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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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196 Items found Print
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Adam Bede
Everyman's Library
by George Eliot
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$20.40
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Macmillan
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$12.74
African History of Africa
by Zeinab Badawi
from Mariner Books
for Adult
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$27.63
Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights
by Anonymous, illustrated by William Heath Robinson
from Everyman's Library
for 6th-9th grade
$17.00
Annotated Arabian Nights
by Paulo Lemos Horta (editor), translated by Yasmine Seale
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$38.25
Arabian Nights
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, editors, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Peter Grybauskas
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$30.00
Becoming C. S. Lewis
by Harry Lee Poe
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.54
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
by Anonymous (translation by J. R. R. Tolkien)
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$27.20
Beren & Luthien
by J.R.R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$35.00
Best Short Stories of O. Henry
by O. Henry
from Modern Library
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$22.95
Bilbo's Last Song
by J.R.R. Tolkien, Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Bleak House
by Charles Dickens
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$22.50
Bones and Berserkers
Nathan Hale #13
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Book Lover's Bucket List
from British Library
for Adult
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$21.21
BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Michele Wood
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-6th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.29
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)
$17.84
Bremen Town Musicians
by Ilse Plume retelling Brothers Grimm
Tra from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1981 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Carry On, Jeeves
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.95
Carver: A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
from Boyds Mill Press
for 7th-11th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.41
Casey at the Bat
by Ernest L. Thayer & Christopher Bing
1st edition from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
2001 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Caught
Missing #05
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$6.79
Child's Book of Poems
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.74
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Simon and Schuster
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.99 $11.60 (1 in stock)
Child's Introduction to Poetry
Books for Young Explorers
by Michael Driscoll & Meredith Hamilton
First Revised Edition from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 2nd-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.99
Children of Dune
Dune Chronicles Book 3
by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$50.00
Children of Hurin
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 7th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$30.00
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
Reprint from University of Minnesota
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$14.41
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
from Bantam Books
for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.95
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by P.J. Lynch
Unabridged from Candlewick Press
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
Unabridged from Palazzo Editions Limited
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$24.99
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
Unabridged from Creative Editions
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$35.00
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from North-South Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$21.24
Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books
by Charles Dickens, introduction by Margaret Atwood
from Everyman's Library
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
Chronicles of Harris Burdick
by Chris Van Allsburg
1st edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
City of Ember
Book of Ember #1
by Jeanne DuPrau
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.64
City of God
by St. Augustine, translated by Marcus Dods
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$25.50
Collected Poems of T. S. Eliot
by T. S. Eliot
1st edition from Harcourt
for 10th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$25.50
Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
from Modern Library
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$21.25
Complete Novels of Jane Austen
by Jane Austen
from Canterbury Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$21.25
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$33.99
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris, retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$50.00
Completion of C. S. Lewis
by Harry Lee Poe
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$29.74
Confessions of St. Augustine
by St. Augustine (translation by Philip Burton)
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.70
Constitution of the United States of America
by Founding Fathers
from Applewood Books
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$8.46
CS: Gulliver's Travels
Classic Starts
by Jonathan Swift, adapted by Martin Woodside and Illustrated by Jamel Akib
Adapted from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Sterling Classic Starts (Location: SER-SCS)
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
Greek Mythology for 4th-9th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$25.49
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$25.46
D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.51
Dandelion Wine
by Ray Bradbury
Reprint from Avon Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$21.25
Dangerous Journey
by Oliver Hunkin (abridger)
from Eerdmans
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$21.25
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night
by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-4th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
Distant Mirror
by Barbara W. Tuchman
from Ballantine Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$20.00
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$29.75
Dune
Dune Chronicles Book 1
by Frank Herbert, introduction by Brian Herbert
Second Ace hardcover, 2019 from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$50.00
Dune Messiah
Dune Chronicles Book 2
by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$50.00
Emperor's New Clothes
Folk Tale Classic Library
by Virginia Lee Burton (designed and illustrated), Hans Christian Andersen
from Clarion Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
English Literature in the 16th Century (OHEL) OSI
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$33.99
Essential American
by Jackie Gingrich Cushman
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$15.00
Eusebius: The Church History
by Eusebius & Paul L. Maier (translator)
from Kregel Publications
Church History for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$32.99
Evangellyfish
by Douglas Wilson
1st edition from Canon Press
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.00
Fairy Tales of Hans Christen Andersen
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Reginald Spink and illustrated by W. Heath Robinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$15.30
Fall of Arthur
by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$25.00
Fall of Gondolin
by J.R.R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$35.00
Fall of Numenor
by J. R. R. Tolkien; edited by Brian Sibley, illustrated by Alan Lee
from William Morrow & Company
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$40.00
Fault Lines
by Voddie Baucham Jr.
from Salem Books
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$21.24
Favorite Poems Old and New
by Helen Ferris
from Delacorte Press
Poetry for All ages
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$22.94 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Finding Narnia
by Caroline McAlister, Illustrated by Jessica Lanan
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.69
Forbidden Child
by Gwen Newell
from Canon Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.44
Frankenstein
Everyman's Library
by Mary Shelley
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Horror for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.70
Giant
by Judith McQuoid
from Little Island Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
Gift of the Magi and Other Stories
by O. Henry, illustrated by P. J. Lynch
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-10th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$15.29
Go Set a Watchman
by Harper Lee
from HarperTrophy
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$27.99
Great Christian Classics Volume I - Teacher Guide
by Kevin Swanson
2nd edition from Master Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$21.59
Great Christian Classics Volume I - Text
by Kevin Swanson
2nd edition from Generations with Vision
for 9th-12th grade
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$39.99
Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Don Daily
from Applesauce Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.11
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$30.00
Hard Times
by Charles Dickens
from Everyman's Library
Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$23.00
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Hobbit (Annotated)
by J. R. R. Tolkien, Annotated by Douglas A. Anderson
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$35.00
Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Deluxe Hardcover Collection
by J. R. R. Tolkien, illustrated by Alan Lee
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$136.00
Hobbit, The
by J.R.R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$34.00
Hobbit, The
by J.R.R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$34.00
Hobbit, The
by J.R.R. Tolkien, author and illustrator
from William Morrow & Company
for 5th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$75.00
Home Fires
by Mally Ham, introduction by Ken Ham, foreword by Heidi St. John
from Master Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.69
How I Learned Geography
by Uri Shulevitz
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 2nd-5th grade
Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.69
How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger
Reprint from Living Book Press
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$21.24
I Cheerfully Refuse
by Leif Enger
from Grove Press, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$22.40
I, Too, Am America
by Langston Hughes and Brian Collier
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Illustrated Treasury of Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Grimm Brothers, illustrated by Daniela Drescher
from Floris Books
for 4th-8th grade
$21.21
Institutes of the Christian Religion
by John Calvin, translated by Henry Beveridge
Revised from Hendrickson Publishers
for Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$33.96
Institutes of the Christian Religion Volume 3
by John Calvin, translated by Henry Beveridge
Revised from Canon Press
for Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.41
John Hawke's Fortune
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
John Ronald’s Dragons
by Caroline McAlister, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.54
Josephus: New Complete Works
by Flavius Josephus
from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$29.74
Josephus: The Essential Writings
by Flavius Josephus, translated by Paul L. Maier
from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$18.69 $11.20 (1 in stock)
Kingdom Tales
by David & Karen Mains
from My Father's World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$34.95 $21.00 (3 in stock)
Last of the Mohicans
Leatherstocking Tales #2
by James Fenimore Cooper
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Action/Adventure Novel for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$21.24
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Pioneer Girl
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Pamela Smith Hill
from South Dakota State Historical Society Press
for 7th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$39.99
Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles Wilbour
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$40.80
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