Beauty

The Princess Bride is a 1973 adventure novel by American author and screenwriter William Goldman. It uses a unique framing narrative to tell two interwoven stories and claims to be a retelling of an older novel (one that does not actually exist). The Princess Bride was adapted into a film in 1987. Critics regard the film as one of the greatest cinematic accomplishments of all time, and it appears on numerous “best of” lists, including... Read The Princess Bride Summary

The Professor’s House by Willa Cather depicts the inner struggles of Godfrey St. Peter, a history professor struggling to understand his identity in middle age. Published in 1925, the novel moves from the fictional college town of Hamilton, Michigan, to the deserts of the American Southwest, where St. Peter’s most brilliant student, the late Tom Outland, had discovered the ruins of an ancient pueblo village. Haunted by the missed opportunities of the past, St. Peter... Read The Professor's House Summary

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The River by Gary Paulsen was published in 1991 as a sequel to Paulsen’s first story about Brian’s survival in the woods, Hatchet (1987). Paulsen wrote this young adult adventure novel in response to letters from fans asking to know what happened to Brian after his rescue in Hatchet. Later, Paulsen wrote more stories about Brian including Brian’s Winter (1996), Brian’s Return (1999), and Brian’s Hunt (2003). Paulsen drew from his own experiences in creating... Read The River Summary

The Romance of the Rose, or Roman de la Rose in the original French, is an allegorical poem written between the years 1225 and 1278 by two authors, Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. De Lorris wrote the first three chapters of the work from 1225-1230, and de Meun added nine additional chapters from approximately 1269-1278. Not much is known about either author, but the poem became a foundational piece of medieval literature, particularly... Read The Romance of the Rose Summary

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing (1999) is the autobiography of Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord. It details her journey to become the first Navajo female surgeon, overcoming the challenges presented to her by her own Navajo culture as well as the prevailing stereotype at the time that only men could be surgeons. Along this journey, Lori realizes that western medicine is facing a crisis... Read The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Summary

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The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris is a psychological thriller and crime novel published in 1988. The novel follows FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling as she becomes increasingly involved in the investigation of serial killer Buffalo Bill. The book is the sequel to Harris’s 1981 novel Red Dragon and includes several continuing characters, like the serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The novel won the 1988 Bram Stoker Award and 1989 Anthony Award for Best... Read The Silence Of The Lambs Summary

The Sleeper and the Spindle is a standalone short story written by English American author Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Riddell. It first appeared unillustrated in the 2013 anthology Rag & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales. The story is a loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty, featuring two unnamed female characters who act as reimagined versions of the sleeping princess and of Snow White. It uses classic fairy tale tropes and motifs to upend... Read The Sleeper and the Spindle Summary

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The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, is considered by many to be the world’s earliest surviving novel. The edition/translation used for this guide, edited by Royall Tyler, was originally published in 2001, and reissued in 2006, abridged from the longer pieces of Shikibu’s classic story, which was originally written at the start of the 11thcentury. There are considered to be fifty-four total “chapters” salvaged from the tale Shikibu originally composed. However, Tyler’s edition includes... Read The Tale Of Genji Summary

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The Upstairs Room (1972) is a novel based on the experiences of author Johanna Reiss as a Jewish girl during World War II. The novel follows protagonist Annie de Leeuw and her sister Sini as they hide from the Nazis during the German occupation of Holland. Annie’s story, which is told from her first-person perspective, celebrates human resilience and compassion while exploring themes concerning the loss of childhood innocence, the sacrifices people make during wartime... Read The Upstairs Room Summary