About Books & Literature: To the Seas

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Books & Literature From Erik Wander, your About Books & Literature Editor What is it about summertime that draws us to beaches, to water, to the world's oceans? Is it simply that we want a refreshing dip or a cool breeze when the mercury climbs and the humidity stifles or is there something more elemental to the pull of the sea? "I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by," writes poet John Masefield in Sea Fever. And whether or not we feel we must go "to the seas again" this summer, many of us will if we're lucky enough to have the chance. Call me Ishmael: Melville's 'Moby-Dick' Herman Melville's 1851 story about the sailor Ishmael's voyage aboard the fictitious Nantucket whale ship Pequod with Captain Ahab at the helm would make most people's lists of greatest American novels. Symbolic, metaphorical and complex, Melville's masterpiece examines themes as fundamental as good and evil, among many others, and as significant as the existence of God. Ahab is single-minded in his drive to exact revenge on the vicious whale that on a previous voyage destroyed his boat and chomped off his leg, but what is Melville really up to in Moby-Dick? Jonah and the Whale 'The Whale Warriors' by Peter Heller Search Related Topics:  herman melville  moby dick  adventure novels The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Published in the late 1700s in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads, a collection by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, this milestone of a poem by Coleridge describes the experiences of a sailor who returns from a long voyage at sea. Widely read as a Christian allegory and to a lesser extent as an autobiographical portrait of a lonely Coleridge, the poem explores the psyche of the Mariner after he shoots down an albatross. Best Books about Sailing, Seamanship 'Kon Tiki' Author Thor Heyerdahl Search Related Topics:  samuel taylor coleridge  ballads  british romantic poetry An Old Man, a Great Fish, an Epic Battle The Old Man and the Sea, published in 1952, was the last major fictional work by Earnest Hemingway published during the writer's lifetime and tells the story of a grueling battle between an aging Cuban fisherman and a giant marlin. After Santiago goes more than 80 days without catching a fish, he finally hooks the big one, but it takes him three days to defeat it. During that struggle and the one that ensues, readers find out that Hemmingway's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner is much more than a simple story about an old man, a not-to-be-forgotten young boy named Manolin and a fight with a really big fish. Steinbeck's 'The Pearl' Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' Search Related Topics:  ernest hemingway  american literature  old man and the sea Poems about Sailors, Seafarers "The sea has been a powerful, inevitable presence in poetry from its ancient beginnings," our Poetry guides write in the introduction to this collection that includes Longfellow, Tennyson, Whitman and others. "It's a character, a god, a setting for exploration and war, an image touching all the human senses, a metaphor for the unseen world beyond the senses." Find some of your favorite poems among these classics about the sea. American Sea Writing Homer's Odyssey Search Related Topics:  sea poems  classic poems  rime of the ancient mariner Related Searches Literature Books Books Writing Christian Books Best Books Books and Authors Featured Articles Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid' Real Mermaids 'Life of Pi' Club Questions 'The Long Way' by Bernard Moitessier Treasure Island Poseidon Himself   More from About.com Run Your First 5K Even couch potatoes can be ready for a 5K with just a couple months of training. Read more...> Help! I'm Too Busy Time and stress management tips to help you feel as though you have more time. Read more...>   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About.com respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY, 10036 © 2013 About.com   Advertisement

About Books & Literature: The Places They'll Go

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Books & Literature From Erik Wander, your About Books & Literature Editor Around this time of year it seems everyone knows someone who's moving from one school or grade level to the next or from high schools and colleges to the next stage of their lives. So whether grads are out to change the world, seeking practical insights into just what the "real world" is all about or simply looking to discover who they are, how they fit in and what comes next, they can always turn to books for inspiration to propel them on their journeys. Congratulations to all the new graduates! Oh, the Places You'll Go! "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose," says the narrator in this Dr. Seuss classic about the adventure and the challenges of going out into the world. Replete with advice as useful for most teens and young adults as it is for the children it's written for, the book includes the memorable line, "And will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)" Great Children's Books, Graduation Gifts One Cat, Four Groovy Buttons Search Related Topics:  dr seuss  children's picture books  Water for Elephants In this a historical novel by Sara Gruen a 23-three-year-old Cornell University veterinary student with plans to join his father's practice after his final exams strikes out on his own after getting the devastating news that his parents were killed in a car crash and had mortgaged their home to pay for his tuition. But it's when the train he jumps turns out to be a circus train that his journey in life begins in earnest. Find out where Rosie the elephant, Marlena the performer and the circus itself take Jacob. An Interview with the Author On the Big Screen Search Related Topics:  water for elephants  sara gruen  the great depression Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Not unlike the fictional Jacob in Water for Elephants, the death of a parent impelled Wild author Cheryl Strayed to embark on a journey of her own: a thousand-mile solo backpacking walk on California's Pacific Crest Trail. "[Strayed] paid the physical price for not being prepared, but she kept putting one foot in front of the other rather than ever really giving up," writes our Walking Guide. Have you ever considered walking your way to self-discovery? What You Do, Who You Are: Books About Work Brown University Seniors Drift into Adulthood in 'The Marriage Plot' Search Related Topics:  walking books  long distance walking  backpacking Great Expectations This coming-of-age novel by Charles Dickens tells the story of the orphan Pip and his personal growth and development. Written for a Victorian-era audience in true Dickensian (of course) narrative style, complete with intrigue, plot twists, a remarkably colorful cast of characters and vivid imagery, its themes like good and evil, love and rejection and wealth and poverty continue to resonate into the 21st century. And I Quote Any Questions? Search Related Topics:  great expectations  charles dickens  victorian Related Searches College Books Books Writing Literature Picture Books Free Reading Books Featured Articles Reading Lolita in Tehran Lean In Quiet: The Power of Introverts Dale Carnegie on... Backpacker Books Make Great Gifts for Grads These Bestsellers Do Too   More from About.com Run Your First 5K Even couch potatoes can be ready for a 5K with just a couple months of training. Read more...> Help! I'm Too Busy Time and stress management tips to help you feel as though you have more time. Read more...>   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About.com respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY, 10036 © 2013 About.com   Advertisement

About Books & Literature: You Know I'm Gonna Be Like Him

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Books & Literature From Erik Wander, your About Books & Literature Editor "The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering-galleries, they are clearly heard at the end and by posterity," Jean Paul Richter has been quoted as saying. While its origins remain somewhat unclear, one thing is certain: Father's Day is next Sunday (June 16, 2013), so have a happy one, Dads! And happy reading. Fathers, Sons and 'The Kite Runner' Khaled Hosseini's 2003 novel tells the story of two boys from Afghanistan: Amir, who comes from a wealthy Pashtun family, and Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir's father's servant. Set against the backdrop of Afghanistan's bloody recent history from the 1970s through the rise of the Taliban, the The Kite Runner is about friendship, loyalty, cruelty, redemption and survival, among other themes, but it's also very much about fathers and their sons. Father's Protection of Son Spans Decades, Starts in 'Twisted River' Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Dad Said What? Search Related Topics:  the kite runner  khaled hosseini  afghanistan Daughter Tells Father's Story in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' A true classic of modern American literature, Harper Lee's 1960, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about racial injustice, class, gender, courage and compassion centers on Atticus Finch, the lawyer and widower, whom generations of readers have come to view as a heroic figure and a model of integrity. The story is narrated by Scout, his young daughter. Father Raises Teenage Daughter in 'Rescue' 'King Lear' and His Three Daughters Search Related Topics:  great american novels  novel quotes  quotes Children's Books that Celebrate Bond with Father Our Fatherhood Guide provides a list of recommended books he says will bring you closer to your son or daughter, and our Elementary Education Guide presents her list of the top 10 books about fathers. Find out why our Children's Literature Guide recommends these particular books as Father's Day gifts. Papa, Do You Love Me? Arthur and his Father Search Related Topics:  children's books about holidays  children's picture books  Poetry Fit for Father's Day Anne Bradstreet's "To Her Father with Some Verses," Edgar A. Guest's "Father" and William Wordsworth's "Anecdote for Fathers" highlight this selection. Read some of these poems to (or with) your Dad on Father's Day. Literature's Most Famous Fathers Odysseus to Atticus: Writers on Fathers Search Related Topics:  poems for fathers  father's day  william blake Related Searches Literature Picture Books Free Reading Books Books and Authors Top 10 Books Featured Articles 'The Lovely Bones' Based on Novel by Alice Sebold Books for Boys and Dads Books for a Dad's Shelves 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller 'Little House on the Prairie' by Laura Ingalls Wilder A Look at Father's Day Lit   More from About.com Run Your First 5K Even couch potatoes can be ready for a 5K with just a couple months of training. Read more...> Help! I'm Too Busy Time and stress management tips to help you feel as though you have more time. Read more...>   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About.com respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY, 10036 © 2013 About.com   Advertisement

About Books & Literature: Pride

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Books & Literature From Erik Wander, your About Books & Literature Editor June is LGBT Pride Month, a worldwide celebration and occasion for parades, concerts, parties and sometimes more somber events like memorials. Pride Month is celebrated each June in honor of the Stonewall riots in New York City's Greenwich Village; the police raid on the Stonewall Inn occurred on June 28, 1969, forever changing the meaning of the words "pride" and "liberation" for millions. Here's some reading to consider. James Baldwin, Author of 'Giovanni's Room' One of Baldwin's most "socially significant" novels, according to our Gay Life guide, was Giovanni's Room. Published way back in 1956, Baldwin's work fearlessly brought themes of homosexuality, interracial relationships and same-sex desire to the forefront. Baldwin, who was born in 1924 in Harlem, would go on to become an American master. 'Giovanni's Room,' Stonewall in Irving's 'In One Person' Homosexuality, Hypocrisy in Hollinghurst's 'The Line of Beauty' Best Books About Coming Out Search Related Topics:  james baldwin  gay history  David Sedaris Tells 'Naked' Truth If you've only read some of Sedaris' essays or short stories, you may only know that he's really funny, but you probably also know that he's gay. If you're a regular reader or a real fan, however, you surely know that his writing is highly autobiographical and that he doesn't shy away from openly discussing his relationship with his longtime partner Hugh, who pops up in most of Sedaris' books, or being gay. It's irreverent, it's dark, it's laugh-out-loud funny and it's tragic, but can reading Naked help relieve stress? When You are Engulfed in Flames Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim Search Related Topics:  books  stress relief  stress relief gifts Same-Sex Marriage, Adoption, Religion & the Law Sing You Home is a novel that "explores what it means to be gay in today's world, and how reproductive science has outstripped the legal system," according to author Jodi Picoult's website. The reviewer for our Contemporary Literature site calls Picoult's novel "so engaging, so enraging, so sympathetic as to arrest one's attention and demand to be read in one sitting." Whether you read it in one sitting or not, Sing You Home is a book you might not want to skip. 1970s San Francisco Setting for Ellen Ullman's 'By Blood' Memoirs Highlight Lesbian Life's Reading List Last Summer Search Related Topics:  jodi picoult  literary fiction  Christopher Isherwood's 'A Single Man,' the Movie Colin Firth plays George Falconer, a despondent English professor grieving the loss of his partner, Jim, in Tom Ford's adaptation of Isherwood's 1964 novel of the same name. Ford, a fashion designer, took some liberties with the book's plot, but the result was a successful film that garnered Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. The story unfolds over a single day in the life of a now single man. Ang Lee Remains True to Annie Proulx's Story in 'Brokeback Mountain' 'Mysterious Skin' Adapted from Scott Heim Novel Search Related Topics:  a single man  tom ford  colin firth Related Searches Literature Free Books Writing a Books Literature How To Relationship Books Featured Articles 'Angels in America' by playwright Tony Kushner 'Rubyfruit Jungle' by Rita Mae Brown 'Fingersmith' by Sarah Waters 'Keeping You a Secret' by Julie Anne Peterson Notable, Quotable, 'The Color Purple' Profile of Oscar Wilde   More from About.com Run Your First 5K Even couch potatoes can be ready for a 5K with just a couple months of training. Read more...> Help! I'm Too Busy Time and stress management tips to help you feel as though you have more time. Read more...>   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About.com respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY, 10036 © 2012 About.com   Advertisement