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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109 Items found Print
Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Mass market paperback
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
from Dover Publications
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
from Bantam Books
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Dover Thrift Editions
by Mark Twain
from Dover Publications
for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Penguin Classics
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
by Lewis Carroll
from Bantam Books
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
All Creatures Great and Small
James Herriot Series Book 1
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$18.00
All Things Bright and Beautiful
James Herriot Series Book 2
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-12th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$18.00
All Things Wise and Wonderful
James Herriot Series Book 3
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Among the Shadows
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Ben-Hur
Signet Classics
by Lew Wallace
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.95
Beowulf
Dover Thrift Editions
by Anonymous, translated by R. K. Gordon
from Dover Publications
Medieval Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$3.00
Black Arrow
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99
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
Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Bulfinch's Medieval Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Call of the Wild
Dover Thrift Editions
by Jack London
from Dover Publications
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 $2.00 (1 in stock)
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
Captains Courageous
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Signet Classics
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Chronicles of Avonlea
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Signet Classics
by Mark Twain
from Signet Classics
Social Satire/Humor for 8th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Count of Monte Cristo (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Alexandre Dumas
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Daddy-Long-Legs
Puffin Classics
by Jean Webster
from Puffin Books
Orphan Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Bantam Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Emma
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
from Tor Classic
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$9.99
Every Living Thing
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Farewell Summer
by Ray Bradbury
1st edition from William Morrow & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Favorite Father Brown Stories
Dover Thrift Editions
by G. K. Chesterton
from Dover Publications
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.50
Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #1
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
First Men in the Moon
by H. G. Wells
from Magnum
for 7th-Adult
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Five Great Short Stories
Dover Thrift Editions
by Jack London
from Dover Publications
for 6th-9th Grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Flying to the Moon
by Michael Collins
from Sunburst Book
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
For Freedom
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Frankenstein
Dover Thrift Editions
by Mary Shelley
from Dover Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Further Chronicles of Avonlea
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Gift of the Magi
Dover Thrift Editions
by O. Henry
from Dover Publications
for 4th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 $2.00 (7 in stock)
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.99
Grail
Pendragon Cycle #5
by Stephen R. Lawhead
from HarperCollins
Celtic Fantasy for 8th-12th Grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Puffin Classics
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Puffin Books
Mystery for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Great American Short Stories
from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in Short Stories (Location: LIT-ANTH)
$8.00 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Great Expectations (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Charles Dickens
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Grimms' Fairy Tales
Puffin Classics
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
Signet Classics
by Helen Keller
Reprint from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.95
Hidden
by Fanya Gottesfeld Heller with Joshua M. Greene
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
from Bantam Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
2nd edition from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Mass-Market Boxed Set
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Mti from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 4th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$35.96
Hound of the Baskervilles
Puffin Classics
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Reissue from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
I, Robot
by Isaac Asimov
from Bantam Books
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.99
Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Jane Eyre
Puffin Classics
by Charlotte Bronte
from Puffin Books
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.19
Jo's Boys
Puffin Classics
by Louisa May Alcott
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$5.99
Jungle Books
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Signet Classics
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
King of Elfland's Daughter
by Lord Dunsany
Fourth Printing from Ballantine Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Kon-Tiki
by Thor Heyerdahl
from Pocket Books
Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle
Dover Children's Thrift Classics
by Washington Irving
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
$4.00
Lord Foulgrin's Letters
by Randy Alcorn
from Multnomah Books
for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mansfield Park
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00
Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses
by Martin Luther
from P&R Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
Memories of a Berlin Childhood
by Marianne Buchwalter
First Edition from Premier Publishing
Biography for 7th-12th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$13.95
Merlin
Pendragon Cycle #2
by Stephen R. Lawhead
from HarperCollins
Celtic Fantasy for 8th-12th Grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
from Signet Classics
Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.99
Mio My Son
by Astrid Lindgren, translated by Marianne Turner and illustrated by Ilon Wikland
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Miracle Worker
by William Gibson
from Pocket Books
Drama for 7th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Missing Collection - Boxed Set
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$71.99
Moon & I
by Betsy Byars
from Beech Tree Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Grand Central Publishing
Mythology for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00
Myths of the Norsemen
Puffin Classics
by Roger Lancelyn Green
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Northanger Abbey
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00
Once and Future King
by T. H. White
from ACE Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Once and Future King / Book of Merlyn
by T. H. White
from ACE Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
46th Printing from Collier Books
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Pendragon
Pendragon Cycle #4
by Stephen R. Lawhead
from HarperCollins
Celtic Fantasy for 8th-12th Grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Persuasion
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.00
Pride and Prejudice
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00
Pride and Prejudice (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Jane Austen, Abridged by Linda Jennings
from Puffin Books
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Prince and the Pauper
Signet Classics
by Mark Twain
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Pudd'nhead Wilson
Signet Classics
by Mark Twain
from Signet Classics
Mystery for 8th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane
from Bantam Books
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
Red Scarf Girl
by Ji-li Jiang
from HarperCollins
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.99
Return of the King
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #3
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories
Puffin Classics
by Washington Irving
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Robinson Crusoe
Signet Classics
by Daniel Defoe
from Signet Classics
Realistic Adventure Novel for 8th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.95
Sackett's Land
The Sacketts Book 1
by Louis L'amour
from Bantam Books
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.99
Scarlet Pimpernel
Signet Classics
by Baroness Orczy
from Signet Classics
Action/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.95
Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy
from Bantam Books
Action/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.95
Selected Poems of Langston Hughes
by Langston Hughes
from Vintage Books
for 4th-12th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Shane
by Jack Schaefer
from Harcourt
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Silas Marner
Signet Classics
by George Eliot
from Signet Classics
Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Ballantine Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Story of King Arthur and His Knights
Signet Classics
by Howard Pyle
from Signet Classics
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.95
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Revised from Penguin Classics
Mystery/Suspense for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Signet Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Signet Classics
Mystery/Suspense for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Study in Scarlet & The Sign of Four
Dover Thrift Editions
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Dover Publications
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Tale of Two Cities
Dover Thrift Editions
by Charles Dickens
from Dover Publications
Victorian Novel for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Taliesin
Pendragon Cycle #1
by Stephen R. Lawhead
from HarperCollins
Celtic Fantasy for 8th-12th Grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Thirty-Nine Steps
Dover Thrift Editions
by John Buchan
from Dover Publications
Action Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00
Thirty-Nine Steps
by John Buchan
from Penguin Classics
Action Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.00
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