Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization -- the Illuminati.... (more)

The Lovely Bones

by Alice Sebold

On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and... (more)

The Handmaid's Tale

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 read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births,... (more)

The Jane Austen Book Club: A Novel

by Karen Joy Fowler

The Extraordinary New York Times Bestseller In California’s central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen’s novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has... (more)

Sally Lockhart Trilogy: Book 3

The Tiger in the Well

by Philip Pullman

"Pullman is fast becoming a modern-day Dickens for young adults. The setting is the same, the strong eye for characters is there, as are the brooding atmosphere, the social conscience, and the ability to spin plot within plot. Sally Lockhart is now a young woman, left alone with a toddler. Nothing prepares her for the shock of receiving a summons from a man she has never even heard of, suing for divorce and... (more)

Sally Lockhart Trilogy: Book 1

The Ruby in the Smoke

by Philip Pullman

"In Dickensian fashion, Pullman tells the story of 16-year-old Sally Lockhart, who becomes involved in a deadly web of events as she searches for a mysterious ruby. The novel is a page turner, peopled with despicable hags, forthright heroes, and children living on the underbelly of 19th-century London. The story's events are exciting, with involved plotting. Settings and characterizations are exquisitely drawn.... (more)

Sally Lockhart Trilogy: Book 2

The Shadow in the North

by Philip Pullman

"Fraud, fire, and bloody murder pursue Sally Lockhart in a fine sequel to The Ruby in the Smoke. Sally, now 22, is in business as a financial consultant. When she and her friends challenge corrupt financial interests, they find themselves in a web of intrigue that stretches from fetid slums of the poor to the corporate offices of the richest man in Europe. Sally's detective work reveals the connections between... (more)

Sammy's Hill

by Kristin Gore

In her debut novel Sammy's Hill, Kristin Gore treats readers to an insider's view of life and love on Capitol Hill.In fact, the view couldn't get much more inside the Beltway, especially coming from former Vice President Al Gore's daughter. Still, Sammy's Hill is witty and engaging enough to prove that it's not always who you know, but sometimes how well you tell their stories.Samantha Joyce, Gore's heroine, is a... (more)

Wide Sargasso Sea

by Jean Rhys

The fortieth anniversary reissue of the best-selling "tour de force" (Walter Allen, New York Times Book Review ). Jean Rhys's reputation was made upon the publication of this passionate and heartbreaking novel, in which she brings into the light one of fiction's most mysterious characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. A sensual and protected young woman, Antoinette Cosway... (more)

Thank You for Smoking: A Novel

by Christopher Buckley

Nobody blows smoke like Nick Naylor. He’s a spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies–in other words, a flack for cigarette companies, paid to promote their product on talk and news shows. The problem? He’s so good at his job, so effortlessly unethical, that he’s become a target for both anti-tobacco terrorists and for the FBI. In a country where half the people want to outlaw pleasure and the other want to... (more)

Hawkes Harbor

by S. E. Hinton

An orphan and a bastard, Jamie Sommers grew up knowing he had no hope of heaven. Conceived in adultery and born in sin, Jamie was destined to repeat the sins of his parents--or so the nuns told him. And he proved them right. Taking to sea, Jamie sought out danger and adventure in exotic ports all over the world as a smuggler, gunrunner--and murderer. Tough enough to handle anything, he's survived foreign prisons,... (more)

The Brontë Project: A Novel of Passion, Desire, and Good PR

The Brontë Project: A Novel of Passion, Desire, and Good PR

by Jennifer Vandever

“A sweet read even a Wuthering Heights fan can love.” — Entertainment Weekly Young scholar Sara Frost’s unsuccessful search for the lost love letters of Charlotte Brontë hasn’t won her any favors at her university, particularly now that the glamorous and self-promoting Princess Diana expert, Claire Vigee, has introduced her media-savvy exploits to the staid halls of academia. But it’s not until Sara’s fiancé... (more)

Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick (And the Bible Series)

Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick (And the Bible Series)

by Richard Abanes

In response to the heated controversy surrounding the Harry Potter phenomenon, Christian Publications is excited to present the book "Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace behind the Magick." (The word Â“magicÂ” refers to stage illusions by sleight-of-hand, where-as Â“magickÂ” refers to occult practices.) In this timely book, Richard Abanes -- nationally recognized cult researcher -- skillfully answers the... (more)

Cirque Du Freak

by Darren Shan

Thursday Next: Book 1

The Eyre Affair

by Jasper Fforde

Agenci ds. Operacji Specjalnych wybawią cię z każdych tarapatów. Porwano bohatera twojej ulubionej powieści - zadzwoń do OS-27. Zgubiłeś tabletki przeciw wilkołactwu -wybierz numer OS-17. Szekspiromaty recytujące poezje, bojówki surrealistów, tajemniczy Ziemio-krzyżowcy i Zakon Wombata zaludniają oszałamiająco bogaty świat tej powieści. Manifestacja nieograniczonej wyobraźni i literackiej sprawności. Zapierająca... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: mediocre books i waste my time with

Angels & Demons

by Dan Brown

The Lovely Bones

by Alice Sebold

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

The Jane Austen Book Club: A Novel

by Karen Joy Fowler

The Tiger in the Well

by Philip Pullman

The Ruby in the Smoke

by Philip Pullman

The Shadow in the North

by Philip Pullman

Sammy's Hill

by Kristin Gore

Wide Sargasso Sea

by Jean Rhys

Thank You for Smoking: A Novel

by Christopher Buckley

Hawkes Harbor

by S. E. Hinton

The Brontë Project: A Novel of Passion, Desire, and Good PR

by Jennifer Vandever

Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick (And the Bible Series)

by Richard Abanes

Cirque Du Freak

by Darren Shan

The Eyre Affair

by Jasper Fforde