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Hot Pick
Anna Karenina
Beneath the glittering ballrooms and snowbound estates of imperial Russia, Anna Karenina unfolds as a sweeping tale of passion, betrayal, and the fragile architecture of human happiness. Caught between the demands of a rigid society and the call of her own heart, Anna dares to pursue love at any cost—only to find that desire can both liberate and destroy. Around her, lives intersect in a delicate ballet of hope and despair, raising a timeless question: can true fulfillment ever exist within the confines of duty, marriage, and convention? Lyrical and unflinching, Tolstoy’s masterpiece captures the full spectrum of the human soul, from ecstasy to ruin.
- Originally Published: 1873
- Publisher: Penguin Books, 2002
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 880
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0140449174
- Access: Members
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Death of a Salesman
In Death of a Salesman, the quiet tragedy of the American Dream unfolds through the fractured life of Willy Loman—a man chasing success with empty hands and fading hope. Haunted by memory and illusion, he wanders the wreckage of his past, measuring his worth in missed opportunities and imagined glory. As family and reality close in, the question echoes: what remains of a man who stakes his identity on a dream that never loved him back? Miller crafts a sorrowful, aching portrait of ambition, delusion, and the cost of needing to matter. This is not just the story of one salesman’s downfall—it is a mirror held to a society that sells identity for applause.
- 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
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Beneath the fog-choked streets of Victorian London, a brilliant doctor dares to divide the good from the evil within himself—only to unleash a darkness he cannot contain. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a chilling psychological thriller that probes the monstrous duality of human nature with unnerving precision. As civility gives way to savagery, can one ever truly separate virtue from vice, or are both bound in the soul’s unbreakable mirror? This haunting tale whispers a question still echoing through the ages: what lurks within us when no one is watching?
- Originally Published: 1886
- Publisher: Vintage Classics Library, 2016
- Genre: Gothic, Horror
- Pages: 240
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9781784871604
- Access: Members
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Heart of Darkness
A steamer drifts up the Congo River, deeper into a wilderness that mirrors the shadows within the human soul. Heart of Darkness follows Marlow, a sailor haunted by his quest to find the elusive Kurtz—a man revered and corrupted in equal measure. As civilization fades into jungle and reason gives way to something more primal, the line between savagery and enlightenment begins to blur. What is revealed when we journey not outward, but inward, into the darkest chambers of power, greed, and conscience? Stark, hypnotic, and unsettling, this is a tale where the true horror lies not in the wild, but in the hearts of men.
- 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
In Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy traces the aching path of a man whose dreams of learning, love, and belonging crumble beneath the grinding weight of class, convention, and fate. Jude Fawley, a stonemason with the soul of a scholar, reaches toward the promise of knowledge and connection, only to find himself punished for daring to hope beyond his station. At once tender and merciless, the novel asks: what becomes of a heart that dares to defy the world’s design, only to be shattered by it? Hardy delivers a bleak, unflinching meditation on aspiration and despair, where love is both salvation and ruin, and idealism can be the most tragic burden of all. This is not merely the story of a man—but of humanity caught between what it is and what it longs to be.
- 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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Hot Pick
Lolita
In Lolita, desire dresses itself in the language of poetry, seduction veils cruelty, and obsession charts a cross-country odyssey through the haunted corridors of memory and guilt. With a voice as dazzling as it is disturbing, the unreliable narrator invites readers into a dark reverie where beauty becomes a battleground and innocence is never what it seems. Is it possible to separate the elegance of expression from the moral abyss it describes? Nabokov’s masterpiece dares us to confront the disquieting allure of language and the treacherous edges of love, power, and delusion. A lyrical descent into one man’s self-deception, Lolita leaves the reader spellbound—and unsettled.
- Originally Published: 1955
- Publisher: Penguin, 2011
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 368
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0241953242
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Pride & Prejudice
In a world where marriage is both a social ladder and a battlefield, Pride & Prejudice unfolds as a sparkling duel of intellect, wit, and wounded hearts. Elizabeth Bennet, fierce in mind and spirit, meets her match in the proud and enigmatic Mr. Darcy—yet behind their verbal skirmishes lies a deeper reckoning with class, character, and the illusions we cast on others and ourselves. Can love survive first impressions, or is true intimacy only forged through humility and hard-won understanding? With its graceful prose and sharp social commentary, this is a tale where decorum masks desire, and every glance or silence carries the weight of unspoken truths. Elegant, biting, and deeply human, it is a love story that resists simplicity—just like the people at its heart.
- 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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Hot Pick
The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov is a tempest of faith, passion, and blood—where three brothers, torn by guilt, desire, and spiritual hunger, are drawn into a patricide that becomes a mirror for their own souls. Beneath the mystery of their father’s violent death lies a deeper trial: of God, of free will, and of the human heart’s capacity for both light and depravity. Can love redeem the chaos we inherit, or is every soul bound to wrestle alone with the divine and the absurd? Lyrical and relentless, this epic unearths the moral labyrinth at the core of every family—and every man. A novel as intimate as a confession and as vast as a cathedral.
- 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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The Great Gatsby
A glittering mansion, a mysterious millionaire, and a love that haunts the edges of every champagne-soaked evening—The Great Gatsby is a lyrical elegy for the American Dream and the illusions we chase in its name. Through the eyes of a quiet outsider, we are drawn into the world of Jay Gatsby, a man who builds his fortune not for power or glory, but for a woman he lost long ago. Beneath the dazzle of Jazz Age opulence lies a tale of longing, betrayal, and the quiet ache of dreams deferred. Can one truly rewrite the past—or does the past rewrite us? Fitzgerald’s novel is both seduction and lament, a mirror held up to the heart’s most extravagant hopes.
- 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
Behind the iron gates of a Siberian prison, where frost bites deeper than regret, a nobleman condemned for murder watches souls unravel and humanity flicker like candlelight in the wind. The House of the Dead is both a brutal chronicle of incarceration and a meditative search for grace in a world stripped of dignity. Through the eyes of its introspective narrator, we confront a haunting question: can suffering purify, or does it simply erode? In this stark yet lyrical portrayal of degradation and unexpected tenderness, punishment becomes a mirror—reflecting not just guilt, but the strange resilience of the human spirit.
- Originally Published: 1861
- Publisher: Dover Publications, 2004
- Genre: Fiction
- Pages: 446
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-0486434094
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
The Master and Margarita
A mysterious foreigner arrives in Soviet Moscow—charming, diabolical, and accompanied by a talking cat with a taste for vodka—and soon reality begins to unravel. The Master and Margarita is a fever dream of love and damnation, where satire waltzes with the supernatural and truth is as dangerous as it is elusive. As a condemned writer and a fearless woman navigate a world haunted by betrayal, bureaucracy, and a whisper of the divine, the line between good and evil blurs like ink in water. Can love survive the tyranny of both politics and the soul? This is a novel where the devil gets the last laugh—and perhaps, the last mercy.
- 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
Across storm-tossed seas and shadowed isles, The Odyssey charts the perilous return of Odysseus, a cunning warrior who longs for the warmth of his hearth more than the glory of conquest. As gods conspire and monsters stir, every step homeward becomes a trial of spirit, loyalty, and the fragile line between heroism and hubris. Beneath its epic sweep lies a haunting question: how much must a man lose to truly know himself—and what awaits when he does? Laced with enchantment and anchored in longing, this ancient tale pulses with the timeless ache of exile and the stubborn hope of return.
- 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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The Social Contract
What does it mean to be free in a world bound by law? The Social Contract dares to reimagine society as a pact not of submission, but of collective will—where individuals, by surrendering to the “general will,” reclaim a deeper liberty. With the cadence of a manifesto and the gravity of prophecy, Rousseau’s vision pulses with the paradox of freedom through unity, obedience through autonomy. Can a people truly govern themselves without becoming each other’s tyrants? This is a call to awaken the sovereign within us all.
- Originally Published: 1762
- Publisher : Penguin Books, 2005
- Pages: 168
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN-13: 978-0141018881
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
The Wealth of Nations
Beneath the bustle of markets and the clink of coin lies a quiet, invisible force—shaping lives, nations, and destinies. The Wealth of Nations is a sweeping inquiry into the rhythms of trade, labor, and self-interest, revealing how the pursuit of personal gain can, paradoxically, serve the greater good. But can a system built on competition and profit ever truly align with justice and human flourishing? With clarity and philosophical depth, this is not just a blueprint for economies, but a profound meditation on the delicate balance between freedom, ambition, and the common good. It invites the reader to look beyond price tags and profits—to ask what wealth really means.
- Originally Published: 1776
- Publisher: Bantam Classic, 2003
- Genre: Economics, Philosophy
- Pages: 1231
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 978-0553585971
- Access: Members
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Hot Pick
Things Fall Apart
In a land where tradition sings through drumbeats and ancestral fire, Things Fall Apart follows Okonkwo, a fierce warrior haunted by fear of failure and consumed by a need to escape his father’s shame. As colonial forces creep into the Igbo world, bringing both alien faith and foreign rule, the fragile balance between honor and change begins to crack. Through stark prose and lyrical intensity, the novel confronts a painful paradox: when the old ways falter, is it strength or surrender that preserves the soul? What happens to a man—and a people—when the pillars of their world begin to crumble? Achebe crafts a haunting elegy for a culture on the cusp of dissolution, where dignity and downfall are bound in the same breath.
- Originally Published: 1958
- Publisher: Penguin Books, 1994
- Genre: Novel
- Pages: 209
- Book Type: Hardcopy
- ISBN: 9780385474542
- Access: Members