Power

This curated selection of titles examines the concept of power and its role in shaping society. The texts in the Power Collection draw upon a wide range of literary traditions and genres to explore concepts related to power and its pursuit, such as equality and injustice, colonialism, authority, and conflict.

Hunger

by Michael Grant

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Hate & Anger, Coming of Age, Community, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure

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Hungerstone

by Kat Dunn

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Revenge, Femininity, Gender Identity, Appearance & Reality, Social Class, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Gothic Literature, LGBTQ+, Historical Fiction

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I Cheerfully Refuse

by Leif Enger

Publication year 2024

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Death, Future, Climate, Environment, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Music, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction

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If We Must Die

by Claude McKay

Publication year 1919

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Conflict, Equality, Power & Greed

Tags Grief & Death, Race & Racism, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, African American Literature, Harlem Renaissance, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

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I Know Who You Are

by Alice Feeney

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Revenge, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Family, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Economics, Fame, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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Imago

by Octavia E. Butler

Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Power & Greed, Femininity, Equality, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

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I, Medusa

by Ayana Gray

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Femininity, Justice, Power & Greed, Gender Identity

Tags Fairy Tale & Folklore, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, African American Literature

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Imperium

by Robert Harris

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Politics & Government, Ancient Rome

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Incantation

by Alice Hoffman

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

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

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

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Incarceron

by Catherine Fisher

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Social Class, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Incarceration

Incarceron (2007) is a young adult dystopian science fiction novel by Catherine Fisher. One protagonist, Finn, is incarcerated in a high-tech, sentient prison, and the other, Claudia, is the Warden’s daughter. While Finn tries to escape Incarceron, Claudia rebels against the Realm’s restrictive laws, which outlaw modern technologies and knowledge. She also endeavors to free herself from an arranged marriage to a boy she hates. The novel explores the true meaning of freedom, the dangers... Read Incarceron Summary

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

by Harriet Jacobs

Publication year 1861

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Power & Greed

Tags Inspirational, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, US History, African American Literature, American Civil War, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography

The memoir Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) is an account of the life of Harriet Ann Jacobs, who calls herself “Linda Brent” in the narrative. It is a key text in the slave narrative genre, which were first-person narratives written by formerly enslaved people that hoped to convert readers to the abolitionist cause. While most such narratives were written by men, such as The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah... Read Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Summary

Inferno

by Dan Brown

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Globalization, Art, Literature, Science & Technology, Environment, Future, Power & Greed

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Arts & Culture, Science & Nature, European History, Renaissance, Italian Literature, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

Inferno by Dan Brown is the fourth installment in Brown’s Robert Langdon series of mystery/thriller novels, following (in order) Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol, and preceding Origin. Each edition covers a self-contained story, so readers need not follow the series in order, and often includes themes centered on European and Christian history and cultural traditions. The title character, Robert Langdon, is the only recurring character. Inferno won the Goodreads... Read Inferno Summary

In My Craft or Sullen Art

by Dylan Thomas

Publication year 1934

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Love, Space, Fame, Literature, Power & Greed

In “In My Craft or Sullen Art” (1946), renowned Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) asks the age-old question: Why write poetry? In the poem, a poet sits alone at a writing desk bathed in moonlight. He is compelled by an energy he does not entirely understand to spend his night toiling over lines of poetry. The poem explores the creative process that links a lonely poet to the people he writes for—not guaranteed readers, but... Read In My Craft or Sullen Art Summary

Innamorata

by Ava Reid

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Colonialism, Power & Greed

Tags Gothic Literature, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy

The first installment of the House of Teeth duology is set on Drepane, a fictional island governed by the Septinsular Covenant, a treaty imposed roughly a century earlier by Berengar, a knight from the mainland republic of Seraph. When a devastating plague struck Drepane, the island's seven noble houses discovered a ritual to raise the dead, but the resulting revenants terrorized both Drepane and Seraph. Berengar conquered the island, killed the doctors, priests, and prophets... Read Innamorata Summary

In the Penal Colony

by Franz Kafka

Publication year 1919

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Justice

Tags Symbolic Narrative, Philosophy, German Literature, Horror & Suspense, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

“In the Penal Colony” is a short story by Franz Kafka that was written in the German language in 1914. It is an allegorical fantasy set in an unnamed, deserted colony. The story explores themes like the dynamics of Power and Control, the tension between Tradition and Conformity Versus Innovation and Progress, and the consequences of a Lack of Sense of Self and Belonging. The machine is a metaphor for the judicial system, which can... Read In the Penal Colony Summary

Into the Wild

by Erin Hunter

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Coming of Age, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Animals, Action & Adventure, Relationships, Leadership, Children`s Literature

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I, Pencil

by Leonard E. Read

Publication year 1958

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Community, Power & Greed

Tags Business & Economics, Philosophy, Politics & Government, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

The essay “I, Pencil,” also known as “I, Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E. Read,” was first published by the American businessman and libertarian advocate Leonard E. Read in 1958. The essay first appeared in The Freeman, a publication of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEE), a think-tank he co-founded in 1946. Read was a staunch critic of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal,” an ambitious series of government policies and... Read I, Pencil Summary