Literature
"So You Haven’t Read…”
This is a great series of YouTube videos from the creators of Extra Credits. Each episode is a short (9-10 minute) breakdown of a novel, and every book on the list is important to know. Here’s a link to the entire playlist, just ignore his constant plugging of Hello Fresh.
Gimkit
This first set of Gimkits cover some of the most-commonly asked about works of Literature – matching the author with the work:
You Gotta Know
Every month (usually) NAQT puts out a study list devoted to a very specific topic. These are great resources, mainly because you can be positive that every fact you read in one has been lifted straight from an NAQT question about that topic. Here's a link to their Literature section.
Podcast - "Fictional"
Suggested by Jeff Newton
Like the title says, this is a podcast called "Ficitional". It's "original adaptations of classic literature for the modern audience", and many of the books and short stories that we get asked about are here. If they help you remember the general theme and characters of a book, that would be great! Here's a link.
Crash Course: Literature
Everybody’s probably familiar with Crash Course from the Green brothers. They have multiple series on literature, and while they aren’t just a breakdown of plot and characters (they talk about the art of writing, too), all of their book-related videos are worth it. Here are links to all the playlists:
No Sweat Shakespeare
This is a great resource for all things Shakespeare, including some great 5-minute summaries of all of his plays and his major characters.
Video Spark Notes
These are short videos from the Spark Notes people, so they’re a good overview of the important points. There are playlists for Shakespeare, Brit Lit, and more:
