Ben's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 12 Apr 2025 06:52:44 -0700 60 Ben's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Stand 228202 1141 Stephen King 0451169530 Ben 4 4.32 1978 The Stand
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1978
rating: 4
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date added: 2025/04/12
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<![CDATA[The Waste Land and Other Writings]]> 34082 Also includes Prufrock and Other Observations, Poems (1920), and The Sacred Wood
Introduction by Mary Karr
Ěý
First published in 1922, “The Waste Land,� T. S. Eliot’s masterpiece, is not only one of the key works of modernism but also one of the greatest poetic achievements of the twentieth century. A richly allusive pilgrimage of spiritual and psychological torment and redemption, Eliot’s poem exerted a revolutionary influence on his contemporaries, summoning forth a potent new poetic language. As Kenneth Rexroth wrote, Eliot “articulated the mind of an epoch in words that seemed its most natural expression.� As commanding as his verse, Eliot’s criticism also transformed twentieth-century letters, and this Modern Library edition includes a selection of Eliot’s most important essays.]]>
272 T.S. Eliot 0375759344 Ben 5 4.21 1922 The Waste Land and Other Writings
author: T.S. Eliot
name: Ben
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1922
rating: 5
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date added: 2023/12/19
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<![CDATA[The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, #3)]]> 359820
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.]]>
699 Robert Jordan 0812513711 Ben 3 4.17 1991 The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, #3)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Ben
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1991
rating: 3
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date added: 2016/11/10
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<![CDATA[The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh]]> 858534 344 A.A. Milne Ben 5 4.53 1926 The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
author: A.A. Milne
name: Ben
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1926
rating: 5
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date added: 2016/06/20
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The Hobbit: Graphic Novel 227222 Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here: The Hobbit

First published over 50 years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' has become one of the best-loved books of all time. Now Tolkien's fantasy classic has been adapted into a fully painted graphic novel.

'The Hobbit' is the story of Bilbo Baggins…a quiet and contented hobbit whose life is turned upside down when he joins the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves on their quest to reclaim the dwarves' stolen treasure. It is a journey fraught with danger � and in the end it is Bilbo alone who must face the guardian of this treasure, the most-dreaded dragon Smaug.

Illustrated in full colour throughout, and accompanied by the carefully abridged text of the original novel, this handsome authorised edition will introduce new generations to a magical masterpiece � and be treasured by Hobbit fans of all ages, everywhere.]]>
138 Chuck Dixon 0261102664 Ben 5 4.15 1989 The Hobbit: Graphic Novel
author: Chuck Dixon
name: Ben
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1989
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/04/29
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<![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Ben 5 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Ben
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/04/28
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<![CDATA[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]> 24580
Take a lighthearted, nostalgic trip to a simpler time, seen through the eyes of a very special boy named Tom Sawyer. It is a dreamlike summertime world of hooky and adventure, pranks and punishment, villains and first love, filled with memorable characters. Adults and young readers alike continue to enjoy this delightful classic of the promise and dreams of youth from one of America’s most beloved authors.

ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

He has no mother, his father is a brutal drunkard, and he sleeps in a barrel. He’s Huck Finn—liar, sometime thief, and rebel against respectability. But when Huck meets a runaway slave named Jim, his life changes forever. On their exciting flight down the Mississippi aboard a raft, the boy nobody wanted matures into a young man of courage and conviction. As Ernest Hemingway said of this glorious novel, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.�
--back cover]]>
520 Mark Twain 0451528646 Ben 5 4.10 1884 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
author: Mark Twain
name: Ben
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1884
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/03/25
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Different Seasons 11569
“Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption�

An unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge…the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award nominee The Shawshank Redemption.

“Apt Pupil�

Todd Bowden is one of the top students in his high school class and a typical American sixteen-year-old—until he becomes obsessed about the dark and deadly past of an older man in town. The inspiration for the film Apt Pupil from Phoenix Pictures.

“The Body�

Four rambunctious young boys plunge through the façade of a small town and come face-to-face with life, death, and intimations of their own mortality. The film Stand By Me is based on this novella.

“The Breathing Method�

A disgraced woman is determined to triumph over death.]]>
508 Stephen King Ben 5 3.99 1982 Different Seasons
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1982
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/10/31
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<![CDATA[Challenge to Efrafa (Watership Down)]]> 282856 73 Judy Allen 0099403854 Ben 5 4.19 Challenge to Efrafa (Watership Down)
author: Judy Allen
name: Ben
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/12/31
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Nightmares & Dreamscapes 155205 A gathering of thrillers and chillers—from the master spellbinder

Here are twenty superlative stories devilishly designed by Stephen King to take you where you never dreamed of going before. Included, too, are a telescript that made home screen history, a startling poem, and an essay that Stephen King regards as his best nonfiction writing.

These versatile selections vary widely in style and subject matter and vividly display the full range of Stephen King's matchless imagination. And to add to his readers' pleasure and curiosity, King includes his own entrancing inside accounts of how the stories came into being and why.

Stephen King calls this extraordinary retrospective Nightmares & Dreamscapes. But don't let his title fool you. When you read it, sleep will be the furthest thing from your mind.]]>
692 Stephen King Ben 4 3.67 1993 Nightmares & Dreamscapes
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1993
rating: 4
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date added: 2012/06/15
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Oliver Twist 693015
Rife with Dickens’s disturbing descriptions of street life, the novel is buoyed by the purity of the orphan Oliver. Though he is treated with cruelty and surrounded by coarseness for most of his life, his pious innocence leads him at last to salvation—and the shocking discovery of his true identity. Features illustrations by George Cruikshank. Jill Muller was born in England and educated at Mercy College and Columbia University, and currently teaches at Mercy College and Columbia University. She is working on a book on the Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, to be published by Routledge.]]>
560 Charles Dickens 1593080301 Ben 5 3.64 1838 Oliver Twist
author: Charles Dickens
name: Ben
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1838
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Leaves from My Journal: A Journey of Faith]]> 3112314
This volume is full of stories we've all heard as well as many little-known experiences. Several of President Woodruff's daily entries chronicle harrowing events and exciting incidents, including his accounts of:

Being left alone in an alligator swamp
Being entertained by Indians
Having a mob poison his horses
Converting and baptizing a constable who was sent to arrest him

You'll also find some of the most tender and spiritual experiences found in Church history, such as when Wilford Woodruff experienced a day of God's power with the Prophet Joseph Smith, the occasion he was administered to by angels, how he baptized his father's household, and more.]]>
119 Wilford Woodruff 1933317612 Ben 5 4.35 1882 Leaves from My Journal: A Journey of Faith
author: Wilford Woodruff
name: Ben
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1882
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/01/29
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<![CDATA[The Holy Bible: King James Version]]> 147636 1044 Anonymous 0840726848 Ben 5 4.24 1611 The Holy Bible: King James Version
author: Anonymous
name: Ben
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1611
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/01/23
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<![CDATA[The Jungle Book (Jungle Book, #1)]]> 77270
Best known for the 'Mowgli' stories, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book expertly interweaves myth, morals, adventure and powerful story-telling. Set in Central India, Mowgli is raised by a pack of wolves. Along the way he encounters memorable characters such as the foreboding tiger Shere Kahn, Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear. Including other stories such as that of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a heroic mongoose and Toomai, a young elephant handler, Kipling's fables remain as popular today as they ever were.]]>
277 Rudyard Kipling 0812504690 Ben 5 3.94 1894 The Jungle Book (Jungle Book, #1)
author: Rudyard Kipling
name: Ben
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1894
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft]]> 669460 Cthulhu Mythos. In twenty-one dark visions, a host of outstanding contemporary writers tap into our innermost fears, with tales set in a misbegotten new world that could have been spawned only by the master of the macabre himself, H. P. Lovecraft. Inside you’ll find:

DETAILS by China Miéville: A curious boy discovers that within the splinters of cracked wood or the tangle of tree branches, the devil is in the details.

VISITATION by James Robert Smith: When Edgar Allan Poe arrives, a callow man finally gets what he always wanted—and what he may eternally despise.

MEET ME ON THE OTHER SIDE by Yvonne Navarro: A couple in love with terror travels beyond their wildest dreams—and into their nightmares.

A FATAL EXCEPTION HAS OCCURRED AT . . . by Alan Dean Foster: Internet terrorism extends far beyond transmitting threats of evil.

AND SEVENTEEN MORE HARROWING TALES




From the Trade Paperback edition.

vii � Introduction: The Call of Lovecraft � essay by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan
1 � Details � short story by China Miéville
21 � Visitation � short story by James Robert Smith
33 � The Invisible Empire � novelette by James Van Pelt
57 � A Victorian Pot Dresser � novelette by L. H. Maynard and M. P. N. Sims
85 � The Cabin in the Woods � novelette by Richard Laymon
109 � The Stuff of the Stars, Leaking � short story by Tim Lebbon
125 � Sour Places � short story by Mark Chadbourn
141 � Meet Me on the Other Side � short story by Yvonne Navarro
161 � That's the Story of My Life � short story by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan
181 � Long Meg and Her Daughters � novella by Paul Finch
243 � A Fatal Exception Has Occurred At ... � short story by Alan Dean Foster
261 � Dark of the Moon � short story by James S. Dorr
275 � Red Clay � short story by Michael Reaves [as by J. Michael Reaves]
291 � Principles and Parameters � novelette by Meredith L. Patterson
325 � Are You Loathsome Tonight? � (1998) � short story by Poppy Z. Brite
331 � The Serenade of Starlight � short story by W. H. Pugmire (variant of Serenade of Starlight) [as by W. H. Pugmire, Esq.]
345 � Outside � short story by Steve Rasnic Tem
355 � Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea � [Dandridge Cycle] � short story by Caitlín R. Kiernan
371 � A Spectacle of a Man � short story by Weston Ochse
389 � The Firebrand Symphony � (2001) � novelette by Brian Hodge
437 � Teeth � novelette by Matt Cardin
463 � Notes on the Contributors (Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft) � essay by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan]]>
480 John Pelan 0345449266 Ben 3 4.14 2003 The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft
author: John Pelan
name: Ben
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2003
rating: 3
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date added: 2009/11/11
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Prelude to Foundation 30013
Hari Seldon has come to Trantor to deliver his paper on psychohistory, his remarkable theory of prediction. Little does the young Outworld mathematician know that he has already sealed his fate and the fate of humanity. For Hari possesses the prophetic power that makes him the most wanted man in the Empire. . .the man who holds the key to the future—an apocalyptic power to be known forever after as the Foundation.]]>
464 Isaac Asimov Ben 5 4.16 1988 Prelude to Foundation
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Ben
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1988
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Foundation's Edge (Foundation, #4)]]> 76683
Meanwhile someone—or something—outside of both Foundations seems to be orchestrating events to suit its own ominous purpose. Soon representatives of both the First and Second Foundations will find themselves racing toward a mysterious world called Gaia and a final shocking destiny at the very end of the universe!]]>
450 Isaac Asimov 0553293389 Ben 5 4.16 1982 Foundation's Edge (Foundation, #4)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Ben
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1982
rating: 5
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date added: 2009/10/19
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<![CDATA[Second Foundation (Foundation, #3)]]> 29580 256 Isaac Asimov 0553803735 Ben 5 4.27 1953 Second Foundation (Foundation, #3)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Ben
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1953
rating: 5
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date added: 2009/10/19
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<![CDATA[Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2)]]> 29581 256 Isaac Asimov 0553803727 Ben 5 4.23 1952 Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Ben
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1952
rating: 5
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Foundation (Foundation, #1) 29579 The first novel in Isaac Asimov's classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.]]>
244 Isaac Asimov 0553803719 Ben 5 4.18 1951 Foundation (Foundation, #1)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Ben
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1951
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Ender in Exile (Ender's Saga, #5)]]> 3220405 After twenty-three years, Orson Scott Card returns to his acclaimed best-selling series with the first true, direct sequel to the classic Ender's Game.

In Ender’s Game, the world’s most gifted children were taken from their families and sent to anĚýelite training school.ĚýAt Battle School,Ěýthey learned combat, strategy, and secret intelligence to fight a dangerous war on behalf of those left on Earth. But they also learned some important and less definable lessons about life.

After the life-changing events of those years, these children—now teenagers—must leave the schoolĚýand readapt to life in the outside world.

Having not seen their families or interacted with other people for years—where do they go now? What can they do?

Ender fought for humanity, but he is now reviled as a ruthless assassin. No longer allowed to live on Earth, he enters into exile. With his sister Valentine, he chooses to leave the only home he’s ever known to begin a relativistic—and revelatory—journey beyond the stars.Ěý

What happened during the years between Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead? What did Ender go through from the ages of 12 through 35? The story of those years has never been told. Taking place 3000 years before Ender finally receives his chance at redemption in Speaker for the Dead, this is the long-lost story of Ender.

For twenty-three years, millions of readers have wondered and now they will receive the answers. Ender in Exile is Orson Scott Card’s moving return to all the action and the adventure, the profound exploration of war and society, and the characters one never forgot.

On one of these ships, there is a baby that just may share the same special gifts as Ender’s old friend Bean�

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369 Orson Scott Card 0765304961 Ben 4 3.90 2008 Ender in Exile (Ender's Saga, #5)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/10/19
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<![CDATA[Shadow Puppets (The Shadow Series, #3)]]> 234724
Earth and its society have been changed irrevocably in the aftermath of Ender Wiggin's victory over the Formics. The unity forced upon the warring nations by an alien enemy has shattered. Nations are rising again, seeking territory and influence, and most of all, seeking to control the skills and loyalty of the children from the Battle School.

But one person has a better idea. Peter Wiggin, Ender's older, more ruthless, brother, sees that any hope for the future of Earth lies in restoring a sense of unity and purpose. And he has an irresistible call on the loyalty of Earth's young warriors. With Bean at his side, the two will reshape our future.

Here is the continuing story of Bean and Petra, and the rest of Ender's Dragon Army, as they take their places in the new government of Earth.]]>
375 Orson Scott Card 0765340054 Ben 4 3.89 2002 Shadow Puppets (The Shadow Series, #3)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2002
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[Shadow of the Hegemon (The Shadow Series, #2)]]> 9534
But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of the Battle School are more than heroes; they are potential weapons that can bring power to the countries that control them. One by one, all of Ender's Dragon Army are kidnapped. Only Bean escapes; and he turns for help to Ender's brother Peter.

Peter Wiggin, Ender's older brother, has already been manipulating the politics of Earth from behind the scenes. With Bean's help, he will eventually rule the world.]]>
451 Orson Scott Card 0812565959 Ben 4 3.96 2000 Shadow of the Hegemon (The Shadow Series, #2)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2000
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/10/19
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<![CDATA[Children of the Mind (Ender's Saga, #4)]]> 31360
At the start of Children of the Mind, Jane, the evolved computer intelligence, is using her newly discovered abilities to take the races of buggers, humans and pequeninos outside the universe and back instantaneously. She uses these powers to move them to distant habitable planets for colonization. She is losing her memory and concentration as the vast computer network connected to the ansible is being shut down. If she is to survive, she must find a way to transfer her aiĂşa (or soul) to a human body.]]>
370 Orson Scott Card 0765304740 Ben 5 3.77 1996 Children of the Mind (Ender's Saga, #4)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1996
rating: 5
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date added: 2009/10/19
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Xenocide (Ender's Saga, #3) 8648
On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought.

Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequininos require in order to become adults. The Starways Congress so fears the effects of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered the destruction of the entire planet, and all who live there. The Fleet is on its way, a second xenocide seems inevitable.

Xenocide is the third novel in Orson Scott Card's The Ender Saga.]]>
592 Orson Scott Card 0312861877 Ben 4 3.81 1991 Xenocide (Ender's Saga, #3)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1991
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/10/19
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<![CDATA[Ender's Shadow (The Shadow Series, #1)]]> 9532
Growing up is never easy. But try living on the mean streets as a child begging for food and fighting like a dog with ruthless gangs of starving kids who wouldn't hesitate to pound your skull into pulp for a scrap of apple. If Bean has learned anything on the streets, it's how to survive. And not with fists. He is way too small for that. But with brains.

Bean is a genius with a magician's ability to zero in on his enemy and exploit his weakness.

What better quality for a future general to lead the Earth in a final climactic battle against a hostile alien race, known as Buggers. At Battleschool Bean meets and befriends another future commander - Ender Wiggins - perhaps his only true rival.

Only one problem: for Bean and Ender, the future is now.

Ender's Shadow is the book that launched The Shadow Series, and the parallel novel to Orson Scott Card's science fiction classic, Ender's Game.]]>
469 Orson Scott Card 0765342405 Ben 5 4.32 1999 Ender's Shadow (The Shadow Series, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1999
rating: 5
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date added: 2009/10/19
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<![CDATA[Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga, #2)]]> 7967
In the aftermath of his terrible war, Ender Wiggin disappeared, and a powerful voice arose: The Speaker for the Dead, who told the true story of the Bugger War.

Now, long years later, a second alien race has been discovered, but again the aliens' ways are strange and frightening...again, humans die. And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenocide, who has the courage to confront the mystery...and the truth.

Speaker for the Dead, the second novel in Orson Scott Card's Ender Quintet, is the winner of the 1986 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1987 Hugo Award for Best Novel.]]>
382 Orson Scott Card 0812550757 Ben 4 4.10 1986 Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga, #2)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1986
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)]]> 375802
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.]]>
324 Orson Scott Card 0812550706 Ben 5 4.31 1985 Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Ben
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1985
rating: 5
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Coraline 17061
In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.

The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only it's different.

At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.]]>
176 Neil Gaiman 0061139378 Ben 5 4.13 2002 Coraline
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ben
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2002
rating: 5
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date added: 2009/02/17
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The Graveyard Book 2213661
There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch, and so much more.

But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod's family.

A deliciously dark masterwork by bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with illustrations by award-winning Dave McKean.]]>
312 Neil Gaiman 0060530928 Ben 5 4.15 2008 The Graveyard Book
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ben
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2008
rating: 5
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date added: 2009/01/06
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Coraline: A Visual Companion 3175530
Coraline Jones has just moved into a big old Victorian house with her inattentive parents, and like any eleven-year-old with an active imagination, she soon begins exploring her new home. One day, Coraline discovers a tiny door that leads to another house. Waiting for her there are her Other Mother and Other Father, who have big black buttons for eyes. At first this other world is marvelous and magical, but Coraline gradually comes to realize that her new parents want her to become their "little" girl and stay with them "forever."

Written and directed by Henry Selick, the celebrated director of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach," the film "Coraline" was created in stop-motion animation, drawing on the latest cutting-edge computer 3-D technology. It also showcases the remarkable vocal talents of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, and Dawn French.

Featuring hundreds of rare and exclusive photographs and illustrations, production designs and concept drawings, and interviews with the cast and crew, "Coraline: A Visual Companion" takes readers on an in-depth tour behind the scenes of a movie that is destined to be a fantasy classic.

From the genesis of the original novel through the entire creative process of turning the book into a movie to the many other incarnations of "Coraline" around the world, this visual companion is a lavish guide that will appeal to Gaiman fans, cinema buffs, visual art enthusiasts, and all those who fall in love with the inquisitive young heroine of Henry Selick's extraordinary film.]]>
240 Stephen Jones 0061704229 Ben 4 4.42 2008 Coraline: A Visual Companion
author: Stephen Jones
name: Ben
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/01/06
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<![CDATA[Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders]]> 16788 In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . .
In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder . . .
Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams—and nightmares . . .
In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an exclusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird . . .

Such marvelous creations and more—including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction—can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time.]]>
360 Neil Gaiman Ben 4 3.97 2006 Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ben
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/10/08
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Slaughterhouse-Five 4981 Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.�

An instant bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five made Kurt Vonnegut a cult hero in American literature, a reputation that only strengthened over time, despite his being banned and censored by some libraries and schools for content and language. But it was precisely those elements of Vonnegut’s writing—the political edginess, the genre-bending inventiveness, the frank violence, the transgressive wit—that have inspired generations of readers not just to look differently at the world around them but to find the confidence to say something about it.

Fifty years after its initial publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut's portrayal of political disillusionment, PTSD, and postwar anxiety feels as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever, an enduring beacon through our own era’s uncertainties.]]>
275 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Ben 5 4.10 1969 Slaughterhouse-Five
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Ben
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1969
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/07/10
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<![CDATA[Truckers (Bromeliad Trilogy, #1)]]> 34542
Under the floorboards of the Store is a world of four-inch-tall nomes that humans never see. It is commonly known among these nomes that Arnold Bros. created the Store for them to live in, and he declared: "Everything Under One Roof." Therefore there can be no such thing as Outside. It just makes sense.

That is, until the day a group of nomes arrives on a truck, claiming to be from Outside, talking about Day and Night and Snow and other crazy legends. And they soon uncover devastating news: The Store is about to be demolished. It's up to Masklin, one of the Outside nomes, to devise a daring escape plan that will forever change the nomes' vision of the world....]]>
288 Terry Pratchett 0060094966 Ben 4 3.86 1989 Truckers (Bromeliad Trilogy, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/30
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<![CDATA[Only You Can Save Mankind (Johnny Maxwell, #1)]]> 34521
The alien spaceship is in his sights. His finger is on the Fire button. Johnny Maxwell is about to set the new high score on the computer game Only You Can Save Mankind.

Suddenly, a message appears:
We wish to talk. We surrender.

But the aliens aren't supposed to surrender—they're supposed to die!]]>
210 Terry Pratchett 0060541873 Ben 3 3.72 1992 Only You Can Save Mankind (Johnny Maxwell, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/06/10
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<![CDATA[Johnny and the Dead (Johnny Maxwell, #2)]]> 34528 Breath challenged
Vertically disadvantaged
(buried, not short) Johnny Maxwell's new friends not appreciate the term "ghosts," but they are, well, dead . The town council wants to sell the cemetery, and its inhabitants aren't about to take that lying down! Johnny is the only one who can see them, and and the previously alive need his help to save their home and their history. Johnny didn't mean to become the voice for the lifeless, but if he doesn't speak up, who will? In Johnny Maxwell's second adventure, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett explores the bonds between the living and the dead and proves that it's never too late to have the time of your life -- even if it is your afterlife!]]>
213 Terry Pratchett 0060541881 Ben 3 3.80 1993 Johnny and the Dead (Johnny Maxwell, #2)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1993
rating: 3
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date added: 2008/06/10
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<![CDATA[Johnny and the Bomb (Johnny Maxwell, #3)]]> 64385
An accidental time traveler, Johnny knows his history. He knows England is at war, and he knows that on this day German bombs will fall on the town. It happened. It's history. And as Johnny and his friends quickly discover, tampering with history can have unpredictable--and drastic--effects on the future.

But letting history take its course means letting people die. What if Johnny warns someone and changes history? What will happen to the future? If Johnny uses his knowledge to save innocent lives by being in the right place at the right time, is he doing the right thing?

Mixing nail-biting suspense with outrageous humor, Terry Pratchett explores a classic time-travel paradox in Johnny Maxwell's third adventure.]]>
246 Terry Pratchett 0060541911 Ben 4 3.83 1996 Johnny and the Bomb (Johnny Maxwell, #3)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1996
rating: 4
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date added: 2008/06/10
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Stardust 16793 Alternate cover edition can be found here

Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.]]>
248 Neil Gaiman 0061142026 Ben 5 4.11 1999 Stardust
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ben
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1999
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/05/19
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The White Plague 93448 The White Plague, a marvelous and terrifyingly plausible blend of fiction and visionary theme, tells of one man who is pushed over the edge of sanity by the senseless murder of his family and who, reappearing several months later as the so-called Madman, unleashes a terrible plague upon the human race—one that zeros in, unerringly and fatally, on women.]]> 502 Frank Herbert 0425067572 Ben 4 3.71 1982 The White Plague
author: Frank Herbert
name: Ben
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1982
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30; Tiffany Aching, #1)]]> 34494 Librarian's Note: For an alternate cover edition of the same ISBN, click here.

"Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back."

"Why?" said Tiffany.

"There's no one to stop them."

There was silence for a moment.

Then Tiffany said, "There's me."


Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk's local Nac Mac Feegle - aka the Wee Free Men - a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds - black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors - before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare. And in the final showdown, Tiffany must face her cruel power alone...

In a riveting narrative that is equal parts suspense and humor, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett returns to his internationally popular Discworld with a breathtaking tale certain to leave fans, new and old, enthralled.]]>
375 Terry Pratchett 0060012382 Ben 5 4.29 2003 The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30; Tiffany Aching, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2003
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/05/19
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<![CDATA[Wintersmith (Discworld, #35; Tiffany Aching, #3)]]> 34492 Tiffany Aching is a trainee witch � now working for the seriously scary Miss Treason. But when Tiffany witnesses the Dark Dance � the crossover from summer to winter � she does what no one has ever done before and leaps into the dance. Into the oldest story there ever is. And draws the attention of the Wintersmith himself.

As Tiffany-shaped snowflakes hammer down on the land, can Tiffany deal with the consequences of her actions? Even with the help of Granny Weatherwax and the Nac Mac Feegle � the fightin�, thievin� pictsies who are prepared to lay down their lives for their “big wee hag.�

Wintersmith is the third title in an exuberant series crackling with energy and humour. It follows The Wee Free Men and Hat Full of Sky.


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325 Terry Pratchett 0060890312 Ben 5 4.23 2006 Wintersmith (Discworld, #35; Tiffany Aching, #3)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2006
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/05/19
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<![CDATA[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner]]> 732562 "Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.


The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (originally "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere") is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written circa 1797 and published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. Modern editions use a later revised version printed in 1817 and featuring a gloss. Along with other poems in Lyrical Ballads, it was a signal shift to modern poetry and the beginning of British Romantic literature.

It relates the events experienced by a mariner who has returned from a long sea voyage. The Mariner stops a man on his way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate a story. The Wedding-Guest's reaction turns from bemusement to impatience, fear, and fascination as the Mariner's story progresses, as can be seen in the language style: for example, the use of narrative techniques such as personification and repetition to create a sense of danger, or the supernatural, or serenity, depending on the mood each different part of the poem.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772�1834) was an English poet, critic and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England, and one of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' (1792) and 'Kubla Khan' (1816), as well as his major prose work 'Biographia Literaria' (1817).]]>
77 Samuel Taylor Coleridge 0486223051 Ben 5 3.95 1798 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
name: Ben
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1798
rating: 5
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Anansi Boys 2744 God is dead. Meet the kids.

Fat Charlie Nancy's normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn't know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother.

Now brother Spider's on his doorstep -- about to make Fat Charlie's life more interesting... and a lot more dangerous.]]>
387 Neil Gaiman 0060515198 Ben 5 4.03 2005 Anansi Boys
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Ben
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/05/07
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<![CDATA[The Sneetches and Other Stories]]> 816487 1 The Sneetches
The unfortunate Sneetches are bamboozled by one Sylvester McMonkey McBean ("the Fix-it-up Chappie"), who teaches them that pointless prejudice can be costly.

2 The Zax
A South-Going Zax and a North-Going Zax seem determined to butt heads on the prairie of Prax.

3 Too Many Daves
Mrs. McCave had 23 sons and named them all Dave. After, she prefers different names, like Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face or Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate.

4 What Was I Scared Of?
Spooky trousers start in the dark forest, but appear closer and more often, even in broad daylight.

Wacky illustrations and tongue-twisting rhymes are Suess specialties.]]>
65 Dr. Seuss 0394800893 Ben 5 4.51 1961 The Sneetches and Other Stories
author: Dr. Seuss
name: Ben
average rating: 4.51
book published: 1961
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/04/19
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Johnny Got His Gun 51606
This is no ordinary novel. This is a novel that never takes the easy way out: it is shocking, violent, terrifying, horrible, uncompromising, brutal, remorseless and gruesome... but so is war.

Winner of the National Book Award.]]>
309 Dalton Trumbo 0806512814 Ben 5 4.19 1939 Johnny Got His Gun
author: Dalton Trumbo
name: Ben
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1939
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/04/16
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Pearl of Great Price 747060 61 Joseph Smith Jr. 1599869667 Ben 5 4.57 1974 Pearl of Great Price
author: Joseph Smith Jr.
name: Ben
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1974
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/04/16
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<![CDATA[The Velveteen Rabbit: Or, How Toys Become Real]]> 2295313 46 Margery Williams Bianco 0894711288 Ben 5 4.59 1922 The Velveteen Rabbit: Or, How Toys Become Real
author: Margery Williams Bianco
name: Ben
average rating: 4.59
book published: 1922
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/04/15
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Lord of the Flies 7624 182 William Golding 0140283331 Ben 5 3.70 1954 Lord of the Flies
author: William Golding
name: Ben
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1954
rating: 5
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Romeo and Juliet 18135 Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.

In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers� final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.]]>
281 William Shakespeare 0743477111 Ben 5 3.74 1597 Romeo and Juliet
author: William Shakespeare
name: Ben
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1597
rating: 5
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To Kill a Mockingbird 2657 "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film.]]>
323 Harper Lee 0060935464 Ben 5 4.25 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird
author: Harper Lee
name: Ben
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1960
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/04/11
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1984 5470 328 George Orwell Ben 5 4.15 1949 1984
author: George Orwell
name: Ben
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1949
rating: 5
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Paradise Lost 15997 Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle rages across three worlds - heaven, hell, and earth - as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, who are motivated by all too human temptations but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love.

Marked by Milton's characteristic erudition, Paradise Lost is a work epic both in scale and, notoriously, in ambition. For nearly 350 years, it has held generation upon generation of audiences in rapt attention, and its profound influence can be seen in almost every corner of Western culture.]]>
453 John Milton 0140424393 Ben 5 3.83 1667 Paradise Lost
author: John Milton
name: Ben
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1667
rating: 5
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Oliver Twist 18254
The story of Oliver Twist - orphaned, and set upon by evil and adversity from his first breath - shocked readers when it was published. After running away from the workhouse and pompous beadle Mr Bumble, Oliver finds himself lured into a den of thieves peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the Artful Dodger, vicious burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull's Eye, and prostitute Nancy, all watched over by cunning master-thief Fagin. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.

This Penguin Classics edition of Oliver Twist is the first critical edition to faithfully reproduce the text as its earliest readers would have encountered it from its serialisation in Bentley's Miscellany, and includes an introduction by Philip Horne, a glossary of Victorian thieves' slang, a chronology of Dickens's life, a map of contemporary London and all of George Cruikshank's original illustrations.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]>
608 Charles Dickens Ben 4 3.88 1838 Oliver Twist
author: Charles Dickens
name: Ben
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1838
rating: 4
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The Scarlet Pimpernel 136116 182 Emmuska Orczy 1576469239 Ben 3 4.07 1905 The Scarlet Pimpernel
author: Emmuska Orczy
name: Ben
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1905
rating: 3
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The Secret Garden 2998
Mary Lennox, a spoiled, ill-tempered, and unhealthy child, comes to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. There she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin, and her wilful, hysterical, and sickly cousin, Master Colin, whose wails she hears echoing through the house at night.

With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health to Colin and happiness to Mary.]]>
331 Frances Hodgson Burnett 0517189607 Ben 5 4.16 1911 The Secret Garden
author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
name: Ben
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1911
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/04/10
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<![CDATA[The Witches Trilogy (Discworld #3,6,12)]]> 61657
Granny Weatherwax was the most highly regarded of the leaders they didn't have...

Here are three novels featuring one of Terry Pratchett's most celebrated
characters, along with her sidekicks, the fertile Nanny Ogg and the New Age's
favourite witch, Magrat Garlick:

EQUAL RITES

Women aren't supposed to be wizards � but nobody told Eskarina, the eighth daughter of an eighth son, when she inherited her father's staff, and with Granny Weatherwax's reluctant help she sets out to learn her new calling.

WYRD SISTERS

In which Granny discovers that meddling in royal politics is a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe.

WITCHES ABROAD

The funniest Grand Tour anywhere, as Granny, Nanny and Magrat travel to distant Genua � to make sure a servant girl doesn't marry the prince.]]>
592 Terry Pratchett 057505896X Ben 5 4.59 1994 The Witches Trilogy (Discworld #3,6,12)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 4.59
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/03/31
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Making Money (Discworld, #36) 3030256
Who would not to wish to be the man in charge of Ankh-Morpork's Royal Mint and the bank next door?

It's a job for life. But, as former con-man Moist von Lipwig is learning, the life is not necessarily for long.

The Chief Cashier is almost certainly a vampire. There's something nameless in the cellar (and the cellar itself is pretty nameless), it turns out that the Royal Mint runs at a loss. A 300 year old wizard is after his girlfriend, he's about to be exposed as a fraud, but the Assassins Guild might get him first. In fact lot of people want him dead

Oh. And every day he has to take the Chairman for walkies.

Everywhere he looks he's making enemies.

What he should be doing is . . . Making Money!]]>
465 Terry Pratchett 1847822770 Ben 5 4.00 2007 Making Money (Discworld, #36)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/03/31
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Going Postal (Discworld, #33) 3045346
The post office is an ailing institution belonging to the olden days. New technology overshadows its mind-numbing bureaucracy and the creakingly slow pace of change. You can call them nostalgic, but there are still people who believe in the post: in the beauty of stamps and cast-iron pillar boxes, and the dignity of the postman braving hail, wind and troublesome dogs. And sometimes it's worth standing up for what you believe in...
]]>
Terry Pratchett 0739458582 Ben 5 4.39 2004 Going Postal (Discworld, #33)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ben
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2004
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/03/31
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<![CDATA[Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy Scriptures, Both Ancient and Modern]]> 481749 747 James E. Talmage 0875793266 Ben 5 4.60 1915 Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy Scriptures, Both Ancient and Modern
author: James E. Talmage
name: Ben
average rating: 4.60
book published: 1915
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/03/31
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The Miracle of Forgiveness 1055617 376 Spencer W. Kimball 0884944441 Ben 4 4.32 1969 The Miracle of Forgiveness
author: Spencer W. Kimball
name: Ben
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1969
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/03/31
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No Doubt About It 1241534 246 Sheri Dew 1573459321 Ben 5 4.41 2001 No Doubt About It
author: Sheri Dew
name: Ben
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/03/31
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<![CDATA[Our Search for Happiness: An Invitation to Understand the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]> 535384 This book has Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1

In this, the most recent addition to the approved missionary personal library, Elder M. Russell Ballard explains the Church and LDS beliefs in a clear and inoffensive way. Elder Ballard discusses the Apostasy, the need for the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, the priesthood, the plan of salvation, the Articles of Faith, the Word of Wisdom, temples, missionary work, and benefits of living the gospel. Through personal experiences he reveals how the gospel has benefitted him and concludes by bearing his testimony. You can feel confident in giving this book to nonmember--or less active--friends and family.]]>
128 M. Russell Ballard 0875799175 Ben 5 4.30 1993 Our Search for Happiness: An Invitation to Understand the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
author: M. Russell Ballard
name: Ben
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/03/31
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<![CDATA[The Sneetches and Other Stories]]> 105549 1 The Sneetches
The unfortunate Sneetches are bamboozled by one Sylvester McMonkey McBean ("the Fix-it-up Chappie"), who teaches them that pointless prejudice can be costly.

2 The Zax
A South-Going Zax and a North-Going Zax seem determined to butt heads on the prairie of Prax.

3 Too Many Daves
Mrs. McCave had 23 sons and named them all Dave. After, she prefers different names, like Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face or Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate.

4 What Was I Scared Of?
Spooky trousers start in the dark forest, but appear closer and more often, even in broad daylight.

Wacky illustrations and tongue-twisting rhymes are Suess specialties.]]>
68 Dr. Seuss 0007158505 Ben 5 4.30 1961 The Sneetches and Other Stories
author: Dr. Seuss
name: Ben
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1961
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/03/25
shelves:
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The Phantom Tollbooth 378 Librarian's Note: For an alternate cover edition of the same ISBN, click here.

This beloved story -first published more than fifty years ago- introduces readers to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond.

For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams. . . .]]>
248 Norton Juster 0394820371 Ben 5 4.19 1961 The Phantom Tollbooth
author: Norton Juster
name: Ben
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1961
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/03/25
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Downsize This! 40579 278 Michael Moore 0330419153 Ben 4 3.65 1996 Downsize This!
author: Michael Moore
name: Ben
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1996
rating: 4
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date added: 2008/03/25
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Dude, Where's My Country? 81176
Thank god for Michael Moore because Dude, Where's My Country tells us precisely what went wrong, and, more importantly, how to fix things. In a voice that is fearless, funny, and furious, Moore takes readers to the edge of righteous laughter and divine revenge.]]>
249 Michael Moore 0446693790 Ben 5 3.42 2003 Dude, Where's My Country?
author: Michael Moore
name: Ben
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2003
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/03/25
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Stupid White Men 40580 304 Michael Moore 0141019999 Ben 4 3.34 2001 Stupid White Men
author: Michael Moore
name: Ben
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2001
rating: 4
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date added: 2008/03/25
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<![CDATA[Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order]]> 62659 Profit Over People, Noam Chomsky takes on neoliberalism: the pro-corporate system of economic and political policies presently waging a form of class war worldwide. By examining the contradictions between the democratic and market principles proclaimed by those in power and those actually practiced, Chomsky critiques the tyranny of the few that restricts the public arena and enacts policies that vastly increase private wealth, often with complete disregard for social and ecological consequences. Combining detailed historical examples and uncompromising criticism, Chomsky offers a profound sense of hope that social activism can reclaim people's rights as citizens rather than as consumers, redefining democracy as a global movement, not a global market.]]> 175 Noam Chomsky 1888363827 Ben 5 4.05 1998 Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order
author: Noam Chomsky
name: Ben
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1998
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Classic Literature With Classical Music. Junior Classics)]]> 93283 2 Benedict Flynn 9626341386 Ben 4 3.84 1997 King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Classic Literature With Classical Music. Junior Classics)
author: Benedict Flynn
name: Ben
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1997
rating: 4
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The Little Prince 157993
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince, presented here in a stunning new translation with carefully restored artwork. The definitive edition of a worldwide classic, it will capture the hearts of readers of all ages.]]>
96 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 0152023984 Ben 5 4.32 1943 The Little Prince
author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
name: Ben
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1943
rating: 5
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A Christmas Carol 5326
Introduction and Afterword by Joe Wheeler
To bitter, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas is just another day. But all that changes when the ghost of his long-dead business partner appears, warning Scrooge to change his ways before it's too late.

Part of the Focus on the Family Great Stories collection, this abridged edition features an in-depth introduction and discussion questions by Joe Wheeler to provide greater understanding for today's reader. "A Christmas Carol" captures the heart of the holidays like no other novel.]]>
184 Charles Dickens 1561797464 Ben 5 4.06 1843 A Christmas Carol
author: Charles Dickens
name: Ben
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1843
rating: 5
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Where the Wild Things Are 19543 38 Maurice Sendak 0099408392 Ben 5 4.25 1963 Where the Wild Things Are
author: Maurice Sendak
name: Ben
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1963
rating: 5
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One Train Later: A Memoir 236371 "The train jerks to a halt, and as I get out at Oxford Circus, Stewart gets out with me. We look at each other, laugh, and make the standard remark about it being a small world. But this is the brilliant collision, one train later and it might all have turned out differently."
Ěý
In this extraordinary memoir, world-renowned guitarist Andy Summers provides a revealing and passionate account of a life dedicated to music. From his first guitar at age thirteen and his early days on the English music scene to the ascendancy of his band, the Police, Summers recounts his relationships and encounters with the Big Roll Band, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, the Animals, John Belushi, and others, all the while proving himself a master of telling detail and dramatic anecdote.

But, of course, the early work is only part of the story, and Andy's account of his role as guitarist for the Police---a gig that was only confirmed by a chance encounter with drummer Stewart Copeland on a London train---has been long-awaited by music fans worldwide. The heights of fame that the Police achieved have rarely been duplicated, and the band's triumphs were rivaled only by the personal chaos that such success brought about, an insight never lost on Summers in the telling.
Ěý
Complete with never-before-published photos from Summers's personal collection, One Train Later is a constantly surprising and poignant memoir, and the work of a world-class musician and a first-class writer.]]>
354 Andy Summers 0312359144 Ben 5 4.07 2006 One Train Later: A Memoir
author: Andy Summers
name: Ben
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2006
rating: 5
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The Tempest 12985
Each edition includes:
� Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

� Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

� Scene-by-scene plot summaries

� A key to famous lines and phrases

� An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

� An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

� Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books]]>
218 William Shakespeare Ben 5 3.78 1611 The Tempest
author: William Shakespeare
name: Ben
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1611
rating: 5
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The Plague 11989
It tells the story from the point of view of a narrator of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. The narrator remains unknown until the start of the last chapter, chapter 5 of part 5. The novel presents a snapshot of life in Oran as seen through the author's distinctive absurdist point of view.

The book tells a gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.

The Plague is considered an existentialist classic despite Camus' objection to the label. The novel stresses the powerlessness of the individual characters to affect their destinies. The narrative tone is similar to Kafka's, especially in The Trial, whose individual sentences potentially have multiple meanings; the material often pointedly resonating as stark allegory of phenomenal consciousness and the human condition.]]>
308 Albert Camus Ben 5 4.05 1947 The Plague
author: Albert Camus
name: Ben
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1947
rating: 5
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The Stranger 49552 The Stranger has long been considered a classic of twentieth-century literature. Le Monde ranks it as number one on its "100 Books of the Century" list. Through this story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explores what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd."]]> 123 Albert Camus Ben 5 4.04 1942 The Stranger
author: Albert Camus
name: Ben
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1942
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[The Elfstones of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy #2)]]> 15578 See alternate cover edition here.

The magical Ellcrys tree is dying, loosening the spell that bars the Demons from enacting vengeance upon the land. Now Wil Ohmsford must guard the Elven girl Amberle on a perilous quest as she carries one of the Ellcrys' seeds to a mysterious place where it can be quickened into a powerful new force. But dark on their trail comes the Reaper, most fearsome of all Demons, aiming to crush their mission at any cost.]]>
564 Terry Brooks 0345285549 Ben 2 3.82 1982 The Elfstones of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy #2)
author: Terry Brooks
name: Ben
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1982
rating: 2
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<![CDATA[The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane]]> 49547 Excellent Book 154 Stephen Crane 0801491304 Ben 5 4.35 1899 The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane
author: Stephen Crane
name: Ben
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1899
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)]]> 228665
Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half-men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master’s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al’Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.]]>
800 Robert Jordan 0812511816 Ben 3 4.19 1990 The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Ben
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1990
rating: 3
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The Shining 231786 --back cover]]> 683 Stephen King 0743424425 Ben 5 4.19 1977 The Shining
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1977
rating: 5
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The Dead Zone 11573 The Dead Zone.

Johnny Smith, the small-town schoolteacher who spun the wheel of fortune and won a four-and-a-half-year trip into The Dead Zone.

John Smith, who awakened from an interminable coma with an accursed power—the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in The Dead Zone.

~]]>
402 Stephen King 0451155750 Ben 4 3.96 1979 The Dead Zone
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1979
rating: 4
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The Green Mile 85424
There are more wonders in heaven and hell than anyone at Cold Mountain can imagine and one of those wonders might just have stepped in amongst them.]]>
536 Stephen King Ben 5 4.33 1996 The Green Mile
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1996
rating: 5
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Night Shift 10613 Twenty excursions into horror from the master.

From the depths of darkness, where hideous rats defend their empire, to dizzying heights where a beautiful girl hangs by a hair above a hellish fate, this chilling collection of twenty short stories will plunge readers into the subterranean labyrinth of the most spine-tingling, eerie imagination of our time.]]>
352 Stephen King 0451170113 Ben 4 3.84 1978 Night Shift
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1978
rating: 4
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The Regulators 10596 512 Richard Bachman Ben 3 3.74 1996 The Regulators
author: Richard Bachman
name: Ben
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1996
rating: 3
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Misery 233681
Paul Sheldon. He's a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader � she is Paul's nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.

Now Annie wants Paul to write his greatest work � just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an ax. And if they don't work, she can get really nasty.]]>
338 Stephen King Ben 5 4.04 1987 Misery
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1987
rating: 5
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'Salem's Lot 18128 (back cover)]]> 631 Stephen King 0671039741 Ben 3 3.97 1975 'Salem's Lot
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1975
rating: 3
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Insomnia 231603 For other cover edition see here

RALPH ROBERTS CAN'T FALL ASLEEP - BUT HE'S STILL HAVING NIGHTMARES

Ralph Roberts used to be an ordinary guy--until insomnia robbed him of sleep. Now he's no longer ordinary--he can see horrible things happening to the people of Derry, Maine. He can see how, one by one, they are turning into monsters straight from hell.

He'd like to call them nightmares, but he's wide awake. He can't call himself crazy, because there is another person who sees these happenings, too. But even if seeing is believing, it still doesn't give him a clue of how to stop these deadly, demonic visions from coming true....
(back cover)]]>
663 Stephen King 0451184963 Ben 3 3.62 1994 Insomnia
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1994
rating: 3
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It 18342
The adults, knowing better, knew nothing. Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of It was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until the grown-up children were called back, once more to confront It as It stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.]]>
1090 Stephen King 0451169514 Ben 4 4.11 1986 It
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1986
rating: 4
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The Eyes of the Dragon 18127
Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1

~]]>
380 Stephen King 0451166582 Ben 5 3.86 1984 The Eyes of the Dragon
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1984
rating: 5
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Skeleton Crew 11567
A supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its last stand against destruction. A trip to the attic becomes a journey to hell. A woman driver finds a scary shortcut to paradise. An idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil. And a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged.

Librarian's note: See the 1986 edition with this ISBN here.]]>
566 Stephen King 0451168615 Ben 3 3.79 1985 Skeleton Crew
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1985
rating: 3
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The Mist 813214
The mist is alive, seething with unearthly sounds and movements. What unleashed this terror? Was it the Arrowhead Project—the top secret government operation that everyone has noticed but no one quite understands?

And what happens when the provisions have run out and you're forced to make your escape, edging blindly through the dim light?]]>
176 Stephen King Ben 5 3.95 1980 The Mist
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1980
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]> 100437 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them resides on almost every wizarding household in the country. Now, for a limited period only, Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats, and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to improving and saving the lives of children around the world, which means that the dollars and Galleons you exchange for it will do magic beyond the powers of any wizard. If you feel that this is insufficient reason to part with your money, I can only hope most sincerel that passing wizards feel more charitable if they ever see you being attacked by a Manticore.

-Albus Dumbledore

]]>
42 Newt Scamander 0439295017 Ben 5 3.76 2001 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
author: Newt Scamander
name: Ben
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2001
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)]]> 15881
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girls� bathroom. But then the real trouble begins � someone is turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects� Harry Potter himself!]]>
352 J.K. Rowling Ben 4 4.42 1998 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Ben
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)]]> 6 734 J.K. Rowling 0439139597 Ben 5 4.56 2000 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Ben
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2000
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)]]> 5 435 J.K. Rowling 043965548X Ben 5 4.57 1999 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Ben
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1999
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)]]> 3 309 J.K. Rowling 0439554934 Ben 5 4.47 1997 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Ben
average rating: 4.47
book published: 1997
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)]]> 136251
In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited.]]>
759 J.K. Rowling Ben 5 4.61 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Ben
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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The Great Apostasy 1102987 176 James E. Talmage 0875798438 Ben 5 4.26 1909 The Great Apostasy
author: James E. Talmage
name: Ben
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1909
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]> 2956 327 Mark Twain 0142437174 Ben 5 3.82 1884 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
author: Mark Twain
name: Ben
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Black House (The Talisman, #2)]]> 10607
Is Ty destined to become the fourth victim of the Fisherman, the serial killer who's stalking this sleepy town? If so, only ex-detective Jack Sawyer may be able to save him. Jack left his old life behind precisely to avoid such madness, but lately he's been visited by strange nightmares and visions. Could the doomed past he thought he'd escaped forever be reaching out for him... from the Black House?]]>
659 Stephen King 034547063X Ben 3 4.03 2001 Black House (The Talisman, #2)
author: Stephen King
name: Ben
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2001
rating: 3
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