Why Read Fiction?
These works have stood the test of time, impacting generations of readers. We have selected these great works either because they depict what it true, good, and beautiful in a way that captures our imaginations and cultivates our love for the true, good, and beautiful; or because they provide a powerful and clarifying analysis of the human condition. Because they capture our imaginations, good novels can be an important force in cultivating our growth as a whole person. Our lives are not transformed when we merely inform our intellects of truth. Our hearts must also be directed to love what is good, and this is encouraged when our imaginations are captured by goodness and beauty in stories, whether fiction or nonfiction.
These books may not be overtly “Christian.” Many of them reflect and contribute to the formation of a Christian worldview, but some are selected simply because they have deeply impacted our culture and help us to understand the society we live in. We try to avoid books that include gratuitous or overly graphic depictions of evil, but any true analysis of the human condition or any realistic account of redemption must reckon with the reality of evil and sin. We also recognize that readers have varying levels of sensitivity, and urge you to exercise discernment as you read.
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Title | Description | Category | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | A novel which deals with a decadent New England family and Holgrave, who rents a room in their seven-gabled house. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Hugo, Victor | A gypsy girl's beauty and charm captivate a priest, a vagabond, a soldier, and a deformed bell-ringer, in a gripping tale that culminates in a riot and murder. More than simply a thrilling story, Victor Hugo's tale explores the mysteries of good and evil in the human heart and illuminates… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Ripken, Nik with Lewis, Gregg | Nik Ripken has walked with followers of Christ from the hills of Kentucky to war-torn Somalia. Faced with suffering in his own family, the realities of war around him, and the systemic destruction of the work he felt called to do, the evil was at times overwhelming. How could God… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Tolstoy, Leo | Three great stories offer profound insights into human behavior and motivation. Title story plus "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" and "The Death of Ivan Ilych." Explanatory footnotes. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Lewis, C.S. | The story of the last great battle of Narnia. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Cooper, James Fenimore | The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales. Deep in the forests of upper New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo) and his loyal Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Lewis, C.S. | The origin story of the great land of Narnia. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Kafka, Franz | Since his death in 1924, Kafka has come to be regarded as one of the greatest modern writers, one whose work brilliantly explores the anxiety, futility, and complexity of modern life. The precision and clarity of Kafka's style, its powerful symbolism, and his existential exploration of the human condition have… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Homer | This excellent prose translation of Homer's epic poem of the 9th century B.C. recounts one of the most glorious tales of Western literature, a treasury of Greek folklore, and a myth that has held ageless fascination. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Steinbeck, John | The Pearl is a novella by the American author John Steinbeck. The story, first published in 1947, follows a pearl diver, Kino, and explores man's nature as well as greed, defiance of societal norms, and evil. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Now available together in a single volume, these two classics were written by seventeenth-century England's most famous prisoner of conscience, Baptist John Bunyan (1628-88). Imprisoned for twelve years for his preaching, he first wrote a dramatic allegory of Christian life and followed it with the compelling story of his own… | Literature ⋅ Classics | ||
 | Potok, Chaim | Reuven Malter lives in Brooklyn, he's in love, and he's studying to be a rabbi. He also keeps challenging the strict interpretations of his teachers, and if he keeps it up, his dream of becoming a rabbi may die. One day, worried about a disturbed, unhappy boy named Michael, Reuven… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | "Thou and thine, Hester Prynne, belong to me." With these chilling words a husband claims his wife after a two-year absence. But the child she clutches is not his, and Hester must wear a scarlet "A" upon her breast, the sin of adultery visible to all. Under an assumed name… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Orczy, Baroness | Sir Percy Blakeney lives a double life in the England of 1792: at home he is an idle fop and a leader of fashion, but abroad he is the Scarlet Pimpernel, a master of disguise who saves aristocrats from the guillotine. When the revolutionary French state seeks to unmask him… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Lewis, C.S. | The story of Eustace and Jill and the search for Prince Rilian. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Lewis, C.S. | The story of Prince Caspian's voyage in search of the lords his uncle Miraz had sent off to sea. | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Bunyan, John and Barret, Ethel | A John Bunyan classic allegory. Long ago, the mighty king Shaddai built universe. Universe includes the town of Mansoul, which Shaddai built for his delight. But Diabolus, an angel who had rebelled against Shaddai, sees the town as a perfect opportunity for revenge. This--Shaddai's town, Diabolus' revenge, Mansoul's downfall, and… | Books ⋅ Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan | No novel better epitomizes the love between a child and a pet than The Yearling. When young Jody Baxter adopts and orphaned fawn he calls Flag, he makes it a part of his family and his best friend. But life in the Florida backwoods is harsh, and so, as his… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Lewis, C.S. | In this timeless tale of two mortal princesses--one beautiful and one unattractive--C.S. Lewis reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche into an enduring piece of contemporary fiction. This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who possessively and harmfully loves Psyche. Much to Orual's frustration… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Lee, Harper | Harper Lee’s beloved Pultizer Prize–winning classic, now in new hardcover edition in anticipation of her forthcoming second novel, Go Set a Watchman
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."
A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Stevenson, Robert Louis | Following the demise of bloodthirsty buccaneer Captain Flint, young Jim Hawkins finds himself with the key to a fortune. For he has discovered a map that will lead him to the fabled Treasure Island. But a host of villains, wild beasts and deadly savages stand between him and the stash… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Stevenson, Robert Louis | Following the demise of bloodthirsty buccaneer Captain Flint, young Jim Hawkins finds himself with the key to a fortune. For he has discovered a map that will lead him to the fabled Treasure Island. But a host of villains, wild beasts and deadly savages stand between him and the stash… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Stowe, Harriet Beecher | Uncle Tom, Topsy, Sambo, Simon Legree, little Eva: their names are American bywords, and all of them are characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's remarkable novel of the pre-Civil War South. "Uncle Tom's Cabin was revolutionary in 1852 for its passionate indictment of slavery and for its presentation of Tom, "a… | Literature ⋅ Classics | |
 | Tolstoy, Leo | Set in the years leading up to and culminating in Napoleon's disastrous Russian invasion, this classic novel focuses upon an entire society torn by conflict and change. Here is humanity in all its innocence and corruption, wisdom and folly, painful defeats and enduring triumphs. Here is the seemingly effortless artistry… | Literature ⋅ Classics |