Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Case one: A little girl goes missing in the night. Case two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniac's apparently random attack. Case three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making - with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband - until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape. Thirty years after the first incident, as private investigator Jackson Brodie... (more)

The Myth of You and Me: A Novel

by Leah Stewart

When Cameron was fifteen, she and Sonia were best friends—so close it seemed nothing would ever come between them. Now Cameron is a twenty-nine-year-old research assistant with no meaningful ties to anyone except her aging boss, noted historian Oliver Doucet. Nearly a decade after the incident that ended their friendship, Cameron receives an unexpected letter from her old friend. Despite Oliver’s urging, she... (more)

A Million Little Pieces

by James Frey

Intense, unpredictable, and instantly engaging, A Million Little Pie ces is a story of drug and alcohol abuse and rehabilitation as it has never been told before. Recounted in visceral, kinetic prose, and crafted with a forthrightness that rejects piety, cynicism, and self-pity, it brings us face-to-face with a provocative new understanding of the nature of addiction and the meaning of recovery. By the time he... (more)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Standing on the fringes of life... offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's... (more)

The Icarus Girl

by Helen Oyeyemi

Jessamy “Jess” Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination, she has a hard time fitting in at school. It is only when she visits Nigeria for the first time that she makes a friend who understands her: a ragged little girl named TillyTilly. But soon TillyTilly’s visits become more disturbing, until Jess realizes she doesn’t actually know... (more)

The Ha-Ha : A Novel

by Dave King

A novel of extraordinary emotional power, hailed as one of the most moving and remarkable literary debuts of the year. THE HA-HA is the story of Howard Kapostash, a mute war veteran who, in opening his home to a nine-year-old boy, is afforded a rare glimpse of life outside his shell-with all its exuberant joys and crushing sorrows.

Love Monkey : A Novel (P.S.)

by Kyle Smith

Many men aim high; Tom Farrell dares to be average. While his friends accumulate wedding rings, mortgages, and even, alarmingly, babies, Tom still lives alone in his rented apartment with nothing but condiments and alcohol in his refrigerator. He spends Saturday mornings watching cartoons and eating Cocoa Puffs out of an Empire Strikes Back bowl, and devotes the rest of the weekend to his other favorite hobbies:... (more)

The End of Marriage: A Novel

by Nina Vida

Sometimes, love is found in the most unexpected places. Sometimes, two people find each other across a crowded room. Sometimes, love conquers all. But only sometimes... Ellie Holmgren is no stranger to tragedy. Her only child, eight-year-old Jamie, died during a tonsillectomy, and while Ellie was trying to find a way to dig herself out of her profound grief, her husband divorced her. And now her sister,... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: read winter 2006

Case Histories: A Novel

by Kate Atkinson