Each leaner will need to have their own copy of the books we choose from:

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Night Trilogy by Eli Wiesel
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
1984 by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

Some of these books have been banned for various reasons.

Be aware some of the things covered in classic books can be thought provoking and cover a vast area of subjects, which some may find uncomfortable. If you have any questions on the books please feel free to ask.

Some notes on books on current list as well as other options that have been offered (most of these notes have been taken from commonsensemedia.com):
- 1984 by George Orwell - strong social and political themes, as well as for sexual content.
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - The story includes abuse of whiskey, as well as child beating and other real and threatened violence (though little of it is graphic). There is a pretty constant use of the "N" word. However, Huck and Jim's humanity, and Huck's inner moral struggles as he questions what he's been taught about slavery actually expose the irrationality of racism.
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Although there are no explicit descriptions of sexual acts, promiscuous sex is the norm, and there is a violent orgy. There is also a suicide. Citizens of the World State take a tranquilizing, hallucinatory drug called soma, and on an Indian reservation, residents drink mescal and use peyote during tribal initiations.
- Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - drug use, sexual references (not explicit), violence, murder and is overall a revenge story.
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - profanity and some violence.
- Giver, The - The novel has a few disturbing scenes, such as when Jonas experiences the suffering of a wounded soldier, and when he learns that his community euthanizes unwanted people. There are also mild references to sexual desire ("stirrings"). 
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - some child abuse mentioned.
- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - when published was called "pack of lies" and "communist propaganda", also has sexual references (not explicit).
- Great Gatsby, The, by F. Scott Fitzgerald - includes references to alcohol drinking, marital infidelity, murder, suicide, homosexuality.
- Hobbit, The by J.R.R. Tolkien - scary scenes in the pitch-blackness when Bilbo the hobbit is threatened by goblins and trolls in caves, and a very creepy scene with Gollum, who keeps thinking about how he'd like to eat Bilbo. The dwarves and Bilbo are captured a few times, whipped once, almost cooked once, and strung upside down to be eaten later. Swords and arrows kill in a big battle that includes some sad deaths. Few truly gory details except a goblin head and a wolf skin propped up on a gate. And there are fights with big spiders and evil wolves. Dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo love their drink and making smoke rings from their pipes.
- Little Prince, The by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The language and themes can sail over the heads of young, casual readers, but there's nothing inappropriate for young readers. The prince allows himself to be bitten by a poisonous snake, which some children might view as suicide even though the author explains that the prince isn't dead.
- Odyssey, The by Homer - Because the book recounts not only Odysseus' tumultuous journey home and his son Telemakhos' coming of age but also tales of Odysseus' bravery in the Trojan War, it includes a good deal of violence. There's also some implied sexual activity (though nothing graphic). 
- Old Man and the Sea, The by Ernest Hemingway - It's packed with epic struggles (man vs. nature, man vs. himself), eternal issues (love, survival, teaching the next generation, tenacity against the odds) and strong writing. It's also about three days in a boat in which most of the action takes place in the title character's head, punctuated by graphic descriptions of, say, the gutting of fish. It's also somewhat fraught with a late-in-life perspective that may be largely lost on young readers.
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - it includes little inappropriate sexual content or profanity, but there are a few very violent scenes in which major characters are run through with swords.
- Scarlet Letter, The by Nathaniel Hawthorne - a classic American novel that deals with adultery, sin, religion, and redemption.
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - racist use of "negros" word, rape case being tried.
- Three Musketeers, The by Alexandre Dumas - includes references to hanging, marital infidelity, murder, rape, sexual assault, suicide threats
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - Heathcliff's pride and suffering make him cruel, menacing, and his and Cathy's end is not the stuff of fairy tales. It's also worth noting that there are almost certainly ghosts in this book, though Bronte leaves it up to the reader whether or not to believe.