Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Space, War, Conflict, Nation, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology
Tags Arts & Culture, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Books About Art
This assortment of study guides focuses on the arts, from cinema to cuisine. Read on to explore Aristotle’s Poetics, which analyzes the nature and uses of poetry; An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski, a manual for actors based on the author’s work and teachings at the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia; and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, which chronicles the art of fine dining.
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Space, War, Conflict, Nation, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology
Tags Arts & Culture, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Publication year 2004
Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction
Themes Food, Death, Economics
Tags Humor, Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Animals, Food, American Literature, Journalism, Modern Classic Fiction, Philosophy
Publication year 2006
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Globalization, Community, Politics & Government
Tags Philosophy, Education, Education, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government
Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (2006) is a philosophical text written by Kwame Anthony Appiah. Appiah, a philosopher and ethicist who teaches at New York University, grew up in Kumasi, Ghana, where his father was a Ghanaian political leader and his mother a British expatriate. His family’s multicultural background, as well as the experience of growing up in diverse Kumasi and then attending school in the United Kingdom, informed Appiah’s thinking about communicating... Read Cosmopolitanism Summary
Publication year 1914
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Hate & Anger, Appearance & Reality, Masculinity, Colonialism, Shame & Pride, Fathers, Politics & Government
Tags Education, Education, World History, Irish Literature, Arts & Culture, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Shame & Pride, Race, Childhood & Youth, Objects & Materials, Friendship, Grandparents, Self Discovery, Community, Immigration, Art, Safety & Danger
Tags Children`s Literature, Social Justice, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts & Culture
Publication year 2002
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Environment
Tags Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Arts & Culture
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things is a work of nonfiction by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, published in 2002. The book argues that a radical change must be made to the Western world’s industrial and manufacturing systems, which are devastating to the natural world in their present state. Through discussions of environmentalism, industrialism, and design, the authors urge us, as a society, to think differently about what it means to be... Read Cradle To Cradle Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Art, Self Discovery, Economics
Tags Arts & Culture, Self-Improvement, Psychology, Business/Economics, Leadership, Education
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Love, Memory, Coming of Age, Death, Self Discovery, War, Art, Justice, Literature, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Science & Technology
Tags Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Science & Nature, Social Justice
Publication year 2006
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Globalization
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Action & Adventure, Arts & Culture
Crossing the Wire tells the story of Victor Flores, a Mexican teenager who leaves his village of Los Árboles to illegally cross the border into the United States. Victor’s father died while working in the U.S. four years earlier, leaving Victor “the man of the family” (14). His family has been living off of the money Victor makes farming corn, but free trade agreements with the U.S. have made Mexican corn worthless. The only option... Read Crossing the Wire Summary
Publication year 1869
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Politics & Government, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality, Order & Chaos
Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, Arts & Culture, Social Class, Victorian Period, World History, Philosophy, Victorian Era, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1993
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Colonialism, Power & Greed, Literature
Tags Colonialism & Postcolonialism, World History, Philosophy, Politics & Government, European History, Middle Eastern History, Asian History, Literary Criticism, Sociology, Philosophy, Arts & Culture
Culture and Imperialism is a nonfiction book published in 1993 by the Palestinian American author and academic Edward Said. Originating from a series of lectures that Said delivered in 1985 and 1986, Culture and Imperialism is an expansion of the ideas set out in his groundbreaking earlier work, Orientalism (1978). Considered one of the founders of the field of post-colonial studies, Said looks at how the formerly colonized margins influence the metropolitan centers, and vice... Read Culture and Imperialism Summary
Publication year 422
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Masculinity, Religion & Spirituality, Wins & Losses, Truth & Lies, Place, Revenge
Tags Mythology, Ancient Greece, Classical Period, Comedy & Satire, Dramatic Literature, Arts & Culture, Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 1897
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Love, Art, Beauty, Truth & Lies, Grief, Shame & Pride, War, Literature
Tags Classic Fiction, Drama, Comedy & Satire, Romance, Life-Inspired Fiction, French Literature, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death, Finance, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature, Historical Fiction
Cyrano de Bergerac: An Heroic Comedy in Five Acts by Edmond Rostand was originally published in 1898. Rostand was a popular poet and playwright in France during his lifetime. Cyrano de Bergerac is a five-act verse drama—a tragic romance, set in France in the mid-1600s. It was far more popular than all of Rostand’s other works and has been performed and adapted countless times since its initial successful run.Cyrano de Bergerac explores themes of Unrequited... Read Cyrano de Bergerac Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History, Arts & Culture
Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue is a young adult book of historical fiction written by Julius Lester and published in 2005. It was the 2006 winner of the Coretta Scott King Award as well as numerous other YA awards. The book concerns the largest slave auction in American history, which took place on March 2 and 3, 1859, in Savannah, Georgia. Plantation owner Pierce Butler sells more than 400 persons to repay his... Read Day of Tears Summary
Publication year 2010
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Fear, Aging, Death
Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Grief & Death, Relationships, Depression & Suicide, Latin American Literature, Surrealism, Arts & Culture
Daytripper is a graphic novel written and illustrated by comic book artists Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá. Originally published in 2010 as a comic book series by Vertigo, the collected series was published as a completed book in 2011. Daytripper won the 2011 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series. Bá has also worked on popular comic series such as Umbrella Academy and Casanova. Both Moon and Bá are twins, and they sometimes refer to themselves... Read Daytripper Summary
Publication year 1912
Genre Novella, Fiction
Themes Literature, Guilt, Love, Sexual Identity, Aging, Death, Beauty
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+, German Literature, World History, Education, Education, Classic Fiction, Arts & Culture
Death in Venice (1912) is a novella by celebrated German author Thomas Mann (1875-1955). The story follows Gustav von Aschenbach, a successful but aging writer who travels to Venice seeking inspiration and respite. There, he becomes infatuated with Tadzio, an exceptionally beautiful young boy whose ethereal presence awakens a profound and dangerous longing in Aschenbach. As Venice succumbs to a cholera epidemic, Aschenbach’s obsession leads to his downfall.Mann, the recipient of the 1929 Nobel Prize... Read Death in Venice Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Globalization, Nation, Religion & Spirituality
Tags World History, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts & Culture
Publication year 1982
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Art, Community, Femininity, Gender Identity, Language, Religion & Spirituality, Mothers
Tags Prose, Asian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Education, Education, Arts & Culture, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee (1982) is a hybrid form of prose poetry, autobiography, ethnography, criticism, and fictional experiments. Cha was a Korean American visual artist, poet, and filmmaker. She was tragically murdered only a week after the book was published. The book went out of print for several years before interest in Cha’s work was revived in the 1990s by feminist authors, such as Norma Alarcón. Cha’s work was honored with an exhibition including... Read Dictee Summary
Publication year 1980
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality
Tags Diversity, Arts & Culture
Publication year 2002
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Language, Love, Literature
Tags Lyric Poem, Humor, Romance, Arts & Culture, Social Class, American Literature, African American Literature
Harryette Mullen’s “Dim Lady” may remind some readers of 17th century English playwright and poet William Shakespeare’s well-known “Sonnet 130,” in which the speaker of the poem makes a mockery of his beloved’s physical appearance. During Shakespeare’s time, fashion encouraged poets to write flowery poetry that extolled the virtues and the beauty of their beloved. However, the speaker of this sonnet toys with poetic conventions of the time, describing the physical attributes of the speaker’s... Read Dim Lady Summary