Religion & Spirituality

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

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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

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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

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

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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

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

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Jews Without Money is a semi-autobiographical 1930 novel by Itzok Isaac Granich, published under Granich’s pseudonym, Mike Gold. The book charts the impoverished conditions of the Lower East Side of New York City and the experiences of growing up in a community of predominantly Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century. Growing up in such a difficult environment informed the author’s socialist politics as an adult. Plot SummaryMike Gold is born and raised by a... Read Jews Without Money Summary

Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by author and pilot Richard Bach, is a fable and novella that was originally presented in serialized form in Flying magazine. Bach initially struggled to find a publisher for the full work, but when the book was finally published in 1970, it enjoyed immense popular success; according to Publisher’s Weekly, it was the top-selling book of both 1972 and 1973. Bach went on to also write Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant... Read Jonathan Livingston Seagull Summary

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Hermann Hesse's 1932 short novel The Journey to the East reads much like a trial run for what would be his final novel, The Glass Bead Game, published in 1943. Journey explores themes of service, leadership, the contemplative life, and the difficult tasks historians face—set against the backdrop of a mystic journey whose destination becomes increasingly unclear. The narrator is a man known only as H.H. It is believed that H.H. stands for “Hermann Hesse”... Read Journey to the East Summary

Joyland (2013) is the second in Stephen King’s hard-boiled detective collection published by Hard Case Crime.King has written more than 80 full-length novels in addition to 20 novellas, over 120 short stories, and 5 nonfiction books. He has won more than 30 awards for his fiction. His books and short stories have been made into 39 films and 13 television series (with more in planning).This guide references the 2013 paperback edition.Content Warning: The novel features... Read Joyland Summary

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