Staff Favorites: Fiction

"Favorite" might not be the right word to describe the fiction books we love. It implies some kind of hierarchy, and while there are books we like more than others, it's hard to arrange theones we like very much into a least-to-greatest list. You won't find anything like that here, just collections of our best-loved stories and poems in no particular order (collections, it should be said, that are subject to change).

Not every book that makes it on these lists is a great book, either—sometimes our favorites are simply those that had a major effect on us, or to which we have a sentimental attachment, or simply that we liked for some ineffable reason. At the same time, bad books weren't included. Not that any of us around here like bad books, but we didn't include titles that were inappropriate or of noticeably poor quality.

The purpose of fiction is to broaden our horizons, help us grow in character and virtue, and provide genuine entertainment. Each of us kept that in mind while compiling our list (though naturally those elements are interpreted a little differently by each of us). It's pretty easy to see what's important to us collectively and individually from these lists, so that should help if you're using them to get reading suggestions for yourself or your kids.

Eli made a decree when he asked if we'd pull together our favorite books: no more than 50 titles were to be included. For avid bibliomaniacs that was a pretty tall order, but we managed, and in consequence you have less than 200 books to scroll through. If the limit hadn't been set, a couple of us would still be hunched over computer screens searching the Exodus catalogue for items to add.

Oh, and the bios at the top of each list? Those are just so you can know what we're into, how we evaluate a good versus a bad book, whether we have a sense of humor (a rare commodity these days), etc. It's like we're chatting about our favorite books with you, though certainly the conversation is a bit one-sided and we can tend to run at the mouth. To prevent that, we'll simply leave you now to browse.

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59 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, Trade Paperback
1984
by George Orwell
from Harcourt
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.20
Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
from HarperCollins
Apocalyptic novel for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
As I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner
from Vintage Classics
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
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
Bounty Trilogy
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Cannery Row
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Chosen
by Chaim Potok
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
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 Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan
by William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$29.95
Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas, translation by Robin Buss
from Modern Library
Realistic Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Evidence Not Seen
by Darlene Deibler Rose
from HarperCollins
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
First They Killed My Father
by Loung Ung
from Harper Perennial
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Four Plays by Aristophanes
by Aristophanes
from Meridian Book
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.00
Gormenghast Novels
by Mervyn Peake
from Overlook Press
Historical Fiction for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$31.95
Great Divorce
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegory for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Horatio Hornblower Saga - Complete Collection
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$150.29
I Serve
by Rosanne E. Lortz
from Anno Domini
Historical Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$20.00
Ivanhoe
by Sir Walter Scott
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Ignatius Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.95
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Killing Fields Living Fields
by Don Cormack
from Christian Focus Publications
for 11th-Adult
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
Leave it to Psmith
by P. G. Wodehouse
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Les Miserables
Modern Library
by Victor Hugo, translated by Julie Rose
from Modern Library
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$20.00
Les Miserables
Modern Library
by Victor Hugo, translated by Norman Denny
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Lilith
by George MacDonald
from Eerdmans
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.99
Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov
from Vintage Classics
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Lorna Doone
by R. D. Blackmore
from Oxford University
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.95
Mabinogion
by Anonymous, Translated by Sioned Davies
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Major Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$15.95
Manalive
by G.K. Chesterton
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.16
Matterhorn
by Karl Marlantes
Reprint from Hickory Grove Press
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Metamorphoses
by Ovid, translated by Charles Martin
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$17.95
Midsummer Night's Dream
Folger Shakespeare Library
by William Shakespeare
from Washington Square Press
Drama for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$9.99
Moby-Dick
by Herman Melville
from Penguin Putnam
Realistic Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Mutiny on the Bounty
by Charles Nordhoff & James Normal Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Octopus
by Frank Norris
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.95
Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.00
Odyssey of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
from HarperCollins
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$18.99
On the Road
by Jack Kerouac
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Paradise Lost
Penguin Classics
by John Milton
2003 Revised from Penguin Classics
Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$12.00
Phantastes
by George MacDonald
from Eerdmans
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.99
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by W. S. Kuniczak
from Hippocrene Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.95
Shakespeare's Sonnets
Folger Shakespeare Library
by William Shakespeare
from Washington Square Press
for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$9.99
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Mariner Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.99
Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury
from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
1st edition from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
Pulitzer Prize Winner 2007
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
from Mariner Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.95
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
from Harper Perennial
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Ulysses
by James Joyce
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Waste Land & Other Poems
by T. S. Eliot
from Harcourt
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.00
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
When Broken Glass Floats
by Chanrithy Him
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Yearling
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Yeats Reader
by W. B. Yeats
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$22.00