Walden, by Henry David Thoreau

For Mr. O'Neill's class. It's a journal of Thoreau's time in the area around Walden Pond and the town of Concord.

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville ("The Big House")

One of the classics of American literature (well, of all literature, really), it's an epic tragedy packed with symbolism. Definitely a book the MTV crowd will not appreciate.

The Iliad, by Homer ("The Big House")

Ancient Greek epic poem about the tenth year of the siege of Troy.

'In Memoriam' by Alfred Tennyson ("The Misery Chick")

For Mr. O'Neill's class.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller ("Quinn the Brain")

A book that spoofs military life (specifically, a bomber squadron in WW2). It's got incredible characters, odd situations, and is incredibly funny. The title has become a standard part of the language, and comes from this: "There was only one catch, and that Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle."

The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories, by Edgar Allen Poe ("Gifted")

Classic Edgar Allen Poe stories.

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad ("Gifted")

Daria describes it as: A young man's journey into unknown territory brings him face-to-face with the savage brutality within his own soul.

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy ("Fair Enough")

Part of Mr. O'Neill's class. One of the Great Classics, a study of early 19th century Russian society.

On Moral Fiction, by John Gardener ("Write Where It Hurts")

Read for Mr. O'Neill's class. This books is about how "true art is moral" and is more a work of literary criticism than anything else, but it created more stir for naming names than its underlying ideas.

The Chess Garden, by Brooks Hansen ("Through a Lens Darkly")

It's a spiritual tale combining memoir and parable, about a Doctor's growing up, wanderings, and experiences abroad. Deals with love and tragic loss, and how experiencing love allows us to open up to others.

The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa ("The Old and the Beautiful")

The story is about Sicily in 1860, as the main character, a prince, watches the class an inheritance system that disgusts him fall apart. It has been called "one of the great lonely books."

Howl by Allen Ginsberg ("The Old and the Beautiful")

Notable for the numerous social conventions of the time that it broke, this poem is full of anger and energy.

Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre. ("Lane Miserables")

Heavy duty existentialism.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli ("Fire!")

Usually considered the handbook on politics, it's deeply rooted in Machiavelli's time and setting (the unstable politics of early 1500s Italy) and views the state as an amoral force to be used by its ruler.
Daria's copy is unusually thick, as Machiavelli's work itself is only about a hundred pages long in paperback.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy ("Fire!")

Generally rated as one of (if not the) greatest novels of all time. It's a dual story, one part about a difficult courtship but fulfilling marriage between Kitty and Levin. The other is the story of Anna Karenina, who has an affair with a young Count. Her husbands finds out, and is more concerned about his public image than the affair itself, and makes Anna promise to be discrete. Anna eventually gives birth to the Count's son, and Anna follows him to Italy and then Russia. She eventually becomes bitter towards the Count.

Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies. ("Is It Fall Yet?")

Daria's reading during the lanyard making at Mr. O'Neill's camp.
It's in an autobiographical style where the protagonist, Dunsten Ramsey, details his life. He's sensitive and passive, content to live out life observing rather than participating. His life is contrasted with that of his friend, Boy Staunton.
It all starts off with an important episode that changes Ramsey's life, but isn't fully worked out till the end.

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel DeFoe ("Is It Fall Yet?")

Quinn takes it off Daria's bed as a cover when Helen discovers her in Daria's room.

A historical fiction novel recounting the Great Plague of London. It's told as a first-hand story narrated by an "H. F." A very detailed account that contains a bit of sly humor...

Animal Farm by George Orwell ("Camp Fear")

A fable of a worker's revolution gone wrong, where the animals on a farm decide to oust their drunken human maser and take over. Everyone willing works hard and for a while things are great. It's not long before the pigs succumb to temptation and, by virtue of their self-proclaimed intelligence, take over and set themselves up as the rulers, selling out the revolution.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner ("Lucky Strike")

This is the story of the Bundren family's journey to bury the matriarch of the family and the various disasters they suffer along the way. It covers many points of view and contains one of the shortest chapters of all time.