Top 50 QuizBowl Books

Moby-Dick

Written by Herman Melville, Captain Ahab obsessively hunts the white whale, Moby-Dick, seeking revenge for his lost leg, leading to the destruction of the Pequod and his own demise.

Pride and Prejudice

Written by Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bennet navigates issues of class, morality, and marriage, ultimately marrying Mr. Darcy after overcoming initial misunderstandings and prejudice.

The Great Gatsby

Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby pursues his love for Daisy Buchanan amidst the wealth and excess of the Roaring Twenties, leading to his tragic downfall.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Written by Harper Lee, Scout Finch grows up in the racially divided South, as her father, Atticus Finch, defends a black man, Tom Robinson, falsely accused of raping a white woman.

1984

Written by George Orwell, Winston Smith rebels against a totalitarian regime led by Big Brother, only to be crushed by the oppressive state.

The Catcher in the Rye

Written by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, disillusioned with the adult world, wanders New York City while grappling with alienation and the loss of innocence.

Crime and Punishment

Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Raskolnikov, a destitute student, murders a pawnbroker and grapples with guilt and redemption under the influence of Sonia, a pious prostitute.

The Odyssey

Written by Homer, Odysseus faces numerous trials, including the Cyclops, Sirens, and Circe, on his 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.

Hamlet

Written by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet seeks revenge for his father’s murder by his uncle Claudius, leading to a tragic series of events, including his own death.

Brave New World

Written by Aldous Huxley, Bernard Marx becomes disillusioned with a dystopian society where human emotion and individuality are suppressed, leading to his eventual downfall.

Jane Eyre

Written by Charlotte Brontë, orphaned Jane Eyre becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with the mysterious Mr. Rochester, uncovering his dark secret.

The Iliad

Written by Homer, Achilles and Hector clash in the Trojan War, with Achilles' wrath and the death of Patroclus leading to Hector’s demise.

Wuthering Heights

Written by Emily Brontë, Heathcliff’s intense love for Catherine Earnshaw and his subsequent revenge on those who wronged him leads to tragedy for both families involved.

The Brothers Karamazov

Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the Karamazov brothers—Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha—struggle with faith, morality, and patricide, culminating in Dmitri's trial for their father’s murder.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Written by Gabriel García Márquez, the Buendía family’s multi-generational saga in the town of Macondo intertwines magic realism and the cycles of history.

Frankenstein

Written by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein creates a sentient creature, leading to tragic consequences as the monster seeks revenge for his miserable existence.

The Scarlet Letter

Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne endures public shaming for adultery in Puritan New England while raising her daughter Pearl and hiding the identity of Pearl's father, Reverend Dimmesdale.

War and Peace

Written by Leo Tolstoy, the lives of Pierre Bezukhov, Prince Andrei, and Natasha Rostov intersect during the Napoleonic Wars, exploring themes of fate, love, and history.

The Divine Comedy

Written by Dante Alighieri, Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise is guided by Virgil and Beatrice, reflecting the soul's path toward God.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Written by Mark Twain, Huck Finn, accompanied by the runaway slave Jim, travels down the Mississippi River, confronting issues of racism and freedom.

Great Expectations

Written by Charles Dickens, Pip rises from a humble background to wealth, aided by a mysterious benefactor, and learns valuable lessons about love, wealth, and personal growth.

Les Misérables

Written by Victor Hugo, ex-convict Jean Valjean seeks redemption while being pursued by the relentless Inspector Javert, set against the backdrop of post-revolutionary France.

The Grapes of Wrath

Written by John Steinbeck, the Joad family endures hardship and exploitation as they migrate from the Dust Bowl to California in search of a better life during the Great Depression.

Anna Karenina

Written by Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina’s affair with Count Vronsky leads to her social ostracism, despair, and eventual tragic death, contrasted with Levin’s search for meaning and happiness.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Written by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray remains eternally youthful while his portrait ages and bears the marks of his increasingly corrupt life, leading to his ultimate downfall.

The Canterbury Tales

Written by Geoffrey Chaucer, a diverse group of pilgrims tell stories on their way to Canterbury, offering a vivid portrait of 14th-century English society.

Madame Bovary

Written by Gustave Flaubert, Emma Bovary’s pursuit of romantic fantasies leads to her financial ruin and suicide, as she struggles with the constraints of provincial life.

Heart of Darkness

Written by Joseph Conrad, Marlow's journey up the Congo River reveals the horrors of European colonialism and the madness of the ivory trader Kurtz.

The Sun Also Rises

Written by Ernest Hemingway, expatriates Jake Barnes, Brett Ashley, and their circle navigate the disillusionment and aimlessness of the post-World War I "Lost Generation."

The Stranger

Written by Albert Camus, Meursault, an emotionally detached Algerian, murders an Arab man and faces an existential crisis during his trial, reflecting the absurdity of life.

Don Quixote

Written by Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, an aging knight, embarks on a series of misadventures with his squire, Sancho Panza, believing he is a heroic figure in a chivalric romance.

A Tale of Two Cities

Written by Charles Dickens, the lives of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton intertwine against the backdrop of the French Revolution, culminating in Carton’s heroic sacrifice.

The Catch-22

Written by Joseph Heller, Captain John Yossarian struggles to maintain his sanity while flying dangerous missions during World War II, trapped by the illogical military bureaucracy.

The Metamorphosis

Written by Franz Kafka, Gregor Samsa awakens one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect, leading to his alienation from his family and society.

Slaughterhouse-Five

Written by Kurt Vonnegut, Billy Pilgrim becomes "unstuck in time" and experiences events from his life, including his time as a prisoner of war during the bombing of Dresden.

Fahrenheit 451

Written by Ray Bradbury, Guy Montag, a fireman who burns books in a dystopian future, begins to question his society’s anti-intellectualism after meeting Clarisse, leading to his rebellion.

Ulysses

Written by James Joyce, Leopold Bloom’s day in Dublin parallels the events of Homer's Odyssey, blending stream-of-consciousness narrative with rich allusions to literature and history.

The Sound and the Fury

Written by William Faulkner, the decline of the Compson family is narrated through the perspectives of three brothers: Benjy, Quentin, and Jason, revealing deep Southern struggles.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Written by James Joyce, Stephen Dedalus grapples with religion, identity, and his place in the world as he matures into an artist in early 20th-century Ireland.

Invisible Man

Written by Ralph Ellison, an unnamed black man’s journey from the South to Harlem reveals the harsh realities of racism and his search for identity in a society that refuses to see him.

Beloved

Written by Toni Morrison, Sethe, an escaped slave, is haunted by the ghost of her dead daughter, Beloved, forcing her to confront her traumatic past and the legacy of slavery.

The Lord of the Rings

Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, Frodo Baggins, aided by the Fellowship, embarks on a quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor.

Lolita

Written by Vladimir Nabokov, Humbert Humbert’s obsessive and illicit relationship with his stepdaughter, Dolores Haze, leads to his moral and psychological decline.

Of Mice and Men

Written by John Steinbeck, George Milton and Lennie Small, displaced ranch workers, dream of owning their own land, but Lennie's strength and lack of control lead to tragic consequences.

The Old Man and the Sea

Written by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman, struggles to catch a giant marlin, symbolizing his enduring strength and spirit in the face of defeat.

The Aeneid

Written by Virgil, Aeneas, a Trojan hero, embarks on a journey to found Rome, facing divine opposition and personal sacrifice, ultimately fulfilling his destiny.

Dracula

Written by Bram Stoker, Count Dracula attempts to move from Transylvania to England, but is opposed by Jonathan Harker, Professor Van Helsing, and others, leading to a final confrontation.

The Red Badge of Courage

Written by Stephen Crane, Henry Fleming, a young Union soldier, grapples with fear, courage, and his sense of honor during the American Civil War.

Gulliver's Travels

Written by Jonathan Swift, Lemuel Gulliver's voyages to fantastical lands, including Lilliput and Brobdingnag, satirize human nature, politics, and society.

Paradise Lost

Written by John Milton, the epic poem recounts the fall of Satan and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, exploring themes of free will and redemption.