List of Books to Buy

The Usefulness of Buying Used Books

One of the great challenges facing any literature course is getting all the students on the same page.Yes, I realize that’s a bad pun, but the reality is there are so many different versions of the great books, whether it’s the translations, the way they are introduced and formatted, or the additional criticism, that a teacher has to be careful in what books he chooses for a class.

In order to get the most out of this class, you will need to find the exact books that I am recommending. The good thing is that there are many used bookstores online. This will enable you to find older versions; even better, they are much cheaper than buying them new.

Here are my favorite book buying sites besides amazon.com (which has good used books, but charges $3.99 for shipping for each purchase – too much, in my opinion). If you can find them all with one seller then you can save money with shipping.

• betterworldbooks.com (free shipping on all books)
• thriftbooks.com (free shipping on $10+, but you get points, too, for free books)
• abebooks.com (represents multiple stores, often has free or cheap shipping)
• bookfinder.com (more of an aggregator for finding books all over)

I went ahead and included links to use sites, but sometimes these break, so you may have to just plug them in. My apology.

The Books & Versions

1. The Odyssey – Richard Lattimore Translation
   1. On Amazon
   2. On Better World Books
   3. On Bookfinder
2. Augustine’s Confessions – Translated by Thomas Williams (2019)
   1. On Amazon
   2. On Bookfinder
3. The Divine Comedy – 3 Vols – Dorothy Sayers (Penguin) (it’s possible these are on other sites, but I just couldn’t easily find them)
   1. Hell/Inferno, Vol 1
      1. On Amazon
      2. On Bookfinder
   2. Purgatory/Purgatorio, Vol 2
      1. On Amazon
      2. On Bookfinder
   3. Paradise/Paradiso, Vol 3
      1. On Amazon
      2. On Bookfinder
4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – Marie Borroff translation
   1. On Amazon
   2. On Better World Books
   3. On Bookfinder
5. Hamlet – Shakespeare, Folger Library (any edition)
   1. On Better World Books
   2. On Amazon
6. Paradise Lost – John Milton (Norton Critical Edition edited by Scott Elledge)
   1. On Better World Books
   2. On BookFinder
7. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (Norton Critical Edition edited by Donald Gray alone; 2000 or earlier)
   1. On Amazon
   2. On BookFinder
   3. On Better World Books
8. Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (any edition)
   1. On Better World Books
   2. On Bookfinder
   3. Note: I discovered the Ignatius Critical Edition of this novel after teaching the class. Highly recommended with an excellent introduction and solid criticism: On Amazon
9. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad (Norton Critical Edition edited by Paul Anderson; 2005 or earlier)
   1. On Amazon
   2. On Bookfinder
   3. On Better World Books
10. Six Centuries of Great Poetry – Warren and Erskine
    1. On Amazon
    2. On Better World Books
    3. On Bookfinder
11. The Elements of Style – Strunk and White (any edition will work). Referenced from time to time in class, but meant for students to read on their own.

Additional Recommended Books

The following books, although not required, are very useful. The second one will be provided in an older digital version, but you can purchase a hard copy if you’d prefer that.

1. Invitation to the Classics by Os Guiness & Louis Cowan – This is an important introduction to all the great authors and works from a Christian perspective.
   • On Amazon
   • On Bookfinder
2. Preface to Paradise Lost by C.S. Lewis
   • On Amazon
   • On Bookfinder (lots of used versions are available)