Dalton

Christians have always engaged the world around them and reflected upon the connections between faith and culture. Faith Journey through Fantasy Lands engages popular culture in the hugely successful stories of Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings. Author Dalton guides the reader through these contemporary fantasy stories, illuminating them with light from the Christian faith journey. The book opens... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: literary studies

by Stephenie Meyer

by Stephenie Meyer

by Bruno Bettelheim

An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature

by C. S. Lewis

by J. R. R. Tolkien

by Andrew Lang

by Robert Alter

by Pierre Bayard

by Terry Eagleton

by Stuart Gilbert

by Robin Gilmour

by Seth Lerer

by Edith Hall

by Philip Nel

by Andrew Lang

by Michael O. Tunnell, James S. Jacobs

by Victoria Schmidt

by Russell W. Dalton