Admittedly, I was intrigued by the intro to H.P. Lovecraft’s wikipedia entry which begins:
{he} was an American author who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction. He was virtually unknown and published only in pulp magazines before he died in poverty, but he is now regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors in his genre.
Given how many modern readers of genre fiction take for granted a familiarity with Lovecraft, or writing inspired by his works, it seems rather remarkable that he died in poverty, and was virtually unknown during his lifetime.
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Copies of H.P. Lovecraft’s Complete Fiction have been added to the CheerUp.Fun August eBook Club. The first 100 people to join should automatically receive a copy. For more information on how to join the CheerUp.Fun August 2017 eBook Club Click Here.
There are days when you have a particular book you are in the mood for, and other days when you want to browse the stacks, wander the aisles, and see what book matches your mood.
With the increasing popularity of eBooks, more and more classics, and public domain books, are becoming easily accessible… prompting me to occasionally search quite simply on classics, or by one of the publishers I’ve realized releases classics to see what they are currently offering, and if any of it might be free.
If you are looking for a Classic Story, but perhaps a more relaxed and easier reading experience, Xist Classics appears to be a publisher that is working to make some of the “old greats” accessible to those in school… they describe themselves in one of the book blurbs saying “Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes.”
Fables have long been a staple of childhood, perhaps because in addition to being entertaining they contain a moral we will carry with us into adulthood. Often, whether or not we even realize we have incorporated that lesson into our lives, we find ourselves reminding others of the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare, or the 
In school we learned about the Mayflower, it’s passengers and their journey… and the Mayflower Compact… and ultimately their arrival at Plymouth. Of Plymouth Plantation was originally written as a journal, by William Bradford, a Plymouth Colony resident who served as the Colony Governor for nearly thirty years.
For anyone looking to refresh their memory on the story of the Mayflower, this book (Mayflower: A History From Beginning to End by Hourly History) may be worth the hour it takes to read.
Some of the greatest works of literature are more than just an enjoyable story, we come away from reading them having learned a lesson, or perhaps feeling as though we might, even in some small way, be a better person for what we have gained while reading it.
For modern readers, Fairy Tales are something we grow up with, and in that respect take for granted. They have always been a part of our lives, and in many ways are a part of our common culture. Any child in American can strike up a conversation with almost any other child using Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or any of a number of other characters that it seems as though every child in the country, regardless of their background, has grown up knowing. Perhaps the only question is how they were introduced to those characters — was it in a picture book, a fairy tale book, through a movie or tv show?
Some may find it hard to believe that the characters they know and love can be found in stories written by someone who lived (and died) over 300 years ago.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
There are times when we, as modern readers, make an effort to work through reading something that on it’s surface is written in English, and yet, as we are reading it we find ourselves remarking “this is not my English”. The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English, and falls into that category. Words do not look as we expect, phrases turn in odd ways, and proficient readers find themselves going at a slower pace as they work through what 
Among the characters that have captured imaginations for generations are the 
The reviews mention this book is heavy on facts and information, and does not bend over backwards to be light and entertaining, but with 
For many the appeal of Utopian Fiction may seem obvious… the lure of an ideal future or environment. In many ways it epitomizes escapist entertainment. Dystopian Fiction on the other hand can be harder to understand the appeal of… but for many who enjoy it, whether or not they are even aware of it, immersing themselves in a world in which the people are the heroes by the very act of surviving and thriving can be heartening, reassuring and encouraging. It can provide the reader with the belief we will indeed triumph over any obstacle we face, where Utopian literature seems to create the impression that we will mold our environment into our idea of perfection, no matter how much effort is required.
Ask book lovers, and those who profess a love of reading, why they get lost in the pages authors have written for hours on end, and may when begin to expound on the adventures they’ve been on, and the places they’ve been transported to, without ever leaving their homes.
Perhaps a list could be made, and quite easily at that, of books with characters we feel we know, can describe and quote, whether or not we have read their stories. Don Quixote would likely fall into that category for many… I for one have not read this classic, and yet I have found myself speaking of tilting at windmills, and wishing for a friend as faithful as his squire Sancho Panza.
Another character that has captured the imaginations of generations — of readers as well as writers, 
It may be a safe bet to say everyone has a favorite Peter Pan quote. Whether they realize it or not is perhaps up for discussion. From “second star to the right, and straight on ’till morning” which my own family has used as a quip when asked if we have directions for where we are going, to “All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust,” Peter Pan, and Pixie Dust references, pop up more often than one might expect.
. As for staying true to the details of the source material… well… as so often is the case, what makes for a great story on the page, and what makes for a compelling and entertaining story on the screen can be two very different things. Perhaps, if you have not yet read the story, it is time to see where the first hints of a concept came from… and to see what originally inspired the