Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an... (more)

The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System (Magic School Bus)

The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System (Magic School Bus)

by Joanna Cole

On a special field trip in the magic school bus, Ms. Frizzle's class goes into outer space and visits each planet in the solar system.

The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body (Magic School Bus)

The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body (Magic School Bus)

by Joanna Cole

Talk about a change of plans! Ms. Frizzle and her class are on the Magic School Bus headed for a museum. They have been studying how the body turns food into energy, and now they are going to see an exhibit on the human body. Things seem fine until they stop for lunch. A strange mishap causes the bus to shrink and then be swallowed! Ms. Frizzle's class is suddenly inside a real human body!

Twelve: A Tuscan Cook Book

by Tessa Kiros

A 12-month journey through the tastes of Tuscany. In this exquisitely photographed book, Tessa Kiros uses each month of the year as a device to explore and record recipes in seasonal cooking with fine ingredients. Her personal observations throughout reveal the nuances of the Italian meal. "The Store Cupboard" has tips on filling the pantry with the right ingredients. The "Basics" section provides... (more)

Birth as an American Rite of Passage

by Robbie Davis-Floyd

Why do so many American women allow themselves to become enmeshed in the standardized routines of technocratic childbirth--routines that can be insensitive, unnecessary, and even unhealthy? Anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd first addressed these questions in the 1992 edition. Her new preface to this 2003 edition of a book that has been read, applauded, and loved by women all over the world, makes it clear that the... (more)

A Country Year: Living the Questions

by Sue Hubbell

When her thirty-year marriage broke up, Sue Hubbell found herself alone and broke on a small Ozarks farm. Keeping bees, she found solace in the natural world. She began to write, challenging herself to tell the absolute truth about her life and the things that she cared about. The result is one of the best-loved books ever written about life on the land, about a woman finding her way in middle age.

The Magic School Bus Inside A Hurricane (Magic School Bus)

The Magic School Bus Inside A Hurricane (Magic School Bus)

by Joanna Cole

When Ms. Frizzle's class takes a field trip to the local weather station, they end up in a hurricane.

In Exile from the Land of Snows RI

by John F. Avedon

Now considered a classic, this is an eloquent and compellingly told account of the Dalai Lama's exile from Tibet after its conquest by China.

Journey to Tuva

by Otto Maenchen-Helfen

A prescient, eye-witness account of Tannu Tuva in 1929, when Tuva was "independent." Full of fascinating footnotes, this book is a must for history buffs and lovers of esoterica. Translated from the German edition and annotated by Alan Leighton.

Facing the Frozen Ocean

by Bear Grylls

The compelling account of the most recent adventure of the bestselling author of Facing Up. It started out as a carefully calculated attempt to complete the first unassisted crossing of the frozen north Atlantic in a rigid inflatable boat, but it became a terrifying battle against storm-force winds, crashing waves and icebergs as large as cathedrals. Starting from the remote north Canadian coastline, Grylls and... (more)

Papagayo: The Mischief Maker

by Gerald McDermott

The mischievous parrot Papagayo spends his days playing in the jungle and disturbing the sleeping night creatures with his raucous cries. But when the ferocious moon-dog begins to devour the moon, only Papagayo knows how to save it. The night creatures learn that he’s a good friend to have--even if he is a bit NOISY.

Two in the Far North

by Margaret E. Murie

Considered by many to be the "Grande Dame of the American Conservation Movement, " Murie recounts how she grew to understand, respect and love the Alaskan frontier during the early 20th century. From plagues of mosquitoes to the movement of caribou, Murie explores the many aspects of nature in Alaska. 32 illustrations.

Apples for Jam

by Tessa Kiros

The View From The Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way In An Uncertain World

The View From The Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way In An Uncertain World

by Ted Orland

In the perennial best-seller Art & Fear , Ted Orland (with David Bayles) examined the obstacles that artists encounter each time they enter their studio and stand before a new blank canvas. Now, in The View From The Studio Door , Orland turns his attention to broader issues that stand to either side of that artistic moment of truth. In a text marked by grace, brevity and humor, Orland argues that when... (more)

Our Journey from Tibet

by Laurie Dolphin

Nine-year-old Sonam and her sisters leave their village forever to make the dangerous journey from Tibet to India, where they attend a special school for young Tibetans in exile, in a moving story accompanied by a letter from His Holiness the Dalai Lama."

Mapping the Tibetan World

by Kotan Publishing

This extraordinary budget travel guide to the Tibetan world comes with over 280 tried and tested maps covering the entire region.Get there and get around: Hundreds of pages of travel information. Plus gateway cities: New Delhi, Calcutta, Chengdu, Kunming, Kathmandu and Pokhara.Keep to your budget: Hotel tariffs, tour and trekking costs, permit and visa charges.Pack everything in: Cultural, historical and... (more)

The Iron Road: A Stand for Truth and Democracy in Burma

The Iron Road: A Stand for Truth and Democracy in Burma

by James Mawdsley

A startling account of an evil regime and one young man's efforts to defy it. Twenty-eight-year-old James Mawdsley spent much of the past four years in grim Burmese prisons. The Iron Road is his story, and the story of the regime that jailed him, the way it jails, tortures, and kills hundreds of Burmese each day. Mawdsley was working in New Zealand when he learned about the struggle of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,... (more)

Jewelry of Nepal

by Hannelore Gabriel

In many parts of Asia, folk jewellery has disappeared in the wake of modernism. In Nepal, however, where the formidable Himalayas have formed a barrier to outsiders and their influences, native jewellery traditions remain alive and strong. Jewellery in Nepal is worn for decorative, talismanic and investment purposes. Gold jewellery is abundant and its many forms are expressed in unusual sizes: silver, readily... (more)

Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts

by Joelle Hoverson

More than half of the projects in this book can be completed in less than 8 hours In an age of mass-produced, look-alike merchandise, there’s no greater pleasure than to receive—or to give—a handmade gift. To make gifts for family and friends testifies to your esteem for them and to your loving dedication of precious energy and time. And there’s the rub. These days, few people have time to create elaborate... (more)

Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front

Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front

by Joel Salatin

Drawing upon 40 years’ experience as an ecological farmer and marketer, Joel Salatin explains with humor and passion why Americans do not have the freedom to choose the food they purchase and eat. From child labor regulations to food inspection, bureaucrats provide themselves sole discretion over what food is available in the local marketplace. Their system favors industrial, global corporate food systems and... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: on my want to read it list

by Jhumpa Lahiri

by Joanna Cole

by Joanna Cole

by Tessa Kiros

by Robbie Davis-Floyd

by Sue Hubbell

by Joanna Cole

by John F. Avedon

by Otto Maenchen-Helfen

by Bear Grylls

by Gerald McDermott

by Margaret E. Murie

by Tessa Kiros

by Ted Orland

by Laurie Dolphin

by Kotan Publishing

by James Mawdsley

by Hannelore Gabriel

by Joelle Hoverson

by Joel Salatin