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Literature & Adult Fiction

The value of a book lies in the author's ability to convey meaning. This is the most basic—and in recent years most overlooked—fact about writing. Words on the page must tell us something or they're worthless. Experimenters are free to try new methods, but if the result is empty drivel their creation will end up just another misguided novelty.

Almost equally important is the value of the author's message. Anyone can understand a cheap romance novel or mystery thriller, but if there's a message it's typically trite. Paradise Lost takes more work, but the beauty of Milton's style and the depth of his perception and observations on human (and divine, and demonic) nature have steeled readers to make the effort for centuries.

Which implies—reading is not merely for entertainment. The art of reading to empty the mind is not brand-new (as any perusal of titles in the Rare Old Books room of your local mega-bookstore will reveal), though with the increasing ease of publication it has grown. People have always looked to get the same experience from books that comes from watching a TV show. But there is a still better way.

Reading-to-Broaden-the-Soul is even older than reading-to-induce-a-comatose-state. Each person that comes by it makes the discovery in a different way, whether by hearing a line from a Keats poem, or finding a derelict copy of All Quiet on the Western Front on a discount shelf and reading the whole thing in an afternoon, or realizing that Aristophanes is still funny 2400 years later.

Reading the right books is good for us, but it's also enjoyment of the highest and best kind, and both for the same reason: reading great literature is dangerous. You don't get to leave the last page of Crime and Punishment unchanged. After hundreds of pages with David Copperfield it's a different You that peers back from the mirror. King Arthur will pull apart your insides and rearrange them with the violence of a medieval warlord.

You won't find a lot of rainbows and sunshine here. At least, you won't find them alone, certainly not without the lightning storms that always come first. You'll find humanity, with all the bloodshed and terror and sorrow and weakness and confusion of the race. But you'll also find joy and beauty and goodness and comfort, as much as any of those things are part of life.

These are some of the best poems, novels, plays and philosophical treatises ever written. Hopefully you'll find some enjoyment, though if it's not all as "fun" as you expected, try adjusting your expectations before starting a burn pile. Hopefully, you'll grow a little with each Boo Radley, Romeo Montague, Esther Summerson, Starbuck, and Rose of Sharon Joad you encounter.

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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Literature & Adult Fiction
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Editoreric.com's list of great literature.
72 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Trade Paperback, Used Books & Materials
Among the Barons
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Baronet's Song
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
1st THUS from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Frederick Rebsamen)
from HarperCollins
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.49 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 7th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.90 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Black Like Me
by John Howard Griffin & Robert Bonazzi
35th anniversary from Signet Classics
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
Reprint from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
Christopher Award
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$8.49 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
for 5th-8th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$3.20 (3 in stock)
Catherine's War
by Julia Billet and Claire Fauvel, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger
from Harperalley
for 7th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$11.04 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Claudette Colvin
by Philip Hoose
from Square Fish Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
2010 Newbery Honor Book, 2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, National Book Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cornstalks: A Bushel of Poems
by James Stevenson
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.40 (4 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.99 $11.20 (1 in stock)
Devil at My Heels
by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin, foreword by John McCain
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Dream Keeper And Other Poems
by Langston Hughes
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Escape from Slavery
by Frederick Douglass, edited and illustrated by Michael McCurdy, foreword by Coretta Scott King
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.89 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Eternal Argument
by R. Robin Finley, read by the author
from Analytical Grammar
for 6th-9th grade
in Literary Analysis & Reference (Location: LIR-LAR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Faint of Heart
by Kerilynn Wilson
from Greenwillow Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$16.14 $7.60 (1 in stock)
Favorite Folktales from Around the World
by Jane Yolen
from Pantheon Books
for 4th-Adult
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Gentlewoman's Choice
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
2nd edition from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Glittering Plain
by William Morris
from Newcastle Publishing Co
for 7th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift
from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.10 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Harvey
by Mary Chase
from Dramatists Play Service
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hawk and the Dove
Hawk and the Dove Series #1
by Penelope Wilcock
3rd Revised edition from Lion Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Autobiography for 4th-8th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
Reprint from Atheneum
for 8th-Adult
2003 Newbery Honor Book; 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.04 $5.60 (1 in stock)
How to Eat a Poem
from Dover Publications
for 5th-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Reprint from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Realistic fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.35 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Landlady's Master
by George MacDonald
from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Legend of Annie Murphy
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #7
by Frank Peretti
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Letters to Seabiscuit
by Compiled by Barbara Howard
from Seven Locks Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Scholastic Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harvest House
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Mansfield Park
Vintage Classics
by Jane Austen
from Vintage Books
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
March (Book One)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book Two)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
March - Boxed Set
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
Marquis' Secret
by George MacDonald
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Men-of-War
by Patrick O'Brian
1st Us Edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 5th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Morbid Taste for Bones
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Mountain Boyhood
by Joe Mills, introduction and notes by James H. Pickering, illustrated by Enos B. Comstock
from University of Nebraska
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Musician's Quest
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Heart Lies South
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
Young People's Edition from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Never Sniff A Gift Fish
by Patrick F. McManus
from Henry Holt and Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
New York to Nome
by Rick Steber, Photography by Sheldon Taylor
2007 Revised from Bonanza Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Norse Mythology
by Neil Gaiman
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 8th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.56 $6.80 (1 in stock)
Outlaws of Sherwood
by Robin McKinley
from ACE Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.75 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan
from Answers in Genesis
for 6th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress - Updated Edition
by John Bunyan, edited by Donna Sundblad and Ruth Zetek
from Aneko Press
for 6th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Prairie Town Boy
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by Joe Krush
from Harcourt
Autobiography for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Red House Mystery
by A. A. Milne
Book Club Edition from E.P. Dutton & Co.
Mystery/Suspense for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Running Out of Time
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
1st edition from Troll Associates
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Sergeant York and the Great War
by Alvin C. York
from My Father's World
Autobiography for 7th-Adult
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$18.70 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Singer
by Calvin Miller
from InterVarsity Press
Allegorical Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Swift
by Bruce Arnold
from Unknown Publisher
Biography for 6th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles and Mary Lamb, introduction by Marina Warner
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$11.90 $6.40 (2 in stock)
The Poetry of Lewis Carroll
by Lewis Carroll
from Arcturus
for 6th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
The Robe
by Lloyd Douglas
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Tortured for Christ
by Richard Wurmbrand
30th Anniversary from Living Sacrifice Book Co.
Autobiography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Tutor's First Love
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Twelfth Night OSI
by William Shakespeare
from Barron's
Comedy for 8th-12th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Two Towers
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #2
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Two Towers
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Film cover art from Mariner Books
for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Walkabout
by James Marshall
reprint from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Walking with Spring
by Earl V. Shaffer
from Appalachian Trail Conservancy
for 7th-Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Waterless Mountain
by Laura Adams Armer
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1932 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.09 $3.20 (1 in stock)
What Really Happened in Medieval Times
by Terri Johnson, editor
2017 Revision from Knowledge Quest
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$8.80 (1 in stock)
With Custer's Cavalry
by Katherine Gibson Fougera
from University of Nebraska
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Wounds of God
Hawk and the Dove Series #2
by Penelope Wilcock
3rd Revised edition from Lion Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Zlata's Diary
by Zlata Filipovic
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
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