Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Tags: works that make you go hmmmm

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The Twentieth Wife: Book 1
The Twentieth Wife
by Indu Sundaresan
An enchanting historical epic of grand passion and adventure, this debut novel tells the captivating story of one of India's most controversial empresses -- a woman whose brilliance and determination trumped myriad obstacles, and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal Empire. Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensual imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, The Twentieth... (more)
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Nemeses: Short Novels
Everyman
by Philip Roth
Philip Roth's new novel is a candidly intimate yet universal story of loss, regret, and stoicism. The bestselling author of The Plot Against America now turns his attention from "one family's harrowing encounter with history" ( New York Times ) to one man's lifelong skirmish with mortality. The fate of Roth's everyman is traced from his first shocking confrontation with death on the idyllic beaches of his... (more)
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Speaking With the Angel
by Nick Hornby
Speaking with the Angel : 12 completely new stories, narrated by 12 completely fabulous characters, written by 12 of the most celebrated voices in fiction today. Bestselling author Nick Hornby has brought together a star-studded group of writers to create this one-of-a-kind collection of first-person narratives. From the imaginations of Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith, Irvine Welsh, Helen Fielding, Roddy Doyle,... (more)
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No Exit and Three Other Plays
by Jean-Paul Sartre
4 plays about an existential portrayal of Hell, the reworking of the Electra-Orestes story, the conflict of a young intellectual torn between theory and conflict and an arresting attack on American racism.
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Expecting Adam
A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
by Martha Nibley Beck
The "slyly ironic, frequently hilarious"( Time ) memoir about angels, academics, and a boy named Adam... A national bestseller and an important reminder that life is what happens when you're making other plans. Put aside your expectations. This "rueful, riveting, piercingly funny" (Julia Cameron) book is written by a Harvard graduate--but it tells a story in which hearts trump brains every time. It's a tale... (more)
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Thank You for Smoking
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)
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Congo
by Michael Crichton
Deep in the African rain forest, near the legendary ruins of the Lost City of Zinj, an expedition of eight American geologists is mysteriously and brutally killed in a matter of minutes. Ten thousand miles away, Karen Ross, the Congo Project Supervisor, watches a gruesome video transmission of the aftermath: a camp destroyed, tents crushed and torn, equipment scattered in the mud alongside dead bodies -- all... (more)
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Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing. As indicated by its working title The Strike, the book explores a dystopian United States where leading innovators, ranging from industrialists to artists, refuse to be exploited by society. The... (more)
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The Fountainhead
by Ayn Rand
Howard Roark is an architect whose genius and integrity will not be comprised. He has ideas that work against conventional standards.
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Sparrow: Book 1
The Sparrow
by Mary Doria Russell
In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it... (more)
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You Shall Know Our Velocity
by Dave Eggers
In his first novel, Dave Eggers has written a moving and hilarious tale of two friends who fly around the world trying to give away a lot of money and free themselves from a profound loss.It reminds us once again what an important, necessary talent Dave Eggers is.
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The Narcissism Epidemic
Living in the Age of Entitlement
by Jean M. Twenge, W. Keith Campbell
Narcissism—an inflated view of the self—is everywhere. Public figures say it’s what makes them stray from their wives. Parents teach it by dressing children in T-shirts that say "Princess." Teenagers and young adults hone it on Facebook, and celebrity newsmakers have elevated it to an art form. And it’s what’s making people depressed, lonely, and buried under piles of debt. Jean Twenge’s influential first book, ... (more)
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The Painted Bird
by Jerzy Kosinski
A harrowing story that follows the wanderings of a boy abandoned by his parents during World War II, this classic novel, originally published in 1965, is a dark masterpiece that examines the proximity of terror and savagery to innocence and love. It is the first, and the most famous, novel by one of the most important and original writers of this century.
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Florence of Arabia
by Christopher Buckley
The bestselling author who made mincemeat of political correctness in Thank You for Smoking, conspiracy theories in Little Green Men and Presidential indiscretions No Way to Treat a First Lady now takes on the hottest topic in the entire world–Arab-American relations–in a blistering comic novel sure to offend the few it doesn’t delight. Appalled by the punishment of her rebellious friend Nazrah, youngest and... (more)