Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Using glowing, hypnotic images and a funny, provocative text, the narrator relives his father's most amazing childhood Christmas. A moody young boy sees himself as the "Red Ranger from Mars, " his hero from the movie serials, and cannot picture life without the gift of a Red Ranger bicycle. Full color.

The Virgin Suicides

by Jeffrey Eugenides

In the tradition of Bright Lights, Big City and The Secret History comes a compelling, highly-acclaimed debut novel of youth and innocence. On the elm-lined streets of a middle-class American city, the lives of a group of teenaged boys are forever changed by their obsession with five mysteriously doomed sisters.

Hocus Pocus

by Kurt Vonnegut

This novel tells the story of a devilish pair of twins whose enormous intellect is hidden behind a facade of idiocy.

The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection

by Neil Gaiman

Four of beloved author Neil Gaiman's delightfully scary, strange, and hilarious children's tales read by the author, now available unabridged. This collection includes: The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish: An unforgettable story that will take readers on a journey into the murky mind of a young boy and the perils of striking a bargain. The Wolves in the Walls: Lucy is sure there are wolves living in the... (more)

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident. Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible. He warns Shadow that... (more)

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions

by Neil Gaiman

The distinctive storytelling genius of Neil Gaiman has been acclaimed by writers as diverse as Norman Mailer and Stephen King. Now in this new collection of stories--several of which have never before appeared in print and more than half that have never been collected--that will dazzle the senses and haunt the imagination. Miraculous inventions and unforgettable characters inhabit these pages: an elderly widow who... (more)

His Dark Materials: Book 2

The Subtle Knife

by Philip Pullman

Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted underworld—Cittàgazze, where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies: 12-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another’s, has also stumbled into this strange new realm. On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will discover an object of devastating power. And... (more)

His Dark Materials: Book 1

The Golden Compass (Northern Lights)

by Philip Pullman

"SUPERB . . . WONDER-FILLED." --The Washington Post Book World It was no ordinary life for a young girl: living among scholars in the hallowed halls of Jordan College and tearing unsupervised through Oxford's motley streets on mad quests for adventure. But Lyra's greatest adventure would begin closer to home, the day she heard hushed talk of an extraordinary particle. Microscopic in size, the magical dust--found... (more)

Doomsday Book

by Connie Willis

For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received. But a crisis... (more)

His Dark Materials: Book 3

The Amber Spyglass

by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass brings the intrigue of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife to a heart-stopping end, marking the final volume of His Dark Materials as the most powerful of the trilogy. Along with the return of Lyra, Will, Mrs. Coulter, Lord Asriel, Dr. Mary Malone, and Iorek Byrnison the armored bear, come a host of new characters: the Mulefa, mysterious wheeled creatures with the power to see Dust;... (more)

The Shadow of the Wind

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Barcelona, 1945—A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax’s other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever... (more)

The Magician's Boy

by Susan Cooper

Only a child can find the way to bring Saint George back to the play. The Boy works for the Magician, and he wants more than anything to learn magic. But the Magician always says, "Not yet, Boy. Not till the time is right." So the Boy has to be content with polishing the Magician's wand, taking care of the rabbits the Magician pulls out of hats, and doing his favorite job: operating the puppets for the play ... (more)

I Capture the Castle

by Dodie Smith

Now a major motion picture from the Academy Award-winning producer of Shakespeare in Love I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly... (more)

A Slight Trick of the Mind

by Mitch Cullin

It is 1947, and the long-retired Sherlock Holmes, now 93, lives in a remote Sussex farmhouse with his housekeeper and her young son. He tends to his bees, writes in his journal, and grapples with the diminishing powers of his mind. But in the twilight of his life, as people continue to look to him for answers, Holmes revisits a case that may provide him with answers of his own to questions he didn’t even know he... (more)

Postcards From The Boys

by Ringo Starr

Whenever John, Paul, or George went on a trip, they would send Ringo a postcard. Now, for the first time, Ringo Starr is opening his private archive to share this delightful and very intimate correspondence. Whether it's John advising Ringo to record a "great & simple" song like Blondie's Heart of Glass, Paul and Jane Asher dropping a note from Rishikesh to report on their meditation lessons with the... (more)

Walking (Little Books of Wisdom)

by Henry David Thoreau

"In wildness is the preservation of the world," -- A lecture by Thoreau which became one of the seminal works of the early environmental movement.

Sarum: The Novel of England

by Edward Rutherfurd

A masterpiece that is breathtaking in its scope, SARUM is an epic novel that traces the entire turbulent course of English history. This rich tapesty weaves a compelling saga of five families who preserve their own particular characteristics over the centuries, and offer a fascinating glimpse into the future. From the Paperback edition.

Elsewhere

by Gabrielle Zevin

Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice. Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth,... (more)

The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins (Facts on File Writer's Library)

The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins (Facts on File Writer's Library)

by Robert Hendrickson

An updated and expanded edition, The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Third Edition contains definitions and origins of more than 12,500 words and expressions, making it the most comprehensive single-volume reference of its kind. Anecdotes and information on the development of a wide range of words, including slang, proverbs, animal and plant names, place names, nicknames, historical... (more)

The Steps of Pittsburgh: Portrait of a City

The Steps of Pittsburgh: Portrait of a City

by Bob Regan

One city, 712 sets of steps, 44,645 treads, 24,108 vertical feet. Sort of like climbing Mt. Everest. With Photos by Tim Fabian. Many of Pittsburgh's steps are legal streets, and all of them reflect the city's unique topography and history. Together, these 712 sets of steps provide a vital link in the city's transportation system as well as unusual challenges for pedestrians, joggers, the bike police, and... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: needs review

by Berkeley Breathed

by Jeffrey Eugenides

by Kurt Vonnegut

by Neil Gaiman

by Neil Gaiman

by Neil Gaiman

by Philip Pullman

by Philip Pullman

by Connie Willis

by Philip Pullman

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

by Susan Cooper

by Dodie Smith

by Mitch Cullin

by Ringo Starr

by Henry David Thoreau

by Edward Rutherfurd

by Gabrielle Zevin

by Robert Hendrickson

by Bob Regan