en-US Sat, 14 May 2016 16:31:59 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 14137 National Book Award in 1985, White Noise is the story of Jack and Babette and their children from their six or so various marriages. They live in a college town where Jack is Professor of Hitler Studies (and conceals the fact that he does not speak a word of German), and Babette teaches posture and volunteers by reading from the tabloids to a group of elderly shut-ins. They are happy enough until a deadly toxic accident and Babette's addiction to an experimental drug make Jake question everything.White Noise is considered a postmodern classic and its unfolding of themes of consumerism, family and divorce, and technology as a deadly threat have attracted the attention of literary scholars since its publication. This Viking Critical Library edition, prepared by scholar Mark Osteen, is the only edition of White Noise that contains the entire text along with an extensive critical apparatus, including a critical introduction, selected essays on the author, the work and its themes, reviews, a chronology of DeLillo's life and work, a list of discussion topics, and a selected bibliography.]]> 538 Don DeLillo 0140274987 Ben 5 4.09 1985
author: Don DeLillo
name: Ben
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/05/14
shelves:
review:

]]> 104131 84 Stephen LaBerge 1591791502 Ben 4 3.61
author: Stephen LaBerge
name: Ben
average rating: 3.61
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/03/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 1519224
Fenno follows the careers of four black representatives鈥擫ouis Stokes, Barbara Jordan, Chaka Fattah, and Stephanie Tubbs Jones鈥攆rom their home districts to the halls of the Capitol. He finds that while these politicians had different visions of how they should represent their districts (in part based on their individual preferences, and in part based on the history of black politics in America), they shared crucial organizational and symbolic connections to their constituents. These connections, which draw on a sense of "linked fates," are ones that only black representatives can provide to black constituents.

His detailed portraits and incisive analyses will be important for anyone interested in the workings of Congress or in black politics.]]> 272 Richard F. Fenno Jr. 0226241300 Ben 3 3.00 2003
author: Richard F. Fenno Jr.
name: Ben
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2010/05/07
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review:

]]> 7437 Naked Lunch is one of the most important novels of the twentieth century, a book that redefined not just literature but American culture. An unnerving tale of a narcotics addict unmoored in New York, Tangier, and ultimately a nightmarish wasteland known as Interzone, its formal innovation, taboo subject matter, and tour de force execution have exerted a significant influence on authors like Thomas Pynchon, J. G. Ballard, and William Gibson; on the relationship of art and obscenity; and on the shape of music, film, and media generally. Naked Lunch: The Restored Text includes many editorial corrections to errors present in previous editions, and incorporates Burroughs鈥檚 notes on the text, several essays he wrote over the years about the book, and an appendix of 20 percent new material and alternate drafts from the original manuscript, which predates the first published version. For the Burroughs enthusiast and the neophyte, this volume is a valuable and fresh experience of this classic of our culture.]]> 289 William S. Burroughs 0802140181 Ben 1 3.48 1959
author: William S. Burroughs
name: Ben
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1959
rating: 1
read at: 2005/02/01
date added: 2009/12/16
shelves:
review:
I couldn't finish this book. I was inspired to check out Naked Lunch after learning the band Steely Dan owed its name to a metallic dildo from this book, but I could only plug through about 40 incoherent pages before giving up -- I had no idea what, if anything, was going on.
]]> 3529080 Book by Odom, G. David 200 G. David Odom 0890898812 Ben 3 3.00 1998
author: G. David Odom
name: Ben
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 31802 256 Robert Arp 1405161604 Ben 0 currently-reading 3.51 2006
author: Robert Arp
name: Ben
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 579696
Witness the march of history as Editor-in-Chief Scott Dikkers and The Onion's award-winning writing staff present the twentieth century like you've never seen it before.]]> 164 Scott Dikkers 0609804618 Ben 5 4.14 1998
author: Scott Dikkers
name: Ben
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 315605 192 Scott Dikkers 0743299663 Ben 5 3.48 2006
author: Scott Dikkers
name: Ben
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 2956 327 Mark Twain 0142437174 Ben 5 3.82 1884
author: Mark Twain
name: Ben
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 2204572 704 Herman Melville 8432039683 Ben 3 3.47 1851
author: Herman Melville
name: Ben
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1851
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 7624 182 William Golding 0140283331 Ben 4 3.70 1954
author: William Golding
name: Ben
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1954
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
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]]> 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 鈥� inspired by his philosophy of Animalism 鈥� 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 Ben 4 3.90 1945
author: George Orwell
name: Ben
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 5148 A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war.

Set at a boys boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.

A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic.]]> 208 John Knowles Ben 3 3.60 1959
author: John Knowles
name: Ben
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1959
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 5470 328 George Orwell Ben 4 4.15 1949
author: George Orwell
name: Ben
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1949
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 29999 213 Dashiell Hammett Ben 3 Weird book. 3.89 1930
author: Dashiell Hammett
name: Ben
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1930
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
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review:
Weird book.
]]> 16299
"Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."

When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.]]> 264 Agatha Christie 0312330871 Ben 4 4.28 1939
author: Agatha Christie
name: Ben
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1939
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
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]]> 1870740 New York Times bestseller, Newberry takes a single biblical principle and teaches us how one simple truth can magnify the joy we experience in our marriage, with our parenting, and in our life as a whole. Unfortunately, we live in a society bent on nursing old wounds and highlighting what is wrong with just about everything. As a result, we have grown accustomed to viewing the world, our lives, and ourselves through a lens of negativity--and that negativity stands in direct contrast to the passionate, purpose-filled people God wants us to be. This is where The 4:8 Principle grabs our attention. First, the author skillfully persuades us to acknowledge the link between the thoughts we choose to think and the joy we experience. Next, he shows us how we can grow our potential for joy by refusing to dwell upon the problems and pressures that are enduring and inevitable. Finally, he challenges us to pay the price of joy by becoming "extraordinarily picky" about what we read, watch, and listen to on a consistent basis. The strength of the book, though, is in Newberry's ability to clearly explain how to put this principle into daily practice through a series of quick, easy and even fun adjustments. The 4:8 Principle is loaded with specific suggestions and helpful advice for going beyond the ordinary and experiencing life as it was meant to be.]]> 240 Tommy Newberry 1414313047 Ben 5 4.23 2006
author: Tommy Newberry
name: Ben
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
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]]> 600098 336 Jeff Greenfield 0399147764 Ben 4 3.68 2001
author: Jeff Greenfield
name: Ben
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2001
rating: 4
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date added: 2008/06/23
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]]> 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 illustrations聽that give clues to their meaning.

聽"The canine cartoons make an elementary text funny and coherent and still one of the best around."--School Library Journal.聽
]]> 64 P.D. Eastman 0394800206 Ben 5 4.15 1961
author: P.D. Eastman
name: Ben
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1961
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 1085371 79 Brian Sweet 184449425X Ben 3 4.00 1998
author: Brian Sweet
name: Ben
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
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]]> 316781 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW

This book goes far beyond the confines of pop dream psychology, establishing a scientifically researched framework for using lucid dreaming--that is, consciously influencing the outcome of your dreams. Based on Dr. Stephen LaBerge's extensive laboratory work at Stanford University mapping mind/body relationships during the dream state, as well as the teachings of Tibetan dream yogis and the work of other scientists, including German psycholgist Paul Tholey, this practical workbook will show you how to use your dreams to: Solve problems; Gain greater confidence; improve creativity, and more.]]> 335 Stephen LaBerge 034537410X Ben 5 4.22 1989
author: Stephen LaBerge
name: Ben
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 88061 453 Barack Obama 1921351438 Ben 0 to-read 3.93 1995
author: Barack Obama
name: Ben
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> 9742 The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama's call for a new kind of politics鈥攁 politics that builds upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans. Lucid in his vision of America's place in the world, refreshingly candid about his family life and his time in the Senate, Obama here sets out his political convictions and inspires us to trust in the dogged optimism that has long defined us and that is our best hope going forward.]]> 375 Barack Obama 0307237699 Ben 4 3.83 2006
author: Barack Obama
name: Ben
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 2380931 Book by ROBERT Y. SHAPIRO 257 Robert Y. Shapiro 1884853056 Ben 4 4.00 2005
author: Robert Y. Shapiro
name: Ben
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
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]]> 1255830
Paul Light explains that Congress and the presidency have never decided whether they trust government and its employees to do their jobs well, and so they have moved back and forth over the decades between four reform scientific management, war on waste, watchful eye, and liberation management. These four philosophies, argues Light, operate with different goals, implementation strategies, and impacts. Yet reform initiatives draw on one or another of them almost at random, often canceling out the potential benefits of a particular statute by passing a contradictory statute soon afterward. Light shows that as the public has become increasingly distrustful of government, the reform agenda has favored the war on waste and watchful eye. He analyzes the consequences of these changes for the overall performance of government and offers policy recommendations for future reform approaches.]]> 304 Paul C. Light 0300076576 Ben 2 2.50 1997
author: Paul C. Light
name: Ben
average rating: 2.50
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
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]]> 3301863


Partners and Rivals argues against the commonly held view that individual Senators do an inadequate job in representing their states. Instead, this book demonstrates how the competitive structure of Senate delegations creates the potential for broad and responsive representation in the Senate. When two senators from the same state are viewed as a pair, it becomes clear that their combined representational agendas include a wide range of the interests and opinions that exist among constituents in their state. This holds true whether the Senators are from the same party or not. Rich in details, Partners and Rivals is the most thorough and rigorous explanation of Senators' behavior available.]]> 192 Wendy J. Schiller 069104886X Ben 2 2.75 2000
author: Wendy J. Schiller
name: Ben
average rating: 2.75
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
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]]> 550413
Fenno follows the careers of four black representatives鈥擫ouis Stokes, Barbara Jordan, Chaka Fattah, and Stephanie Tubbs Jones鈥攆rom their home districts to the halls of the Capitol. He finds that while these politicians had different visions of how they should represent their districts (in part based on their individual preferences, and in part based on the history of black politics in America), they shared crucial organizational and symbolic connections to their constituents. These connections, which draw on a sense of "linked fates," are ones that only black representatives can provide to black constituents.

His detailed portraits and incisive analyses will be important for anyone interested in the workings of Congress or in black politics.]]> 272 Richard F. Fenno Jr. 0226241319 Ben 3 3.50 2003
author: Richard F. Fenno Jr.
name: Ben
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 24488
With over a quarter million copies in print, You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! is one of the bestselling books on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ever written. There is a great deal of literature about children with ADHD, but what do you do if you have ADHD and aren't a child anymore? This indispensable reference鈥攖he first of its kind written for adults with ADHD by adults with ADHD鈥攆ocuses on the experiences of adults, offering updated information, practical how-tos, and moral support to help readers deal with ADHD. It also explains the diagnostic process that distinguishes ADHD symptoms from normal lapses in memory, lack of concentration or impulsive behavior, offering guidance on how your reframe our view of ADHD and embrace its benefits. Here's what's

And the book still includes the tried-and-true advice ]]> 480 Kate Kelly 0743264487 Ben 5 3.97 1993
author: Kate Kelly
name: Ben
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1993
rating: 5
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date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
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Must read for people with ADD or those who have close friends or family with the condition.
]]> 1633
* Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box to empty
* Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations
* Plan projects as well as get them unstuck
* Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed
* Feel fine about what you're not doing

From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.]]> 267 David Allen 0142000280 Ben 4 4.00 2001
author: David Allen
name: Ben
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/06/23
shelves:
review:
Good stuff when it comes to organizing one's life. The key is implementing the ideas this guy has.
]]> 11787 Invisible Man is one of those rare novels that have changed the shape of American literature. For not only does Ralph Ellison's nightmare journey across the racial divide tell unparalleled truths about the nature of bigotry and its effects on the minds of both victims and perpetrators, it gives us an entirely new model of what a novel can be.

As he journeys from the Deep South to the streets and basements of Harlem, from a horrifying "battle royal" where black men are reduced to fighting animals, to a Communist rally where they are elevated to the status of trophies, Ralph Ellison's nameless protagonist ushers readers into a parallel universe that throws our own into harsh and even hilarious relief. Suspenseful and sardonic, narrated in a voice that takes in the symphonic range of the American language, black and white, Invisible Man is one of the most audacious and dazzling novels of our century.]]> 439 Ralph Ellison 0375507914 Ben 4 4.01 1952
author: Ralph Ellison
name: Ben
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1952
rating: 4
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 11762 310 Don DeLillo 0140283307 Ben 5 3.86 1985
author: Don DeLillo
name: Ben
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 157508 245 David Sklansky 1880685280 Ben 4 3.69 2002
author: David Sklansky
name: Ben
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
shelves:
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]]> 39932 235 Joe Navarro 0061198595 Ben 4 3.68 2006
author: Joe Navarro
name: Ben
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 835 381 Dan Harrington 1880685337 Ben 3 4.24 2004
author: Dan Harrington
name: Ben
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2004
rating: 3
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 834 In the first volume of this series, Harrington on Hold 鈥榚m: Volume I: Strategic Play, Dan Harrington explained how to play in the early phases of tournaments, when most players at the table have plenty of chips, and the blinds and antes are small. This book, Harrington on Hold 鈥榚m: Volume II: The Endgame shows you how to play in the later phases of a tournament, when the field has been cut down, the blinds and antes are growing, and the big prize money is within sight. Harrington shows you how to make moves, handle tricky inflection point plays, and maneuver when the tournament is down to its last few players and the end is in sight. He鈥檚 also included a whole chapter on head-up play, whose strategies up to now have been a closely-guarded secret of the game鈥檚 top masters.
Dan Harrington won the gold bracelet and the World Champion title at the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'Em Championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. And he was the only player to make it to the final table in 2003 (field of 839) and 2004 (field of 2,576) 鈥� considered by cognoscenti to be the greatest accomplishment in WSOP history. In Harrington on Hold 'em, Harrington and 2-time World Backgammon Champion Bill Robertie have written the definitive book on no-limit hold 'em for players who want to win 鈥� and win big.]]> 466 Dan Harrington 1880685353 Ben 5 4.18 2005
author: Dan Harrington
name: Ben
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 86523 320 Mike Caro 1580420826 Ben 4 3.60 1984
author: Mike Caro
name: Ben
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 26950 - Anita Brookner]]> 370 Edith Wharton 0143039709 Ben 2 4.04 1913
author: Edith Wharton
name: Ben
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1913
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 2273 A Prayer for the City is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Buzz Bissinger's true epic of Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell, an utterly unique, unorthodox, and idiosyncratic leader who will do anything to save his city: take unions head on, personally lobby President Clinton to save 10,000 defense jobs, or wrestle Smiley the Pig on Hot Dog Day--all the while bearing in mind the eternal fickleness of constituents whose favor may hinge on a missed garbage pick-up or an overzealous meter maid.

It is also the story of citizens in crisis: a woman fighting ceaselessly to give her great-grandchildren a better life, a father of six who may lose his job at the Navy Shipyard, and a policy analyst whose experiences as a crime victim tempt her to abandon her job and ideals.

Heart-wrenching and hilarious, alive with detail and insight, A Prayer for the City describes a city on its knees and the rare combination of political courage and optimism that may be the only hope for America's urban centers.]]> 448 Buzz Bissinger 0679744940 Ben 4 4.19 1997
author: Buzz Bissinger
name: Ben
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1997
rating: 4
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 157427 鈥淭his is American history the way I like it, prodigiously researched and vivaciously told. Mr. Morone has a knack for peeling off veneers, for locating the surprising fact, for adopting the unexpected and illuminating slant. He is a rarity, a scholar who is never boring.鈥濃€擳racy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of a New Machine
鈥淗ellfire Nation [places] much of our public life in its proper soul-searching context鈥攁nd its careful anatomy of the hand-in-glove relations between the American state and the American faithful is both welcome and illuminating.鈥濃€擟hris Lehmann, Washington Post Book World]]> 592 James A. Morone 0300105177 Ben 3 4.05 2003
author: James A. Morone
name: Ben
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2003
rating: 3
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 15622 Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic.

Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.]]> 504 Richard Wright Ben 3 4.03 1940
author: Richard Wright
name: Ben
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1940
rating: 3
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 4980 Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

In Breakfast of Champions, one of Kurt Vonnegut鈥檚 most beloved characters, the aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. What follows is murderously funny satire, as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth.]]> 303 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 0385334206 Ben 3 4.08 1973
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Ben
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1973
rating: 3
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 2552 On The Road swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, generosity, chill dawns and drugs, with Sal Paradise and his hero Dean Moriarty, traveller and mystic, the living epitome of Beat. Now recognized as a modern classic, Kerouac's American Dream is nearer that of Walt Whitman than F. Scott Fitzgerald's, and the narrative goes racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance, poignancy and passion.]]> 281 Jack Kerouac Ben 4 3.42 1957
author: Jack Kerouac
name: Ben
average rating: 3.42
book published: 1957
rating: 4
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 2666 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780553381344.

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 satirical novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City, and centers on three main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer, and British expatriate journalist Peter Fallow.

The novel was originally conceived as a serial in the style of Charles Dickens' writings: It ran in 27 installments in Rolling Stone starting in 1984. Wolfe heavily revised it before it was published in book form. The novel was a bestseller and a phenomenal success, even in comparison with Wolfe's other books. It has often been called the quintessential novel of the 1980s.]]> 690 Tom Wolfe Ben 5 3.89 1987
author: Tom Wolfe
name: Ben
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 111261 2 Margaret Atwood 0886462142 Ben 2 3.95 1985
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Ben
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1985
rating: 2
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 37460
鈥榃hat makes Native Speaker an important novel is no more complicated than this: it tells us the truth. Lee writes in a voice free of political bias about race fears... He writers of the fear of dilution, or self-loss... After so much racist posing, so much false restraint, Native speaker seems like a new kind of novel, the plainsong of unassimilated man, and in the murmur of his nascent voice is the soft clash of borders.鈥� Literary Review]]> 324 Chang-rae Lee 1862071144 Ben 3 3.60 1995
author: Chang-rae Lee
name: Ben
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2007/02/23
shelves:
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]]> 411 152 Thomas Pynchon 0060931671 Ben 5 3.69 1966
author: Thomas Pynchon
name: Ben
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1966
rating: 5
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date added: 2007/02/23
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]]> 137172
BUDDY CIANCI: 鈥淣ow I know why they made you a detective.鈥�

Welcome to Providence, Rhode Island, where corruption is entertainment and Mayor Buddy Cianci presided over the longest-running lounge act in American politics. In The Prince of Providence, Pulitzer Prize鈥搘inning journalist Mike Stanton tells a classic story of wiseguys, feds, and politicians on a carousel of crime and redemption.

Buddy Cianci was part urban visionary, part Tony Soprano鈥攁 flawed political genius in the mold of Huey Long and James Michael Curley. His lust for power cost him his marriage, his family, and close friendships. Yet he also revitalized the city of Providence, where ethnic factions jostle with old-moneyed New Englanders and black-clad artists from the Rhode Island School of Design rub shoulders with scam artists from City Hall.

For nearly a quarter of a century, Cianci dominated this uneasy melting pot. During his first administration, twenty-two political insiders were convicted of corruption. In 1984, Cianci resigned after pleading guilty to felony assault, for torturing a man he suspected of sleeping with his estranged wife. In 1990, in a remarkable comeback, Cianci was elected mayor once again; he went on to win national acclaim for transforming a dying industrial city into a trendy arts and tourism mecca.

But in 2001, a federal corruption probe dubbed Operation Plunder Dome threatened to bring the curtain down on Cianci once and for all.

Mike Stanton takes readers on a remarkable journey through the underside of city life, into the bizarre world of the mayor and his supporting cast, including:

鈥� 鈥淏uckles鈥� Melise, the city official in charge of vermin control, who bought Providence twice as much rat poison as the city of Cleveland, which was at the time four times as large, and wound up increasing Providence鈥檚 rat population. During a garbage strike, Buckles sledgehammered one city employee and stuck his thumb in another鈥檚 eye. Cianci would later describe this as 鈥済reat public policy.鈥�

鈥� Anthony 鈥渢he Saint鈥� St. Laurent, a major Rhode Island bookmaker and loan shark, who tried to avoid prison by citing his medical need for forty bowel irrigations a day, thus earning himself the nickname 鈥淧ublic Enema Number One.鈥�

鈥� Dennis Aiken, a celebrated FBI agent and public corruption expert, who asked to be sent to 鈥渢he Louisiana of the North,鈥� where he enlisted an undercover businessman to expose the corrupt secrets of Cianci鈥檚 City Hall.

The Prince of Providence is a colorful and engrossing account of one of the most tragicomic figures in modern American life鈥攁nd the city he transformed.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 464 Mike Stanton 0375507809 Ben 4 3.79 2003
author: Mike Stanton
name: Ben
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2003
rating: 4
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]]> 41518 425 Frederick Exley 0679602712 Ben 5 4.09 1968
author: Frederick Exley
name: Ben
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1968
rating: 5
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]]> 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鈥攕hooting 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鈥�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 Ben 4 3.81 1951
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Ben
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1951
rating: 4
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]]> 5129 Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order鈥揳ll at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. 鈥淎 genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine鈥� (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history鈥檚 keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." 鈥擟hicago Tribune]]> 268 Aldous Huxley 0060929871 Ben 4 3.99 1932
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Ben
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1932
rating: 4
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]]> 2657 "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

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

"To Kill A Mockingbird" became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film.]]> 323 Harper Lee 0060935464 Ben 4 4.25 1960
author: Harper Lee
name: Ben
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1960
rating: 4
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]]> 4671 The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald鈥檚 family and from his lifelong publisher.

This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 Ben 4 3.93 1925
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Ben
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1925
rating: 4
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