These days, outlandish fiction seems to be the most popular, but sometimes it can be refreshing to read something a little bit different. So why not travel beyond the story and learn about your favorite authors?

I am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields

To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic yet its author, Harper Lee, remains an enigma. Lee is notorious for keeping her life private; she has never given an interview or spoken about her famous novel. However, this book chronicles Lee's fascinating life from her childhood in Alabama (bet you didn't know she was playmates with fellow famous author Truman Capote with whom the character Dill was based) to her college days and more, this book is full of facts.

Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill

Written in prose form from the viewpoints of Plath's mother, brother, therapist and more, Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath details the writer and poet's life from childhood to her days as a magazine editor, wife and mother and her significant struggle with mental illness that ultimately led to her suicide. This book reads more like a novel than a biography and is shockingly fascinating to young readers.

Secret Lives of Great Authors: What Your Teachers Never Told You About Famous Novelists, Poets, and Playwrights by Robert Schnakenberg

Okay, while this book isn't about one author or one book (it details a lot more) this book is a must for bibliophiles looking to learn about some of the most famous writers from William Shakespeare to J.D Saligner and more, this book exposes odd behaviors, habits and secrets of some of the most famous writers in the world through an easy-to-read format and illustrations.