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Hot Pick
1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
What if freedom was a thoughtcrime—and your own mind betrayed you? In a suffocating world of perpetual war and omnipresent surveillance, Winston Smith dares to keep a forbidden diary, cling to forbidden love, and whisper the ultimate rebellion: 2 + 2 = 4. But as the Thought Police close in and reality itself bends to the Party’s will, one question chills the bone: If even your memories can be rewritten, what becomes of truth—and does defiance doom you, or make you human?
- Originally Published: June 8, 1949
- Publisher: Penguin Books, 2008
- Genre: Science fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Social science fiction, Political fiction
- Pages: 1231
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0241969694
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Animal Farm
What if freedom became just another cage? When the oppressed animals of Manor Farm overthrow their human masters, they vow to create a world of equality—only to watch their revolution devoured by cunning pigs who rewrite history and enforce tyranny with iron hooves. But as ideals crumble and loyal comrades vanish, one chilling truth echoes: All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others… How far would you go to believe the lie?
- Originally Published: August 1945
- Genre: Novella, Political Satire
- Pages: 101
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780451526342
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Anna Karenina
What if the greatest love of your life could destroy everything you hold dear? In Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, a radiant aristocrat defies the suffocating rules of Russian high society, torn between a love that ignites her soul and the gilded cage of duty—but as whispers of scandal unravel her world and a parallel search for meaning unfolds in the shadows, can liberation ever outweigh the cost of burning it all down… or is the heart’s truth the most dangerous lie of all?
- Originally Published: 1873
- Publisher: Penguin Books, 2002
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 880
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0140449174
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Brave New World
What if your deepest desires were manufactured—and your free will, a flaw to be erased? In Brave New World, a society thrives on engineered harmony, its citizens numbed by pleasure and oblivious to the chains of their perfection—until one man dares to question the void behind the smiles. But as his rebellion unearths the rot beneath utopia’s gleaming surface, will awakening to the truth save humanity… or doom it to collapse? Is a world without pain worth living in if it means losing your soul—or have we already surrendered ours?
- Originally Published: 1932
- Publisher: Vintage Classics, 2004
- Genre: Novel, Science fiction, Dystopian Fiction
- Pages: 229
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0099477464
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest People on Earth
What if the “happiest” nation on Earth harbored a secret so dark it could devour its soul? Dr. Kighare Menka, a surgeon haunted by the mutilated bodies of his patients, stumbles upon a grisly conspiracy trading in human flesh—a scheme entwined with the country’s most revered leaders. When his closest friend becomes the next target, Menka must unravel the lies before his own name joins the missing… but in a world where power wears a saint’s mask, can truth survive—or will it be buried with the bones?
- Originally Published: 2021
- Publisher: Vintage, 2022
- Genre: Fiction
- Pages: 464
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780593314470
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Crime and Punishment
What if the perfect crime could redeem your life—but only by damning your soul? In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov, a brooding ex-student teetering on despair, gambles his morality to prove a chilling theory: that some men deserve to transcend guilt. But as paranoia claws at his sanity and a cunning detective circles closer, he’s forced to confront the true cost of his philosophy. Can a murderer outrun his conscience… or does redemption demand a punishment far worse than death?
- Originally Published: 1866
- Publisher: Dover Publications, 2001
- Genre: Fiction, Psychological
- Pages: 448
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0486415871
- Access: Members
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Death of a Salesman
What if everything you believed about success was a lie? Arthur Miller’s tragic masterpiece follows Willy Loman, a salesman clinging to fraying illusions of success and family loyalty as age and failure close in. But when pride collides with delusion, and love battles bitter resentment, the cracks in his fragile world widen—how much of your soul would you trade for a lie everyone else has already stopped believing?
- Originally Published: 1949
- Publisher : Fingerprint Classics, 2017
- Genre: Tragedy
- Pages: 136
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-8175994300
- Access: Members!
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Hot Pick
Devil on the Cross
What if the devil wasn’t a myth, but a tyrant in a tailored suit, auctioning your future to the highest bidder? In Devil on the Cross, Wariinga, a defiant young woman stripped of hope, confronts a grotesque underworld where greed is gospel and her people’s suffering is a spectator sport. But as she uncovers the rot festering in her nation’s soul, will her rebellion ignite liberation—or bind her to the very evil she fights? The cross awaits… and no one escapes unscathed.
- Originally Published: 1980
- Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2017
- Pages: 320
- Genre: Novel
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780143107361
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
What if the monster you fear most is the one you’ve locked inside yourself? In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a brilliant but tormented scientist unleashes a dangerous experiment to split his soul—only to find his darkest impulses taking violent, uncontrollable form. But as the line between man and monster dissolves, will his final act save humanity… or prove that the true horror was hiding in the mirror all along?
- Originally Published: 1886
- Publisher: Vintage Classics Library, 2016
- Genre: Gothic, Horror
- Pages: 240
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9781784871604
- Access: Members
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Frankenstein
What if the spark of life you ignited turned into a nightmare you couldn’t control? In Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but tormented scientist, shatters the boundaries of nature to breathe life into his darkest ambition—only to unleash a haunting force that mirrors humanity’s deepest fears. As obsession twists into terror and creation confronts creator, one question remains: Is the true monster born of flesh… or the ruin of a soul that dared to play God?
- Originally Published: 1818
- Publisher: Wordsworth Classics, 1992
- Genre: Fiction
- Pages: 174
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9781853260230
- Access: Members
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Hamlet
What if avenging your father’s death meant unraveling your own soul? Prince Hamlet is consumed by grief—until a spectral revelation demands he confront a kingdom’s rot of betrayal and murder. As masks of sanity slip and blades glint in shadows, every choice bleeds into treachery, love, and the crushing weight of existence itself. But in a court where lies taste like truth, can vengeance ever heal—or will it devour the avenger alive?
- Originally Published: 1623
- Publisher: Wordsworth Classics, 1992
- Genre: Tragedy, Shakespearean tragedy
- Pages: 200
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9781853260094
- Access: Members
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Hard Times
What if the cost of building a perfect society is the crushing of every fragile, human heart? In Hard Times, a rigid industrialist enforces a world of cold facts and suffocated dreams—until his own children, starved of compassion and wonder, begin to crack under the weight of his soulless logic. But when rebellion sparks in the unlikeliest corners, can a single flame of hope survive a storm of greed… or will the machinery of progress grind even love to dust?
- Originally Published: August 12, 1854
- Publisher: Penguin Classics, 1985
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 328
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0140430424
- Access: Members
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Heart of Darkness
What if the greatest darkness you must face isn’t the wilderness—but the abyss inside yourself? In Heart of Darkness, a steamboat captain’s quest to find a rogue ivory trader spirals into a harrowing voyage upriver, where the jungle’s suffocating grip mirrors the rot of greed and imperialism. As whispers of the enigmatic Kurtz unravel into a nightmare, one chilling truth emerges: the line between civilization and savagery is as thin as a shadow… and what stares back from the void might wear your own face.
- Originally Published: April, 1899
- Publisher: Collins Classics, 2016
- Genre: Fiction, Novella
- Pages: 130
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780007368624
- Access: Members
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Jude the Obscure
What if the price of defying society’s chains is your own destruction? In Thomas Hardy’s searing novel, Jude Fawley—a stonemason with a scholar’s heart—battles cruel class barriers and a forbidden love that ignites and consumes. But as every dream crumbles under the weight of prejudice and desire, one question remains: Can the human spirit endure when the world conspires to extinguish its light?
- Originally Published: 1895
- Publisher : Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1993
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 376
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-1853262616
- Access: Members
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Little Women
What if the bonds of sisterhood were the only thing standing between you and a world determined to define your destiny? In Little Women, the March sisters defy crumbling fortunes, societal constraints, and their own clashing dreams as they forge paths in a nation torn by war and transformation. But when love and ambition collide with a devastating choice, how much can one family sacrifice before the life they’ve fought for unravels forever?
- Originally Published: 1868
- Publisher: Aladdin, 2019
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 530
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-1534462205
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Lolita
What if the most seductive love story was really a confession of crimes? In Lolita, a scholar’s intellectual charm veils a perilous obsession with Dolores Haze, a girl ensnared in a gilded prison of manipulation and forbidden desire. As their cross-country odyssey spirals into darkness, her laughter masks silent rebellion—but when obsession eclipses morality, can love ever justify ruin? Prepare to confront a narrative so haunting, you’ll wonder if turning the page is an act of complicity.
- Originally Published: 1955
- Publisher: Penguin, 2011
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 368
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0241953242
- Access: Members
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Macbeth
What if a single prophecy could unravel your soul? Macbeth, a noble warrior, grapples with this torment when a chilling prediction ignites a spiral of ambition and moral decay. As crowns are seized and alliances fracture, his conscience battles a hunger for power—but in a world where fate whispers and blood stains, can any victory outweigh the cost? Will you dare witness how far a man will fall before his own shadow devours him?
- Originally Published: 1606
- Publisher: Wordsworth Classics, 1992
- Genre: Tragedy
- Pages: 128
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9781853260353
- Access: Members
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Mrs Dalloway
What if the echoes of a single day could unravel the fragile tapestry of your existence? In Mrs Dalloway, Clarissa Dalloway, a society hostess cloaked in poise, navigates a whirlwind of hidden regrets and fleeting connections as she prepares a party that masks decades of silent yearning. Yet when the shadows of war, lost chances, and a tormented stranger’s fate pierce her polished world, will the chime of midnight bring liberation—or unravel the threads binding her to life itself? What truths lie buried beneath the roses and champagne… and who will survive their blooming?
- Originally Published: May 14, 1925
- Publisher: Vintage Classics Library, 2016
- Genre: Novel, Psychological Fiction
- Pages: 172
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-1784871697
- Access: Members
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No Longer Human
What if the mask you wear to survive becomes the very thing devouring you alive? In Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human, Yōzo, a man drowning in self-loathing and artifice, crafts a dazzling veneer of charm to hide his crippling terror of humanity—only to find each lie etching him deeper into isolation. But when love, betrayal, and despair collide, will his final act be one of salvation or annihilation… and dare you witness the reflection staring back when the façade shatters?
- Originally Published: 1948
- Publisher: Book Hill, 1973
- Genre: Fiction, Novel
- Pages: 177
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0811204811
- Access: Members
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Notes From Underground
What if the most dangerous prison wasn’t around you—but inside your own mind? Notes From Underground plunges into the fractured psyche of a nameless outcast whose razor-sharp intellect dissects society’s illusions, even as his self-loathing traps him in a spiral of spite and despair. As he oscilliates between rebellion and paralysis, mocking the world and himself, one chilling question remains: Will enlightenment save him… or devour what’s left of his soul?
- Originally Published: April 1864
- Publisher: Wordsworth Classics, 2015
- Genre: Fiction, Novella
- Pages: 168
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9781840225778
- Access: Members
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On Earth as It Is on Television
What if aliens descended upon Earth—only to vanish overnight, leaving humanity more bewildered than invaded? In Emily Jane’s On Earth as It Is on Television, a suburban dad unravels under his family’s chaos, a disillusioned heiress questions her place in the cosmos, and a man reborn from decades of silence chases a cryptic cat toward the unknown. As bacon-loving UFOs and TV-obsessed children blur the line between absurdity and existential dread, one truth emerges: the universe is stranger than we imagined… and the cats might know why. Will their fractured lives collide before the aliens’ secret reshapes reality—or will humanity’s greatest revelation vanish like a forgotten sitcom rerun?
- Originally Published: June 2023
- Publisher: Hyperion Avenue, 2023
- Genre: Novel, Sci-Fi
- Pages: 352
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-1368092999
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
One Hundred Years of Solitude
- What if your family’s destiny was written in a language only the dead can read? In the fever-dream town of Macondo, the Buendía clan chases love, power, and forbidden knowledge across generations, their lives spiraling through miracles and curses—golden fish, prophecies in ice, and a child born with the tail of a pig. But as the ghosts of their past grow louder and the walls between reality and myth crumble, one question haunts their bloodline: Can a soul ever outrun its fate, or are we all prisoners of the stories we inherit?
- Originally Published: 1967
- Publisher : Penguin Books, 2024
- Pages: 422
- Genre: Novel, Magical Realism, Family saga, Epic Fiction
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-0241968581
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Pride & Prejudice
What if your first impression doomed your chance at true love? In Jane Austen’s timeless duel of wit and will, Elizabeth Bennet navigates a world where marriage is survival and a single misstep could ruin her family’s future. But when sparks of passion clash with cold reality, will pride and prejudice seal their fates—or can love rewrite a story written in judgment?
- Originally Published: 1813
- Publisher : Wordsworth Classics, 1993
- Pages: 325
- Genre: Fiction, Romance novel, Satire, Regency romance, Novel of manners
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-1853260001
- Access: Members
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
What if the greatest mysteries aren’t hidden in shadows—but lurk in plain sight? In The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the brilliant, enigmatic detective and his steadfast partner, Dr. Watson, unravel crimes that defy logic, from stolen jewels to vanishing brides. But when a trail of riddles exposes motives darker than greed and minds sharper than his own, can even Holmes outwit a world where every truth masks a lie… or will the final deduction be his last?
- Originally Published: 1892
- Publisher : Vintage Classics Library, 2016
- Genre: Detective fiction
- Pages: 215
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-1784871574
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
The Brothers Karamazov
What if the truth could damn your soul as easily as save it? In this searing masterpiece, three brothers—a reckless sensualist, a tormented intellectual, and a devout novice—are ensnared in their father’s murder, a crime that unravels their fragile bonds and forces them to confront faith, freedom, and the darkest corners of human desire. As secrets fester and motives blur, Dostoyevsky whispers: If God is dead, is every sin justified—or does redemption lie in the wreckage of our choices?
- Originally Published: November 1880
- Publisher: Penguin Classic, 2003
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 1056
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0679410034
- Access: Prime Membership
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Hot Pick
The Catcher in the Rye
What if everyone is a phony—and you’re the only one who can’t pretend? In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, disillusioned teen Holden Caulfield bolts from his prep school into the labyrinth of 1940s New York, determined to outrun a world drowning in hypocrisy. But as every fleeting encounter sharpens his ache for connection, will his crusade to shield innocence lead to salvation… or shatter the last fragile thread keeping him from the edge? How long can you flee adulthood when it’s the shadow you can’t escape?
- Originally Published: July 1951
- Publisher: Penguin, 1994
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 192
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0140237504
- Access: Members
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The Dante Club
What if the deadliest killer wasn’t a man, but a poem? In The Dante Club, a band of literary titans secretly translating Dante’s Inferno must decipher a murderer’s gruesome tableaus—each a twisted homage to the Hell they’ve only dared to describe. But when the crimes strike chillingly close to their inner circle, will their pursuit of art’s truth condemn them to become its next victims… or make them complicit in the horror they’ve unleashed?
- Originally Published: 2003
- Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2004
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Pages: 400
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780812971040
- Access: Members
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The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
What if a single dream could unravel the fabric of reality? In The Dreams of a Ridiculous Man, a disillusioned outcast is haunted by a vision of another existence, forcing him to confront the darkness within us all—and the fragile thread binding humanity to hope. But when the line between dream and truth shatters, will he awaken to save the world… or surrender to the nightmare that mirrors his own soul?
- Originally Published: 1877
- Published: Createspace Independent Pub, 2016
- Genre: Short Story, Philosophy
- Pages: 26
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-1535469142
- Access: Members
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The Great Gatsby
What if you could rewrite your past—but the future refuses to forget? In the glittering chaos of the Jazz Age, Jay Gatsby builds an empire of champagne and illusion to win back a love frozen in time. But as his mansion overflows with strangers chasing their own mirages, the green light across the bay flickers—a haunting reminder that dreams, like money, can’t buy back what’s already been lost… How much of yourself would you burn to keep a lie alive—and when the smoke clears, will anyone recognize what’s left?
- Originally Published: 1925
- Publisher : Vintage Classics, 2010
- Genre: Novel, Tragedy
- Pages: 148
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 9780099541530
- Access: Members
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The House of the Dead
What if survival demanded surrendering your very soul? In The House of the Dead, Aleksandr Petrovich, a disgraced nobleman, navigates the merciless chaos of a Siberian prison camp—where brutality collides with fleeting humanity, and every act of defiance could cost his sanity. As he teeters between revulsion and unexpected kinship with fellow convicts, one haunting truth emerges: the bars of captivity are not iron, but the shadows within. Will his awakening redeem him… or condemn him to a fate worse than chains?
- Originally Published: 1861
- Publisher: Dover Publications, 2004
- Genre: Fiction
- Pages: 446
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-0486434094
- Access: Members
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The Idiot
What if true innocence could destroy you in a world ruled by lies? In Dostoyevsky’s haunting masterpiece, Prince Myshkin—a soul of uncorrupted virtue—returns to a cutthroat Russian aristocracy where his boundless compassion becomes both a beacon and a curse. As he navigates a labyrinth of obsession, betrayal, and fragile alliances, the lines between sanctity and madness blur. But in a society drunk on greed and deception, can purity outlast the storm of human frailty—or will it ignite its own destruction?
- Originally Published: 1869
- Publisher : Everyman’s Library, 2002
- Pages: 632
- Genre: Novel
- Book Type: Hardcopy/Hardcover
- ISBN-13: 978-1857152548
- Access: Prime Membership
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The Master and Margarita
What if the Devil himself threw a party in Moscow—and you were invited? In a city gripped by Soviet repression, a mysterious professor and his demonic entourage unleash chaos, exposing the hypocrisy of a regime that denies both God and the supernatural. Meanwhile, a tortured writer and his fearless lover, Margarita, bargain with hell itself to reclaim a banned masterpiece… but in a world where truth is treason, can love and art outwit the devil—or will they burn brighter in the flames?
- Originally Published: 1967
- Publisher : Vintage Classics, 2024
- Pages: 448
- Genre: Romance novel, Satire, Fantasy
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-0099540946
- Access: Members
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The Odyssey
What if the journey home demanded more than the war itself? In Homer’s immortal epic, Odysseus battles wrathful gods and labyrinthine seas, clinging to the fraying thread of home. But as decades unravel and each cunning triumph deepens his scars, one question haunts every wave: When the sirens’ song fades and the final battle is won, will the man who returns still recognize the hero who left—or has the voyage devoured him whole?
- Originally Published: 800 B.C.E
- Publisher : Everyman’s Library, 1992
- Pages: 509
- Genre: Narrative Poetry, Epic
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-1857150940
- Access: Prime Membership
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Hot Pick
The Picture of Dorian Gray
What if your reflection held all your sins while you stayed forever young? In Oscar Wilde’s tale of gothic horror, the dazzling Dorian Gray trades his soul for ageless beauty, his portrait decaying with every indulgence as he remains untouched by time. But as hedonism spirals into horror and the canvas whispers his darkest truths, one question remains: when the final brushstroke falls, will salvation—or damnation—stare back?
- Originally Published: 1890
- Publisher: SF Classic, 2020
- Genre: Gothic fiction
- Pages: 254
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-1774378359
- Access: Members
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The Satanic Verses
What if surviving a fall from the heavens left you cursed with the power to unravel reality itself? The Satanic Verses follows two men, transformed by a miraculous—or monstrous—act of salvation, as they grapple with fractured identities, divine delusions, and the seductive chaos between faith and betrayal. But when dreams bleed into waking life and ancient sins demand modern reckoning, how much of your soul would you sacrifice to outrun a god’s wrath—or become one?
- Originally Published: 1988
- Publisher: Penguin Random House, 2008
- Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism
- Pages: 576
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780812976717
- Access: Members
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The Secret History
What if the pursuit of beauty demanded a blood sacrifice? In The Secret History, outsider Richard Papen becomes entangled with an elite group of classics students whose obsession with ancient rituals spirals into a chilling pact to bury a lethal secret. But as guilt fractures their bond, each must confront how far they’ll go to protect their illusions—and whether the terror of truth might destroy them all. Would you trust the person you’ve vowed to die for… or the stranger staring back in the mirror?
- Originally Published: 1992
- Publisher: Penguin General UK, 2002
- Genre: Psychological Fiction
- Pages: 640
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780140167771
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Things Fall Apart
What if the very traditions that forged your identity could crumble in the blink of an eye? In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, a warrior clinging to pride in a world shifting beneath his feet, battles to uphold his legacy as colonial shadows encroach on his homeland. But when culture collides with change and defiance dances with despair, will his fire consume him—or light the way for those left behind? Some truths refuse to be buried… and some falls rewrite history.
- Originally Published: 1958
- Publisher: Penguin Books, 1994
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 209
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780385474542
- Access: Members