Popular Fiction

Everyone has a favorite book. Whether it's a picture story from childhood, the first chapter book you read, or a huge tome about Incan civilization between 1429 and 1503 you read in college, some volume crashed more loudly and brightly on your horizon than any other and you never forgot it.

And likely never will forget it—the books that affect us most lodge somewhere between our emotions, intellect and soul, a place not easily ignored or closed off. It's no surprise that so many books are universal favorites: beauty and wonder are universal, and it stands to reason that a book that appeals to one person on those levels will make its way into the hearts of many others.

The categories we've included here represent some of our favorites, though they have broad appeal. Half of modern literature is based on the legends of King Arthur, Jane Austen has a rabid following, and the Lord of the Rings continues to enjoy a revival despite Peter Jackson's film adaptations.

We hope you have or will experience these books and authors for yourself. Lesser-knowns like R. M. Ballantyne and G. A. Henty are ripe for rediscovery, while Anne of Green Gables has never gone out of style. We've selected series and authors that represent a Christian worldview, or at least who honor virtue, so that your family can enjoy the stories without worrying about content.

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.
Did you find this review helpful?
41 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, Used Books & Materials
Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
by John Steinbeck
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
All the World's A Stage
by William Shakespeare
from Fulcrum Group
for 4th-Adult
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
C.S. Lewis: Through the Shadowlands
by Brian Sibley
from Revell Publishing
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Complete Shakespeare
by William Shakespeare, edited by G. B. Harrison
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Sonnets
Dover Thrift Editions
by William Shakespeare
from Dover Publications
Lyrical Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$4.50 $2.00 (2 in stock)
Hamlet
The Pelican Shakespeare
by William Shakespeare
from Penguin Putnam
Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Henry IV Part I
by William Shakespeare, edited by Frederic W. Moorman
from D. C. Heath and Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Histories of Shakespeare
by William Shakespeare, edited by Peter Alexander and illustrated by John Farleigh
from Heritage Press
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
History of the Kings of Britain
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey of Monmouth
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fairy Tale for 10th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Hound of the Baskervilles
Oxford Children's Classics
by Arthur Conan Doyle
from Oxford University
for 7th-Adult
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
by Ken Ludwig
1st Paperback Edition from Broadway Books
for Adult
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$17.00 $10.00 (2 in stock)
I Remember Laura
by Stephen W. Hines
3rd printing from Thomas Nelson Publishers
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends
by Ronan Coghlan
from Barnes & Noble
for 8th-Adult
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis
by George Sayer
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Journey into Narnia
by Kathryn Lindskoog
from Hope Publishing House
for 9th-Adult
in Exploring Narnia (Location: LIR-NAR)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Julius Caesar
Barron's Shakespeare Made Easy
by William Shakespeare
1st U.S. from Barron's
Historical Tragedy for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Julius Caesar With Reader's Guide - Set
by William Shakespeare, Helene Cunningham
from Amsco School Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
King John and Henry VIII
by William Shakespeare
from Bantam Books
Historical Drama for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$5.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
King Richard III
Cambridge School Shakespeare Series
by William Shakespeare
from Cambridge University
Historical Drama for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Laura
by Donald Zochert
from Avon Books
for 7th grade-adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder
by Pamela Smith Hill
from South Dakota State Historical Society Press
for 9th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Biographies for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99 $11.50 (1 in stock)
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
from Barron's
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Macbeth (Dover Study)
Dover Thrift Editions
by William Shakespeare
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Master of Middle Earth
by Paul H. Kocher
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$3.00 $1.00 (9 in stock)
Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare, Samuel Thurber, Jr. editor
1933 printing from Allyn and Bacon
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Merry Ballads of Robin Hood
by Laurabelle Dietrick, assisted by Joseph Franz-Walsh and illustrated by Edna Reindel
from Macmillan
Songs and Ballads for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Parzival
by Katherine Paterson
First Edition, First Printing from Lodestar Books
for 10th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Richard II
The Arden Shakespeare (Heath's English Classics)
by William Shakespeare, edited by C.H. Herford
from D. C. Heath and Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare Made Easy
by William Shakespeare
from Barron's
for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare in His Time
by Ivor Brown
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sign of the Four
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Leonard Vosburgh
from Hart Publishing Company
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Silmarillion
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Jessie L. Weston
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Taming of the Shrew
Dover Thrift Editions
by William Shakespeare
from Dover Publications
Elizabethan Drama for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$4.00 $1.00 (28 in stock)
Tempest
by William Shakespeare
from Barron's
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Three Tragedies: Julius Caesar/Hamlet/ MacBeth
Great Illustrated Classics
by William Shakespeare
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Tristram
by Edwin Arlington Robinson
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
William Shakespeare: A Biography
by A. L. Rowse
First Ediition from Harper & Row
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)