1001 Books to Read Before I Die
Please suggest any books you think I should read---especially ones that are on the official list! :)
List created by Keri (TXGrobanite) on Jul 9, 2010
List Votes: 378 Books: 840 Contributors: 195 Watchers: 781 List Type: Open
1
|
Kim W. (Kim1264) - |
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus -- three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of... more
Book Votes: 862
2
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Donna B. (eclecticreader10) - |
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace... more
Book Votes: 658
3
| Patty R. (PattyR) |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, Bk 1) by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is... more
Book Votes: 584
4
| Chris H. (jgud11) |
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost... more
Book Votes: 553
5
| Janelle C. (jscrappy) |
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank & B.M. Mooyaart-Doubleday (Tr...
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last year of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic -- a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old... more
Book Votes: 541
6
| Vicki T. (VickiT12) |
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This powerful first novel tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love. Both transform the life of Amir, the privileged young narrator, who comes of age during the last peaceful days of the monarchy, just before his country's revolution and its invasion by Russian forces.... more
Book Votes: 490
7
| Colleen T. (rainbowbrite98) |
The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, Bk 1) by Suzanne Collins
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... more
Book Votes: 482
8
|
Rick B. (bup) - |
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.'
Thus memorably begins Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of the world's most popular novels. Pride and Prejudice -- Austen's own 'darling child' -- tells the story of... more
Book Votes: 460
9
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Jessica D. (MTGirlAtHeart) - |
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women is one of the best loved books of all time. Lovely Meg, talented Jo, frail Beth, spoiled Amy: these are hard lessons of poverty and of growing up in New England during the Civil War. Through their dreams, plays, pranks, letters,... more
Book Votes: 454
10
| Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - |
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Set in South Carolina in 1964, "The Secret Life of Bees" tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's... more
Book Votes: 408
11
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Jessica D. (MTGirlAtHeart) - |
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish... more
Book Votes: 402
12
| Carleigh O. (temarifan) |
The Hobbit: Or, There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien's own description for the original edition: If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good... more
Book Votes: 401
13
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta... more
Book Votes: 397
14
| Janelle C. (jscrappy) |
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Bronte's impassioned novel is the love story of Jane Eyre, a plain yet spirited governess, and her employer, the arrogant, brooding Mr. Rochester. Published in 1847, under the pseudonym of Currer Bell, the book heralded a new kind of heroine -- one whose virtuous integrity, keen... more
Book Votes: 393
15
| Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - |
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire: darkly handsome Rhett Butler and flirtatious Scarlett O'Hara. Behind them stand their gentler counterparts: Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton.
As the lives and affairs of these absorbing characters play out against... more
Book Votes: 390
16
| Stacy P. |
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope. In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth... more
Book Votes: 376
17
| Lisa B. (sheesh) |
The Glass Castle : A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic,... more
Book Votes: 372
18
|
Kim W. (Kim1264) - |
Animal Farm by George Orwell
A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned--a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that... more
Book Votes: 368
19
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Mary C. (purplepride) - |
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, Bk 1) by Stieg Larsson & Reg Keeland...
Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the... more
Book Votes: 358
20
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Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) - |
Night by Elie Wiesel & Stella Rodway (Translator)
Night -- A terrifying account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an agonized witness to the death of his family...the death of his innocence... and the death of his God.
Penetrating and powerful, as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank, Night awakens the shocking... more
Book Votes: 325
21
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Cassie S. (cassie86) - |
1984 by George Orwell
1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of "Negative Utopia"--a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is... more
Book Votes: 324
22
| James M. (monkeypox) |
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger's famous and enduring chronicle of Holden Caulfield's journey from innocence to experience is the quintessential coming-of-age novel--though it's an unusual one, in which the hero tries to cling to the simplicity of childhood, achieving a kind of maturity almost in... more
Book Votes: 322
23
| Lori B. (LoriVB) |
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood... more
Book Votes: 322
24
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Kim W. (Kim1264) - |
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
When The Grapes of Wrath first appeared in 1939, it electrified an America still recovering from the Great Depression. Driven from their Oklahoma farm by the encroachment of large agricultural interests, the Joad family sets out, like generations before them, to the promised land of... more
Book Votes: 310
25
| Leah G. (LeahG) |
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
In 1959, Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist, takes his four young daughters, his wife, and his mission to the Belgian Congo -- a place, he is sure, where he can save needy souls. But the seeds they plant bloom in tragic ways within this complex culture. Set against one of the most... more
Book Votes: 307
26
| James M. (monkeypox) |
The Stand by Stephen King
Arguably the greatest horror novel ever written by the greatest horror novelist, this is a true Modern Classic that was first published in 1978, and then re-published in 1990, complete and unabridged, with 150,000 words cut from the first edition restored, and now accompanied by unusual and... more
Book Votes: 305
27
| Stacy P. |
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic... more
Book Votes: 305
28
| Elizabeth W. (pandagirl) |
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
Ponyboy is fourteen, tough and confused, yet sensitive behind his bold front. Since his parents' death, his loyalties have been to his brothers and his gang, the rough, swinging, long-haired boys from the wrong side of the tracks. When his best friend, Johnny, kills a member of a rival gang, a... more
Book Votes: 297
29
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MP G. (philomene) - |
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the Ki...
The novel of the century, now with new movie tie-in art, color endpaper maps, flaps, and more.
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 power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring... more
Book Votes: 297
30
| Heidi L. (caleighsmom) |
A Child Called 'It': One Child's Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer
This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left... more
Book Votes: 296
31
| Janelle C. (jscrappy) |
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Penguin Classics) by Mark Twain & Guy Cardwel...
Of all the contenders for the title of The Great American Novel, none has a better claim than The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. More than a century after its publication it remains a major work that can be enjoyed at many levels: as an incomparable adventure story and as a classic of American... more
Book Votes: 293
32
|
Rick B. (bup) - |
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher's... more
Book Votes: 292
33
| JAKE B. (jakehbrown) |
The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, Bk 2) by Dan Brown
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to... more
Book Votes: 290
34
|
Kim W. (Kim1264) - |
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Over seventy-five years since its first publication, Steinbeck’s tale of commitment, loneliness, hope, and loss remains one of America’s most widely read and taught novels. An unlikely pair, George and Lennie, two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression, grasp for... more
Book Votes: 281
35
| J. M. (nena) |
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and regret.
Then, on his 83rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. He... more
Book Votes: 281
36
| Erica W. (smerica) |
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
An American classic, the moving story set in the 1900's, about a young girl's coming of age at the turn of the century, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the... more
Book Votes: 280
37
| Stacy P. |
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
1939, Nazi Germany - The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of... more
Book Votes: 279
38
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Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) - |
Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, Bk 1) by Laura Ingalls Wilder & Gart...
In this first book in the series, the Ingalls family is snug in its Wisconsin log house, safe from blizzards, wolves, and the lonely forest.
Notable Children's Books of 1940'1970 (ALA)
1958 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
1988 Choices (Association of Booksellers for Children)
Horn Book... more
Book Votes: 274
39
| Ariana B. |
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
On the surface, Henry and Clare Detamble are a normal couple living in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Henry works at the Newberry Library and Clare creates abstract paper art, but the cruel reality is that Henry is a prisoner of time. It sweeps him back and forth at its leisure, from... more
Book Votes: 273
40
| Colleen T. (rainbowbrite98) |
Catching Fire (Hunger Games, Bk 2) (Unabridged Audio CD) by Suzanne Collins
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of... more
Book Votes: 268
41
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MP G. (philomene) - |
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Originally published in 1954, William Golding's Lord of the Flies is one of the most disturbing and celebrated novels of modern times.
A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. At first they revel in the freedom and celebrate the absence of... more
Book Votes: 266
42
| Amy B. (BaileysBooks) |
Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, Bk 1) by L. M. Montgomery
This is the classic and immensely popular first novel in the series about Anne Shirley, an irrepressible red-headed orphan. The Cuthberts decide to adopt an orphan -- a strong, hardworking boy to help with the farm chores. Anne is sent to live with them by mistake. Talkative, romantic and... more
Book Votes: 262
43
| Lori B. (LoriVB) |
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Ken Follett had long been a staple of the bestseller lists for his novels of intrigue and espionage. Then came The Pillars of the Earth, a grand novel of epic storytelling that readers and critics quickly hailed as his crowning achievement. Now, The Pillars of the Earth is available for the... more
Book Votes: 261
44
| Peggy B. (peggymib) |
Outlander (Outlander, Bk 1) by Diana Gabaldon
Unrivaled storytelling... unforgettable characters... rich historical detail... these are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon's work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured millions of readers.
Here is the story that started it all,... more
Book Votes: 260
45
| Rachael F. (rlferris) |
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness.
Anna is not... more
Book Votes: 259
46
| Janelle C. (jscrappy) |
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again ... With these words the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband... more
Book Votes: 255
47
|
Kim W. (Kim1264) - |
Interview with the Vampire (Vampire Chronicles, Bk 1) by Anne Rice
This is the story of the Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows... more
Book Votes: 253
48
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Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes... more
Book Votes: 253
49
| Renee D. (reneeL) |
The Handmaid's Tale (Handmaid's Tale, Bk 1) by Margaret Atwood
In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to... more
Book Votes: 250
50
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, 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... more
Book Votes: 247
51
| Fianna R. (fiannafi) |
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Pi Patel, a God-loving boy and the son of a zookeeper, had a fervent love of stories and practices not only within his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family and their zoo animals emigrate from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship. Alas,... more
Book Votes: 246
52
|
Heather M. (aggieeditor) - |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
A classic novel of hte 1960s, this powerful story about life in a mental hospital is told by a half-Indian patient called Chief Bromden. The Chief will not talk, and he has deceived the staff into thinking him deaf and dumb; but through his self-imposed protective fog he is an acute observer. To... more
Book Votes: 240
53
| rolise |
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett & Tasha Tudor (Illustrator)
When orphaned Mary Lennox, lonely and sad, comes to live at her uncle's great house on the Yorkshire moors, she finds it full of secrets. At night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors. Outside, she meets Dickon, a magical boy who can charm and talk to animals. Then,... more
Book Votes: 240
54
| Charity S. (charitysheppard) |
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
"My greatest thought in living is Heathcliff. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be... Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure... but as my own being." Wuthering Heights is the... more
Book Votes: 239
56
|
wiglaf - |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Don't panic! You're not timetripping! It's the tenth anniversary of the publication of Douglas Adams's zany, best-selling novel, and to celebrate Harmony is reissuing a special edition of this cult classic!
By now the story is legendary. Arthur Dent, mild-mannered, out-to-lunch earth-ling, is... more
Book Votes: 228
57
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
Holes (Holes, Bk 1) by Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character... more
Book Votes: 225
58
| Rachael F. (rlferris) |
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
With heart-wrenching power and suspense, the bestselling author of "The Kite Runner" shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.
Book Votes: 219
59
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
The Green Mile by Stephen King
Read this history-making serial novel -- from cliffhanger to cliffhanger -- in its entirety. When it first appeared, one volume per month, Stephen King's The Green Mile was an unprecedented publishing triumph: all six volumes ended up on the New York Times bestseller list -- simultaneously --... more
Book Votes: 218
60
| Laura E. (laereader) |
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis & Paul...
"NARNIA...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins.
Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells... more
Book Votes: 216
61
| Colleen T. (rainbowbrite98) |
Mockingjay (Hunger Games, Bk 3) by Suzanne Collins
MY NAME IS KATNISS EYERDEEN.
WHY AM I NOT DEAD?
I SHOULD BE DEAD.
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are... more
Book Votes: 215
62
| Carleigh O. (temarifan) |
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Also titled: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
Set during five of the most intensely dramatic days ever portrayed, ROMEO AND JULIET was probably written in 1594 or 1595.
Romeo is forced to approach Juliet in secret because of the impassioned rivalry between his family, the Montagues--and... more
Book Votes: 211
63
| Ronnie G. (frenchgiant) |
Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The story starts out simply enough: Jess Aarons wants to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade--he wants it so bad he can taste it. He's been practicing all summer, running in the fields around his farmhouse until he collapses in a sweat. Then a tomboy named Leslie Burke moves into the farmhouse... more
Book Votes: 210
64
| J. M. (nena) |
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia ...
First, pleasure: savoring Italy's buffet of delights -- the world's best pizza, free-flowing wine and dashing conversation partners -- Gilbert consumes la dolce vita as spiritual succor. "I came to Italy pinched and thin," she writes, but soon fills out in waist and soul. Then,... more
Book Votes: 210
65
| Allie B. (a11iecat) |
Watership Down by Richard Adams
One of the most beloved novels of our time, Richard Adams's Watership Down takes us to a world we have never truly seen: to the remarkable life that teems in the fields, forests and riverbanks far beyond our cities and towns. It is a powerful saga of courage, leadership and survival; an epic... more
Book Votes: 210
66
| Wendy R. (wendybird) |
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Bar...
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written... more
Book Votes: 208
67
| Amanda H. (steelplace632) |
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
"Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered...."
Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV,... more
Book Votes: 199
68
|
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - |
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
First published in 1971, GO ASK ALICE was presented as the diary of a real teenaged girl whose descent into drug addition ushered her into a dark world of debauchery, abuse, and prostitution that eventually led to her death. Riding on the coattails of the 1960s, this provocative recipe of peer... more
Book Votes: 198
69
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
The Count of Monte Cristo (Abridged) by Alexandre Dumas & Lowell Bair (Translator...
Set against the turbulent years of the Napoleonic era, Alexandre Dumas's thrilling adventure story is one of the most widely read romantic novels of all time. In it the dashing young hero, Edmond Dantès, is betrayed by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Chateau... more
Book Votes: 191
70
| Amy B. (BaileysBooks) |
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley's mighty novel of a soulless, streamlined Eden is the twentieth century's most brilliant profound and terrifying evocation of the future our civilization may be creating. Brave New World is Huxley's prophetic vision of natural man in an unnatural world, where freedom... more
Book Votes: 189
71
| Erin A. (taechermama) |
The Giver (Giver, Bk 1) by Lois Lowry
At the age of twelve, Jonas, a young boy from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver, who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life.
Book Votes: 188
72
| Keitha M. (kmama) |
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
An alluring tour de force: a brilliant debut novel told with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism as the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.
Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the... more
Book Votes: 186
73
| Ronnie G. (frenchgiant) |
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
At once brutal and tender, despairing and rashly hopeful, spare of language and profoundly moving, this work is a fierce and haunting meditation on the tenuous divide between civilization and savagery, and the essential, sometimes terrifying power of filial love.
Book Votes: 185
74
|
Denise S. (Dargent) - |
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel d'Hiv roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002:... more
Book Votes: 183
75
| James M. (monkeypox) |
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brillant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery - but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls... more
Book Votes: 178
76
|
Kim W. (Kim1264) - |
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
A vulnerable young girl wins a dream assignment on a big-time New York fashion magazine and finds herself plunged into a nightmare. An autobiographical account of Sylvia Plath's own mental breakdown and suicide attempt, The Bell Jar is more... more
Book Votes: 177
77
|
Lisa H. (FlouncePony) - |
Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON made its first appearance as a short story which was rapidly and widely anthologized, and translated internationally. It received further acclaim as a memorable television drama, and as a motion picture production. Now, full-bodies and richly-peopled, FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON... more
Book Votes: 177
78
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
An abridged, "Good Parts" version of The Princess Bride, a tale that pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. This love story contains strange beasts, memorable surprises, and unforgettable characters.
Book Votes: 175
79
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
A Tale of Two Cities : Abridged by Charles Dickens & Ian Richardson
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All... more
Book Votes: 171
80
| Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - |
Island of the Blue Dolphins (Illustrated) by Scott O'Dell & Ted Lewin (Illustrato...
Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life. This newly illustrated edition of Island of the Blue... more
Book Votes: 171
81
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Four mothers, four daughters, four families... In 1949, four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind in China. United in loss, and with new hope for their daughters' futures, they call themselves the Joy Luck... more
Book Votes: 170
82
Book Votes: 169
84
| Kathy F. |
Ender's Game (Ender, Bk 1) by Orson Scott Card
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his... more
Book Votes: 168
85
| Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - |
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
This "bold...extraordinary...blockbuster..." (Newsweek magazine) begins with a birth in an African village in 1750, and ends two centuries later at a funeral in Arkansas. And in that time span, an unforgettable cast of men, women, and children come to life, many of them based on the... more
Book Votes: 166
86
| Laura M. (mctiggr) |
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Ken Follett had long been a staple of the bestseller lists for his novels of intrigue and espionage. Then came The Pillars of the Earth, a grand novel of epic storytelling that readers and critics quickly hailed as his crowning achievement. Now, The Pillars of the Earth is available for the... more
Book Votes: 165
87
|
Heather M. (aggieeditor) - |
It by Stephen King
They were just kids when they stumbled upon the hidden horror of their hometown. Now, as adults, none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them all back to Derry, Maine, to face the nightmare without end, and the evil without a name.
Book Votes: 162
88
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
One of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain is a masterpiece that is at once an enthralling adventure, a stirring love story, and a luminous evocation of a vanished American in all its savagery, solitude, and splendor.
Sorely wounded and... more
Book Votes: 162
89
| Caroline |
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon... more
Book Votes: 162
90
|
wiglaf - |
Les Miserables (Everyman's Library (Cloth)) by Victor Hugo
Sensational, dramatic, packed with rich excitement and filled with the sweep and violence of human passions, LES MISERABLES is not only superb adventure but a powerful social document. The story of how the convict Jean-Valjean struggled to escape his past and reaffirm his humanity, in a world... more
Book Votes: 161
91
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
History and fiction merge seamlessly in this luminous novel about artistic vision and sensual awakening. Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story of sixteen-year-old Griet, whose life is transformed by her brief encounter with genius... even as she herself is immortalized in canvas and oil.
Book Votes: 159
92
| Patty R. (PattyR) |
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The author of The Virgin Suicides won a Pulitzer Prize for this long-awaited second novel. In it, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a Grosse Pointe girls' school in 1974, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond classmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively... more
Book Votes: 157
93
|
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - |
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
This is the story of young Victor Frankenstein, who longed to seek out the answers to life and death. Day and night he worked to create something that the world had never seen. But he did not know that one day his efforts would destroy him and everything he had.
Book Votes: 155
94
| Sara H. (nursesara) |
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Travelling across America in search of who you are -- now they do it on cycles, in cars, by bus or in the time-honored tradition of foot and thumb. The wanderers of today may wear their hair long and speak a different jargon, but their trip is one that men (and women) have taken for as long as... more
Book Votes: 152
95
|
Cheryl (pagebypage) - |
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed Amer...
The 1893 Chicago World's Fair is the setting for this true account of two very different men: the celebrated architect Daniel H. Burnham who designed and supervised the construction of the "White City" around which the fair was built, and H.H. Holmes (born Herman Webster Mudgett),... more
Book Votes: 151
96
| James M. (monkeypox) |
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Fountainhead has become an enduring piece of literature, more popular now than when published in 1943. On the surface, it is a story of one man, Howard Roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, Peter Keating, and a newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey. But... more
Book Votes: 146
97
| D. G. (riahekans) |
Like Water for Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate, Bk 1) by Laura Esquivel & Car...
English Translation of "Como Agua Para Chocolate"
Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. "Like Water For... more
Book Votes: 145
98
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
The Cider House Rules by John Irving
First published in 1985, The Cider House Rules is John Irving's sixth novel. Set in rural Maine in the first half of this century, it tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch--saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Cloud's, ether addict and abortionist. It is... more
Book Votes: 142
99
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
Catch-22 (Catch-22, Bk 1) by Joseph Heller
Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a new term to the dictionary.
At the heart of Catch-22 resides the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes... more
Book Votes: 141
100
| Stacy P. |
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
"Running with Scissors" is the true story of a boy whose mother... gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus....
At the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor's bizarre family, and... more
Book Votes: 139
101
| Wendy R. (wendybird) |
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery & Katherine Woods (Translator)
The little prince lived alone on a tiny planet no larger than a house. He owned three volcanoes, two active and one extinct. He also owned a flower, unlike any flower in all the galaxy, of great beauty and of inordinate pride. It was this pride that ruined the serenity of the little prince's... more
Book Votes: 138
102
| Charity S. (charitysheppard) |
Dracula (Collector's Library) by Bram Stoker
When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries in his client's castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck; and a... more
Book Votes: 137
103
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe
No description available.
Book Votes: 137
104
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
With Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr, author of such classics as Cat's Cradle and God Bless You, Mr Rosewater, takes center stage as one of America's most important writers.
'Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has written one of the major novels of the year . . . haunting . . . irresistible reading .... more
Book Votes: 136
105
| Charity S. (charitysheppard) |
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy & Richard Pevear (Translator) & Larissa Volokhon...
Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century... more
Book Votes: 134
106
| Amy O. (cheermom140) |
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car... more
Book Votes: 134
107
| Carleigh O. (temarifan) |
Hamlet (Signet Classics) by William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark:
Shakespeare's classic tragedy of love, madness, and revenge was first enacted in London in 1602. Young Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is in mourning for his dead father, is visited by his father's ghost telling him that he was murdered by his own brother,... more
Book Votes: 133
108
|
MP G. (philomene) - |
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
In language of great simplicity and power, Hemingway tells the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck--he hasn't caught a fish in 84 days--who goes out in his small skiff one more time. This time he hooks a huge marlin. During his relentless ordeal, a long and agonizing battle... more
Book Votes: 133
109
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
There are few more convincing, less sentimental accounts of love than Wuthering Heights. This is the story of a tormented foundling who falls in love with the daughter of his benefactor, and of the violence and misery that result from their thwarted longing for each other.
Book Votes: 132
110
| Stacy P. |
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
"As far as I was concerned, the French could be cold or even openly hostile. They could burn my flag or pelt me with stones, but if there were taxidermied kittens to be had then I would go and bring them back to this, the greatest country on earth." David Sedaris's new collection, Me Talk... more
Book Votes: 130
111
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
At last, Ayn Rand's masterpiece is available to her millions of loyal readers in trade paperback. With this acclaimed work and its immortal query, "Who is John Galt?", Ayn Rand found the perfect artistic form to express her vision of existence. Atlas Shrugged made Rand not only one of the most... more
Book Votes: 129
112
|
Cassie S. (cassie86) - |
Wizard of Oz (Aladdin Classics) by L. Frank Baum
Hailed as the first original American fairy tale, The Wizard of Oz inspired countless sequels and imitations, as well as the classic American musical film and the Broadway musical The Wiz. In L. Frank Baum's imaginative story, Dorothy Gale takes a magical journey from the American heartland into... more
Book Votes: 129
113
|
Cassie S. (cassie86) - |
And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians) by Agatha Christie
First there were ten--a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unkonwn to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to... more
Book Votes: 128
114
|
Cheryl (pagebypage) - |
Room by Emma Donoghue
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home... more
Book Votes: 122
115
| Amanda M. (Blondie1980) |
Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Anyone who has read J. D. Salinger's New Yorker stories - particularly A Perfect Day for Bananafish, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut, The Laughing Man, and For Esme - With Love and Squalor, will not be surprised by the fact that his first novel is full of children. The hero-narrator of The... more
Book Votes: 122
116
|
Denise S. (Dargent) - |
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny.
All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for... more
Book Votes: 121
117
| Kayla F. (klawbie) |
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
A lush, cautionary tale of a life of vileness and deception or a loving portrait of the aesthetic impulse run rampant? Why not both? After Basil Hallward paints a beautiful, young man's portrait, his subject's frivolous wish that the picture change and he remain the same comes true. Dorian... more
Book Votes: 119
118
| Keitha M. (kmama) |
Little Women (Aladdin Classics) by Louisa May Alcott
The quintessential American family story, Little Women captured readers' hearts right from the start. A bestseller from the time it was originally published in 1868, it is the story of the four March sisters: Meg, Beth, Jo, and Amy. Louisa May Alcott recreates her own family's dramatic and... more
Book Votes: 119
119
| Stacy P. |
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
A phenomenal #1 bestseller that has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly three years, this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and... more
Book Votes: 115
120
| Vera M. (bepa-jean) |
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Penguin Classics) by Ken Kesey
Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse... more
Book Votes: 114
121
| Robin F. |
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Eleven-year-old Owen Meany, playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire, hits a foul ball and kills his best friend's mother. Owen doesn't believe in accidents; he believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul is both... more
Book Votes: 114
122
|
Heather M. (aggieeditor) - |
Uncle Tom's Cabin : or, Life among the Lowly (Modern Library Classics) by Harriet Bee...
When Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852, it became an international blockbuster, selling more than 300,000 copies in the United States alone in its first year. Progressive for her time, Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of the earliest writers to offer a shockingly realistic depiction of... more
Book Votes: 112
123
| Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - |
Shogun by James Clavell
Shipwrecked English adventurer, John Blackthorn, finds himself a key figure in a vast power struggle that is to plunge medieval Japan into civil war. Set in the exotic world of Oriental intrigue, passions, discipline, courage, and rigid moral and martial codes.
Book Votes: 112
124
| Stacy P. |
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
“Practically alone among the American writers of his generation,” wrote Edmund Wilson, “[Sinclair] put to the American public the fundamental questions raised by capitalism in such a way that they could not escape them.” When it was first published in 1906, The Jungle... more
Book Votes: 112
125
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Ten years ago, Barbara Kingsolver published a first novel that is well on its way to becoming a classic work of American fiction. The Bean Trees is a book readers have taken to their hearts. It is now a standard in college literature classes across the nation and has been translated for a... more
Book Votes: 112
126
|
Cheryl (pagebypage) - |
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.
In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and... more
Book Votes: 112
127
|
Rick B. (bup) - |
Crime and Punishment (Oxford World's Classics) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky & Jessie Cou...
Crime and Punishment is one of the most important novels of the nineteenth century. It is the story of a murder committed on principle, of a killer who wishes to set himself outside and above society. The novel is marked by Dostoevsky's own harrowing experience in penal servitude, and yet... more
Book Votes: 111
128
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
The Story of My Life, a remarkable account of overcoming the debilitating challenges of being both deaf and blind, has become an international classic, making Helen Keller one of the most well-known, inspirational figures in history. Originally published in 1903, Keller's fascinating memoir... more
Book Votes: 110
129
| Christina B. (stina117) |
Eclipse: Special Edition (Twilight, Bk 3) by Stephenie Meyer
Edward?s soft voice came from behind me.
I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again. This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an... more
Book Votes: 110
130
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect... more
Book Votes: 109
131
| Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - |
East of Eden (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by John Steinbeck
No description available.
Book Votes: 106
132
| Stacy P. |
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
This classic novel of the American Civil War evokes the horrors of battle and the psychology of fear as it recounts the experience of a young, untried Union Army volunteer. Henry Fleming longs to prove himself by winning the "red badge beyond all doubt." But when he finally does come under fire,... more
Book Votes: 106
133
|
Rick B. (bup) - |
Moby-Dick : Or the Whale (Tor Classics) by Herman Melville
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All... more
Book Votes: 105
134
| Ronnie G. (frenchgiant) |
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon & Lucia Graves (Translator)
Barcelona, 1945 -- just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother's face. To console his only child, Daniel's widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer,... more
Book Votes: 103
135
| Eileen C. (scrappingal) |
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong... more
Book Votes: 102
136
| Caroline |
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
"Elegant and powerful...an unusual and volatile...literary thriller." --Washington Post Book WorldIn this riveting novel of almost unbearable suspense, three fragile yet determined people become dangerously entangled in a relentlessly escalating crisis. Colonel Behrani, once a wealthy man in... more
Book Votes: 102
137
| Heidi L. (caleighsmom) |
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
In the Deep South of the 1950s, journalist John Howard Griffin decided to cross the color line. Using medication that darkened his skin to deep brown, he exchanged his privileged life as a Southern white man for the disenfranchised world of an unemployed black man. His audacious, still... more
Book Votes: 101
138
| Stacy P. |
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
The New York Times bestseller, and one of the most talked about books of the year, Nickel and Dimed has already become a classic of undercover reportage.Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the... more
Book Votes: 101
139
| Shannon A. (shaxtell) |
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
In his journal, John Steinbeck called 'East of Eden' "the first book," and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California's Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and... more
Book Votes: 101
140
|
Diana C. (dianamarie) - |
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door to door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard -- their secret hiding place -- and promises... more
Book Votes: 99
141
| Caroline |
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
A talented midwife is arrested for murder when she saves a baby by performing a Caesarean section once she believes the mother has died--only to have her assistant insist later that the woman was still very much alive. Told in the mesmerizing voice of the midwife's daughter, Midwives depicts... more
Book Votes: 96
142
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking by Michael Chesworth & Astrid Lindgren
An enticing, newly illustrated collection of the enduringly popular Pippi stories. Since Pippi Longstocking was first published in 1950, the escapades of the incomparable Pippi,the girl with upside-down braids and no parents to tell her what to do, have delighted boys and girls alike. Now, for... more
Book Votes: 95
143
| Rachael F. (rlferris) |
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One... more
Book Votes: 95
144
| Amy B. (BaileysBooks) |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
He's rude, arrogant, cold, unfriendly, and easily bored. Nobody minds because he is a genius at solving mysteries. But to interest Holmes at all, the case must be impossible: like the mysteries of the blackmail scheme that might destroy a nation; the woman killed in a locked room - while... more
Book Votes: 94
145
|
MP G. (philomene) - |
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque & A. W. Wheen (Translator)
Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a... more
Book Votes: 93
146
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
My Antonia by Willa Cather
In Willa Cather's own estimation, My Antonia, first published in 1918, was "the best thing I've ever done." An enduring paperback bestseller on Houghton Mifflin's literary list, this hauntingly eloquent classic now boasts a new foreword by Kathleen Norris, Cather's soulmate of the plains.... more
Book Votes: 93
147
| Caroline |
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the... more
Book Votes: 93
148
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the... more
Book Votes: 92
149
| Amy O. (cheermom140) |
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, Bk 1) by Jean M. Auel
This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Through Jean M. Auel’s magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age... more
Book Votes: 90
150
| Amy B. (BaileysBooks) |
The Once and Future King by T. H. White
The whole world knows and loves this book. It is the magical epic of King Arthur and his shinning Camelot; of Merlyn and Owl and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and men who fly, of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. It is the fantasy masterpiece by which all... more
Book Votes: 88
151
|
Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) - |
My Side of the Mountain (Mountain, Bk 1) by Jean Craighead George
Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and... more
Book Votes: 88
152
| Kate K. |
Dune (Dune Chronicles, Bk 1) by Frank Herbert
Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as... more
Book Votes: 87
153
| Alicia P. (aljennin2010iu) |
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
There was a time when the world was sweeter ... when the women in Beaufort, North Carolina, wore dresses, and the men donned hats ...
Every April, when the wind smells of both the sea and lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. Landon had dated a girl or two,... more
Book Votes: 87
154
|
Cheryl (pagebypage) - |
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novel - an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, doctors and patients, exile and home.
Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis... more
Book Votes: 87
155
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
Homer - The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer
The history of Homer and his works is lost in doubtful obscurity, as is the history of many of the first minds who have done honor to humanity because they rose amidst darkness. The majestic stream of his song, blessing and fertilizing, flows like a river through many lands and nations. The... more
Book Votes: 86
156
| Sophia C. (poisha) |
Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) by V. C. Andrews
Way upstairs there are four secrets hidden.
Blond, beautiful, innocent little secrets, struggling to stay alive.
Flowers In the Attic
The four Dollanganger children had such perfect lives -- a beautiful mother, a doting father, a lovely home. Then Daddy was killed in a car accident, and... more
Book Votes: 85
157
| Amanda R. |
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez & Edith Grossman (Translato...
In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career he whiles away the years in 622 affairs--yet he reserves his heart... more
Book Votes: 83
158
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Exodus by Leon Uris
Exodus is an international publishing phenomenon--the towering novel of the twentieth century's most dramatic geopolitical event. Leon Uris magnificently portrays the birth of a new nation in the midst of enemies--the beginning of an earthshaking struggle for power. Here is... more
Book Votes: 83
159
| Wendy R. (wendybird) |
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan's symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.
On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis... more
Book Votes: 83
160
| Laura E. (laereader) |
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis
Narnia... the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy... the place where the adventure begins.
Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of... more
Book Votes: 83
161
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
This is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with many psi powers, including the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man.
Book Votes: 81
162
| Mar |
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
In the marshy mists of a village churchyard, a tiny orphan boy named Pip is suddenly terrified by a shivering, limping convict on the run. Years later, a supremely arrogant young Pip boards the coach to London where, by the grace of a... more
Book Votes: 81
163
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
The Year 802,701 A.D. He stepped into the Time Machine and took the starting lever in his hand... "I drew a breath, set my teeth, and went off with a thud. The night came, like the turning off of a lamp, and in another moment came tomorrow. As I put on pace, night followed day like the... more
Book Votes: 78
164
| Sara H. (nursesara) |
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Student Edition
With more than five million copies sold, Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation... more
Book Votes: 77
165
| Sherry W. (octexan) |
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hille...
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was... more
Book Votes: 76
166
| Stephen W. (cubedst) |
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Story of two dogs and a boy...Billy, Old Dan and little Ann...A loving threesome, the ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. Old Dan had the brawn, Little Ann had the brains and Billy had the will to train them to be the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and... more
Book Votes: 75
167
| William M. |
The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
Friendship, loyalty, lifelong love -- and teenage suicide. A riveting, timely, and terrifying novel from an acclaimed writer who skillfully intertwines the intimate perceptions of Anne Tyler with the dramatic tension of John Grisham
The Golds and the Hartes, neighbors for eighteen years,... more
Book Votes: 74
168
| Melissa B. (Phantene) |
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
In 1874 the great Cheyenne chief, Little Wolf, had an idea to help his people assimilate into the new white culture. He asked President Ulysses S. Grant for "the gift of 1000 white women as wives." Since all children born in the Cheyenne culture become members of their mother's... more
Book Votes: 74
169
| Lillie M. (lillie) |
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, comes an unforgettable edge-of-your-seat mystery that is at once heartbreakingly tender and morally courageous about what it means to be human.
Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school,... more
Book Votes: 73
170
| Cassi B. (brightforest) |
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A young girl discovers her father's darkest secret and embarks on a harrowing journey across Europe to complete the quest he never could -- to find history's most legendary fiend: Dracula. When a motherless American girl living in Europe finds a medieval book and a package of letters,... more
Book Votes: 73
171
|
Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) - |
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
"For many days we had been tempest-tossed . . .the raging storm increased in fury on the seventh day all hope was lost." From these dire opening lines, a delightful story of adventure begins. One family will emerge alive from this terrible storm: the Robinson's -- a Swiss... more
Book Votes: 73
172
| Keitha M. (kmama) |
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder.
In the course of the ensuing trial, it... more
Book Votes: 73
173
| Vera M. (bepa-jean) |
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Few novels have had as profound an impact on American culture as On the Road. Pulsating with the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, illicit drugs, and the mystery and promise of the open road, Kerouac's classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be "beat" and has... more
Book Votes: 71
174
| Fianna R. (fiannafi) |
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
In this phenomenal #1 bestseller, David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar... more
Book Votes: 70
175
| Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - |
Walden (Everyman's Library classics) by Henry David Thoreau
In July 1845, Henry David Thoreau built a small cottage in the woods near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. During the two years and two months he spent there, he began to write "Walden", a chronicle of his coexistence with nature. Thoreau has an important place among naturalists, but... more
Book Votes: 70
176
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
When Quoyle's two-timing wife meets her just desserts, he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast, where a rich cast of local characters and family members all play a part in Quoyle's struggle to reclaim his life. As Quoyle confronts his... more
Book Votes: 70
177
| Stacy P. |
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
"[One morning] in the early spring, I woke up with the remembrance of a girl I'd once known, Sophie. It was a very vivid half-dream, half-revelation, and all of a sudden I realized that hers was a story I had to tell." That very day, William Styron began writing the first chapter... more
Book Votes: 70
178
|
wiglaf - |
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one... more
Book Votes: 69
179
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
Aesop's Fables (Complete and Unabridged Classics) by Aesop
In this elegantly designed volume, more than sixty of Aesop's timeless fables have been carefully selected, humorously retold, and brought gloriously to life by four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Jerry Pinkney. Included are the Shepherd Boy and The Wolf, the Lion and the Mouse, the Tortoise and... more
Book Votes: 69
180
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think... more
Book Votes: 68
181
|
Emily L. (fairfax512) - |
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra & Edith Grossman (Translator)
Edith Grossman's definitive English translation of the Spanish masterpiece. Widely regarded as the world's first modern novel, and one of the funniest and most tragic books ever written, Don Quixote chronicles the famous picaresque adventures of the noble knight-errant Don Quixote of La... more
Book Votes: 68
182
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the Internet, in e-mail, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former... more
Book Votes: 68
183
| Stacy P. |
The Color of Water : A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride
This is a book that will "make you proud to be a member of the human race," says Mirabella, and countless readers have already discovered its power. Written in remembrance of his Polish-born, Southern-raised Jewish mother, who married a black man and raised twelve children, all of whom... more
Book Votes: 67
184
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of... more
Book Votes: 67
185
|
Judy B. (Hoody) - |
Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks
This gripping historical novel is based on the true story of Eyam, the "Plague Village," in the rugged mountain spine of England. In 1666, a tainted bolt of cloth from London carries bubonic infection to this isolated settlement of shepherds and lead miners. A visionary young preacher convinces... more
Book Votes: 67
186
| Stephen W. (cubedst) |
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than... more
Book Votes: 67
187
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Stones from the River is a daring, dramatic and complex novel of life in Germany. It is set in Burgdorf, a small fictional German town, between 1915 and 1951. The protagonist is Trudi Montag, a Zwerg -- the German word for dwarf woman. As a dwarf she is set apart, the outsider whose physical... more
Book Votes: 65
188
| Wendy R. (wendybird) |
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink & Carol Brown Janeway (Translator)
Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg... more
Book Votes: 65
189
| Mar |
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse & Hilda Rosner (Translator)
This classic novel of self-discovery has inspired generations of seekers. With parallels to the enlightenment of the Buddha, Hesse's SIDDHARTHA is the story of a young Brahmn's quest for the ultimate reality. His quest takes him from the extremes of indulgent sensuality to the rigors of... more
Book Votes: 65
190
|
wiglaf - |
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky & Constance Garnett (Translator)
The Brothers Karamazov is a towering masterpiece of literature, philosophy, psychology, and religion. It tells the story of intellectual Ivan, sensual Dmitri, and idealistic Alyosha Karamazov, who collide in the wake of their despicable father's brutal murder.
With an introduction and... more
Book Votes: 64
191
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
War and Peace (Oxford World's Classics Hardcovers) by Leo Tolstoy & Louise and Ay...
Published to coincide with the centenary of Tolstoy's death, here is an exciting new edition of one of the great literary works of world literature. Tolstoy's epic masterpiece captures with unprecedented immediacy the broad sweep of life during the Napoleonic wars and the brutal invasion of... more
Book Votes: 64
192
| Wendy R. (wendybird) |
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
One of the first questions people ask about The Things They Carried is this: Is it a novel, or a collection of short stories? The title page refers to the book simply as "a work of fiction," defying the conscientious reader's need to categorize this masterpiece. It is both: a collection of... more
Book Votes: 64
193
| Christina B. (stina117) |
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king.
A rich and compelling novel of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe... more
Book Votes: 64
194
| Ronnie G. (frenchgiant) |
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols... more
Book Votes: 63
195
|
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - |
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
In his own words, Robinson Crusoe tells how a terrible storm drowed all his shipmates and left him marooned on a deserted island. Forced to overcome despair, doubt, and self pity, he struggles to create a life for himself in the wilderness.
Book Votes: 62
196
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
Praise for Anne Tyler's THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST:
"Beautiful, incandescent, heartbreaking, exhilarating... Indisputably her best book... There's magic in it... comic scenes that explode with joy... It leaves one aching with pleasure and pain. Words fail me: one cannot reasonably expect fiction to... more
Book Votes: 62
197
| Shelley Z. (shellbzep) |
The Giver (Giver, Bk 1) (Audio Cassette) (Unabridged) by Lois Lowry & Ron Rifkin ...
Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns twelve he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true... more
Book Votes: 62
198
|
Lisa A. (NeedyBookLover) - |
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
When high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his wife, Maureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, while Caelum is away, Maureen finds herself in the library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed.... more
Book Votes: 61
199
|
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - |
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
October 1991. It was "the perfect storm" -- a tempest that may happen only once in a century -- a nor'easter created by so rare a combination of factors that it could not possibly have been worse. Creating waves ten stories high and winds of 120 miles an hour, the storm whipped the sea to... more
Book Votes: 60
200
| Stacy P. |
Madame Bovary (Signet Classics) by Gustave Flaubert
Set amid the stifling atmosphere of nineteenth-century bourgeois France, Madame Bovary is at once an unsparing depiction of a woman's gradual corruption and a savagely ironic study of human stupidity. Provocative and deeply tragic, it is "possibly the most beautifully written book ever composed"... more
Book Votes: 60
201
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
Around the World in 80 Days (Puffin Classics) by Jules Verne
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All... more
Book Votes: 58
202
| Amy B. (BaileysBooks) |
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Ignatius J. Reilly, a grossly overweight medieval scholar who lives with his mother, is forced to seek employment when she can no longer tolerate his laziness. His disdainful encounters with the modern culture of New Orleans, his habitual misunderstanding of its inhabitants (some of them no less... more
Book Votes: 58
203
| Charity S. (charitysheppard) |
The Divine Comedy: Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso by Dante Alighieri
The Divine Comedy written by legendary author Dante Alighieri is widely considered to be one of the greatest books of all time. This great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, The Divine Comedy is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for... more
Book Votes: 56
204
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Meet the Ganguli family, new arrivals from Calcutta trying their best to become Americans even as they pine for home... Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli arrive in America at the end of the 1960s, shortly after their arranged marriage in Calcutta, in order for Ashoke to finish his engineering degree at... more
Book Votes: 56
205
| Shreya - |
The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho & Alan R. Clark...
An Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No... more
Book Votes: 56
206
Book Votes: 55
207
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Considered the greatest satire ever written in English, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels chronicles the fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, principally to four marvelous realms: Lilliput, where the people are six inches tall; Brobdingnag, a land inhabited by giants; Laputa, a... more
Book Votes: 55
208
| Nancy S. |
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University. Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on... more
Book Votes: 55
209
| Barbara W. (idiotBarbie) |
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford & Carl Burger (Illustrator)
Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure,... more
Book Votes: 54
210
|
Cheryl (pagebypage) - |
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells -- taken without her knowledge -- became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells... more
Book Votes: 54
211
| Amy B. (BaileysBooks) |
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Remains of the Day is a profoundly compelling portrait of the perfect English butler and of his fading, insular world in postwar England.
At the end of his three decades of service at Darlington Hall, Stevens embarks on a country drive, during which he looks back over his career to... more
Book Votes: 53
212
| Elizabeth K. (elizabethgraces) |
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn & H.T. Willetts ...
This account of a day in the life of a prisoner in a remote Siberian labour camp pays tribute to the capacity of man to survive under appalling conditions and an indictment of humanity that such conditions exist.
This edition has been retranslated and revised and approved by the author.
Book Votes: 53
213
|
Linda G. (WindynWVa) - |
Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and th...
A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.
It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana... more
Book Votes: 52
214
| Kathy F. |
Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, Bk 1) by Elizabeth Strout
At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine... and in the world at large. But she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a... more
Book Votes: 52
215
|
Kristin K. (escapeartistk) - |
The Metamorphosis, The Penal Colony, and Other Stories by Franz Kafka & Willa Mui...
This volume brings together everything that Franz Kafka himself published during his lifetime; all those works he thought finished enough to permit their publication. These include: 'The Judgemen,' 'The Metamorphosis,' 'In the Penal Colony,' 'A Country Doctor' and... more
Book Votes: 52
216
| Amy O. (cheermom140) |
Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, Bk 1) by Jean Auel
This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Through Jean M. Auel’s magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age... more
Book Votes: 52
217
|
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - |
The Agony and the Ecstasy : A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone
Celebrating the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo's David, New American Library releases a special edition of Irving Stone's classic biographical novel-in which both the artist and the man are brought to life in full. A masterpiece in its own right, this novel offers a compelling portrait of... more
Book Votes: 51
218
| Stacy P. |
Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak & Max Hayward (Translator) & Manya Harari (Tra...
It is the story of Zhivago, poet and physician, and his struggle to keep his family alive in the midst of the overwhelming chaos of the Russian Revolution. And, it is about Zhivago's love for the beautiful Lara, the woman he pursues beyond all reason, the human symbol of life's sweetness... more
Book Votes: 51
219
| James M. (monkeypox) |
The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
"The first of my father's illusions was that bears could survive the life lived by human beings, and the second was that human beings could survive a life led in hotels."So says John Berry, son of a hapless dreamer, brother to a cadre of eccentric siblings, and chronicler of the lives lived, the... more
Book Votes: 50
220
| Pamela C. |
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be... more
Book Votes: 50
221
|
Nicola W. (Wellnico) - |
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Audio CD) (Unabridged) by Annie Ba...
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written... more
Book Votes: 50
222
|
Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) - |
Night Shift by Stephen King
A collection of King's short stories.
Contents:
-- Jerusalem's lot
-- Graveyard shift
-- Night surf
-- I am the doorway
-- The mangler
-- The boogeyman
-- Gray matter
-- Battleground
-- Trucks
-- Sometimes they come back
-- Strawberry spring
-- The ledge
-- The... more
Book Votes: 48
223
|
carlamo - |
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchet...
According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing,... more
Book Votes: 47
224
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
Something Wicked This Way Comes (Green Town, Bk 2) by Ray Bradbury
The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. The shrill siren song of a calliope beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained.
In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town,... more
Book Votes: 47
225
| Beverlee A. |
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
How do you recover the past when it was never yours to lose? Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her beloved, widowed father, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiance, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But... more
Book Votes: 47
226
| Shannon A. (shaxtell) |
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevens...
Idealistic young scientist Henry Jekyll struggles to unlock the secrets of the soul. Testing chemicals in his lab, he drinks a mixture he hopes will isolate -- and eliminate -- human evil. Instead it unleashes the dark forces within him, transforming him into the hideous and murderous Mr.... more
Book Votes: 47
227
|
wiglaf - |
King Lear (Oxford School Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare
Harold Bloom begins his introduction to this text by claiming that nothing in language goes beyond The Tragedy of King Lear. This text includes a brief biography of William Shakespeare, thematic and structural analysis of the play, as well as a host of critical essays by some of the most... more
Book Votes: 46
228
| Joanne L. (jlustig) |
Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction) by Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a story of discovery--personal, historical, and geographical. Confined to a wheelchair, retired historian Lyman Ward sets out to write his grandparents' remarkable story, chronicling their days spent carving civilization into the surface of... more
Book Votes: 46
229
| Caroline |
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
"Why did crime in New York drop so suddenly in the mid-90s? How does an unknown novelist end up a bestselling author? Why is teenage smoking out of control, when everyone knows smoking kills? What makes TV shows like Sesame Street so good at teaching kids how to read? Why did Paul Revere succeed... more
Book Votes: 46
230
| Alicia P. (aljennin2010iu) |
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother... more
Book Votes: 46
231
| Stacy P. |
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (Civilizations Rise and Fall, Bk ...
In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world.
Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the... more
Book Votes: 45
232
|
Thomas W. (tomtir) - |
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Leaving behind a world on the brink of destruction, man came to the Red planet and found the Martians waiting, dreamlike. Seeking the promise of a new beginning, man brought with him his oldest fears and his deepest desires. Man conquered Mars—and in that instant, Mars conquered him. ... more
Book Votes: 45
233
| Lillie M. (lillie) |
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
Patrick S?skind's first novel, Perfume (Das Parfum) tells the horrific story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an orphan born in Paris in 1738. When Grenouille's abandoned body is found in the garbage, he is taken to an orphanage, where everyone who comes into contact with him finds something about... more
Book Votes: 44
234
|
Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) - |
Travels With Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
With his dog Charley, John Steinbeck set out in his truck to explore and experience America in the 1960s. As he talked with all kinds of people, he sadly noted the passing of regional speech, fell in love with Montana, and was appalled by racism in New Orleans.
Book Votes: 44
235
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All... more
Book Votes: 44
236
| Shannon A. (shaxtell) |
Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
Set in the rural South, this tale centers around the Boatwright family, a proud and close-knit clan known for their drinking, fighting, and womanizing. Nicknamed Bone by her Uncle Earle, Ruth Anne is the bastard child of Anney Boatwright, who has fought tirelessly to legitimize her child. When... more
Book Votes: 44
237
| Shannon A. (shaxtell) |
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature.It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her... more
Book Votes: 44
238
| Pamela M. |
The Friday Night Knitting Club (Knitting Club, Bk 1) by Kate Jacobs
A charming and moving novel about female friendship and the experiences that knit us together - even when we least expect it. Walker and Daughter is Georgia Walker's little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club was... more
Book Votes: 44
239
| Krista K. (Krista0521) |
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
When it was published in 1955, Lolita immediately became a cause celebre because of the freedom and sophistication with which it handled the unusual erotic predilections of its protagonist. But Vladimir Nabokov's wise, ironic, elegant masterpiece owes its stature as one of the twentieth... more
Book Votes: 44
240
Book Votes: 44
241
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
"The most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off."THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEThey are the last generation, the innocent victims of an accidental war, living out their last days,... more
Book Votes: 43
242
| Kate K. |
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Bk 1) by George R. R. Martin
In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall.
At the center of the conflict lie the... more
Book Votes: 43
243
| Jim W. (jimwillisca) |
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy has created a huge, brash thunderstorm of a novel, stinging with honesty and resounding with drama.
Spanning forty years, this is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin sister, Savannah, and the dark and violent past of the extraordinary family to which... more
Book Votes: 43
244
| Stacy P. |
Out of Africa / Shadows On The Grass by Isak Dinesen
One of the great figures in twentieth century literature is Isak Dinesen (the pen name of Baroness Karen Blixen). At the age of twenty-seven, she left Denmark and sailed for East Africa to marry her Swedish cousin, Baron Bror Blixen. Together they bought a four-thousand-acre coffee plantation in... more
Book Votes: 42
245
| Stacey R. (bromeliad) |
Uglies (Uglies, Bk 1) by Scott Westerfeld
Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?
Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly... more
Book Votes: 42
246
|
L. S. (LeMaistreChat) - |
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Readers with an eye on European politics will recognize Ali as the Somali-born member of the Dutch parliament who faced death threats after collaborating on a film about domestic violence against Muslim women with controversial director Theo van Gogh (who was himself assassinated). Even before... more
Book Votes: 41
247
|
Kristin K. (escapeartistk) - |
The Stranger (Large Print) by Albert Camus
Patrick McCarthy places The Stranger in the context of a French and French-Algerian history and culture, examines the way the work undermines traditional concepts of fiction, and explores the parallels (and more importantly the contrasts) between Camus and Sartre. His account provides a useful... more
Book Votes: 41
248
| Nori-Lynn T. (norilynn) |
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
Johnny Got His Gun is the interior monologue of infantryman Joe Bonham as he lies in a hospital with wounds that leave him unable to communicate. He recalls his earlier life and strives to overcome the tremendous obstacles that now stand between him and the rest of humanity.
This is no... more
Book Votes: 40
249
| Krista K. (Krista0521) |
Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, Bk 2) by James Patterson
In Los Angeles, a reporter investigating a series of murders is killed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a beautiful medical intern suddenly disappears. Washington D.C.'s Alex Cross is back to solve the most baffling and terrifying murder case ever. Two clever pattern killers are... more
Book Votes: 40
250
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
Just-So Stories (Puffin Classics) by Rudyard Kipling
One of the world's greatest storytellers weaves together an unforgettable collection of animal tales, including how the camel got its hump, how the leopard got its spots, and how even a butterfly stamping his leg can change a man's life.
Initially written for his own "best... more
Book Votes: 39
251
| Caroline |
Under the Banner of Heaven : A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders. At the core of his book is an appalling... more
Book Votes: 39
252
|
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - |
The Long Walk by Stephen King & Richard Bachman
Phenomenal bestselling horror. On the first day of May, one hundred teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as "The Long Walk," a deadly contest of endurance and determination, where each step could literally be their last.
Book Votes: 38
253
| DARYL D. (bookworm-51) |
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
The story deals with the tri-cornered relationship between Charles Smithson, Ernestina, his fianc?e, and Sarah Woodruff, reputed and professing to be a French Lieutenant's discarded woman. Charles is a well-born young man of scientific bent and dilettante pursuits; Ernestina, up from trade, is... more
Book Votes: 38
254
|
Laurie H. (coolelle) - |
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
First published in 1899, this beautiful, brief novel so disturbed critics and the public that it was banished for decades afterward. Now widely read and admired, The Awakening has been hailed as an early vision of woman's emancipation. This... more
Book Votes: 38
255
|
Heather M. (aggieeditor) - |
Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Piper family is steeped in secrets, lies, and unspoken truths... At the eye of the storm is one secret that threatens to shake their lives and maybe even destroy them. Set on the stormy Cape Breton Island off Nova Scotia, this multigenerational saga chronicles the lives of four sisters.... more
Book Votes: 37
256
|
Shaz H. (shaz) - |
Illustrated Classic Editions: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
In a specially adapted version by Eliza Gatewood Warren. Set against the exciting days of the French and Indian War 200 years ago, this story follows the adventures of a colonial scout and his Indian friend, Hawkeye and Chingachgook, two men bound together by their love for the New World and... more
Book Votes: 37
257
| Ronnie G. (frenchgiant) |
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
This brilliant epic novel set in New York and Prague introduces us to two misfit young men who make it big by creating comic-book superheroes. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed... more
Book Votes: 37
258
| Tina S. (cats59) |
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
The first of Thomas Hardy’s great novels, Far From the Madding Crowd established the author as one of Britain’s foremost writers. It also introduced readers to Wessex, an imaginary county in southwestern England that served as the pastoral setting for many of the author’s later... more
Book Votes: 37
259
| Shirl P. (happiness) |
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
They had been there often as tourists. They had cherished the dream of someday living all year under the Provencal sun. And suddenly it happened.
Here is the month-by-month account of the charms and frustrations that Peter Mayle and his wife -- and their two large dogs -- experience their... more
Book Votes: 37
260
| Angela S. (readabk) |
The Chosen (Reuven Malther, Bk 1) by Chaim Potok
It is the now-classic story of two fathers and two sons and the pressures on all of them to pursue the religion they share in the way that is best suited to each. And as the boys grow into young men, they discover in the other a lost spiritual brother, and a link to an unexplored world that... more
Book Votes: 37
261
| Stacy P. |
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
As I Lay Dying is the harrowing, darkly comic tale of the Bundren family's trek across Mississippi to bury Addie, their wife and mother, in the town of her choice. The story is told by each family member -- including Addie herself.
Faulkner's use of multiple viewpoints to reveal the inner... more