Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Book of Illusions: A Novel

by Paul Auster

Having lost his family in a devastating plane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer journeys around the world to research the life of a presumed-dead silent film actor, and he finds his life changed forever when his subsequent writings get unexpected attention. BOMC. QPB.

The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables (Children's Illustrated Classics S.)Blanche Winder, Aesop

The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables (Children's Illustrated Classics S.)

by Lauri M. Aesoph, Fiona Black, Claire Littlejohn, Jacob Lawrence, Aesop

"The Country Mouse and the City Mouse," "The Fox and the Grapes," "The Hare and the Tortoise"--these and other well-loved fables are ilustrated with intricately detailed paintings that provide a perfect counterpoint. "(A) magnificent volume . . . illustrated with elegant paintings in opulent colors."--Publishers Weekly. Full color.

Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier

Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier

by Alexandra Fuller

Best-selling memoirist Alexandra Fuller travels with a strangely charismatic Rhodesian war veteran into a modern-day heart of darkness. When Alexandra ("Bo") Fuller was home in Zambia a few years ago, visiting her parents for Christmas, she asked her father about a nearby banana farmer who was known for being a "tough bugger." Her father's response was a warning to steer clear of him; he told Bo: "Curiosity... (more)

Sandman: Book 1

Sandman : Preludes and Nocturnes

by Neil Gaiman

"Wake up, sir. We're here." It's a simple enough opening line--although not many would have guessed back in 1991 that this would lead to one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comics of the second half of the century. In Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman weaves the story of a man interested in capturing the physical manifestation of Death but who instead captures the King of Dreams. By Gaiman's own... (more)

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

An adaptation of Aesop's fables features the artwork of a nineteenth-century French illustrator and includes ""The Fox and the Grapes,"" ""The Ants and the Grasshopper,"" ""The Country Mouse and the City Mouse,"" and two hundred others. Reprint.

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

Here are the time-honored fables of Aesop as never seen before. Santore's animals leap off the page in explosions of color, giving messages to ponder and physical beauty to savor. School Library Journal called this interpretation of the classic morality tales " a delight to the eye and ear."

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood

by Alexandra Fuller

In Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller’s endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller’s debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares... (more)

In Patagonia

by Bruce Chatwin

In Patagonia is Bruce Chatwin's exquisite account of his journey through "the uttermost part of the earth," that stretch of land at the southern tip of South America, where bandits were once made welcome and Charles Darwin formed part of his "survival of the fittest" theory. Chatwin's evocative descriptions, notes on the odd history of the region, and enchanting anecdotes make In Patagonia an exhilarating look... (more)

World War II: Part II (United States at War)

World War II: Part II (United States at War)

by Joseph Stromberg

Original material by Joseph Stromberg, Edited by Wendy McElroy, Produced by Pat Childs What was the ultimate cost of World War II? For the Axis peoples, it was defeat, humiliation, and economic ruin. For the Allied peoples, the price was more subtle. They had instituted economic and social policies to pursue the war, and many of these struck to the very heart of liberty. Soon, hostility between two of the... (more)

The Professor and the Madman

A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

by Simon Winchester

The Professor and the Madman , masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led... (more)

Skipping Christmas

by John Grisham

Luther and Nora Krank are fed up with the chaos of Christmas. The endless shopping lists, the frenzied dashes through the mall, the hassle of decorating the tree... where has all the joy gone? This year, celebrating seems like too much effort. With their only child off in Peru, they decide that just this once, they'll skip the holidays. They spend their Christmas budget on a Caribbean cruise set to sail on... (more)

Cannery Row

by John Steinbeck

Adventures of cannery workers living in the run-down waterfront section of Monterey, California.

The Man in the Black Suit : 4 Dark Tales

The Man in the Black Suit : 4 Dark Tales

by Stephen King

THE MAN IN THE BLACK SUIT FOUR UNABRIDGED DARK TALES FROM STEPHEN KING The Man in the Black Suit Read by John Cullum "...the face of the man in the black suit grows ever clearer, ever closer, and I remember every word he said. I don't want to think of him, but I can't help it, and sometimes at night my old heart beats so hard and so fast I think it will tear itself right clear of my chest." A... (more)

Marley & Me

Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

by John Grogan

This was a great story of a family and their dog. it was extremely sad (sobs in the last two chapters) but well worth reading it. I will be a mess again when I have to say goodbye to by childhood dog. Good read.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by Mark Twain

Sparkling with mischief, jumping with youthful adventure, Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer is one of the most splendid re-creations of childhood in all of literature. It is a lighthearted romp, full of humor and warmth. It shares with its sequel, Huckleberry Finn , not only a set of unforgettable characters--Tom, Huck, Aunt Polly and others--but a profound understanding of humanity as well. Through such hilarious scenes... (more)

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson

One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer. In A Walk in the Woods , Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country , he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest... (more)

Middlesex: A Novel

by Jeffrey Eugenides

A dazzling triumph from the bestselling author of The Virgin Suicides --the astonishing tale of a gene that passes down through three generations of a Greek-American family and flowers in the body of a teenage girl. In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond clasmate with a gift for acting. The passion that... (more)

A Light in the Attic

by Shel Silverstein

Last night while I lay thinking here Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear And pranced and partied all night long And sang their same old Whatif song: Whatif I flunk that test? Whatif green hair grows on my chest? Whatif nobody likes me? Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?... Here in the attic of Shel Silverstein you will find Backward Bill, Sour Face Ann, the Meehoo with an Exactlywatt, and the Polar Bear... (more)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by J. K. Rowling

Two new books penned by J.K. Rowling will help tide over Harry Potter fans as they await book five, and raise money for a good cause: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, an A to Z listing of all beings magical (and required reading for all first-year Hogwarts students), and Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp (a "renowned Quidditch expert"), the official handbook of the wizard's... (more)

Quidditch Through the Ages (Harry Potter's Schoolbooks S.)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: finished 2008

by Paul Auster

by Lauri M. Aesoph, Fiona Black, Claire Littlejohn, Jacob Lawrence, Aesop

by Alexandra Fuller

by Neil Gaiman

by Aesop

by Aesop

by Alexandra Fuller

by Bruce Chatwin

by Joseph Stromberg

A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

by Simon Winchester

by John Grisham

by John Steinbeck

by Stephen King

Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

by John Grogan

by Mark Twain

by Bill Bryson

by Jeffrey Eugenides

by Shel Silverstein

by J. K. Rowling

by J. K. Rowling