PBS
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams' hysterical send-up of bureaucratic thinking, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is the focus of a Great American Read video that urges viewers to vote for one of the greatest satires since Gulliver's Travels.
PBS
Frankenstein | The Great American Read
A top vote-getter for the Great American Read program is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Find out why the classic tale, adapted into over 50 films and numerous TV shows, has earned its spot on the favorites list.
PBS
Allison Williams Explains Her Love for Frankenstein's Monster
Ah, but who is the real monster in Frankenstein? Actress Allison Williams shares her reasoning for why Mary Shelly's horror story should be included in The Great American Read series.
PBS
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Rather than windmills, Ignatius J. Reilly, the hero of John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize-winning A Confederacy of Dunces, battles against modernity. Find out why Professor Walter Isaacson thinks Toole's novel should get viewers' votes...
PBS
Bill T. Jones Discusses James Baldwin's Another Country
Bill T. Jones, Artistic Director of New York Line Arts describes why he picked James Baldwin's novel, Another Country as his favorite novel.
PBS
The Handmaid's Tale | The Great American Read
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is the focus of a Great American Read video that urges viewers to read this dystopian novel about a villainous society that oppresses women and minority groups.
PBS
Margaret Atwood Explains the Dystopia of The Handmaid's Tale
Talk about a teaser! A short video from the PBS series, The Great American Read, offers just enough information about Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale to fascinate viewers and have them reaching for the book. The author asserts she...
PBS
Identifying "Fake" News
What is fake news, and how can people identify it? Viewers discover media literacy tips and learn how to spot stories dubbed as fake news. They learn how looking for unusual URLs, digging deeper, and cross-checking helps them find...
PBS
Top 4 Tips to Spot Bad Science Reporting
How can people make good decisions about their health when modern news reporting is so unreliable? Using an informative video resource, viewers discover the acronym GLAD. They learn to get past the clickbait, look for crazy claims,...
PBS
Margaret Mitchell
Far from being a proper Southern Belle, Margaret Mitchell was a rebel, willing to take on the benefactors of the debutante ball, to support unpopular causes, and finance promising students. A short video details the life of the author of...
PBS
Scarlett O'Hara's True Love in Gone with the Wind
Rather than waiting to think about it tomorrow, a video from the PBS Great American Read series asks viewers to think about Gone with the Wind today, to see the novel as the story of a strong woman, a woman with "gumption."
PBS
A Black Writer in the South | American Masters: Alice Walker
Alice Walker discusses the influence the strong women in her family and her experiences growing up on a plantation in Eatonton, Georgia had on her writing. Part of the American Masters series, the short video includes images of her...
PBS
The Color Purple
A clip from the documentary Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth features Walker discussing her writing process and why she chose to write The Color Purple as an epistolary novel. The resource is part of PBS' American Masters...
PBS
Gabrielle Union Discusses The Color Purple
Gabrielle Union discusses the role Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple, plays in her life. She stresses the importance of readers being able to find reflections of themselves in literature.
PBS
George R.R. Martin Discusses Lord of the Rings
George R.R. Martin, famous in his own right for heroes, villains, dragons, and direwolves, offers his rationale for why viewers should vote for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings with its elves, wizards, and hobbits as part of the Great...
PBS
Why Do Our Brains Love Fake News?
Fake news is all about the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex versus the orbitofrontal cortex. Huh? Get the facts, the real deal, with a short video that explains clearly and succinctly what's going on in our brains that leads us to listen...
PBS
Fact vs. Fiction in the Media
How can people tell the difference between real news and inaccurate stories? Viewers watch a video about discerning fact from fiction in news sources. Next, pupils use a set of discussion questions to further analyze the topic.
TED-Ed
Why Should You Read “Dune” by Frank Herbert?
Not every reader is a sci-fi fan. Sad, but true. However, a short TedEd video may just convince nonfans to delve into Frank Herbert's modern epic Dune. Who could help but be intrigued by an epic tale of heroes, villains, and monsters?
PBS
Ralph Ellison and the Black Arts Movement
The ideas of the leaders of the Black Arts Movement were in direct contrast to those of Ralph Ellison. A clip from the American Masters film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey clarifies these conflicts between Ellison and the younger...
PBS
Dr. Bledsoe: A Fictional Booker T. Washington
Many critics believe that the character of Dr. Bledsoe in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man was modeled after Booker T. Washington. After watching a clip from the film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey about the Washington Bledsoe...
PBS
Invisible Man: The Trueblood Incident
How is the reader of Ralph's Ellison's Invisible Man supposed to react to "The Trueblood Incident" of Chapter 2? A short clip from the American Master film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey offers differing critical analyses from two...
PBS
Invisible Man: Battle Royal
A film reenactment of the "Battle Royal" scene in Chapter 1 of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man offers readers a chance to compare the film version of the scene to the novel's depiction. The discussion questions ask readers to consider the...
PBS
Invisible Man: Crash Course Literature
John Green, the narrator of a Crash Course Literature episode focusing on Invisible Man, offers his analysis of Ralph Ellison's novel. Using evidence from the text, Green details why Ellison's novel should be considered as a seminal work...
PBS
Invisible Man: The Hero's Journey
The narrator of Invisible Man is on a quest, a quest to find out who he is and what his place is in a deeply divided American society. An episode from the American Masters series asks readers to consider Ralph Ellison's acclaimed novel...