Laura's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:03:50 -0700 60 Laura's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Grimm's Fairy Tales 110744
When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm set out to collect stories in the early 1800s, their goal was not to entertain children but to preserve Germanic folklore—and the hard life of European peasants was reflected in the tales they discovered. However, once the brothers saw how the stories entranced young readers, they began softening some of the harsher aspects to make them more suitable for children.

A cornerstone of Western culture since the early 1800s, Grimm’s Fairy Tales is now beloved the world over. This collection of 120 of the Grimms� best tales includes such classics as “Cinderella,� “Snow White,� “Hansel and Grethel,� “Rapunzel,� “Rumpelstiltskin,� “Little Red Riding Hood,� and “The Frog Prince,� as well as others that are no less delightful.]]> 508 Jacob Grimm 1593080565 Laura 0 currently-reading 3.91 1812 Grimm's Fairy Tales
author: Jacob Grimm
name: Laura
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1812
rating: 0
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]]> Fahrenheit 451 17470674
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

--back cover]]> 227 Ray Bradbury 0007491565 Laura 0 to-read 4.01 1953 Fahrenheit 451
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Laura
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1953
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/04/27
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]]> Divergent (Divergent, #1) 8306857 In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

]]> 487 Veronica Roth 0062024027 Laura 5 4.28 2011 Divergent (Divergent, #1)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Laura
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2012/11/23
date added: 2016/05/28
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]]> Allegiant (Divergent, #3) 17383918
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, ALLEGIANT, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the DIVERGENT series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.]]> 526 Veronica Roth 006202406X Laura 3 3.51 2013 Allegiant (Divergent, #3)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Laura
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2014/02/22
date added: 2016/05/27
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]]> To Kill a Mockingbird 37449 here .

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, 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, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.]]> 376 Harper Lee 1439550417 Laura 0 my-classics 4.30 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird
author: Harper Lee
name: Laura
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1960
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings]]> 5338 An alternate cover for this isbn can be found here.

'Merry Christmas!...every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding'

Dickens' story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a series of ghostly visitors, has proved one of his most well-loved works. Ever since it was published in 1843 it has had an enduring influence on the way we think about the traditions of Christmas. Dickens' other Christmas writings collected here include 'The Story of the Goblins who Stole a Sexton', the short story from The Pickwick Papers on which A Christmas Carol was based; The Haunted Man, a tale of a man tormented by painful memories; along with shorter pieces, some drawn from the 'Christmas Stories' that Dickens wrote annually for his weekly journals. In all of them Dickens celebrates the season as one of geniality, charity and remembrance.

This new selection contains an introduction by distinguished Dickens scholar Michael Slater discussing how the author has shaped ideas about the Christmas spirit, an appendix on Dickens' use of The Arabian Nights, a further reading list and explanatory notes.]]> 288 Charles Dickens Laura 5 4.15 1843 A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings
author: Charles Dickens
name: Laura
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1843
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Necklace and Other Short Stories]]> 77995
The nine stories in this collection provide a vivid portrait gallery of his typical subjects � from simple peasants and prostitutes to soldiers, government clerks, and provincial bourgeois. Brilliantly naturalistic, these short works also reveal Maupassant's ability to observe the innumerable details of everyday life and reproduce them artfully and accurately, often with a caustic sense of humor.

His literary talents are amply displayed in this volume, which includes the memorable tale "Ball-of-Fat," regarded by many as technically one of the finest short stories ever written.

Ball-of-Fat (Boule de Suif)
The Necklace
A Piece of String
Mme. Tellier's Establishment
Mademoiselle Fifi
Miss Harriet
A Way to Wealth
My Uncle Jules
The Horla]]> 128 Guy de Maupassant 0486270645 Laura 3 3.95 1884 The Necklace and Other Short Stories
author: Guy de Maupassant
name: Laura
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1884
rating: 3
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]]> The Minister's Black Veil 2363170 37 Nathaniel Hawthorne 0895987376 Laura 5 3.74 1836 The Minister's Black Veil
author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
name: Laura
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1836
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[A Rose for Emily and Other Stories]]> 426025 140 William Faulkner 0675093244 Laura 5 4.08 1930 A Rose for Emily and Other Stories
author: William Faulkner
name: Laura
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1930
rating: 5
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]]> The Tell-Tale Heart 899492 A man confronts himself and an unknown listener with his desire to murder an old man.

In this classic psychological thriller, the reader will find many more questions than answers. Even though this is one of Poe's shortest stories, nevertheless it has become one of his most highest regarded works. It is a profound and, at times, ambiguous investigation of the paranoia that may lie within the depths of one man's mind...]]> 31 Edgar Allan Poe 0871917726 Laura 4 4.27 1843 The Tell-Tale Heart
author: Edgar Allan Poe
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1843
rating: 4
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]]> The Cask of Amontillado 261240
It is set in a nameless Italian city in an unspecified year (possibly during the eighteenth century) and concerns the revenge taken by the narrator on a friend who he claims has insulted him. Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around the possibility of a person being buried alive or enclosed in a small space with not possibility of escape (aka immurement).

Librarian's note: this entry relates to the story "The Cask of Amontillado." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ.]]> 24 Edgar Allan Poe 1594561869 Laura 5 4.09 1846 The Cask of Amontillado
author: Edgar Allan Poe
name: Laura
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1846
rating: 5
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]]> The Most Dangerous Game 157076 The Most Dangerous Game features a big-game hunter from New York who becomes shipwrecked on an isolated island in the Caribbean and is hunted by a Russian aristocrat.]]> 48 Richard Connell 1599869691 Laura 5 3.93 1924 The Most Dangerous Game
author: Richard Connell
name: Laura
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1924
rating: 5
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]]> The Lottery 6219656
“The Lottery� stands out as one of the most famous short stories in American literary history. Originally published in The New Yorker, the author immediately began receiving letters from readers who demanded an explanation of the story’s meaning. “The Lottery� has been adapted for stage, television, radio and film.
]]> 30 Shirley Jackson 1563127873 Laura 5 4.08 1948 The Lottery
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Laura
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1948
rating: 5
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]]> The Story of an Hour 2267195 32 Kate Chopin 078915479X Laura 5 4.08 1894 The Story of an Hour
author: Kate Chopin
name: Laura
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1894
rating: 5
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]]> Life of Pi 4214 460 Yann Martel 0770430074 Laura 0 currently-reading 3.94 2001 Life of Pi
author: Yann Martel
name: Laura
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide]]> 783127 Being a teenager is both wonderful and challenging. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, author Sean Covey applies the timeless principles of the 7 Habits to teens and the tough issues and life-changing decisions they face. In an entertaining style, Covey provides a step-by-step guide to help teens improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, get along with their parents, and much more. In addition, this book is stuffed with cartoons, clever ideas, great quotes, and incredible stories about real teens from all over the world. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens will engage teenagers unlike any other book.

An indispensable book for teens, as well as parents, grandparents, and any adult who influences young people, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens is destined to become the last word on surviving and thriving as a teen and beyond.

]]> 268 Sean Covey 0684856093 Laura 0 4.04 1997 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide
author: Sean Covey
name: Laura
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at: 2015/02/28
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> Peter Pan 1012276 Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie, is part of the Barnes & Noble ClassicsĚýseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
Biographies of the authors
Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
Footnotes and endnotes
Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
Comments by other famous authors
Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
Bibliographies for further reading
Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate
All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.


Ěý

Peter Pan first flew across a London stage in 1904, overwhelming audiences with its tale of a magical boy who never grows up, who lures young Wendy and her brothers to Neverland where they meet pirates, Indians, fairies, and the Lost Boys. Following the play’s astonishing success, J. M. Barrie revised and expanded the story and published it as this novel, originally titled Peter and Wendy when it appeared in 1911. For children, it remains a marvelous mix of fantasy and adventure, featuring unique, imaginative characters, who frisk and frolic in an enchanting land.

For adults, the story of Peter and the Lost Boys works on a much deeper level, speaking to them about the inevitable loss of childhood and the ability “to fly.� The climactic duel between the “proud and insolent youth� (Peter Pan) and the “dark and sinister man� (Captain Hook) is both a swashbuckling romp and a moving metaphor for the complex, poignant struggle between innocent but irresponsible youth and tainted but dependable maturity. Neither side wins, for the one inevitably becomes the other. Of course, the ageless Peter Pan is the happy exception.
Ěý

Amy Billone teaches at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at Princeton University, where she wrote her dissertation on women’s involvement with the nineteenth-century sonnet.]]> 208 J.M. Barrie 1593082134 Laura 0 my-classics 3.92 1911 Peter Pan
author: J.M. Barrie
name: Laura
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1911
rating: 0
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]]> Animal Farm 7613
The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, however, the rebellion is betrayed, and the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals � inspired by his philosophy of Animalism � plot a rebellion against Jones.

Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall...]]> 129 George Orwell Laura 0 my-classics 3.90 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: Laura
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 0
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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 Laura 2 my-classics 3.74 1597 Romeo and Juliet
author: William Shakespeare
name: Laura
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1597
rating: 2
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]]> Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679783268]]> 279 Jane Austen 1441341706 Laura 0 my-classics 4.28 1813 Pride and Prejudice
author: Jane Austen
name: Laura
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1813
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]> 3049 144 Unknown 0451528182 Laura 0 my-classics 3.71 1375 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
author: Unknown
name: Laura
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1375
rating: 0
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]]> Madame Bovary 2175 329 Gustave Flaubert 0192840398 Laura 0 my-classics 3.70 1856 Madame Bovary
author: Gustave Flaubert
name: Laura
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1856
rating: 0
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]]> Mythology 23522 The world-renowned classic that has enthralled and delighted millions of readers with its timeless tales of gods and heroes.

Edith Hamilton's Mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths that are the keystone of Western culture--the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present. We meet the Greek gods on Olympus and Norse gods in Valhalla. We follow the drama of the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus. We hear the tales of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Cupid and Psyche, and mighty King Midas. We discover the origins of the names of the constellations. And we recognize reference points for countless works of art, literature, and cultural inquiry--from Freud's Oedipus complex to Wagner's Ring Cycle of operas to Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra. Praised throughout the world for its authority and lucidity, Mythology is Edith Hamilton's masterpiece--the standard by which all other books on mythology are measured.

]]> 497 Edith Hamilton 0316341517 Laura 0 my-classics 4.03 1942 Mythology
author: Edith Hamilton
name: Laura
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1942
rating: 0
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]]> Beowulf 52357 259 Unknown 0393320979 Laura 0 my-classics 3.46 1000 Beowulf
author: Unknown
name: Laura
average rating: 3.46
book published: 1000
rating: 0
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]]> The Little Mermaid 132391 Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but present lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. This title is part of Andersen's Fairy Tales, Volume 2.

About the author
Hans Christian Andersen, one of the best known figures in literature, is best know for combining traditional folk tales with his own great imagination to produce fairy tales known to most children today. The Danish writer was born in the slums of Odense. Although he was raised in poverty, he eventually attended Copenhagen University.
Although Andersen wrote poems, plays and books, he is best known for his Fairy Tales and Other Stories, written between 1835 and 1872. This work includes such famous tales as The Emperor's New Clothes, Little Ugly Duckling, The Tinderbox, Little Claus and Big Claus, Princess and the Pea, The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, The Nightingale, The Story of a Mother and The Swineherd.
Andersen's greatest work is still influential today, helping mold some of the works of writers ranging from Charles Dickens to Oscar Wilde and inspiring many of the works of Disney and other motion pictures.
Andersen, who traveled greatly during his life, died in his home in Rolighed on August 4, 1875.
(Bowker Author Biography)]]> 48 Hans Christian Andersen Laura 4 my-classics 3.98 1836 The Little Mermaid
author: Hans Christian Andersen
name: Laura
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1836
rating: 4
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]]> Macbeth 8852
This shocking tragedy - a violent caution to those seeking power for its own sake - is, to this day, one of Shakespeare’s most popular and influential masterpieces.]]> 249 William Shakespeare 0743477103 Laura 0 my-classics 3.90 Macbeth
author: William Shakespeare
name: Laura
average rating: 3.90
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]]> The Catcher in the Rye 5107 It's Christmas time and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school...

Fleeing the crooks at Pencey Prep, he pinballs around New York City seeking solace in fleeting encounters—shooting the bull with strangers in dive hotels, wandering alone round Central Park, getting beaten up by pimps and cut down by erstwhile girlfriends. The city is beautiful and terrible, in all its neon loneliness and seedy glamour, its mingled sense of possibility and emptiness. Holden passes through it like a ghost, thinking always of his kid sister Phoebe, the only person who really understands him, and his determination to escape the phonies and find a life of true meaning.

The Catcher in the Rye is an all-time classic in coming-of-age literature- an elegy to teenage alienation, capturing the deeply human need for connection and the bewildering sense of loss as we leave childhood behind.

J.D. Salinger's (1919�2010) classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. It was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and in the 1950's and 60's it was the novel that every teenage boy wants to read.]]> 277 J.D. Salinger 0316769177 Laura 4 my-classics 3.81 1951 The Catcher in the Rye
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Laura
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1951
rating: 4
read at: 2012/08/05
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> Ethan Frome 5246
Ethan Frome works his unproductive farm and struggles to maintain a bearable existence with his difficult, suspicious and hypochondriac wife, Zeena. But when Zeena's vivacious cousin enters their household as a hired girl, Ethan finds himself obsessed with her and with the possibilities for happiness she comes to represent.

In one of American fiction's finest and most intense narratives, Edith Wharton moves this ill-starred trio toward their tragic destinies. Different in both tone and theme from Wharton's other works, Ethan Frome has become perhaps her most enduring and most widely read book.]]> 99 Edith Wharton Laura 1 my-classics 3.42 1911 Ethan Frome
author: Edith Wharton
name: Laura
average rating: 3.42
book published: 1911
rating: 1
read at: 2012/08/08
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> The Great Gatsby 4671 The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald’s family and from his lifelong publisher.

This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author’s own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published by Scribner in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]> 180 F. Scott Fitzgerald 0743273567 Laura 4 my-classics 3.93 1925 The Great Gatsby
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Laura
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1925
rating: 4
read at: 2012/10/02
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hobbit, or There and Back Again]]> 5907 Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).]]> 366 J.R.R. Tolkien Laura 5 my-classics 4.29 1937 The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Laura
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at: 2012/12/17
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> The Sun Also Rises 3876 The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta) is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.]]> 189 Ernest Hemingway Laura 3 my-classics 3.81 1926 The Sun Also Rises
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Laura
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1926
rating: 3
read at: 2013/02/12
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]> 2956 327 Mark Twain 0142437174 Laura 0 my-classics 3.82 1884 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
author: Mark Twain
name: Laura
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
rating: 0
read at: 2013/05/18
date added: 2015/02/28
shelves: my-classics
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]]> Of Mice and Men 890 “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.�

They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. But George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own.

While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck's work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men, creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual's existence meaningful.

A unique perspective on life's hardships, this story has achieved the status of timeless classic due to its remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.]]> 107 John Steinbeck 0142000671 Laura 0 my-classics 3.88 1937 Of Mice and Men
author: John Steinbeck
name: Laura
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1937
rating: 0
read at: 2013/05/22
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> The Time Machine 2493
So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth.Ěý There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well.Ěý Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machine will continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.

Ěý]]> 118 H.G. Wells Laura 3 my-classics 3.91 1895 The Time Machine
author: H.G. Wells
name: Laura
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1895
rating: 3
read at: 2014/01/04
date added: 2015/02/28
shelves: my-classics
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]]> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 51496 139 Robert Louis Stevenson 0451528956 Laura 5 my-classics 3.84 1886 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: Laura
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1886
rating: 5
read at: 2014/06/21
date added: 2015/02/28
shelves: my-classics
review:

]]> King Lear 12938
The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other. Emotions are extreme, magnified to gigantic proportions. We also see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—one reason this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving.

The authoritative edition of King Lear from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, 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 the play’s famous lines and phrases

-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language

-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books

-An annotated guide to further reading

Essay by Susan Snyder

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.]]> 339 William Shakespeare Laura 0 my-classics 3.91 1605 King Lear
author: William Shakespeare
name: Laura
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1605
rating: 0
read at: 2014/08/24
date added: 2015/02/28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1)]]> 13595639 Jack the Ripper is back, and he's coming for Rory next....

Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

]]> 372 Maureen Johnson 0142422053 Laura 0 3.89 2011 The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1)
author: Maureen Johnson
name: Laura
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/08/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Bridget Jones’s Diary (Bridget Jones, #1)]]> 227443 a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise

"129 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)..."

"Bridget Jones' Diary" is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement � a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult - and learn to program the VCR.

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and � like millions of readers the world round � you'll find yourself shouting, "Bridget Jones is me!"]]> 288 Helen Fielding 014028009X Laura 0 3.81 1996 Bridget Jones’s Diary (Bridget Jones, #1)
author: Helen Fielding
name: Laura
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/08/15
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]]> <![CDATA[How to Read Literature Like a Professor]]> 39933 While many books can be enjoyed for their basic stories, there are often deeper meanings interwoven in these literary texts...

How to Read Literature Like a Professor helps us to discover those hidden truths by looking at literature with the eyes—and the literary codes—of the ultimate professional reader: the college professor.

What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface � a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character � and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you.

In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices and form, How to Read Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making your reading experience more enriching, satisfying and fun.]]> 314 Thomas C. Foster 006000942X Laura 0 3.57 2003 How to Read Literature Like a Professor
author: Thomas C. Foster
name: Laura
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/08/15
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]]> <![CDATA[City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)]]> 8755785
Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!]]> 725 Cassandra Clare 1481426303 Laura 0 4.38 2014 City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Laura
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2014/06/18
date added: 2014/06/18
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]]> The Color Purple 11486
Then her husband's lover, a flamboyant blues singer, barreled into her world and gave Celie the courage to ask for more - to laugh, to play, and finally - to love.]]> 295 Alice Walker Laura 0 to-read 4.22 1982 The Color Purple
author: Alice Walker
name: Laura
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/06/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Invisible Man 17184 192 H.G. Wells 0451528522 Laura 0 to-read 3.63 1897 The Invisible Man
author: H.G. Wells
name: Laura
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1897
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/06/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Old Man and the Sea 2165 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

This short novel, already a modern classic, is the superbly told, tragic story of a Cuban fisherman in the Gulf Stream and the giant Marlin he kills and loses—specifically referred to in the citation accompanying the author's Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.]]> 96 Ernest Hemingway 0684830493 Laura 0 to-read 3.81 1952 The Old Man and the Sea
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Laura
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/06/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The War of the Worlds 8909
Inspiring films, radio dramas, comic-book adaptations, television series and sequels,The War of the Worlds is a prototypical work of science fiction which has influenced every alien story that has come since, and is unsurpassed in its ability to thrill, well over a century since it was first published.]]> 192 H.G. Wells 0375759239 Laura 0 to-read 3.84 1898 The War of the Worlds
author: H.G. Wells
name: Laura
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1898
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/06/05
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]]> <![CDATA[The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)]]> 54707
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.

When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.

The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

This edition includes the fiftieth-anniversary fully corrected text setting and an extensive index.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but while he studied classic works of the past, he was creating a set of his own.

Praise for The Lord of the Rings

"An extraordinary work -- pure excitement." -- New York Times Book Review

"One of the great fairy-tale quests in modern literature." -- Time

"A remarkable book." -- Newsweek

"One of the very few works of genius in recent literature." -- New Republic

"A work of immense narrative power that can sweep the reader up and hold him enthralled for days and weeks." -- The Nation

"Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron." -- C. S. Lewis

"The first thing one asks of an adventure story is that the adventure should be various and exciting . . . Tolkien's invention is unflagging." -- W. H. Auden

"J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy remains the ultimate quest, the ultimate battle between good and evil, the ultimate chronicle of stewardship of the earth. Endlessly imitated, it never has been surpassed." -- Kansas City Star

"A masterful story . . . an epic in its own way . . . with elements of high adventure, suspense, mystery, poetry, and fantasy." -- Boston Sunday Herald]]> 1178 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618645616 Laura 0 currently-reading 4.76 1955 The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Laura
average rating: 4.76
book published: 1955
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/05/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> A Tale of Two Cities 1959 A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and end notes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.



“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .� With these famous words, Charles Dickens plunges the reader into one of history’s most explosive eras—the French Revolution. From the storming of the Bastille to the relentless drop of the guillotine, Dickens vividly captures the terror and upheaval of that tumultuous period. At the center is the novel’s hero, Sydney Carton, a lazy, alcoholic attorney who, inspired by a woman, makes the supreme sacrifice on the bloodstained streets of Paris.

One of Dickens’s most exciting novels, A Tale of Two Cities is a stirring classic of love, revenge, and resurrection.

Gillen D� Arcy Wood received his Ph.D in English from Columbia University in 2000 and is currently an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of The Shock of the Real: Romanticism and Visual Culture, 1760�1860.

]]> 429 Charles Dickens 1593080557 Laura 0 to-read 3.82 1859 A Tale of Two Cities
author: Charles Dickens
name: Laura
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1859
rating: 0
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]]> The Bell Jar 410276 The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under - maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.
--back cover]]> 264 Sylvia Plath 0060930187 Laura 0 to-read 3.99 1963 The Bell Jar
author: Sylvia Plath
name: Laura
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1963
rating: 0
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]]> The Trumpet of the Swan 1127826 The delightful classic by E. B. White, author ofĚýCharlotte's WebĚýandĚýStuart Little, about overcoming obstacles andĚýthe joy of music.Ěý

Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can't trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can't even make a sound. And since he can't trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.

Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena's affection—he even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals him a real brass trumpet. Is a musical instrument the key to winning Louis his love?

"We, and our children, are lucky to have this book."Ěý—John Updike

The Trumpet of the SwanĚýjoins E. B. White favoritesĚýCharlotte's WebĚýandĚýStuart LittleĚýas classic illustrated novels that continue to speak to today's readers. Whether you curl up with your young reader to share these books or hand them off for independent reading, you are helping to create what are likely to be all-time favorite reading memories.]]> 251 E.B. White 006028935X Laura 3 4.24 1970 The Trumpet of the Swan
author: E.B. White
name: Laura
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1970
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson]]> 6900
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you?

Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - Mitch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final 'class': lessons in how to live.]]> 210 Mitch Albom Laura 4 4.19 1997 Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
author: Mitch Albom
name: Laura
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1997
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Laura 5 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Laura
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/04/30
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]]> The Trumpet of the Swan 24335 The Trumpet of the Swan, about a cygnet who finds his voice, is now a full-length animated film from Sony. Now younger readers can experience the joy of reading about Louie the trumpeter swan and his friends in these adorable readers with original full-color illustrations.

Louie is very popular. Who wouldn't love a swan who can read, write, and play the trumpet? When Louie goes to camp, he meets a boy named A.G. who doesn't like birds, and since Louie is a bird, that means he doesn't like Louie. When A.G. pulls a dangerous stunt out on the lake, he realizes that Louie is a hero, after all.]]> 252 E.B. White 0064408671 Laura 0 4.10 1970 The Trumpet of the Swan
author: E.B. White
name: Laura
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1970
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/02/22
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]]> The Canterbury Tales 2696 The procession that crosses Chaucer's pages is as full of life and as richly textured as a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of characters -- including Chaucer himself -- are real people, with human emotions and weaknesses. When it is remembered that Chaucer wrote in English at a time when Latin was the standard literary language across western Europe, the magnitude of his achievement is even more remarkable. But Chaucer's genius needs no historical introduction; it bursts forth from every page of The Canterbury Tales.

If we trust the General Prologue, Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. He never finished his enormous project and even the completed tales were not finally revised. Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales. As the printing press had yet to be invented when Chaucer wrote his works, The Canterbury Tales has been passed down in several handwritten manuscripts.

]]> 504 Geoffrey Chaucer 0140424385 Laura 0 to-read 3.51 1400 The Canterbury Tales
author: Geoffrey Chaucer
name: Laura
average rating: 3.51
book published: 1400
rating: 0
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]]> The Complete Stories 284996 ISBN: 0374515360 (ISBN13: 9780374515362

Winner of the National Book Award

The publication of this extraordinary volume firmly established Flannery O'Connor's monumental contribution to American fiction. There are thirty-one stories here in all, including twelve that do not appear in the only two story collections O'Connor put together in her short lifetime - Everything That Rises Must Converge and A Good Man Is Hard to Find.

O'Connor published her first story, "The Geranium," in 1946, while she was working on her master's degree at the University of Iowa. Arranged chronologically, this collection shows that her last story, "Judgement Day" - sent to her publisher shortly before her death - is a brilliantly rewritten and transfigured version of "The Geranium." Taken together, these stories reveal a lively, penetrating talent that has given us some of the most powerful and disturbing fiction of the twentieth century. Also included is an introduction by O'Connor's longtime editor and friend, Robert Giroux.

Contents:
The geranium --
The barber --
Wildcat --
The crop --
The turkey --
The train --
The peeler --
The heart of the park --
A stoke of good fortune --
Enoch and the gorilla --
A good man is hard to find --
A late encounter with the enemy --
The life you save may be your own --
The river --
A circle in the fire --
The displaced person --
A temple of the Holy Ghost --
The artificial nigger --
Good country people --
You can't be any poorer than dead --
Greenleaf --
A view of the woods --
The enduring chill --
The comforts of home --
Everything that rises must converge --
The partridge festival --
The lame shall enter first --
Why do the heathen rage? --
Revelation --
Parker's back --
Judgement Day.]]> 555 Flannery O'Connor Laura 0 to-read 4.41 1971 The Complete Stories
author: Flannery O'Connor
name: Laura
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1971
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[You Are Special (Wemmicksville, #1)]]> 56728 32 Max Lucado 1859855423 Laura 0 4.45 You Are Special (Wemmicksville, #1)
author: Max Lucado
name: Laura
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 0
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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 Laura 0 to-read 4.11 1998 Stardust
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Laura
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/21
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]]> Go, Dog. Go! 460548 Are You My Mother? Go, Dog. Go! has been a go-to favorite for over fifty years, leaving audiences of all breeds wagging their tails with delight.


Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrationsĚýthat give clues to their meaning.

Ěý"The canine cartoons make an elementary text funny and coherent and still one of the best around."--School Library Journal.Ěý
]]> 64 P.D. Eastman 0394800206 Laura 0 4.15 1961 Go, Dog. Go!
author: P.D. Eastman
name: Laura
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1961
rating: 0
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]]> The Butter Battle Book 275325 "Dr. Seuss chronicles the feud between the Yooks and the Zooks from slingshots through sophisticated weaponry, until each side has the capacity to destroy the world. The language amuses, the drawings are zesty and humorous, and the demand for this book will be large."-- "School Library Journal."

"Provocative, packs an allegorical punch. The parade of increasingly elaborate (and ridiculous) armaments makes a telling point."-- "Booklist."]]> 56 Dr. Seuss 0394865804 Laura 0 4.14 1984 The Butter Battle Book
author: Dr. Seuss
name: Laura
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1984
rating: 0
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]]> I Am the Messenger 19057 protect the diamonds
survive the clubs
dig deep through the spades
feel the hearts

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?]]> 357 Markus Zusak Laura 0 to-read 4.03 2002 I Am the Messenger
author: Markus Zusak
name: Laura
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/21
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]]> The Invention of Hugo Cabret 9673436 534 Brian Selznick Laura 0 4.22 2007 The Invention of Hugo Cabret
author: Brian Selznick
name: Laura
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)]]> 7677
Parque jurásico, la novela más célebre de Michael Crichton y una de las más leídas en los últimos años, fue adaptada al cine por Steven Spielberg en una película que se convirtió en el gran acontecimiento cinematográfico de 1993 y en el origen del fenómeno de masas llamado «dinomanía».]]> 467 Michael Crichton 030734813X Laura 0 to-read 3.90 1990 Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
author: Michael Crichton
name: Laura
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/21
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]]> <![CDATA[Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #3)]]> 77767
Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from Wisconsin to Kansas, and there, finally, Pa builds their little house on the prairie. Sometimes farm life is difficult, even dangerous, but Laura and her family are kept busy and are happy with the promise of their new life on the prairie.

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE is the second book in the Laura Years series.
--back cover]]> 335 Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura 0 4.21 1935 Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #3)
author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
name: Laura
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1935
rating: 0
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]]> The Jungle Books 41684 368 Rudyard Kipling 0451529758 Laura 0 to-read 4.02 1895 The Jungle Books
author: Rudyard Kipling
name: Laura
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1895
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/01/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales]]> 407429 A revisionist storyteller provides his mad, hilarious versions of children's favorite tales in this unique and riotous collection.

A long time ago, people used to tell magical stories of wonder and enchantment. Those stories were called Fairy Tales.

Those stories are not in this book. The stories in this book are Fairly Stupid Tales.

I mean, what else would you call a story like "Goldilocks and the Three Elephants"? This girl walking through the woods smells Peanut Porridge Cooking. She decides to break into the Elephants' house, eat the porridge, sit in the chairs, and sleep in the beds. But when she gets in the house she can't climb up on Baby Elephant's chair because it's much too big. And she can't climb on Papa Elephant's chair because it's much much too big. So she goes home. The End.

And if you don't think that's fairly stupid, you should read "Little Red Riding Shorts" or maybe "The Stinky Cheese Man."

In fact, you should definitely go read the stories now, because the rest of this description just kind of goes on and on and doesn't really say anything. I stuck it here so it would fill up the page and make it look like I really knew what I was talking about. So stop now. I mean it. Quit reading this. Open the book. If you read this last sentence, it won't tell you anything.

Signed,
Jack (Narrator)
Up the Hill
Fairy Tale Forest
1992

Story List:
- Chicken Licken
- The Princess and the Bowling Ball
- The Really Ugly Duckling
- The Other Frog Prince
- Little Red Running Shorts
- Jack's Bean Problem (including Giant Story / Jack's Story)
- Cinderummpelstiltskin (Or The Girl Who Really Blew It)
- The Tortoise and the Hair
- The Stinky Cheese Man

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: It has been determined that these tales are fairly stupid and probably dangerous to your health.

Edition MSRP: $17âąâą US (ISBN 0-670-84487-X)]]> 52 Jon Scieszka 067084487X Laura 0 4.20 1992 The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
author: Jon Scieszka
name: Laura
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1992
rating: 0
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]]> The Once and Future King 43545 639 T.H. White 0441627404 Laura 0 to-read 4.07 1958 The Once and Future King
author: T.H. White
name: Laura
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1958
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)]]> 13
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.

"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"

Facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat.

"Life, the Universe and Everything"

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky- so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew.

"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish"

Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription conspires to thrust him back to reality. So to speak.

"Mostly Harmless"

Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself?

Also includes the short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe".]]> 815 Douglas Adams 0345453743 Laura 0 4.38 1996 The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Laura
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> Water for Elephants 43641
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.]]> 368 Sara Gruen 1565125606 Laura 0 to-read 4.11 2006 Water for Elephants
author: Sara Gruen
name: Laura
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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]]> Dracula 17245 You can find an alternative cover edition for this ISBN here and here.

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.

In Dracula, Bram Stoker created one of the great masterpieces of the horror genre, brilliantly evoking a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and also illuminating the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

This Norton Critical Edition includes a rich selection of background and source materials in three areas: Contexts includes probable inspirations for Dracula in the earlier works of James Malcolm Rymer and Emily Gerard. Also included are a discussion of Stoker's working notes for the novel and "Dracula's Guest," the original opening chapter to Dracula. Reviews and Reactions reprints five early reviews of the novel. "Dramatic and Film Variations" focuses on theater and film adaptations of Dracula, two indications of the novel's unwavering appeal. David J. Skal, Gregory A. Waller, and Nina Auerbach offer their varied perspectives. Checklists of both dramatic and film adaptations are included.

Criticism collects seven theoretical interpretations of Dracula by Phyllis A. Roth, Carol A. Senf, Franco Moretti, Christopher Craft, Bram Dijkstra, Stephen D. Arata, and Talia Schaffer.

A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.]]> 488 Bram Stoker 0393970124 Laura 0 to-read 4.02 1897 Dracula
author: Bram Stoker
name: Laura
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1897
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest]]> 332613 9780451163967

Tyrannical Nurse Ratched rules her ward in an Oregon State mental hospital with a strict and unbending routine, unopposed by her patients, who remain cowed by mind-numbing medication and the threat of electric shock therapy. But her regime is disrupted by the arrival of McMurphy � the swaggering, fun-loving trickster with a devilish grin who resolves to oppose her rules on behalf of his fellow inmates. His struggle is seen through the eyes of Chief Bromden, a seemingly mute half-Indian patient who understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the powers that keep them imprisoned. Ken Kesey's extraordinary first novel is an exuberant, ribald and devastatingly honest portrayal of the boundaries between sanity and madness.]]> 325 Ken Kesey Laura 0 to-read 4.20 1962 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
author: Ken Kesey
name: Laura
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1962
rating: 0
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]]> Oh, the Places You’ll Go! 191139 For out-starting upstarts of all ages, here is a wonderfully wise and blessedly brief graduation speech from the one and only Dr. Seuss!

In his inimitable, humorous verse and pictures, he addresses the Great Balancing Act (life itself, and the ups and downs it presents) while encouraging us to find the success that lies within us.

"And will you succeed?
Yes! You will indeed!
(98 and Âľ percent guaranteed.)"

A modern classic, Oh, the Places You'll Go! was first published one year before Dr. Seuss's death at the age of eighty-seven. In a mere fifty-six pages, Dr, Seuss managed to impart a lifetime of wisdom. It is the perfect send-off for children starting out in the maze of life, be they nursery school grads or newly-minted PhD's. Everyone will find it inspired good fun.

With his unique combination of hilarious stories, zany pictures and riotous rhymes, Dr. Seuss has been delighting young children and helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic 'Cat in the Hat', and ranked among the world's top children's authors, Dr. Seuss is a global best-seller, with nearly half a billion books sold worldwide.]]> 44 Dr. Seuss 0679805273 Laura 0 4.37 1990 Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
author: Dr. Seuss
name: Laura
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1990
rating: 0
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]]> The Alchemist 865 197 Paulo Coelho 0061122416 Laura 0 3.85 1988 The Alchemist
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Laura
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1988
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Cat in the Hat (Cat in the Hat, #1)]]> 233093 Have a ball with Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat in this classic picture book...but don't forget to clean up your mess!

Then he said That is that.
And then he was gone
With a tip of his hat.

A dreary day turns into a wild romp when this beloved story introduces readers to the Cat in the Hat and his troublemaking friends, Thing 1 and Thing 2 � And don't forget Fish! A favorite among kids, parents and teachers, this story uses simple words and basic rhyme to encourage and delight beginning readers.

Originally created by Dr. Seuss himself, Beginner Books are fun, funny, and easy to read. These unjacketed hardcover early readers encourage children to read all on their own, using simple words and illustrations. Smaller than the classic large format Seuss picture books like The Lorax and Oh, The Places You'll Go!, these portable packages are perfect for practicing readers ages 3-7, and lucky parents too!]]> 61 Dr. Seuss 039480001X Laura 0 4.19 1957 The Cat in the Hat (Cat in the Hat, #1)
author: Dr. Seuss
name: Laura
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1957
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)]]> 11
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!]]> 216 Douglas Adams Laura 0 4.21 1979 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Laura
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1979
rating: 0
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]]> The Picture of Dorian Gray 5297
In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.]]> 272 Oscar Wilde Laura 0 to-read 4.13 1890 The Picture of Dorian Gray
author: Oscar Wilde
name: Laura
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1890
rating: 0
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]]> Wuthering Heights 6185 You can find the redesigned cover of this edition HERE.

At the centre of this novel is the passionate love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff - recounted with such emotional intensity that a plain tale of the Yorkshire moors acquires the depth and simplicity of ancient tragedy.

This best-selling Norton Critical Edition is based on the 1847 first edition of the novel. For the Fourth Edition, the editor has collated the 1847 text with several modern editions and has corrected a number of variants, including accidentals. The text is accompanied by entirely new explanatory annotations.

New to the fourth Edition are twelve of Emily Bronte's letters regarding the publication of the 1847 edition of Wuthering Heights as well as the evolution of the 1850 edition, prose and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and Edward Chitham's insightful and informative chronology of the creative process behind the beloved work.

Five major critical interpretations of Wuthering Heights are included, three of them new to the Fourth Edition. A Stuart Daley considers the importance of chronology in the novel. J. Hillis Miller examines Wuthering Heights's problems of genre and critical reputation. Sandra M. Gilbert assesses the role of Victorian Christianity plays in the novel, while Martha Nussbaum traces the novel's romanticism. Finally, Lin Haire-Sargeant scrutinizes the role of Heathcliff in film adaptations of Wuthering Heights.

A Chronology and updated Selected Bibliography are also included.]]> 464 Emily Brontë Laura 0 to-read 3.89 1847 Wuthering Heights
author: Emily Brontë
name: Laura
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1847
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass]]> 24213
When Alice sees a white rabbit take a watch out of its waistcoat pocket she decides to follow it, and a sequence of most unusual events is set in motion. This mini book contains the entire topsy-turvy stories of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, accompanied by practical notes and Martina Pelouso's memorable full-colour illustrations.]]> 239 Lewis Carroll Laura 0 to-read 4.07 1871 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
author: Lewis Carroll
name: Laura
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1871
rating: 0
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]]> The Giving Tree 370493
So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.]]> 64 Shel Silverstein 0060256656 Laura 0 4.38 1964 The Giving Tree
author: Shel Silverstein
name: Laura
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1964
rating: 0
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]]> Green Eggs and Ham 23772
Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.]]> 64 Dr. Seuss 0394800168 Laura 0 4.31 1960 Green Eggs and Ham
author: Dr. Seuss
name: Laura
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1960
rating: 0
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]]> Maniac Magee 139463 Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.]]> 184 Jerry Spinelli 0590452037 Laura 0 3.89 1990 Maniac Magee
author: Jerry Spinelli
name: Laura
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1990
rating: 0
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]]> Paper Towns 2914097 Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...]]> 305 John Green 0525478183 Laura 0 to-read 4.00 2008 Paper Towns
author: John Green
name: Laura
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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]]> The Princess Bride 21787
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.]]> 429 William Goldman 0345418263 Laura 0 to-read 4.27 1973 The Princess Bride
author: William Goldman
name: Laura
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1973
rating: 0
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]]> Lord of the Flies 7624 182 William Golding 0140283331 Laura 0 to-read 3.70 1954 Lord of the Flies
author: William Golding
name: Laura
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1954
rating: 0
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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 Laura 0 to-read 4.31 1985 Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Laura
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1985
rating: 0
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]]> An Abundance of Katherines 49750 Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.]]> 229 John Green 0525476881 Laura 3 3.54 2006 An Abundance of Katherines
author: John Green
name: Laura
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2013/12/21
date added: 2013/12/21
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]]> Frankenstein 18490 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780141439471

'Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart ...'

Obsessed with creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.

Based on the third edition of 1831, this volume contains all the revisions Mary Shelley made to her story, as well as her 1831 introduction and Percy Bysshe Shelley's preface to the first edition. This revised edition includes as appendices a select collation of the texts of 1818 and 1831 together with 'A Fragment' by Lord Byron and Dr John Polidori's 'The Vampyre: A Tale'.]]> 288 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Laura 0 to-read 3.77 1818 Frankenstein
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
name: Laura
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1818
rating: 0
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]]> Lolita 7604 Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141182537.

Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Dolores Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust.]]> 368 Vladimir Nabokov 0679723161 Laura 0 to-read 3.87 1955 Lolita
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Laura
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1955
rating: 0
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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. Laura 0 to-read 4.10 1969 Slaughterhouse-Five
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Laura
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1969
rating: 0
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]]> Grendel 676737 Beowulf, tells his side of the story in a book William Gass called "one of the finest of our contemporary fictions."]]> 174 John Gardner 0679723110 Laura 3 3.68 1971 Grendel
author: John Gardner
name: Laura
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1971
rating: 3
read at: 2013/11/04
date added: 2013/11/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines]]> 7303093 384 Richard A. Muller 0393069885 Laura 0 3.82 2006 Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines
author: Richard A. Muller
name: Laura
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2013/08/09
date added: 2013/08/09
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]]> <![CDATA[The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)]]> 28186
In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come.]]> 279 Rick Riordan 0786856866 Laura 4 4.25 2006 The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Laura
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2006
rating: 4
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]]> The Book Thief 19063 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

(Note: this title was not published as YA fiction)]]> 592 Markus Zusak Laura 0 re-read 4.38 2005 The Book Thief
author: Markus Zusak
name: Laura
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2013/07/28
date added: 2013/07/28
shelves: re-read
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]]> <![CDATA[How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul]]> 10468373
IN YOUR QUEST FOR LOVE, DON'T LOSE YOURSELF ALONG THE WAY.

While navigating through the dating scene, every woman begins to wonder: How do I know when a guy really loves me? Am I being too picky? Do I even deserve love? Is my relationship worth keeping? Is love worth the risk? Are any decent guys left?

Single women often feel left alone to find answers to their deep questions about love and intimacy. Some hang out and hook up, hoping for love. Others are afraid even to hope. At some point, every woman needs reassurance that she and her standards are not the problem. In How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul, you'll discover twenty-one strategies to help you raise the bar, instead of sitting at it, waiting around for Mr. Wonderful.

ISN'T IT TIME THAT YOU DISCOVERED A LOVE THAT HELPS YOU TO BECOME YOURSELF?]]> 301 Jason Evert 0983092303 Laura 0 4.30 2011 How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul
author: Jason Evert
name: Laura
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2013/06/18
date added: 2013/06/18
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]]> <![CDATA[Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)]]> 6131164 Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.]]> 568 Cassandra Clare 141697590X Laura 4 4.55 2013 Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Laura
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/04/06
date added: 2013/04/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]> 22628 offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see
what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

(back cover)]]> 213 Stephen Chbosky Laura 4 4.24 1999 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
author: Stephen Chbosky
name: Laura
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/01
date added: 2013/03/23
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]]> Marked (House of Night, #1) 30183 Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1

After a Vampire Tracker Marks her with a crescent moon on her forehead, 16-year-old Zoey Redbird enters the House of Night and learns that she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx and has affinities for all five elements: Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny—with a little help from her new vampyre friends (or Nerd Herd, as Aphrodite calls them).]]> 306 P.C. Cast 0312360266 Laura 2 3.82 2007 Marked (House of Night, #1)
author: P.C. Cast
name: Laura
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2012/08/15
date added: 2013/03/23
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]]> <![CDATA[Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2)]]> 6654313 the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being a human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces - wolf and human - with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?]]> 362 Maggie Stiefvater 0545123283 Laura 3 3.89 2010 Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Laura
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2012/11/05
date added: 2013/03/23
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]]> <![CDATA[Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 (Pivotal Moments in American History)]]> 373588
Adams vs. Jefferson is the gripping account of a turning point in American history, a dramatic struggle between two parties with profoundly different visions of how the nation should be governed. The Federalists, led by Adams, were conservatives who favored a strong central government. The Republicans, led by Jefferson, were more egalitarian and believed that the Federalists had betrayed the Revolution of 1776 and were backsliding toward monarchy. The campaign itself was a barroom brawl every bit as ruthless as any modern contest, with mud-slinging, scare tactics, and backstabbing. The low point came when Alexander Hamilton printed a devastating attack on Adams, the head of his own party, in "fifty-four pages of unremitting vilification." The stalemate in the Electoral College dragged on through dozens of ballots. Tensions ran so high that the Republicans threatened civil war if the Federalists denied Jefferson the presidency. Finally a secret deal that changed a single vote gave
Jefferson the White House. A devastated Adams left Washington before dawn on Inauguration Day, too embittered even to shake his rival's hand.

With magisterial command, Ferling brings to life both the outsize personalities and the hotly contested political questions at stake. He shows not just why this moment was a milestone in U.S. history, but how strongly the issues--and the passions--of 1800 resonate with our own time.]]> 288 John Ferling 019518906X Laura 1 3.98 2004 Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 (Pivotal Moments in American History)
author: John Ferling
name: Laura
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2004
rating: 1
read at: 2012/08/23
date added: 2013/03/23
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]]> <![CDATA[City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)]]> 8755776 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.]]> 535 Cassandra Clare 1442416866 Laura 5 4.22 2012 City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Laura
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2012/07/27
date added: 2013/03/23
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]]> Delirium (Delirium, #1) 7686667
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the "Wilds" who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?]]> 441 Lauren Oliver 0061726826 Laura 4 4.01 2011 Delirium (Delirium, #1)
author: Lauren Oliver
name: Laura
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/27
date added: 2013/03/23
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]]> The Glass Menagerie 92517
The Glass Menagerie (in the reading text the author preferred) is now available only in its New Directions Paperbook edition. A new introduction by the editor of The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, Robert Bray, reappraises the play more than half a century after it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. This edition of The Glass Menagerie also includes Williams's essay on the impact of sudden fame on a struggling writer, "The Catastrophe of Success," as well as a short section of Williams's own "Production Notes."
(back cover)]]> 104 Tennessee Williams 0811214044 Laura 2 3.73 1945 The Glass Menagerie
author: Tennessee Williams
name: Laura
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1945
rating: 2
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date added: 2013/03/23
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]]> The Fault in Our Stars 11870085
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.]]> 313 John Green Laura 5 4.13 2012 The Fault in Our Stars
author: John Green
name: Laura
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2013/02/22
date added: 2013/03/23
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