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Mark Twain’s essay "The Bee" has a comical twist. It deals with the natural pressure on one bee assure that her colony survives. "After the queen, the next bee in importance to the hive is the virgin. All work is done by them. The males do not work, the queen does no work, unless laying eggs is work."

On Heroes, Hero Worship, and The Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle, is a collection of six lectures given in May 1840 about prominent historical figures. It sets out Carlyle's belief in the importance of heroic leadership, his view of how the world would be if powerful and inspired men were to have the power he thought they deserved. The collection includes figures ranging from religion to literature and politics, and the figures chosen were presented by Carlyle as archetypal examples of individuals who had dramatically impacted history for good or ill.

Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, and literary critic. His 12 collections of fairy tales are known as Andrew Lang's Coloured Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's Fairy Books of Many Colors. The third in the series, the Green Fairy Book, contains tales from around the world, from Grimm (“The White Snake” and “Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle”), France de Caylus, Fenelon, Kletke, and D'Aulnoy. The stories include "The Crystal Coffin", "The Three Snake-Leaves", "The Riddle", "Jack My Hedgehog", "The Golden Lads", and many more.

The Kalevala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. The Kalevala was instrumental in the development of the Finnish national identity and the sense of nationality that led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917. Beginning with the traditional Finnish creation myth, the Kalevala branches out into stories of the creation of the earth, plants, creatures, and the sky. There are many stories of, romance, kidnapping, seduction, and magical spell casting and singing.

The Land of Little Rain by Mary Hunter Austin, first published in 1903, contains a series of interrelated essays about the American Southwest. A theme of environmental conservation and a philosophy of regional culture loosely link the narratives. The first essay covers the "Country of Lost Borders," an area between Death Valley and the High Sierras. In "Water Trails of the Ceriso", the author describes the many animals that travel along the trails, including coyotes and quails. "The Scavengers" deals with carrion feeders like buzzards and crows.

Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an 1837 collection of stories that had previously appeared in literary journals like Atlantic Souvenir and The Token. The stories explore ideas of pride and sin through allegory in a New England setting. Contemporaries of Hawthorne, including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, praised the book. Twice-Told Tales includes stories like "Sunday at Home", "The Wedding-Knell", "The Minister's Black Veil", "The Maypole of Merry Mount", "The Gentle Boy", "Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe", and more.

Winesburg, Ohio is a short story cycle by Sherwood Anderson. The plot revolves around the life of George Willard, from his childhood to him leaving the town as an adult. The work comprises 22 stories, with the first, "The Book of the Grotesque", serving as introduction. The book is considered a pioneering work of modernist literature due to the prominence giving to the psychological insight of the characters and the simple prose style.

The Story of a Bad Boy (1870), a semi-autobiographical novel by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, is considered the first in the "bad boy" genre of literature. It is hailed as the precursor to stories such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The protagonist, Tom Bailey, is mischievous, a vandal, and a troublemaker. The narrative follows Tom as he engages in a series of adventures from New Hampshire to New Orleans and beyond. Among the supporting characters, Sailor Ben, Miss Abigail, and Conway stand out.

Anatole France (1844-1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist who wrote several best sellers. The Revolt of the Angels is a mischievous take on the theology of modern society; it chronicles the thoughts of Arcade, a lowly guardian angel, as he discovers the ugly truths of his divine master in the library of his human charge As Maurice, the young man abandoned by Arcade, struggles to get his guardian back, one gets a view of a wide variety of the author’s artistic personalities, most of whom are fallen angels.

Nathan the Wise, a play published by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1779, is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsches Theatre in Berlin. The narrative is set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade and describes how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan, the enlightened sultan Saladin, and a Templar Knight bridge the differences between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Its major themes are friendship, tolerance, the relativism of God, a rejection of miracles and a need for communication.

Charles Dudley Warner was an essayist, novelist, and friend of Mark Twain. My Summer in a Garden is a landmark of American garden writing. In the book, Warner chronicles his work in the garden, where he and his cat, Calvin, try to ward off a stream of invaders, from the neighbors' cows and thieving children, to the pusley weed. He makes the rounds of his beloved vegetable patch, to feel the sun on his back, the hoe in his hands, and to ponder the philosophical implications of contact with the earth, and companionship with gently growing things.

Virginia Woolf's second novel is both a love story and a subversive comedy which questions the role of women in society. Contemplating their futures, five single people in their late 20s and early 30s are immobilized by indecision. Questions like who, when, and whether to marry, the changing roles of men and women in a rapidly changing world, and matters of independence versus family obligations come to the fore.

First published in 1907, Old Indian Days is a collection of stories about the Sioux of the Upper Midwest. Charles A. Eastman writes about the traditional life of his people, their culture, customs, family relations, and struggle for survival in stories like The Love of Antelope, The Madness of Bald Eagle, and The Singing Spirit.

Elizabeth Gaskell's novella The Moorland Cottage takes place near the town of Combehurst where Mrs. Browne lives with her children, Edward and Maggie, and their servant, Nancy. Near the Brownes' cottage lives the Bruxton family in a luxurious mansion. The two families grow closer with time and the author shows how childhood education and growing up shape and effect the adult personality.

The Nature of Things was written in the 1st century BC by Roman polymath Lucretius. It is written as a didactic poem, and explains Epicurean physics.

Sara Teasdale (1884 -1933) was a lyric poet whose third major work, 1917's Love Songs won both the Columbia Poetry Prize (later the Pulitzer) and the Poetry Society of America Prize in 1918. Her haunting poetry is characterized by clarity, simplicity, the use of classical forms, and romantic subject matter. The themes of Love Songs include love, nature, and death. Parts I and III of Love Songs include some poems from "Helen of Troy and other Poems" (1911) and "Rivers to the Sea" (1915).

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 -1935) was a prominent American novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and an advocate for social reform. Herland is a utopian novel from 1915 which describes an isolated society of women who reproduce through asexual reproduction. The narrator is Vandyck "Van" Jennings, a sociology student who, along with two friends, explore an area of uncharted land. The three male visitors arrive, and in due time get married to three of the women, with various sets of consequences.

A Tramp Abroad (1880) by Mark Twain is a travel journal which includes autobiography and fictional events. The book chronicles a journey by the author and his friend Harris through central and southern Europe. The two men make their way through Germany, Switzerland, eastern France, and Italy, encountering situations that become more humorous by their reactions to them. The narrator plays the part of the American tourist, believing that he understands all that he sees but in reality understanding none of it.

Charles Alexander Eastman (1858-1939) was a Santee Dakota physician, writer, national lecturer, and reformer. Indian Boyhood (1902) is a recollection of Eastman's earliest childhood memories up to the age of 15. He describes the traditional ways in which the tribe governed itself - a police force, hunting and warrior scouts, and the tribal council. The book includes family and tribal legends of adventure, bravery, and nature that he heard in the lodge of the tribe historian.

Charles Dickens, considered one of the greatest English authors of all time, wrote the essay "Sunday Under Three Heads" in 1836. It is a short piece expressing Charles Dickens' opinion on a bill being presented in the British Parliament which was meant to restrict pleasurable pursuits on Sundays. Dickens explains how this proposed act would negatively affect the poor people of Britain. Besides stating his opinion with eloquence, the essay provides a good description of life on an English Sunday in the early 19th century.