The author created these study guides to help his students prepare for literature classes at Washington State University. They are meant to serve several functions. Some of them provide background to help readers understand what they are reading and why they are reading it (the historical status of the works). As well, they provide useful information, explaining allusions, obscure terms, etc. in the texts and provide translations of passages written in languages other than English.

Fantasy Finder tells you what's good and what's bad, what you definitely should go get and what you should avoid. It has links to fantasy resources on the Web and it ranks the very best fantasy books and series of all time. Should you wish, it also includes the Democratic Top List where you can vote for your favourite books.