| By Traci Cothran & Catherine DiMercurio |
These last few months, PBS created a whole campaign and shows around The Great American Read. They selected 100 books and asked viewers to note which novel impacted them the most, culminating in the announcement of the #1 “Great American Read.” Finalists were announced, building anticipation for the final reveal – To Kill a Mockingbird was voted #1, followed by four finalists: Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, the Harry Potter series*, Pride and Prejudice, and The Lord of the Rings.
There is a lot of great material available on the PBS site surrounding this program – author interviews and videos, the broadcasts, methodology behind the books chosen, and people’s own stories about their experiences reading the books. There’s even a checklist for the 100 books so you can track which ones you’ve already read and which may still be in your TBR pile. Take a look >>
It’s no surprise that the Great American Read program is just our cup of tea here at Gale, as our host of literature products can attest! Here are just a few examples of our products geared for literature lovers:
- Our Novels for Students eBook series offers high schoolers and undergraduates summaries, notes and criticism on books they’re reading inside and outside the classroom, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Rings, and many, many more from this Top 100 list – and including this year’s hot title, The Hate U Give.
- Literature Criticism Online provides the most extensive collection of literary criticism available, offered 24/7 and geared for academic researchers anywhere.
- Literature Resource Center is the go-to resource for biographical and critical research at every level, whether you are looking for general information on authors, works, or themes, or in-depth scholarly criticism.
- Books and Authors is a book lover’s dream, serving as a reader’s advisory portal for libraries and schools. The resource provides overviews and recommendations by experts in fiction and nonfiction.
- Need biographical information? Contemporary Authors provides just that – on more than 150,000 modern poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists, and scriptwriters – as well as thorough, up-to-date listings of works and reviews.
Whether you are reading for pleasure or for a classroom assignment this fall, there’s so much to learn from great novels as well as the reference materials about them.
*Did you know Thorndike Press publishes the Harry Potter series in Large Print?
Banner image and many more cool downloadables can be found here.adidas Mutator