Among literature's most popular plot devices are the obstructions authors put on the road of love. It's hard not to get engrossed when two characters are thwarted from finding happiness with each other.

It's no shock when novelists work as journalists or professors before, during, or after their book-producing years. But some famous writers have held rather unusual non-literary jobs.

Literature fans love "encounters" with living or dead authors. These might involve seeing novelists at book signings, listening to them give a talk, or visiting homes/museums connected with famous authors of the past.

Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is an epic tragedy that leaves readers shocked and awed. But, along the way, there are some delightfully funny interludes -- most notably the pre-voyage scene in which Ishmael and Queequeg end up in the same bedroom.

After just finishing The House of Mirth, I'm reminded once again that many great novels don't have happy endings.

Reading a beloved book twice, thrice, or more is a craving that can't be denied. It's pleasurable, comforting, and relaxing -- partly because you don't have to figure out what the author is doing from scratch.

They were unplanned "Five-Year Plans" for the ages: the amazing proliferation of classic novels published from 1846 to 1851 and from 1922 to 1927. And, believe it or not, one author had a book in both those periods!

Curiosity about great novelists has inspired me to read dozens of author biographies. In those books (and on the Web), one can discover many "wow"-inducing facts about renowned writers

There are plenty of cases where an author's masterpiece deserves the top billing it gets in the author's canon. But then there are the cases where a writer's most famous book is not the writer's best book.

To be so amused and enlightened by the political machinations of the Barchester clergy is priceless. But to do so for the price of a Taco Bell burrito makes this Kindle offer one of the best bargains around.

Philip Hoare pays eloquent tribute to the beauty, power, and history of the sea's mightiest creatures. Can readers who have discovered the elegance and mystery of whales ever again enjoy a seaquarium?

There is a solution to the time crunch: the beauty and brevity of a short story. For those with circumscribed time, short stories deliver, and deliver big time.