Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man -- also named Jonathan Safran Foer -- sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a... (more)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

by Jonathan Safran Foer

Blindness

by Jose Saramago

A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers-among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears-through the barren streets, and the procession... (more)

But Inside I'm Screaming

by Elizabeth Flock

But inside I'm screaming is one woman's unforgettable story about what it is to lose control as the world watches, to figure out what went so very wrong and to accept an imperfect life in a world that demands perfection. While breaking the hottest news story of the year, broadcast journalist Isabel Murphy falls apart on live television in front of an audience of millions. She lands at Three Breezes, a... (more)

A Spot of Bother: A Novel

by Mark Haddon

George Hall is an unobtrusive man. A little distant, perhaps, a little cautious, not at quite at ease with the emotional demands of fatherhood, or manly bonhomie. He does not understand the modern obsession with talking about everything. “The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely.” Some things in life, however, cannot be ignored. At 61, George is settling down to a comfortable... (more)

Why Girls Are Weird : A Novel

by Pamela Ribon

She was just writing a story. When Anna Koval decides to creatively kill time at her library job in Austin by teaching herself HTML and posting partially fabricated stories about her life on the Internet, she hardly imagines anyone besides her friend Dale is going to read them. He's been bugging her to start writing again since her breakup with Ian over a year ago. And so what if the "Anna K" persona in Anna's... (more)

Unless: A Novel

by Carol Shields

Reta Winters, 44-year-old successful author of lightsummertime fiction, has always considered herself happy, even blessed. That is, until her oldest daughter Norah mysteriously drops out of college to become a panhandler on a Toronto street corner -- silent, with a sign around her neck bearing the word "Goodness".

The Uses of Enchantment: A Novel

by Heidi Julavits

In late afternoon on November 7, 1985, sixteen-year-old Mary Veal was abducted after field hockey practice at her all-girls New England prep school. Or was she? A few weeks later an unharmed Mary reappears as suddenly and mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming to have little memory of what happened to her. Her socially ambitious mother, a compelling if frosty woman descended from a Salem witch, is concerned... (more)

Speak Softly, She Can Hear: A Novel

by Pam Lewis

New York City, 1965: Two Manhattan prep school students, Carole and Naomi, make a pact to lose their virginity before graduation. Eddie, a slick Upper East Side dropout, is handsome, fatally charming, and more than willing to help the girls accomplish their goal. But on one bitterly cold holiday weekend in an isolated cabin deep in the Vermont woods, a horrifying twist develops in the plan. Before the night is... (more)

Awake

by Elizabeth Graver

Anna Simon has been living by the light of the moon ever since she gave birth to Max, a child with a rare genetic trait for whom sunlight can be fatal. For years, the Simons have structured their lives around Max's schedule. When Anna learns of a camp for families with children like Max, she envisions a sanctuary for her son, a place where he can play and be free. What she does not foresee is the sanctuary that... (more)

Then We Came to the End

by Joshua Ferris

This wickedly funny, big-hearted novel about life in the office signals the arrival of a gloriously talented new writer. The characters in THEN WE CAME TO THE END cope with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, secret romance, elaborate pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks. By day they compete for the best office furniture left behind and try to make sense of the... (more)

The Night Bus

by Janice Law

A few months ago, Cath Tolland ran away from her life. Boarding a night bus with no credit cards or identification, using the last of her meager cash to buy a one-way ticket to Florida, Cath left behind her home, her friends, and a seemingly happy marriage--for reasons that not even she can remember. But now Cath is back home in Connecticut, in the arms of her loving, if distant, husband Derek-and watched over,... (more)

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Everything Is Illuminated

by Jonathan Safran Foer

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

by Jonathan Safran Foer

Blindness

by Jose Saramago

But Inside I'm Screaming

by Elizabeth Flock

A Spot of Bother: A Novel

by Mark Haddon

Why Girls Are Weird : A Novel

by Pamela Ribon

Unless: A Novel

by Carol Shields

The Uses of Enchantment: A Novel

by Heidi Julavits

Speak Softly, She Can Hear: A Novel

by Pam Lewis

Awake

by Elizabeth Graver

Then We Came to the End

by Joshua Ferris

The Night Bus

by Janice Law