Eli's Favorite Fiction

As the owner of Exodus, most people think I am better read than I actually am. Really, I am more a collector than an avid reader, but I love the feel and smell of old books, so that is where the majority of my reading interests lie.

Not exactly older the better: while I have read The Iliad and The Odyssey, some Jane Austen and a lot of Mark Twain, I have not read a great many of the other classics, through I hope to actually finish Virgil's Aeneid one of these years and fully intend to get through at least one Tolstoy in my lifetime. A lot of my favorites were written during the earlier part of the 20th century—and not all of them are considered great literature.

Most of my favorite books are historical or realistic fiction of some type. I particularly enjoy authors like C. S. Forster (the Horatio Hornblower books), Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, and Thomas B. Costain. I collect old G. A. Henty novels and several series of children's histories like the Landmarks and We Were There books. I'm also a pretty big fan of C. S. Lewis's Narnia series and Space Trilogy, J. R. R.Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Walter Wangerin's Book of the Dun Cow.

While I agree that our world can be quite dark at times and that there's a place for reading literature that depicts some horrors we have to deal with, those stories are not my typical fare. I (and my family) prefer stories which depict loving families enjoying their lives. So Cheaper by the Dozen, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, All-of-a-Kind Family, and Papa's Wife remain some of our special favorites.

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100 Cupboards - Paperback Trilogy
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$24.62
Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
from HarperCollins
Apocalyptic novel for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
All-of-a-Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Yearling
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Asimov's Foundation Trilogy
by Isaac Asimov
from Bantam Books
Science Fiction for 9th grade-adult
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$22.07
Asimov's Foundation Trilogy
by Isaac Asimov
Book Club Edition from Doubleday & Company
Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Belles On Their Toes
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Book of the Dun Cow
by Walter Wangerin Jr.
from HarperCollins
for 8th grade-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Bounty Trilogy
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Bounty Trilogy (School Edition)
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Globe Book Company
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bounty Trilogy - Wyeth Edition
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Buford the Little Bighorn
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Captain Blood
Penguin Classics
by Rafael Sabatini
from Penguin Classics
Historical Romance for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
1st edition 1st printing from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Chosen
by Chaim Potok
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Chronicles of Narnia - Deluxe Hardcover Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$139.63
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Books of Wonder
by Mark Twain (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman)
from HarperCollins
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Coronation of Glory
Reformation Trail Series #12
by Deborah Meroff
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.95
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Dandelion Wine
by Ray Bradbury
from Spectra Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Dandelion Wine
by Ray Bradbury
Reprint from Avon Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Dune Trilogy - Hardcover Boxed Set
by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$150.00
Dune Trilogy - Paperback Trilogy Boxed Set
by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$30.97
Evidence Not Seen
by Darlene Deibler Rose
from HarperCollins
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Favorite Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freckles
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Freckles
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Dover Publications
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Deluxe Hardcover Collection
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$131.20
Horatio Hornblower Saga - Complete Collection
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$149.49
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Ignatius Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.95
Just So Stories
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
$18.00
King Ottokar's Sceptre
Adventures of Tintin
by Herge
from Little, Brown & Company
Comic Book for 2nd-6th grade
in Adventures of Tintin (Location: COM-TIN)
$14.99
Leave it to Psmith
by P. G. Wodehouse
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Mimus
by Lilli Thal, translated by John Brownjohn
from Annick Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
My Heart Lies South
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Living Book Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.99
Pushcart War
by Jean Merrill
50th Anniversary Edition from New York Review of Books
Satire for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Pushcart War
by Jean Merrill
50th Anniversary Edition from New York Review of Books
Satire for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by W. S. Kuniczak
from Hippocrene Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.95
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe
from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Saint George and the Dragon
by Margaret Hodges & Trina Schart Hyman
from Little, Brown & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-3rd grade
1985 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Scaramouche
Signet Classics
by Rafael Sabatini
from Signet Classics
Historical Romance for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Scarlet Pimpernel
Puffin Classics
by Baroness Orczy
from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99
Silver Chalice
by Thomas B. Costain
from Loyola Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Space Trilogy - Quality Softcover Set
by C. S. Lewis
from Simon and Schuster
Allegorical Science Fiction/Fantasy for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$40.78
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by William Steig
from Simon and Schuster
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1970 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by William Steig
from Simon and Schuster
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1970 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Tale of Two Cities
Everyman's Library
by Charles Dickens
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Victorian Novel for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$25.00
Three Year Picnic
by Evelyn Whitfield
from Premier Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.00
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
35 Anv from HarperTrophy
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
1961 Pulitzer Prize winner
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$26.99
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
Reissue from Atheneum
for 10th-Adult
1972 Carnegie Medal
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Where Eagles Dare
by Alistair MacLean
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Action/Adventure (Espionage) for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Wind in the Willows
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
$20.00
Wind in the Willows
Children's Classics
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Paul Bransom
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)