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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600 Items found Print
Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15), Trade Paperback
4:50 from Paddington
A Miss Marple Mystery #7
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
84, Charing Cross Road
by Helene Hanff
from Penguin Random House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
A.B.C. Murders
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #13
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings
by Abraham Lincoln, introduction by Gore Vidal
from Library of America
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.95
Account of Mary Rowlandson and Other Indian Captivity Narratives
by Mary Rowlandson
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$6.95
Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #33
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.00
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain, edited by Mary R. Reichardt
from Ignatius Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Oxford World's Classics
by Mark Twain, edited with an introduction and notes by Emory Elliott
2008 Reissue from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain Library
by Mark Twain, illustrated by E.W. Kemble and John Harley, edited by Victor Fischer, Lin Salamo with Harriet Elinor Smith and Walter Blair
from University of California Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Theodore Roosevelt
by Theodore Roosevelt
from National Geographic
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles
from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.00
Aeneid
Penguin Classics
by Virgil, translated by David West
Reissue from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.00
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Frederick Ahl
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
Aeneid
Penguin Classics
by Virgil, translated by Sarah Ruden
Reissue from Yale University Press
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$18.00
After the Funeral
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #29
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Alex O'Donnell and the 40 CyberThieves
by Regina Doman
from Chesterton Press
for 7th-10th grade
Alfred the Great
by Asser
from Penguin Classics
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
from Bob Jones University Press
Poetry for 3rd-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$11.00
Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry
by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping, eds.
from Anchor Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Poetry Anthologies (Location: POET-ANTH)
$17.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends
by Lewis Spence
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
And the Ocean Was Our Sky
by Patrick Ness
from HarperTeen
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
75th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
from Plume Books
Utopian/Dystopian Literature for 6th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Anne's Anthology
by Margie Gray
from Cadron Creek Christian Curriculum
Poetry for 7th-10th grade
in Cadron Creek Literature Guides (Location: LITCUR-CAD)
Annotated Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Revised & Expanded from Anchor Books
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$20.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Anthology of Medieval Literature
by Rebecca Berg Manor, ed.
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.95
Appointment with Death
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #19
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Appointment with Death
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #19
by Agatha Christie
1975 Printing from Dell Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne, George M. Towle (Translator)
from Bantam Books
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne, translated by William Butcher
Reprint from Oxford University
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.95
As You Like It (No Fear Shakespeare)
by William Shakespeare
Study Guide ed. from Sparknotes
for 9th-12th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Ascent to Love
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$16.00
At Bertram's Hotel
A Miss Marple Mystery #10
by Agatha Christie
Reprint from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
by Calvin Coolidge, Edited with an Introduction by Amity Shlaes and Matthew Denhart
from ISI Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Autobiography of Charles G. Finney
by Charles G. Finney
from Bethany House
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.00
Autobiography of Josiah Henson
by Josiah Henson
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Bamboo People
by Mitali Perkins
from Charlesbridge
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Baron's Apprenticeship
Thomas Wingfold #3 of 3
by George MacDonald
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beate Not the Poore Desk
by Walter Wangerin
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Beautiful Thread
Hawk and the Dove Series #8
by Penelope Wilcock
from Lion Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Frederick Rebsamen)
from HarperCollins
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.99
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Seamus Heaney)
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Seamus Heaney
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$24.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 7th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Best-Loved Folktales of the World
by Joanna Cole
from Anchor Books
for 7th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Betrayal
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
from Square Fish Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Big Four
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #5
by Agatha Christie
Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Black Hearts in Battersea
Wolves Chronicles #2
by Joan Aiken
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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)
Blood Brothers
by Elias Chacour with David Hazard
from Baker Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$14.99
Blue at the Mizzen
Aubrey/Maturin #20
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Blue Remembered Hills
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Blue Shoes and Happiness
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #7
by Alexander McCall Smith
Edition from Anchor Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Body in the Library
A Miss Marple Mystery #2
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Bondage of the Will
by Martin Luther
from Revell Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Bondage of the Will
by Martin Luther, translated by J. I. Packer and O. R. Robinson
from Baker Academics
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$24.99
Bondage of the Will
by Martin Luther, translated by Henry Cole
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$12.95
Born Again
by Charles Colson
from Chosen Books
for 9th grade-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
from Vintage Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boys in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Breakfast with Bonhoeffer
by Jon Walker
from Leafwood Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Breath of Peace
Hawk and the Dove Series #7
by Penelope Wilcock
from Lion Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Bridge of San Luis Rey
by Thornton Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
1928 Pulitzer Prize Winner
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
British Literature 449-1798
from Perfection Learning
for 9th-12th grade
in Miscellaneous Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-MISC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Busman's Honeymoon (11)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 11
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
C. S. Lewis: The Signature Classics Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
Box from HarperOne
for 9th-Adult
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$120.00
C. S. Lewis: The Ultimate Collection
by C. S. Lewis
for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$613.84
Canterbury Tales
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Nevill Coghill)
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Poetry for 8th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.00
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by David Wright
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.95
Cards on the Table
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #15
by Agatha Christie
Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Caribbean Mystery
A Miss Marple Mystery #9
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Cat Among the Pigeons
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #32
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99
Chapter of Adventures
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Chicago Poems
by Carl Sandburg
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Children of Hurin
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Children of the Storm
by Natasha Vins
from Bob Jones University Press
Autobiography for 8th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Chosen
by Chaim Potok
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Christy
by Catherine Marshall
from Gilead Evergreen Farm
Realistic Fiction for 8th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$90.93
Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
Civil War Poetry
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Poetry Anthologies (Location: POET-ANTH)
$1.75 (3 in stock)
Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy
by Jacob Burckhardt
from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.00
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)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Clouds of Witness (2)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 2
by Dorothy Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
Historical Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$17.00
Code of the Woosters
by P. G. Wodehouse
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Commodore
Aubrey/Maturin #17
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Common Sense 101
by Dale Ahlquist
from Ignatius Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.95
Compass for Deep Heaven
by Diana Pavlac Glyer and Julianne Johnson, editors
from Square Halo Books
for 9th-Adult
in The Inklings (Location: LIR-INK)
$24.95
Complete English Poems of John Donne
Penguin Classics
by John Donne
from Penguin Classics
Lyrical Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$21.00
Complete Fairy Tales
Penguin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Penguin Classics
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.00
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
3rd edition from Bantam Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
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