Religion & Spirituality

In this collection we've gathered fiction and nonfiction texts that address humanity's age-old search for meaning and purpose within a higher power.

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Memory, Good & Evil

Tags Science Fiction, Relationships, Science & Nature, Social Class, Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure, Religion & Spirituality

I Am Number Four (2010) is the first book in the modern young adult science fiction series Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore, the pseudonym of authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes. Despite the novel’s mixed reviews, I Am Number Four spent seven successive weeks at the top of the New York Times children’s bestseller list. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 2011 by DreamWorks Pictures.Other works by this author... Read I Am Number Four Summary

Publication year 1923

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Community, Appearance & Reality

Tags Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Relationships, Existentialism, German Literature

I and Thou is a book of existentialist philosophy composed by Martin Buber. First published in 1923, the book explores the meaning of human relationships, and how relationships bring us ever closer to God. Critics consider the book to be one of the most significant philosophical texts of the 20th century. Buber was a writer and philosopher best known for his contributions to religious existentialism and the philosophy of dialogue. Before World War II, Buber... Read I and Thou Summary

Publication year 1967

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Education, Education, Science & Nature, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

American journalist and short-story writer Margaret Craven released her debut novel, I Heard the Owl Call My Name, in the U.S. in 1973, where it became a New York Times best-seller. Originally published in Canada in 1967, the novel, like her later works, centers around the native population of British Columbia.  Mark Brian is a 27-year-old Anglican vicar sent by his bishop to the coastal village of Kingcome to live among the Kwakiutl Indians and... Read I Heard The Owl Call My Name Summary

Publication year 1977

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Symbolic Narrative, Inspirational, Fantasy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Classic Fiction

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah was written in 1977 by American writer Richard Bach and is a philosophical novel that questions the nature of reality. This novel was a follow-up to Bach’s bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970), which has similar themes and imagery. Illusions suggests that all of reality is a construct of the imagination and can facilitate or hinder a person on their path to having the life that they want. One... Read Illusions Summary

Publication year 2024

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Regret, Space, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, The Past

Tags Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter, Biography, Social Justice, Religion & Spirituality

I’m Still Here is a nonfiction memoir published in 2018 by the American author Austin Channing Brown. Subtitled Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, the book chronicles Brown’s lifelong efforts to navigate White spaces as a Black Christian woman. Amid a surge of interest in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests, actress Reese Witherspoon selected I’m Still Here for her popular Hello Sunshine book club.This study guide refers to the 2018... Read I'm Still Here Summary

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Jewish Literature, Romance, World History, Religion & Spirituality

Publication year 1955

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Justice, Good & Evil, Politics & Government

Tags Drama, Historical Fiction, Science & Nature, Religion & Spirituality, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

Inherit the Wind is a 1955 play by American playwrights Jerome Lawrence (1915-2004) and Robert E. Lee (1918-1994). It is based on the 1925 Scopes trial, where schoolteacher John T. Scopes was put on trial for teaching the theory of evolution at a time when doing so was illegal. Although Inherit the Wind draws from the events of the Scopes trial, it deviates significantly from the details of the case, as Lawrence and Lee were... Read Inherit the Wind Summary

Publication year 1896

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Good & Evil

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Christian, Poverty, Inspirational, Classic Fiction

In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do by American Minister Charles Monroe Sheldon is a Christian novel that encourages readers to lead their lives according to the compassionate teachings of Jesus Christ. Published in 1896, it was an instant bestseller in the UK and the US. With more than 30 million copies sold, it was one of the best selling American novels of all time.The work is based on Sheldon’s lectures to his congregation in... Read In His Steps Summary

Publication year 1976

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Death, Apathy, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Religion & Spirituality, Loneliness, Love, Nostalgia, Place, Regret

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Gothic Literature, Arts & Culture, Depression & Suicide, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, Philosophy, Trauma & Abuse, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Interview with the Vampire is a 1976 novel by Anne Rice. It tells the story of Louis de Pointe du Lac and his experiences after he becomes a vampire in 1791. Louis’s dissatisfaction with his mortal life extends into his immortal life, allowing Rice to explore themes of morality, love, loyalty, and immortality. This guide references the 2010 Ballantine Books eBook.Content Warning: This guide references the book’s discussion of suicide.Anne Rice ControversyThough her Vampire Chronicles... Read Interview with the Vampire Summary

Publication year 1984

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Masculinity, Nature Versus Nurture, Fathers

Tags Gender & Feminism, Philosophy, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology, Fantasy, Self-Improvement, Religion & Spirituality

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Good & Evil, Environment

Tags Magical Realism, Philosophy, Education, Education, Fantasy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Ishmael is a philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn, published by Bantam/Turner books in 1992. Quinn is a prolific writer specializing in cultural critique, and Ishmael embraces many of the themes that Quinn explores in his other fiction and nonfiction works, such as sustainability and the mythology of human civilization. As a philosophical novel, the work follows a somewhat Socratic dialogue between an unnamed narrator and a telepathic gorilla, Ishmael, using rhetorical conventions to display and... Read Ishmael Summary

Publication year 2000

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes The Past, Colonialism, Community, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, Justice, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Religion & Spirituality, World History, Philosophy, Theology, Politics & Government, Historical Fiction

Publication year 1986

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Childhood & Youth, Friendship

Tags Horror & Suspense, Religion & Spirituality, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Stephen King’s 1986 novel It is widely considered to be one of the most frightening stories ever written. The book’s cast of characters clash against a monster that can assume the form of their worst fears, in a town called Derry that is itself a source of evil. It examines themes of friendship, family, grief, fear, and memory.The novel jumps frequently between past and present, but the structure of the story told in It can... Read It Summary

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Community, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, World History, Religion & Spirituality, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Grief & Death

Jackaby is a 2014 young adult fantasy novel by William Ritter. It is the first in a series by the same name and follows paranormal investigator R. F. Jackaby, and his new assistant Abigail Rook, as they investigate a series of supernatural murders. The novel draws on a range of world mythologies and classic detective fiction like Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Dupin, and the works of Raymond Chandler.Plot SummaryIn 1892, a young Englishwoman named Abigail Rook... Read Jackaby Summary

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Aging, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Relationships, Coming of Age, Agriculture, Grief & Death, Transcendentalism, Religion & Spirituality, Classic Fiction

Jayber Crow, published in 2000 by Counterpoint, is one of author Wendell Berry’s 80 novels and is set in the fictional town of Port William on the banks of the Kentucky River. The novel is often classified under transcendentalism, and Berry’s works focus on the agrarian lifestyle he practices in his personal life living and working a farm in rural Kentucky. Many of his novels share what he calls the “Port William membership” and have... Read Jayber Crow Summary