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Books about Refined
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
A story of courtship, romance and social class in which a young woman discovers her own identity.
The novel is set in rural England in the early 19th century. Mrs. Bennet attempts to persuade Mr. Bennet to visit Mr. Bingley, a rich bachelor recently arrived in the neighbourhood. After some verbal ... (Wikipedia)
Salt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky
Comprehensive overview of the influence of salt on human society, from ancient times to the present.
In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the ... (Goodreads)
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
A father and son journey through a post-apocalyptic landscape, facing the harsh realities of survival.
A father and his young son journey on foot across the post-apocalyptic ash-covered United States some years after an extinction event . The boy's mother, pregnant with him at the time of the ... (Wikipedia)
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
A grand narrative of life in a small English town, exploring the lives of its inhabitants.
Middlemarch centres on the lives of residents of Middlemarch, a fictitious Midlands town, from 1829 onwards – the years up to the 1832 Reform Act . The narrative is variably considered to consist of ... (Wikipedia)
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel
An autobiographical story of a daughter's complex relationship with her father and her own journey of self-discovery.
The narrative of Fun Home is non-linear and recursive. , Incidents are told and re-told in the light of new information or themes. , Bechdel describes the structure of Fun Home as a labyrinth , ... (Wikipedia)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)
The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
A Faustian tale of a man who trades his soul for eternal youth and beauty.
The Picture of Dorian Gray begins on a beautiful summer day in Victorian England, where Lord Henry Wotton, an opinionated man, is observing the sensitive artist Basil Hallward painting the portrait ... (Wikipedia)
The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides
by Aeschylus
Tragedy of a cursed family and their struggle to find the truth and justice.
Alternate cover edition can be found, here,, here,, here,, here, In the Oresteia—the only trilogy in Greek drama which survives from antiquity—Aeschylus took as his subject the bloody chain of murder ... (Goodreads)
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman
A graphic novel depicting the traumatic experiences of a Holocaust survivor and his son.
The first installment of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” (Wall Street Journal) and “the first ... (Goodreads)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
by Alan Moore
A band of Victorian-era misfits join forces to protect the British Empire.
In 1898, one year after her encounter with Dracula , Mina Murray has divorced her husband and now works for the British government. She meets with MI5 agent Campion Bond (the grandfather of James ... (Wikipedia)
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A thrilling mystery set in Barcelona, exploring the power of books and the secrets they keep.
"Gabriel García Márquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges for a sprawling magic show."—, The New York Times Book Review, A, New York Times, Bestseller Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in ... (Barnes & Noble)
Brave New World / Brave New World Revisited
by Aldous Huxley
A futuristic dystopia of a world devoid of freedom and morality.
The novel opens in the World State city of London in AF (After Ford) 632 (AD 2540 in the Gregorian calendar ), where citizens are engineered through artificial wombs and childhood indoctrination ... (Wikipedia)
Tender Is the Night
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A young couple's tumultuous journey through love, wealth and tragedy.
Dick and Nicole Diver are a glamorous couple who rent a villa in the South of France and surround themselves with a circle of friends, mainly Americans. Also staying at the nearby resort are Rosemary ... (Wikipedia)
Rules of Civility
by Amor Towles
An ambitious young woman looks to make her mark in 1930s New York, learning the complex rules of high society.
This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a ... (Goodreads)
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
by Helen Simonson
A widower finds love and acceptance in an unlikely place, challenging social conventions.
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as ... (Goodreads)
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
A story of two unlikely outcasts who find solace and comfort in each other's company.
The story revolves mainly around the characters of Renée Michel and Paloma Josse, residents of an upper-middle class Left Bank apartment building at 7 Rue de Grenelle – one of the most elegant ... (Wikipedia)
The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss
by Edmund de Waal
A journey through time, tracing the history of a family's collection of art and their struggles with loss.
The Ephrussis were a grand banking family, as rich and respected as the Rothschilds, who “burned like a comet” in nineteenth-century Paris and Vienna society. Yet by the end of World War II, almost ... (Goodreads)
Orientalism
by Edward W. Said
Exploration of the Middle East through the West's prejudiced lens.
More than three decades after its first publication, Edward Said's groundbreaking critique of the West's historical, cultural, and political perceptions of the East has become a modern classic. In ... (Goodreads)
The Line of Beauty
by Alan Hollinghurst
The story of a young gay man in Thatcher's England, navigating his identity and sexuality.
The novel is set in Britain in three parts, taking place in 1983, 1986 and 1987. The story surrounds the young gay protagonist, Nick Guest. Nick is middle-class and from the fictional market town of ... (Wikipedia)
Her Body and Other Parties: Stories
by Carmen Maria Machado
Collection of surreal stories exploring the complexities of gender, sexuality and identity.
In Her Body and Other Parties , Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her ... (Goodreads)
The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway
A group of expatriates in 1920s Europe, struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of WWI.
On the surface, the novel is a love story between the protagonist Jake Barnes—a man whose war wound has made him unable to have sex—and the promiscuous divorcée usually identified as Lady Brett ... (Wikipedia)
The Complete Novels
by Jane Austen
Collection of six classic novels exploring the romance, comedy, and tragedy of life in 19th century England.
This new, enhanced leather-bound edition includes all the completed novels of beloved author Jane Austen. Jane Austen’s stories of clever women, elusive love, and social mores have struck a chord ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Portrait of a Lady
by Henry James
A young woman's journey of self-discovery, standing up to society's expectations.
Isabel Archer, from Albany, New York , is invited by her maternal aunt, Lydia Touchett, to visit Lydia's rich husband, Daniel, at his estate near London, following the death of Isabel's father. ... (Wikipedia)
Mona Lisa Overdrive
by William Gibson
A thrilling adventure through a cyberpunk dystopia, unraveling a mysterious conspiracy.
Taking place eight years after the events of, Count Zero, and fifteen years after, Neuromancer, , the story is formed from several interconnecting plot threads, and also features characters from ... (Wikipedia)
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories
by Truman Capote
Collection of stories, exploring the lives of eccentric individuals in New York City.
In autumn 1943, the unnamed narrator befriends Holly Golightly. The two are tenants in a brownstone apartment in Manhattan 's Upper East Side . Holly (age 18–19) is a country girl turned New York ... (Wikipedia)
The Awakening
by Kate Chopin
A woman's journey of self-discovery, challenging the norms of the Victorian era.
When first published in 1899, The Awakening shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken ... (Goodreads)
Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov
A controversial tale of a man's forbidden love for a young girl.
The novel is prefaced by a fictitious foreword by John Ray Jr., an editor of psychology books. Ray states that he is presenting a memoir written by a man using the pseudonym "Humbert Humbert", who ... (Wikipedia)
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
A lighthearted comedy of manners, full of witty dialogue and satirizing Victorian society.
Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance. The ... (Goodreads)
Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden
A Japanese girl's journey from poverty to becoming a celebrated geisha, navigating the treacherous world of Japanese customs.
In 1929, nine-year old Chiyo Sakamoto and her 15-year-old sister, Satsu, are sold by their father to work within the entertainment districts of Kyoto. They are taken from their home, the coastal ... (Wikipedia)
The Poetry of Robert Frost
by Robert Frost
Collection of masterfully crafted poems examining the beauty, challenges and complexities of life.
A feast for lovers of American literature-the work of our greatest poet, redesigned and relaunched for a new generation of readers No poet is more emblematically American than Robert Frost. From "The ... (Barnes & Noble)
Heartburn
by Nora Ephron
A woman's journey of redemption after her husband's infidelity.
The narrator of the novel is Rachel Samstat (based on Nora Ephron), a food writer who is married to Mark Feldman (based on Carl Bernstein), a political journalist. Rachel is a Jewish New Yorker who ... (Wikipedia)
The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton
A romantic drama set in the high society of 19th century New York, exploring the limits of love and longing.
Newland Archer, gentleman lawyer and heir to one of New York City's most illustrious families, happily anticipates his highly desirable marriage to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. Yet he ... (Wikipedia)
Death Comes to Pemberley
by P.D. James
A murder mystery set in the idyllic village of Pemberley, a sequel to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice".
The novel begins in October, 1803, six years after the events in, Pride and Prejudice, which resulted in the marriage of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet . The Prologue and Book One ... (Wikipedia)
Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen
The contrasting fortunes of two sisters, and the love and heartbreak that ensue.
Henry Dashwood, his second wife, and their three daughters live for many years with Henry's wealthy bachelor uncle at Norland Park, a large country estate in Sussex. That uncle decides, in late life, ... (Wikipedia)
Henry V
by William Shakespeare
A young king's battle for power and the courage of his people in a defining moment of history.
Henry V is Shakespeare’s most famous “war play”; it includes the storied English victory over the French at Agincourt. Some of it glorifies war, especially the choruses and Henry’s speeches urging ... (Goodreads)
This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
by David Foster Wallace
Reflections on leading a meaningful life, with compassion and understanding.
In this rare peak into the personal life of the author of numerous bestselling novels, gain an understanding of David Foster Wallace and how he became the man that he was. Only once did David Foster ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Tale of the Body Thief
by Anne Rice
A vampire navigates the dark underworld, seeking to reclaim his stolen humanity.
At the beginning of the story, Lestat grows depressed and becomes remorseful because of his vampiric nature. Although he tries to limit his victims to murderers, serial killers and other criminals, ... (Wikipedia)
The Waste Land
by T.S. Eliot
A modernist poem exploring the social and psychological fragmentation of modern society.
The Waste Land, first published in 1922, is often regarded as T.S. Eliot's masterpiece, as well as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. The ... (Goodreads)
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A woman's journey of redemption and perseverance, in a world of religious hypocrisy and judgment.
In Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, a crowd gathers to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne, a young woman who has given birth to a baby of unknown parentage. Her sentence required her to stand on ... (Wikipedia)
Maurice
by E.M. Forster
A young man's journey of self-discovery and acceptance of his sexuality.
Maurice Hall, age fourteen, discusses sex and women with his prep-school teacher Ben Ducie just before Maurice progresses to his public school. This scene sets the tone for the rest of the novel, as ... (Wikipedia)
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau
A reflective journey into nature, exploring the power of contemplation and simplicity.
Originally published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and ... (Goodreads)
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box
by The Arbinger Institute
A exploration of how self-deception can lead to ineffective leadership and a guide to overcoming it.
The "disease" of self-deception (acting in ways contrary to what one knows is right) underlies all leadership problems in today's organizations, according to the premise of this work. However well ... (Goodreads)
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
by Ibram X. Kendi
Exploration of the history of racism in America, tracing its origins and its effects on society.
In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti–Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Stamped from the ... (Goodreads)
Norwegian Wood
by Haruki Murakami
A young man's journey of love and loss set against the backdrop of the 1960s.
Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of ... (Goodreads)
The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri
A young Indian-American's journey of reconciling two different cultures and his own identity.
The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, a young Bengali couple, leave Calcutta , India, and settle in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Ashoke is an engineering student at the ... (Wikipedia)
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
An epic search for the truth, discovering the power of love and the beauty of forgiveness.
A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without ... (Goodreads)
The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness
by Ichiro Kishimi
Exploring the philosophical roots of happiness through the power of self-determination.
The Japanese phenomenon that teaches us the simple yet profound lessons required to liberate our real selves and find lasting happiness. The Courage to be Disliked shows you how to unlock the power ... (Goodreads)
The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein
An uplifting story of a race car driver and the bond between humans and animals.
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 ... (Goodreads)
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote
A gripping story of a family's murder, told through a journalist's meticulous investigation.
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no ... (Goodreads)
The Tales of Dr. Faustus, Sorcerer
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
An exploration of human ambition and the consequences of making a deal with the devil.
Goethe’s Faust reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant scholar so disillusioned he resolves to make a contract with Mephistopheles. The devil will do all he asks on Earth and seeks to grant him ... (Goodreads)
The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
by Timothy J. Keller
Exploring the complexities of marriage, offering wisdom and insight on the purpose of marriage.
Renowned pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church and author of The Songs of Jesus , Timothy Keller with his wife of 36 years, delivers The Meaning of Marriage , an extraordinarily ... (Goodreads)
The Bone Clocks
by David Mitchell
A time-spanning saga of a war between two powerful supernatural forces.
Following a scalding row with her mother, fifteen-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: a sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew ... (Goodreads)
The Palace of Illusions
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
A narrative of a brave woman's journey through Indian mythology, coming to terms with her fate.
A reimagining of the world-famous Indian epic, the Mahabharat—told from the point of view of an amazing woman. Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that ... (Goodreads)
Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides
A multigenerational story of a hermaphrodite's journey to discovering his identity.
"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
by Michael Chabon
A young man's journey of exploration and self-discovery, discovering a world of crime and excitement in his hometown.
Art Bechstein is the son of a mob money launderer , who wants him to succeed in a legitimate career (He has even set up a job for him at the end of the summer in Baltimore at a financial firm managed ... (Wikipedia)
The Painted Veil
by W. Somerset Maugham
A married couple's journey to uncover the truth of their relationship amidst a deadly epidemic.
Maugham uses a third-person-limited point of view in this story, where Kitty Garstin is the focal character . Garstin, a pretty upper-middle class debutante, squanders her early youth amusing herself ... (Wikipedia)
The Sisters Brothers
by Patrick deWitt
A unique western, following two brothers on a quest to find and murder a prospector.
In 1851, Eli and Charlie Sisters, a pair of assassins of minor repute, are hired by a wealthy businessman known only as "the Commodore" to travel from Oregon City to California in order to murder a ... (Wikipedia)
Eating Animals
by Jonathan Safran Foer
An exploration of the ethical and environmental implications of eating meat.
Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his life oscillating between enthusiastic carnivore and occasional vegetarian. Once he started a family, the moral dimensions of food became increasingly important. ... (Goodreads)
Brideshead Revisited
by Evelyn Waugh
A nostalgic reflection on a wealthy family and the enduring power of love.
The novel is divided into three parts, framed by a prologue and epilogue. The prologue takes place during the final years of the Second World War . Charles Ryder and his battalion are sent to a ... (Wikipedia)
The Marriage Plot
by Jeffrey Eugenides
A young woman's exploration of love, life, and her place in the world.
It's the early 1980s - the country is in a deep recession, and life after college is harder than ever. In the cafés on College Hill, the wised-up kids are inhaling Derrida and listening to the ... (Goodreads)
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me
by Mariana Zapata
A woman unexpectedly falls in love with her brooding, NFL-star neighbor.
Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was ... (Barnes & Noble)
Knowing God
by J.I. Packer
Reflection on the nature of God and the relationship between God and humanity.
For over 40 years, J. I. Packer's classic has been an important tool to help Christians around the world discover the wonder, the glory and the joy of knowing God. In 2006, Christianity Today voted ... (Goodreads)
Collected Poems, 1909-1962
by T.S. Eliot
Exploration of the complexities of life and the human condition, through innovative and experimental verse.
There is no more authoritative collection of the poetry that Eliot himself wished to preserve than this volume, published two years before his death in 1965., Poet, dramatist, critic, and editor, T. ... (Barnes & Noble)
History of Beauty
by Umberto Eco
An exploration of the concept of beauty throughout time, from antiquity to the present day.
Umberto Eco’s groundbreaking and much-acclaimed first illustrated book has been a critical success since its first publication in 2004. What is beauty? Umberto Eco, among Italy’s finest and most ... (Goodreads)
Servant of the Bones
by Anne Rice
A powerful supernatural being is sent on a mission to protect a young girl from an ancient evil.
Azriel is telling the story of his transformation into and subsequent existence as an immortal genii who is forced to obey the Master who calls him. Over centuries, Azriel becomes less obedient to ... (Wikipedia)
Homeland
by Fernando Aramburu
A story of love, loss, and reconciliation set against a backdrop of the Basque-Spanish conflict.
The novel delves into the world of murderers, their victims and the family context of both. , The story begins when ETA definitively abandons its armed struggle. A widow, Bittori, goes to the ... (Wikipedia)
A Gentleman in Moscow
by Amor Towles
A Russian aristocrat's life of imprisonment in a grand hotel, discovering the beauty of life in confinement.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel With his breakout debut novel, ... (Goodreads)
The Argonauts
by Maggie Nelson
A personal exploration of gender, sexuality, and love, weaving together memoir, criticism, and philosophy.
An intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of the latest thinking about love, language, and family. Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts is a genre-bending memoir, a work of "autotheory" offering fresh, ... (Goodreads)
Hinds' Feet on High Places
by Hannah Hurnard
A spiritual allegory of a young woman's journey from fear and despair to joy and freedom.
With over 2 million copies sold, Hinds’ Feet on High Places remains Hannah Hurnard’s best known and most beloved book: a timeless allegory dramatizing the yearning of God’s children to be led to new ... (Goodreads)
The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
by Oscar Wilde
Satirical plays that explore the hypocrisies and absurdities of Victorian society.
Combining epigrammatic brilliance and shrewd social observation, the works collected in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays are edited with an introduction, commentaries and ... (Goodreads)
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
by Susanna Clarke
A collection of enchanting tales of faerie, folklore and romance.
Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell", Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed ... (Goodreads)
Bad Feminist
by Roxane Gay
A collection of essays exploring feminism, race, and gender, and their intersections.
Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be, cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read, Vogue, and I’m not doing it ... (Goodreads)
Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography
by Roland Barthes
An exploration of the nature of photography and its power to evoke emotion.
A graceful, contemplative volume, Camera Lucida was first published in 1979. Commenting on artists such as Avedon, Clifford, Mapplethorpe, and Nadar, Roland Barthes presents photography as being ... (Goodreads)
Orange Is the New Black
by Piper Kerman
A memoir of a woman's experiences in prison, exploring the effects of incarceration.
With her career, live-in boyfriend and loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the rebellious young woman who got mixed up with drug runners and delivered a suitcase of drug money to Europe over ... (Goodreads)
The Souls of Black Folk
by W.E.B. Du Bois
An exploration of the African-American experience and the struggle for racial equality.
This landmark book is a founding work in the literature of black protest. W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) played a key role in developing the strategy and program that dominated early 20th-century black ... (Goodreads)
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
by Mark Manson
A guide to self-improvement and finding the courage to pursue a meaningful life.
#1 New York Times Bestseller Over 6 million copies sold In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Graphic Novel
by Ian Edginton
An adaptation of the classic novel, exploring themes of beauty, morality and consequence.
“ Youth! Youth! There is absolutely nothing in the world worth having but youth! ” The Picture of Dorian Gray is a graphic adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic work, stunningly re-imagined by writer ... (Goodreads)
The Great Santini
by Pat Conroy
A family's psychological struggles centered around a domineering, military father.
Hard-nosed Marine fighter pilot Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meecham calls himself "The Great Santini". He runs his family with a strict hand. In 1962 before the Vietnam War , the Meecham family struggles ... (Wikipedia)
Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic
by Esther Perel
An exploration of the challenges and opportunities of maintaining desire and passion in committed relationships.
Esther Perel takes on tough questions, grappling with the obstacles and anxieties that arise when our quest for secure love conflicts with our pursuit of passion. She invites us to explore the ... (Goodreads)
A Suitable Boy
by Vikram Seth
Epic story of a young woman's search for love and her family's struggle for acceptance in 1950s India.
In 1951, 19-year-old Lata Mehra attends the wedding of her older sister, Savita, to Pran Kapoor, a university lecturer. Lata’s mother, Mrs. Rupa Mehra, says that it is time for Lata to be married as ... (Wikipedia)
Coffey's Hands
by Stephen King
A supernatural horror story exploring the power of faith and the fragility of life.
Welcome back to E Block, the deadliest place this side of the electric chair, where assaults are a daily grind and miracles are about to happen. Paul Edgecombe has become increasingly curious about ... (Goodreads)
Battlefield Of The Mind: Winning The Battle In Your Mind
by Joyce Meyer
A guide to understanding and overcoming negative thoughts, emotions and habits to achieve peace and joy.
Worry, doubt, confusion, depression, anger and feelings of condemnation: all these are attacks on the mind. If readers suffer from negative thoughts, they can take heart! Joyce Meyer has helped ... (Goodreads)
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction
by J.D. Salinger
Examination of family relationships, growing pains, and human connections.
The author writes: The two long pieces in this book originally came out in The New Yorker ? RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAM, CARPENTERS in 1955, SEYMOUR ? An Introduction in 1959. Whatever their differences ... (Goodreads)
The Cask of Amontillado - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story
by Edgar Allan Poe
A tale of revenge and retribution, forcibly trapping a foe in a ghoulish crypt.
The story's narrator, Montresor, tells an unspecified person, who knows him very well, of the day he took his revenge on Fortunato (Italian for "the fortunate one"), a fellow nobleman. Angry over ... (Wikipedia)
Morality for Beautiful Girls
by Alexander McCall Smith
A tale of adventure and morality as a young woman navigates complex relationships.
Mma Ramotswe's business, the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, has clients but needs to cut costs and increase revenue from fees. To reduce costs, she and her fiancé Mr JLB Matekoni decide to move the ... (Wikipedia)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
A young apprentice's journey of bravery, patriotism and heroism during the American Revolution.
The story begins on July 23, 1773, in the Boston silversmith shop of elderly Ephraim Lapham, where Johnny is a promising 14-year-old apprentice. It is understood that someday he will marry Mr. ... (Wikipedia)
Something Blue
by Emily Giffin
A woman navigates the intricacies of marriage, friendships, and career choices.
Darcy Rhone has always been able to rely on a few things: her beauty and charm. Her fiancé Dex. Her lifelong best friend Rachel. She never needed anything else. Or so she thinks until Dex calls of ... (Barnes & Noble)
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life
by Don Piper
A pastor recounts his near-death experience, his time in Heaven and the healing of his soul.
As he is driving home from a minister's conference, Baptist minister Don Piper collides with a semi-truck that crosses into his lane. He is pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, ... (Goodreads)
Shakespeare: The World as Stage
by Bill Bryson
An exploration of Shakespeare's life, works, and enduring cultural impact.
At first glance, Bill Bryson seems an odd choice to write this addition to the Eminent Lives series. The author of 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' isn't, after all, a Shakespeare scholar, ... (Goodreads)
Moxie
by Jennifer Mathieu
A teenage girl finds her voice and learns to navigate the sexism of high school.
Coming March 2021 as a Netflix Original Film directed by Amy Poehler! ",Moxie, is sweet, funny, and fierce. Read this and then join the fight."—Amy Poehler An unlikely teenager starts a feminist ... (Barnes & Noble)
Memories of My Melancholy Whores
by Gabriel García Márquez
An elderly man's reflections on love and life, through the lens of a young prostitute.
An old journalist, who has just celebrated his 90th birthday, seeks sex with a 14 year old prostitute, who is selling her virginity to help her family. Instead of sex, he discovers love for the first ... (Wikipedia)
An Enchantment of Ravens
by Margaret Rogerson
A forbidden romance between a mage and a faerie, tested by dark secrets and magical forces.
An instant, New York Times, bestseller! An Indie Next Top 10 Pick A Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Winner “A funny, action-packed, and sweet romance.” —,School Library Journal ,(starred review) “A ... (Barnes & Noble)
Inner Harbor
by Nora Roberts
A woman's journey of self-discovery as she navigates a world of family secrets and hidden truths.
Third in the sweeping Chesapeake quartet, about three brothers who come together in a time of need. They honored their father's wish to raise young Seth as their own. And with all of the brothers ... (Goodreads)
Ghost
by Jason Reynolds
A teenage boy must confront his past and overcome adversities to find his own path.
Running. That's all that Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But never for a track team. Nope, his game has always been ball. But when Ghost impulsively challenges an elite sprinter to ... (Goodreads)
What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love
by Carole Radziwill
A memoir of a woman's journey through love, loss, and friendship.
On a clear summer night in July 1999, a small plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, carrying John Kennedy, his wife, Carolyn, and her sister Laura. Three weeks later, John's cousin Anthony Radziwill ... (Goodreads)
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life
by Donald Miller
A journey to create a meaningful life by re-imagining and re-writing one's own story.
Full of beautiful, heart-wrenching, and hilarious stories, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details one man's opportunity to edit his life as if he were a character in a movie. Years after writing ... (Goodreads)
The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
by James L. Ferrell
Exploring how to bring peace to one's life and relationships through Christ.
How is Christ the answer to a strained relationship with child, parent or sibling? What if I am being mistreated — what does the atonement say about that? How can I discover the desire to repent when ... (Barnes & Noble)
The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity
by Esther Perel
An exploration of the psychology of cheating and relationships, challenging traditional notions of fidelity and monogamy.
Iconic couples’ therapist and bestselling author of, Mating in Captivity, Esther Perel returns with a provocative look at relationships through the lens of infidelity. An affair: it can rob a couple ... (Goodreads)
Delicious!
by Ruth Reichl
A food critic's exploration of the culinary world, showcasing the beauty of gourmet food.
In her bestselling memoirs Ruth Reichl has long illuminated the theme of how food defines us, and never more so than in her dazzling fiction debut about sisters, family ties, and a young woman who ... (Goodreads)
An Inspector Calls
by J.B. Priestley
Inspector calls to investigate a wealthy family's involvement in a young woman's death.
The action of the play occurs in an English industrial city, where a young girl commits suicide and an eminently respectable British family is subject to a routine inquiry in connection with the ... (Goodreads)
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