Literature by Genre

Since Aristotle, man has been busy classifying things. Adam was the classification pioneer (naming the animals), but it was the Greek philosopher who turned it into an art form, an obsession, and an intellectual sport. We've had 2300 years to get better at it, and today a book isn't just a "book": it's a novel, or a treatise, or a poem, or a drama. But it isn't even just a novel, anymore—it's a satire, or historical fiction, or science fiction, or a philosophical novel, or an autobiographical collection of short stories set in a dystopian near-future.

There may be no examples of the last type, but genres (rather than being confusing, as some claim) are invaluable guides to navigating the endless stream of books that flows through our bookstores, libraries, and online distribution centers. For instance, you know just by hearing the phrase "romance novel" there won't be much quality in any section so named, and if the normal romance novel is to be shunned, you can be certain the growing field of paranormal romance fiction will be even more useless.

I will not take this opportunity to describe each and every genre we've included in our selection; that's what the sidebar is for. However, before you dismiss the genre distinctions as useless generic terminology, consider what they can do. If you've just finished a book by Jane Austen, or Tim O'Brien, or Rudyard Kipling, and want to read similar books but don't know where to start, you could start by looking at other books included in their respective genres.

Some of the genres are pretty basic. Obviously, if you want to read poetry you aren't going to look under Novels. Well, you might, but you'd be mostly out of luck. Others, like Epic & Saga, can be much more helpful for more specific searches—our Epic & Saga category includes 42 items; our Literature & Adult Fiction includes 2,397.

Most of the books found here are for older students or adults (though that doesn't mean younger readers can't enjoy most of them as well, as long as you preview and discuss each title with them). For kid-oriented reading, check out our Fiction category. The genres there are even more specific, partly because there are more obvious distinctions beween different kinds of children's literature, and partly because we've spent more time bringing in specifc titles for young readers. That in no way means we've ignored our selection for adults and high schoolers.

In fact, we're pretty proud of it. Not every book is worth reading; we've tried to limit those on our shelf to ones that are. To make it easier for you to find the sort of book you want to read, we've given most of the titles genres. Sure, it's often fun to lazily browse bookstore shelves or websites, but let's face it—somtimes you just need to find the next book that's going to provide your fiction fix, and you don't have time to research the whole broad genre that happens to be your favorite. Reader, we salute you, and offer you: Literature by Genre.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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49 Items found Print
Active Filters: Irish Literature, 12th grade (Ages 17-18)
Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats
by W.B. Yeats, illustrated by Jack B. Yeats
from Franklin Library
for 10th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
Signet Classics
by Oscar Wilde
from Signet Classics
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Dracula
by Bram Stoker
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Dracula
Puffin Classics
by Bram Stoker
from Puffin Books
for 10th-Adult
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Dracula
Everyman's Library
by Bram Stoker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Dracula
Sterling Classics
by Bram Stoker, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dracula
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Bram Stoker
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Dracula
by Bram Stoker
from SeaWolf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
Dragonriders of Pern Omnibus
by Anne McCaffrey
from Del Rey
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Dubliners
by James Joyce
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.95
Dubliners
Dover Thrift Editions
by James Joyce
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.00 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Dubliners
by James Joyce
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.95
Early Irish Myths and Sagas
by Jeffrey Gantz
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift
from Oxford University
Satire/Social Commentary for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift
from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$6.00 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Gulliver's Travels
by Johnathan Swift
from International Collectors Library
for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Gulliver's Travels
Calla Editions
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Dover Publications
for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Gramercy Books
for 8th-12th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Gulliver's Travels
Penguin Classics
by Jonathan Swift
from Penguin Classics
Satire/Social Commentary for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Gulliver's Travels
Windermere Series 3
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Thomas Morten
from Franklin Library
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Victor Candell & R.G. Mossa
from Garden City Books
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gulliver's Travels
by Johnathan Swift, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Welbeck Editions
for 10th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Gulliver's Travels
Windermere Readers #15
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Gulliver's Travels
Windermere Series 1
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gulliver's Travels
Windermere Series 2
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gulliver's Travels
Windermere Series 4
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Ideal Husband
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oscar Wilde
from Dover Publications
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00
Importance of Being Earnest
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oscar Wilde
from Dover Publications
Drama/Comedy for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00
Importance of Being Earnest
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oscar Wilde
from Signet Classics
Drama/Comedy for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
Man and Superman
by George Bernard Shaw
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works
by Jonathan Swift
from Dover Publications
for 11th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$4.00
Picture of Dorian Gray
Whole Story Series
by Oscar Wilde
from Viking Press
Mystery and Suspense for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Picture of Dorian Gray
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oscar Wilde
from Dover Publications
Mystery and Suspense for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
Revised from Penguin Classics
Mystery and Suspense for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00
Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by Eugene Dete & Paul Thiriat
1910 Illustrated from SeaWolf Press
Mystery and Suspense for 10th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce
from Heritage Press
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce
from Dover Publications
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
She Stoops to Conquer
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oliver Goldsmith
from Dover Publications
Comedic Drama for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.00
She Stoops to Conquer
Merrill's English Texts
by Oliver Goldsmith, edited with an introduction and notes by Mabel A. Bessey
from Charles E. Merrill Company
Comedic Drama for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
South
by Ernest Shackleton
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Expedition Memoir for 10th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
South
by Ernest Shackleton
from Living Book Press
Expedition Memoir for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Tristram Shandy
by Laurence Sterne
from Wordsworth Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.99
Ulysses
by James Joyce
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Vicar of Wakefield
Penguin Classics
by Oliver Goldsmith
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$12.00
Waiting for Godot
by Samuel Beckett
from Grove Publishing
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Yeats Reader
by W. B. Yeats
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$22.00