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Best Classic Literary Fiction

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harperperennial Modern Classics)
Harper Lee's Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred, available now for the first time as an e-book. Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them."
Reviews
"Told in the first person, Scout, Jean Louise Finch, introduces to life in he small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the early 1930's."
"Set in the days of segregation and racial hatred in America, it was a telling example of how justice was not for black people."
"Where Gone by the Wind elaborates in a dramatic and sentimental manner, To Kill a Mockingbird stays level-headed and down-to-earth, told as it is, in a genuinely naïve and innocent voice."
"I was just a young teen and too wrapped up in myself to. understand that civil rights were only granted to white men. Atticus, a rather distant but loving. father, accepts his children for who they are -- ornery, smart and little left of center."
"...what was wrong with GCHS that didn't make us read these wonderful stories?"
"I somehow managed not to read this as a kid, but I'm glad I was inspired by my current 7th grader to read it now."
"It can be kind of hard to read books that are written with regional slang on every page. It's a must read for Americans to help get our race relations and biases in perspective. It's a must read for anyone who's human and wants to understand what that means just a little bit more."
"Those of us whom want a change or for those of us who have teens that don't want to read it....this performance will turn that around..."
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Animal Farm and 1984
Animal Farm is Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution -- an account of the bold struggle, initiated by the animals, that transforms Mr. Jones's Manor Farm into Animal Farm--a wholly democratic society built on the credo that All Animals Are Created Equal. 'I continue to find the Readers' Guides indispensable for teaching - they really give students a sense of criticsm having a history' - Professor Rachel Bowlby, University of York 'The series looks really excellent - attractively produced, user friendly; and outstanding value for money' - Ronald Knowles, Reader, University of Reading I continue to find the Readers' Guides indispensable for teaching - they really give students a sense of criticsm having a history' - Professor Rachel Bowlby, University of York. 'The series looks really excellent - attractively produced, user friendly; and outstanding value for money' - Ronald Knowles, Reader, University of Reading.
Reviews
"Both of these are topical and relevant as much, if not more, today than when written."
"Everyone should read or re-read Animal Farm, as an adult."
"I have been wanting my adult handicapped daughter to read some classics, and this fit the bill perfectly!"
"This should be a must read for everyone!"
"Good price...high school summer reading!"
"2 classics I've always wanted to read!"
"Classic must read."
"I ordered this for my teen-aged grand daughter because it is a book that changed my way of thinking when I was only 12."
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The Great Gatsby
The exemplary novel of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgeralds' third book, The Great Gatsby (1925), stands as the supreme achievement of his career. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--" Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream. to the poetry of Fitzgerald's ending about "the dark fields of the republic" and "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past," Robbins conjures up a sublime portrait of a lost world. And as a bonus, the excellent audio actor Robert Sean Leonard reads a selection of Fitzgerald's letters to editors, agents and friends which focus on the writing and selling of the novel. Listeners will revel in learning random factoids, e.g., in 1924, Scott and Zelda were living in a Rome hotel that cost just over $500 a month, and he was respectfully suggesting that his agent Harold Ober ask $15,000 from Liberty magazine for the serial rights to Gatsby.
Reviews
"Back in the 60s, this was considered as far too racy for us to read in a small Texas town. Having read some of the lead reviews, I agree that reading it at the age of 64 is totally different from someone reading it at the age of 16."
"The plot was rather realistic, after I got through the end of the book and was able to assess the characters with the direction of the novel. Unlike most novels where the main character comes across unscathed and "goes off in the sunset," that doesn't happen to the Great Gatsby."
"The Great Gatsby is one of the few original American masterpiece's."
"I am not of the generation that had to read Gatsby at High School...My first time was at University in an American Lit class. If you want a well constructed, thoughtful story about class and money and the excesses of life- then pick it up and have a read."
"He was prepared to go to any lengths to be an 'insider' but for all his depth of character could not see how unworthy those people were of him, especially Daisy. The reader can see how false everything is and what a hopeless and romantic Gatsy is and tragedy almost looms from the outset."
"Daisy had married Tom Buchanan to accommodate her life of luxury, while Gatsby earned a mysterious fortune. All these characters are thrown together in a story of hypocracy, parties, bantering dialogue, and the idea that money conquers all."
"Daisy had married Tom Buchanan to accommodate her life of luxury, while Gatsby earned a mysterious fortune. All these characters are thrown together in a story of hypocracy, parties, bantering dialogue, and the idea that money conquers all."
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Best Classic Coming of Age Fiction

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harperperennial Modern Classics)
Harper Lee's Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred, available now for the first time as an e-book. Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them."
Reviews
"Told in the first person, Scout, Jean Louise Finch, introduces to life in he small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the early 1930's."
"Set in the days of segregation and racial hatred in America, it was a telling example of how justice was not for black people."
"Where Gone by the Wind elaborates in a dramatic and sentimental manner, To Kill a Mockingbird stays level-headed and down-to-earth, told as it is, in a genuinely naïve and innocent voice."
"I was just a young teen and too wrapped up in myself to. understand that civil rights were only granted to white men. Atticus, a rather distant but loving. father, accepts his children for who they are -- ornery, smart and little left of center."
"...what was wrong with GCHS that didn't make us read these wonderful stories?"
"I somehow managed not to read this as a kid, but I'm glad I was inspired by my current 7th grader to read it now."
"It can be kind of hard to read books that are written with regional slang on every page. It's a must read for Americans to help get our race relations and biases in perspective. It's a must read for anyone who's human and wants to understand what that means just a little bit more."
"Those of us whom want a change or for those of us who have teens that don't want to read it....this performance will turn that around..."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best 30-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads

Rules of Civility: A Novel
From the New York Times -bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow , a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) novel of a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society. Amazon Best Books of the Month, August 2011 Set during the hazy, enchanting, and martini-filled world of New York City circa 1938, Rules of Civility follows three friends--Katey, Eve, and Tinker--from their chance meeting at a jazz club on New Year's Eve through a year of enlightening and occasionally tragic adventures. Set in New York City in 1938, Rules of Civility tells the story of a watershed year in the life of an uncompromising twenty-five-year- old named Katey Kontent. The story opens on New Year's Eve in a Greenwich Village jazz bar, where Katey and her boardinghouse roommate Eve happen to meet Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a ready smile. Amor Towles's Rules of Civility Playlist While jazz is not central to the narrative of Rules of Civility , the music and its various formulations are an important component of the book’s backdrop. On the night of January 16, 1938, Benny Goodman assembled a bi-racial orchestra to play jazz to a sold-out Carnegie Hall--the first jazz performance in the hallowed hall and one which is now famous for bringing jazz (and black performers) to a wider audience. I am not a jazz historian, but for me the concert marks something of a turning point in jazz itself--from the big-band, swing-era sound that dominated the 1930s (and which the orchestra emphasized on stage that night) towards the more introspective, smaller group styles that would soon spawn bebop and its smoky aftereffects (ultimately reaching an apogee with Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue in 1957). Praise for Rules of Civility “An irresistible and astonishingly assured debut about working class-women and world-weary WASPs in 1930s New York…in the crisp, noirish prose of the era, Towles portrays complex relationships in a city that is at once melting pot and elitist enclave – and a thoroughly modern heroine who fearlessly claims her place in it.” — O, the Oprah Magazine. “With this snappy period piece, Towles resurrects the cinematic black-and-white Manhattan of the golden age…[his] characters are youthful Americans in tricky times, trying to create authentic lives.” — The New York Times Book Review.
Reviews
"This book is the story of one such young woman who ventured into the haute monde of New York society in the late 30s."
"I read this book after finishing "A Gentleman in Moscow," and wish I'd read them in the opposite directions, as I found the latter to have more direction and even more beautiful prose!"
"Rarely have I enjoyed reading a book as much as “Rules of Civility.” The prose is often so poetic, I found myself reading a finely crafted sentence again and again; delighting in the sheer joy the words evoked."
"Almost as good as author's Gentleman in Moscow in a different milieu."
"RULES OF CIVILITY was very different."
"Easy to read, great story."
"Excellent look at life between the wars in NYC."
"This was a wonderful story filled with imagination, love affairs, interesting characters and very descriptive wording."
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Best Classic Humor Fiction

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that's thrilling and timeless. Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. William Goldman describes it as a "good parts version" of "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure." Much admired by academics, the "Classic Tale" nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: "Fencing. Goldman frames the fairy tale with an "autobiographical" story: his father, who came from Florin, abridged the book as he read it to his son. Now, Goldman is publishing an abridged version, interspersed with comments on the parts he cut out. Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers , that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? A 'classic' medieval melodrama that sounds like all the Saturday serials you ever saw feverishly reworked by the Marx Brothers." -- Newsweek "One of the funniest, most original, and deeply moving novels I have read in a long time."
Reviews
"William Goldman's story telling is pure genius, writing from a satirical 1st person perspective of how he created an abridged version of an old non-fictional book from a fictional country written by a fictional author. As you read through the "abridged version" you will frequently stumble across familiar lines you've come to love from the film ("INCONCEIVABLE!"). After reading the book you'll have a newfound appreciation for the movie which you'll see is a fantastic adaptation, and you'll have a fantastic time wrapped around Goldman's hilarious finger as he guides you through a truly wonderful story that feels exactly like the timeless classic we've enjoyed watching for years."
"I ordered the 30th anniversary edition, thinking it would have bonus special features in honor of the anniversary, but as far as I can tell, it's just an earlier DVD version...with a new cover literally attached to the outside of the case."
"kids left home. Vizzini, you simply love to hate him. Billy Crystal, Carol Kane . .this movie is a treasure trove of faces, one liners, and fabulous entertaining family fantasy fun! No filth, no foul language, but romance, adventure, chivalry, honor and a Holocaust Robe!"
"This is my all time favorite movie. It's just a really fun movie for all ages."
"I heard Mandy Patinkn tell the story of Rob Reiner summing up the movie as a boy searches for his true love, and that pretty much sums it up! Rob Reiner loves satire and has filled this film with many of his friends in guest star roles."
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Best Classic American Fiction

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harperperennial Modern Classics)
Harper Lee's Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred, available now for the first time as an e-book. Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them."
Reviews
"Sympathetic , emotional and profoundly moving , To Kill a Mockingbird seethes to the bases of human conduct -to blamelessness and experience, generosity and savagery , love and scorn, puerility and tenderness."
"Not only is Lee's writing filled with beautiful sentences (though often stunningly economical...) the book deals with many critically important issues, even for today's reader. She examines many social issues -- race and economic inequality, sexual inequality, mental illness, child abuse, and the inequity sometimes found in our judicial system."
"It is written from a child's point of view when children were shielded from knowledge by their parents and allowed to run free and become caught up in their imaginations. But it also includes a secondary plot of the racism that is pervasive in America and gives the reader a lot to think about even in 2015 (especially in light of current events)."
"Considering the time frame when this was written, Ms Lee addresses the problem of hate for someone's race as the terrible scar that it is in a unique and gentle but firm way that draws you into the story."
"Told in the first person, Scout, Jean Louise Finch, introduces to life in he small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the early 1930's."
"Absolutely delightful book that gives the reader a view of the world in the 1930s through the eyes of children. By using the perspectives of Scout, Jem, and Dill, Harper Lee is able to bring to light serious social issues using the wit only a child character could get away with and still be sincere."
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Best Classic Historical Fiction

All the Light We Cannot See
A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Werner is a German orphan, destined to labour in the same mine that claimed his father’s life, until he discovers a knack for engineering. Yes, there is fear and fighting and disappearance and death, but the author’s focus is on the interior lives of his two characters. Never mind that their paths don’t cross until very late in the novel, this is not a book you read for plot (although there is a wonderful, mysterious subplot about a stolen gem). It is through their individual and intertwined tales that Doerr masterfully and knowledgeably re-creates the deprived civilian conditions of war-torn France and the strictly controlled lives of the military occupiers.High-Demand Backstory: A multipronged marketing campaign will make the author’s many fans aware of his newest book, and extensive review coverage is bound to enlist many new fans.
Reviews
"It has been a while since I have found a book that I wanted to read slowly so that I could soak in every detail in hopes that the last page seems to never come. When reading the synopsis of this novel, I never imagined that I would feel so connected to a book where one of the main characters is blind and the other a brilliant young German orphan who was chosen to attend a brutal military academy under Hitler's power using his innate engineering skills. I was invited into the pages and could not only imagine the atmosphere, but all of my senses were collectively enticed from the very first page until the last. In most well-written books you get of a sense of what the characters look like and follow them throughout the book almost as if you are on a voyage, but with this novel, I could imagine what it was like to be in Marie-Laure's shoes."
"On the other hand, as the author describes it, “It’s also a metaphorical suggestion that there are countless invisible stories still buried within World War II.” Add in a newly blinded French girl who is forced to leave her familiar surroundings, and you’ll soon find yourself in literary heaven. There are lessons about the brain, sitting inside the darkness of our skull, interpreting light; there are lessons about coal having been plants living millions of years ago, absorbing light, now buried in darkness; lessons about light waves that we cannot see—all applicable as the story unfolds. The author also includes connections to the song Clair de Lune, the book 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, and a fictional story about a priceless diamond called the Sea of Flames, whose owner “so long as he keeps it, the keeper of the stone will live forever.”. I cannot proclaim loud enough how much this book means to me; I have been left awe-inspired."
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Best Classic Romance Fiction

Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet
VISION IN WHITE Wedding photographer Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is most at home behind the camera for Vows, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into Carter Maguire—the bride-to-be's brother—in an encounter that has them both seeing stars. “Funny sparks fly...[Roberts’] gentle humor and likable cast will immediately endear this series to readers.”— Publishers Weekly.
Reviews
"2) Rated 5★ Emma & Jack prove that friends can turn into love and even with the misunderstandings, makes for lasting love!"
"This series will take you away on a journey into the lives of the women of “Vows”."
"I enjoyed the Bride Quartet Series immensely."
"This is such a great book, that I look forward to going back and reading these stories again like some that I already have, and I am impatient to read the rest of Nora Roberts' stories right now. Hot, Hot, Hot, love scenes, a well written, creative and intriguing story about family plus inventive, vivid characters, all on top of seriously wonderful love and romance."
"I read this series in paperback and love them though my favorite all time set was time was and time and again."
"After planning my wedding and helping a friend plan hers, this quartet about a wedding business built up with four friends was a nice read to be back in the moment of planning - for others and for myself."
"I have just finished these four wonderful books the only thing that could make them better would be having the other weddings."
"The books are probably the best books I have read in a really long time."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Western Fiction Classics

Grizzly Killer: Under The Blood Moon
Along with his dog Jimbo, Running Wolf his Ute partner and their wives they travel to Rendezvous, where they battle the dreaded Blackfeet and Zach fights for both justice and honor.
Reviews
"This book, the second in the series with "Grizzly Killer: The Making of a Mountain Man" being the first, is a welcome and refreshing change from the modern genre of urban mayhem and street violence."
"There is a little repetition of regiments and duties of safe camping in the wilderness and great humanizing of indian life on the prairie, as well as insight into real mountain man/trapper life in the early western expansion. We need REAL heroes again like in the best westerns of the past, and the author gives one in this series!"
"Really enjoyed this, an excellent continuation of the Grizzly Killer saga."
"Warenski is a very good story teller, much like the Native Americans that are so much a part of his books."
"Great read, both books."
"I didn't post a review of book #1 because I wanted to read #2 asap just finished the second one in the series and it's 12:46 AM."
"I really like the mountain man genre and this book is a real page turner!"
"A particularly good tale, fairly accurate, reasonably predictable, a lot of editing errors (spelling errors, their instead of they're and such) but you can't have everything."
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Best Classic Short Stories

All the Light We Cannot See
A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Werner is a German orphan, destined to labour in the same mine that claimed his father’s life, until he discovers a knack for engineering. Yes, there is fear and fighting and disappearance and death, but the author’s focus is on the interior lives of his two characters. Never mind that their paths don’t cross until very late in the novel, this is not a book you read for plot (although there is a wonderful, mysterious subplot about a stolen gem). It is through their individual and intertwined tales that Doerr masterfully and knowledgeably re-creates the deprived civilian conditions of war-torn France and the strictly controlled lives of the military occupiers.High-Demand Backstory: A multipronged marketing campaign will make the author’s many fans aware of his newest book, and extensive review coverage is bound to enlist many new fans.
Reviews
"It has been a while since I have found a book that I wanted to read slowly so that I could soak in every detail in hopes that the last page seems to never come. When reading the synopsis of this novel, I never imagined that I would feel so connected to a book where one of the main characters is blind and the other a brilliant young German orphan who was chosen to attend a brutal military academy under Hitler's power using his innate engineering skills. I was invited into the pages and could not only imagine the atmosphere, but all of my senses were collectively enticed from the very first page until the last. In most well-written books you get of a sense of what the characters look like and follow them throughout the book almost as if you are on a voyage, but with this novel, I could imagine what it was like to be in Marie-Laure's shoes."
"On the other hand, as the author describes it, “It’s also a metaphorical suggestion that there are countless invisible stories still buried within World War II.” Add in a newly blinded French girl who is forced to leave her familiar surroundings, and you’ll soon find yourself in literary heaven. There are lessons about the brain, sitting inside the darkness of our skull, interpreting light; there are lessons about coal having been plants living millions of years ago, absorbing light, now buried in darkness; lessons about light waves that we cannot see—all applicable as the story unfolds. The author also includes connections to the song Clair de Lune, the book 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, and a fictional story about a priceless diamond called the Sea of Flames, whose owner “so long as he keeps it, the keeper of the stone will live forever.”. I cannot proclaim loud enough how much this book means to me; I have been left awe-inspired."
"“All the Light We Cannot See” is a World War II story told from the experiences of two children; each gifted in their own way."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Religious Fiction Classics

Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet
VISION IN WHITE Wedding photographer Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is most at home behind the camera for Vows, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into Carter Maguire—the bride-to-be's brother—in an encounter that has them both seeing stars. “Funny sparks fly...[Roberts’] gentle humor and likable cast will immediately endear this series to readers.”— Publishers Weekly.
Reviews
"2) Rated 5★ Emma & Jack prove that friends can turn into love and even with the misunderstandings, makes for lasting love!"
"This series will take you away on a journey into the lives of the women of “Vows”."
"I enjoyed the Bride Quartet Series immensely."
"This is such a great book, that I look forward to going back and reading these stories again like some that I already have, and I am impatient to read the rest of Nora Roberts' stories right now. Hot, Hot, Hot, love scenes, a well written, creative and intriguing story about family plus inventive, vivid characters, all on top of seriously wonderful love and romance."
"I read this series in paperback and love them though my favorite all time set was time was and time and again."
"After planning my wedding and helping a friend plan hers, this quartet about a wedding business built up with four friends was a nice read to be back in the moment of planning - for others and for myself."
"I have just finished these four wonderful books the only thing that could make them better would be having the other weddings."
"The books are probably the best books I have read in a really long time."
Find Best Price at Amazon