With devices like the eReader, Kindle and iPad 2 at our fingertips, reading is supposed to be easier than ever, despite the slow extinction of the printed (and pricey) paperback. But try walking into a bookstore for new novels – you’ll find the Best Sellers’ shelves covered in leftovers of celebrity franchises, from Conrad and Kardashian to Bieber’s biography! Sure, we finally have the convenient medium to encourage more frequent reading, but are we running out of leisurely literature too fast these days?

I think it’s time to turn back to the assignments of our high school English classes, the novels taught every year not only to prepare us for those Advanced Placement tests, but also to enlighten us through universal themes and lessons before we went off to college.  Obviously, these stories have withstood the test of time over and over again: according to Focus Features, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre has been adapted into 20 silent films, 27 “talkies” (for theater and television), 23 radio dramas, 48 plays and 8 musicals – and today marks the premiere of Jane Eyre, the film version starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are Alright), Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds, 300) and Jamie Bell (The Eagle, Jumper).

The dynamic plot revolving around a bold governess and her mysterious employer is simultaneously an epic love story, a Gothic tale and a piece of social commentary. So in honor of Jane Eyre’s rebirth to a new generation, let’s resurrect some of the narratives we thought used to bore us to death. Here are five more high school books worth a reread in college:

So dust off those covers, and flip them open – for real this time, especially if you never actually read them back in high school!

What other books should we add to our nostalgic reading list?

So let’s be real, we all cried a little bit when we found out Brad and Jen were splitting, and some of us are still sticking pins in our Angelina Jolie voodoo dolls not over it. In fact, thanks to our obsession with celebrities, faux-lebrities and TV/movies, we often find ourselves more invested in Hollywood/fictional couples than we do in our own relationships.

But who can blame us? It doesn’t take a Patti Stanger to know that our hot-wings-eating, HALO-playing, Edward-40-hands-lovin’ boy toys pale in comparison to the romantic, doting, sexy Prince Charmings we see in our weekly tabloids and primetime TV shows.

What girl wouldn’t yearn for her very own vampire (think True Blood, not Twilight)? Or an Upper East Side romance? The picture perfect couples are everywhere we look, and even if we aren’t half of one, it’s the holiday of looooove (duh, Valentine’s Day, people) so let’s melt, ooze and swoon over some of our favorite duos.

The temperatures are dropping, scarves are being worn for warmth (not style), and your late summer glow has been replaced by rosy cheeks and a runny nose. The freezing weather makes it ever so difficult to unwrap yourself from the tight embrace of your down comforter and do anything remotely productive. Luckily, with winter break just around the corner, you can avoid the harsh realities of class, work, and responsibilities for a few weeks.

Break is exactly that.. a break. With all the required reading you’re given during the semester, it can feel like ages since you sat down with a book…for fun. So, we’ve compiled a list of 8 must-read classic English, classic American, and popular contemporary novels that should be enjoyed over break.

And, in light of the recent casting of Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby, we’ve picked a celeb for each novel that would be perfect as the hero or heroine. So check out our list, choose your favorite, snuggle up with a mug of hot chocolate, and escape from the world (and the cold) for a few hours by creating your own mental movie with the help of these texts.

[Click on any image below to start the gallery]

Do you have any books to add to the list? Disagree with our casting choices? Share your suggestions in the comment section below.

Despite what Taylor Swift might sing.

Let’s not be blinded by St. Valentine himself. A few secret admirers are sprouting up these days and chocolates may end up in my mailbox on the 14^th of February, but I want to focus on the other 364 calendar days. Where did dinner at a nice restaurant go? Why are guys no longer lending a sweater when my arms get chilly? How come the term “first date” is becoming just as out-of-date as the Spice Girls’ famous “girl power” slogan?

Let’s face it: Chivalry is dead on college campuses. Feel free to send flowers because a guy is not about to.  The love letters that used to bear hearts and souls have been replaced by 140 character text messages. That first date is more likely to involve a grungy couch at 2a.m., not a romantically lit table for two. Gone are the days of sweaty palms and Cupid’s arrows. These days college courtship revolves around Facebook “pokes” and the highly anticipated changing of the status from “single” to “in a relationship”.

I hear tales all the time from my parents and extended family that involve sweet little love stories laced with flowers left on the doorstep and first dates where a guy actually met the parents. And he picked the girl up. And he actually took her somewhere that didn’t include Solo cups and a $5 cover charge.

Crazy, I know.

Guys are the first to be blamed and we girls are pretty merciless when it comes to pointing fingers on this topic. They are the ones who are “supposed” to ask the girls out on dates, pick up the tab and call for a second date. But speaking as a female, I know I am guilty of delivering a disgusted sigh at the thought of being put on a pedestal and treated like a damsel in distress. We are in an age of independence and the defenseless Rapunzel role doesn’t really help us out anymore.

Let’s face it: Both sexes are at fault here. And because of this look at what we are left with.

Scenes from “The Notebook” and “Titanic” are inching away from the category of classic romance and becoming more like mythology with each interaction. We have handed over the first few steps of courting to our T9 texting and Facebook accounts. We have settled for expressing those first few feelings over a screen rather than ever having the “relationship talk” face-to-face. We have smacked a smile on our faces over invites to theme parties and to free drinks at the bar. Some may call this a modernized form of chivalry but I just see it as ridiculous.

I want those old days back. I want to believe there is someone out there who will walk me back to my dorm room instead of inviting me back to his for the night. I would love the chance to actually talk to someone in a quiet setting instead of amidst the chugging of cheap beer.

Guys, would it ruin your reputation to take us out on one dinner date and learn our favorite color?
Girls, will our independence be critically bruised if we accept a pedestal for once and simply allow a guy to flatter us?

We need to meet somewhere in the middle. Until that crossroad comes, I will hold tightly to a thin strand of hope; maybe, just maybe, chivalry is not dead.

But it’s definitely in a deep coma.

You may know DiCaprio as the sweet-as-pie mentally challenged kiddo in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, or perhaps you remember him from Titanic -- which you may or may not have seen 4 times and cried like a little baby during each and every viewing. These days, Darling DiCaprio is starring in Ridley Scott's new film Body of Lies, adding the 'tough guy' moniker to his already long list of characters.]

I’m not embarrassed to admit that when I was in 7th grade, I had 102 pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio on my wall. My room was a virtual DiCaprio museum. I owned a copy of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet and I had seen Titanic more than twice, Jack’s death causing me to sob each and every time like I had lost a member of my own family. You see, I was in love with Leonardo. No one could understand the bond I shared with him — but it was true and it was beautiful.

Back then, I wasn’t really thinking about DiCaprio as effing material, but now that I’m older, I can firmly say that there’s no way you could not want to eff him.

First of all, he’s gone through all the stages of hot. Initially, he was boyishly hot. Then he did Romeo and Juliet and became HOT hot, and now he’s all suave and older and hot. Effing hot. He’s so hot he only dates models.

Also, he loves the environment and really wants us all to get out and vote and save this country. He drives an electric car. How could you not want to eff a guy who totally cares…about everything?

Plus, he can act. The guy really can act. Instead of relying on his cute face and playing the same character again and again (Ben Affleck), DiCaprio has taken on a multitude of different roles. Talent is totally a recipe for being effable.

So yeah, even though some people think he still and will forever look like a man-boy, we have dubbed DiCaprio totally freaking effable.