en-US Thu, 24 Dec 2015 23:14:47 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 23197269 Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers.

Our voyage from Earth began generations ago.
Now, we approach our new home.
AURORA.]]> 466 Kim Stanley Robinson 0316098108 Austin 0 currently-reading 3.76 2015
author: Kim Stanley Robinson
name: Austin
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2015/12/24
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]]> 18765
I, Claudius and its sequel, Claudius the God, are among the most celebrated, as well the most gripping historical novels ever written.

Cover illustration: Brian Pike]]> 469 Robert Graves 067972477X Austin 0 4.24 1934
author: Robert Graves
name: Austin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1934
rating: 0
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date added: 2015/12/24
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]]> 20926278
In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie's mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family's horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. It's a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe.]]> 405 Stephen King 1476770387 Austin 5 3.78 2014
author: Stephen King
name: Austin
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2014/11/28
date added: 2014/11/28
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]]> 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. Austin 5 4.10 1969
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Austin
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1969
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/06
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]]> 34
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them

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 into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
--back cover]]> 398 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618346252 Austin 3 4.36 1954
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Austin
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1954
rating: 3
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 15062217
There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment.

Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much.

At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbour across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s. Because every room in this old Los Angeles brownstone has a mystery or two. Mysteries that stretch back over a hundred years. Some of them are in plain sight. Some are behind locked doors. And all together these mysteries could mean the end of Nate and his friends.

Or the end of everything...]]> 372 Peter Clines Austin 5 3.96 2012
author: Peter Clines
name: Austin
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 9969571 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.]]> 480 Ernest Cline 030788743X Austin 5 4.21 2011
author: Ernest Cline
name: Austin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 63432
On an ill-fated mission to Jupiter in 2001, the mutinous supercomputer HAL sent crewmembers David Bowman and Frank Poole into the frozen void of space. Bowman’s strange transformation into a Star Child is traced through the novels 2010 and 2061. But now, a thousand years after his death, Frank Poole is brought back to life—and thrust into a world far more technically advanced than the one he left behind.

Poole discovers a world of human minds interfacing directly with computers, genetically engineered dinosaur servants, and massive space elevators built around the equator. He also discovers an impending threat to humanity lurking within the enigmatic monoliths. To fight it, Poole must join forces with Bowman and HAL, now fused into one corporeal consciousness—and the only being with the power to thwart the monoliths� mysterious creators.

�3001 is not just a page-turner, plugged in to the great icons of HAL and the monoliths, but a book of wisdom too, pithy and provocative.� —New Scientist]]> 272 Arthur C. Clarke 0345438205 Austin 5 3.58 1999
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: Austin
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1999
rating: 5
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]]> 112537 243 Arthur C. Clarke 1857231589 Austin 4 4.12 1973
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: Austin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1973
rating: 4
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]]> 70535
So great are the implications of this discovery that for the first time men are sent out deep into our solar system.

But long before their destination is reached, things begin to go horribly, inexplicably wrong...

One of the greatest-selling science fiction novels of our time, this classic book will grip you to the very end.]]> 297 Arthur C. Clarke Austin 5 4.17 1968
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: Austin
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1968
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 13634835
In the fifth book of the Star Force Series, the Eden system is in humanity's grasp, but can they keep it? Star Force is weak after a long war, and many yearn to go home. Knowing the machines will return with a new armada eventually, Riggs seeks a more permanent solution. Along the way, worlds are won and lost, millions perish, and great truths are revealed.]]> 292 B.V. Larson Austin 5 4.06 2012
author: B.V. Larson
name: Austin
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 13238856 330 B.V. Larson Austin 5 4.03 2011
author: B.V. Larson
name: Austin
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 12438044 313 B.V. Larson Austin 5 4.02 2011
author: B.V. Larson
name: Austin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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]]> 11019965
In the second book of the Star Force series, Kyle Riggs has another bad year. The Nano ships have a new mission-one that sentences their pilots to death. Meanwhile, the governments of Earth want to steal Star Force's Nano technology for their own. Worst of all, Earth has made a promise to the Macros, and the machines are coming to collect.

EXTINCTION is the story of Earth's entry into an interstellar war between living creatures and machines. To buy the peace, we've signed up with the machines.... EXTINCTION is an 112,000 word science fiction novel.]]> 340 B.V. Larson Austin 5 3.91 2011
author: B.V. Larson
name: Austin
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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]]> 18600590
The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn’t the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers…someone had to do their dirty work for them, their fighting and dying.

I, James McGill, was born in 2099 on the fringe of the galaxy. When Hegemony Financial denied my loan applications, I was kicked out of the university and I turned to the stars. My first campaign involved the invasion of a mineral-rich planet called Cancri-9, better known as Steel World. The attack didn’t go well, and now Earth has entered a grim struggle for survival.

Humanity’s mercenary legions go to war in STEEL WORLD, bestselling author B. V. Larson’s latest science fiction novel.]]> 338 B.V. Larson Austin 5 4.02 2013
author: B.V. Larson
name: Austin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2013
rating: 5
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]]> 10101733
Kyle Riggs is snatched by an alien spacecraft sometime after midnight. The ship is testing everyone it catches and murdering the weak. The good news is that Kyle keeps passing tests and staying alive. The bad news is the aliens who sent this ship are the nicest ones out there....

SWARM is the story of Earth's annexation by an alien empire. Long considered a primitive people on a backwater planet, humanity finds itself in the middle of a war, and faced with extinction. SWARM is an 88,000 word novel of science fiction by bestselling author B. V. Larson.]]> 263 B.V. Larson Austin 5 3.79 2010
author: B.V. Larson
name: Austin
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2010
rating: 5
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]]> 15881
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girls� bathroom. But then the real trouble begins � someone is turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects� Harry Potter himself!]]> 352 J.K. Rowling Austin 5 4.42 1998
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Austin
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Austin 5 4.57 2005
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Austin
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 6 734 J.K. Rowling 0439139597 Austin 5 4.56 2000
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Austin
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2000
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 136251
In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited.]]> 759 J.K. Rowling Austin 5 4.61 2007
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Austin
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 5 435 J.K. Rowling 043965548X Austin 5 4.57 1999
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Austin
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1999
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 43889
His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In a dark age it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them—for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not say.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword—to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed . . . or that their time has run out.

This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.]]> 836 Terry Goodkind 0765346524 Austin 5 4.12 1994
author: Terry Goodkind
name: Austin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1994
rating: 5
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]]> 21608 Rocky Mountain News). Now he delivers a provocative novel of a man who stumbles upon the discovery of a lifetime-or many lifetimes.

Grad-school dropout Matt Fuller is toiling as a lowly research assistant at MIT when, while measuring subtle quantum forces that relate to time changes in gravity and electromagnetic force, his calibrator turns into a time machine. With a dead-end job and a girlfriend who has left him for another man, Matt has nothing to lose taking a time machine trip himself-or so he thinks.]]> 278 Joe Haldeman 0441014992 Austin 5 3.69 2007
author: Joe Haldeman
name: Austin
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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]]> 21611 278 Joe Haldeman Austin 5 4.14 1974
author: Joe Haldeman
name: Austin
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1974
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/07/05
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]]> 2767052
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.]]> 374 Suzanne Collins 0439023483 Austin 5 4.34 2008
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Austin
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 5
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date added: 2011/09/22
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]]> 43886 160 Terry Goodkind 0765351544 Austin 5 3.88 1998
author: Terry Goodkind
name: Austin
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1998
rating: 5
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date added: 2011/09/22
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]]> 13496
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.]]> 835 George R.R. Martin 0553588486 Austin 4 4.44 1996
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Austin
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1996
rating: 4
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date added: 2011/09/22
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]]> 3 309 J.K. Rowling 0439554934 Austin 5 4.47 1997
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Austin
average rating: 4.47
book published: 1997
rating: 5
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date added: 2011/09/22
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]]>