First published in 1904, Betty Wales Freshman is the first book in an 8 volume series that follows Betty and her classmates throughout college and beyond. It takes place at Harding in New England (NOT to be confused with the Arkansas university) based on the author's time at Smith College in Massachusetts. Some humour and frivolity ensue as well as interpersonal drama among Betty and her many peers. And of course, the usual fascination with basketball that tends to run the gamut in the bountiful supply of books about most boarding school girls. (The popularity of this series inspired product placement by a dressmakers company.) (Summary by Daryl Wor)...

Fiction, Teen/Young adult

When Miss Billy closed, Miss Billy and Bertram were happily engaged. In this first sequel to Miss Billy will the path to wedded bliss run smooth or will misunderstandings and heartache cross their path? Find out in Miss Billy’s Decision ! (Summary by Maria Therese)...

Teen/Young adult

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, this story features two French Hussar officers, D'Hubert and Feraud. Their quarrel over an initially minor incident turns into a bitter, long-drawn out struggle over the following fifteen years, interwoven with the larger conflict that provides its backdrop. At the beginning, Feraud is the one who jealously guards his honor and repeatedly demands satisfaction anew when a duelling encounter ends inconclusively; he aggressively pursues every opportunity to locate and duel his foe. As the story progresses, D'Hubert also finds himself caught up in the contest, unable to back down or walk away. This Conrad short story evidently has its genesis in the real duels that two French Hussar officers fought in the Napoleonic era. Their names were Dupont and Fournier, which Conrad disguised slightly, changing Dupont into D'Hubert and Fournier into Feraud. In 1977, it was turned into a movie, The Duellists, starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel. (summary adapted from Wikipedia)...

Short stories, Historical Fiction

Poetry

Het boek vertelt over de lotgevallen van een aantal slaven in en om een plantage in de Amerikaanse staat Kentucky. Onder hen zijn Eliza en vooral Oom Tom, slaven van de vriendelijke plantagebezitter Shelbey. Het verhaal begint op het moment dat hun leven ruw verstoord wordt door de financiële situatie van Shelbey, die zich gedwongen ziet Oom Tom en Eliza's zoontje te verkopen. Het boek beschrijft de poging van Eliza om met haar zoontje te vluchten. Intussen vlucht Eliza's man George ook - hij is slaaf van een andere eigenaar en wordt door zijn meester mishandeld. Oom Tom verzet zich niet tegen de verkoop. Hij wordt de Mississippi af gescheept, in de richting van de gevreesde katoenplantages en komt uiteindelijk in handen van de bullebak Simon Legree. (Samenvatting van Wikipedia)...

Fiction, Literature

Once in a generation, a man is born with a heightened sense of empathy. Brion Brandd used this gift to win the Twenties, an annual physical and mental competition among the best and smartest people on Anvhar. But scarcely able to enjoy his victory, Brandd is swept off to the hellish planet Dis where he must use his heightened sense of empathy to help avert a global nuclear holocaust by negotiating with the blockading fleet, traversing the Disan underworld, and cracking the mystery of the savagely ruthless magter. Summary by Great Plains....

Science fiction

Gulliver's reizen is een satirisch boek uit 1726 van de Ierse schrijver Jonathan Swift. Het oorspronkelijke boek bevatte vier reisbeschrijvingen, waarvan alleen de eerste, over het land Lilliput, nu nog grote bekendheid geniet. In deze uitgave zijn alleen de eerste twee delen van het oorspronkelijke werk opgenomen. Het tweede deel heet ‘Een reis naar Brobdingnag’. (Samenvatting door Wikipedia en Bart de Leeuw) Tijdens de productie schreef Marcel Coenders, die de tekstcontrole van dit boek verzorgde: Een mooi boek. Uiteraard kennen we allemaal de een-regel-samenvatting van dit boek: Gulliver gaat op reis in Liliputterland en in Reuzenland. Goed om het verhaal nu eens in een vollere omvang te beluisteren. Zeker geen kinderboekje....

Adventure, Fiction, Humor, Travel, Satire

Just sixty miles from ground zero in Nevada there lies Circle T Ranch run by Hetty Thompson the owner, Barney Hatfield the farmhand, and Johnny Culpepper the assistant manager. It was just another ordinary ranch until, that is, the two cows and the rooster hit the nuclear jackpot. (Introduction by Jeanie1914)...

Science fiction

I Fästmön, andra delen av En Nyckfull kvinna, lämnar bruksförvalteren Helmer Dagby under en tid för att kunna vara hos sin döende mor. Under hans frånvaro dyker en ny person upp på Dagby, ryttmästaren Abbe Linden, kallad kusin Abbe, en levnadsglad man beredd till allt slags upptåg, och med en egen agenda. Han blir en rival till såväl greve Herman som herr Helmer. Den nyckfulla Edith Sternfelt kämpar med sina känslor för bruksförvaltaren. När han väl återkommit till Dagby efter modern död anar de båda vilka känslor de innerst inne har för varandra, men ändå söker dölja. Till slut fattar Edith i hastigt mod och desperation, efter ett meningsutbyte med modern, beslutet att till slut ge sitt jag till greven, och Edit är plötsligt förlovad och fästmö, till moderns stora glädje. Men det blir inte så enkelt. (Sammanfattning: Lars Rolander)...

Fiction, Literature

Alaska has only been a state since 1959, and the breathtaking terrain remains mostly unspoiled and natural. In modern times, many of us have had the pleasure of visiting Alaska via a luxurious cruise ship, where we enjoyed gourmet meals, amazing entertainment, and a climate-controlled environment. It's easy to also book a land package that enables you to see more of the country by train. Imagine what it was like to visit the same wild, untamed countryside in 1899. Instead of boarding a sleek, stylish cruise ship, you travel for weeks on a steamer. You wait 2 weeks for the open, flat cars of the new railrod just to assure yourself it can travel safely through the dangerous mountain pass. No stately cabin or grand hotel awaits you at the end of your journey; you'll spend your time in rough mining camps. Such is the case in May Kellogg Sullivan's spellbinding and vivid account of her Alaskan adventures, which occurred over 18 months during 2 solo trips covering 12,000 miles. This is the perfect travel narrative to enjoy on your Alaskan cruise or in the comfort of your own home. (Introduction by Karen Commins)...

Adventure, Memoirs, Nature, Travel

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (or, more briefly, Tristram Shandy ) is a novel by Laurence Sterne. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others following over the next 10 years. It was not always held in high esteem by other writers (Samuel Johnson responded that, Nothing odd can last), but its bawdy humour was popular with London society, and it has come to be seen as one of the greatest comic novels in English, as well as a forerunner for many modern narrative devices. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Fiction, Literature

Apollonius of Tyre is the subject of an ancient short novella, popular during medieval times. Existing in numerous forms in many languages, the text is thought to be translated from an ancient Greek manuscript, now lost. The earliest manuscripts of the tale, in a Latin version, date from the 9th or 10th century; the most widespread Latin versions are those of Gottfried von Viterbo, who incorporated it into his Pantheon of 1185 as if it were actual history, and a version in the Gesta Romanorum. Shakespeare's play Pericles, Prince of Tyre was based in part on Gower's version, with the change of name probably inspired by Philip Sidney's Arcadia. Apollonius of Tyre was also a source for his plays Twelfth Night and The Comedy of Errors....

Humor, Historical Fiction

These are Alice Lady Lovat's meditations on the treatise Del Aprecio y Estima de la Divina Gracia, written by the prolific Roman Catholic theologian and mystic Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, S.J. (1595-1658). Nieremberg's treatise was published in 1638 in Madrid, where he taught Sacred Scripture at the Jesuit Colegio Imperial. Abbot Oswald Hunter-Blair, O.S.B. wrote the preface for Lovat's book, which bears an imprimatur. (Introduction by dave7)...

Religion

Messieurs les ronds-de-cuir, de Georges Courteline, parut, pour la première fois, en feuilleton, dans l'Echo de Paris, au cours des années 1891-1892. Une version légèrement remaniée fut éditée, sous forme de livre, par Flammarion, en 1893. Le livre, constitué d'une suite de cinq tableaux, narre la vie de quelques employés d'un service administratif - celui des Dons et Legs - dont l'activité, suivie pendant quelques jours, dresse, sous le mode de la comédie, une satire féroce du monde des employés de bureau. (par Aldor)...

Resurrection is the last of Tolstoy's major fiction works published in his lifetime. Tolstoy intended the novel as an exposition of injustice of man-made laws and the hypocrisy of institutionalized church. It was first published serially in the magazine Niva as an effort to raise funds for the resettlement of the Dukhobors. The story concerns a nobleman named Nekhlyudov, who seeks redemption for a sin committed years earlier. His brief affair with a maid resulted in her being fired and ending up in prostitution. The book treats his attempts to help her out of her current misery, but also focuses on his personal mental and moral struggle.(Summary from Wikipedia)...

Literature

Anne's House of Dreams is book five in the series, and chronicles Anne's early married life, as she and her childhood sweetheart Gilbert Blythe begin to build their life together. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Romance, Teen/Young adult, Children

Resurrection is the last of Tolstoy's major fiction works published in his lifetime. Tolstoy intended the novel as an exposition of injustice of man-made laws and the hypocrisy of institutionalized church. It was first published serially in the magazine Niva as an effort to raise funds for the resettlement of the Dukhobors. The story concerns a nobleman named Nekhlyudov, who seeks redemption for a sin committed years earlier. His brief affair with a maid resulted in her being fired and ending up in prostitution. The book treats his attempts to help her out of her current misery, but also focuses on his personal mental and moral struggle.(Summary from Wikipedia) The first volume of this work can be found /resurrection-book-1-by-leo-tolstoy/ here The second volume of this work can be found /resurrection-book-2-by-leo-tolstoy/ here...

Literature

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born at Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, Canada, on November 30, 1874. She achieved international fame in her lifetime, putting Prince Edward Island and Canada on the world literary map. Best known for her Anne of Green Gables books, she was also a prolific writer of short stories and poetry. She published some 500 short stories and poems and twenty novels before her death in 1942. The Project Gutenberg collection of her short stories was gathered from numerous sources and is presented in chronological publishing order. (Summary by Project Gutenberg.)...

Fiction, Romance, Teen/Young adult, Short stories, Sea stories

If Burke Denby had not been given all the frosted cakes and toy shotguns he wanted at the age of ten, it might not have been so difficult to convince him at the age of twenty that he did not want to marry Helen Barnet. Of course the inevitable happened. However near two roads may be at the start, if they diverge ever so slightly and keep straight ahead, there is bound to be in time all the world between them. In the case of Burke and Helen, their roads never started together at all: they merely crossed; and at the crossing came the wedding. They were miles apart at the start—miles apart in tastes, traditions, and environment. In one respect only were they alike: undisciplined self-indulgence—a likeness that meant only added differences when it came to the crossing; and that made it all the more nearly impossible to merge those two diverging roads into one wide way leading straight on to wedded happiness. (From the book) This all sounds complicated. This complicated situation is conveyed to us by the couple and some of their friends. However, more complications rise when a daughter is caught in the middle - a clever and wonderful gir...

Fiction, Teen/Young adult, Romance

Resurrection is the last of Tolstoy's major fiction works published in his lifetime. Tolstoy intended the novel as an exposition of injustice of man-made laws and the hypocrisy of institutionalized church. It was first published serially in the magazine Niva as an effort to raise funds for the resettlement of the Dukhobors. The story concerns a nobleman named Nekhlyudov, who seeks redemption for a sin committed years earlier. His brief affair with a maid resulted in her being fired and ending up in prostitution. The book treats his attempts to help her out of her current misery, but also focuses on his personal mental and moral struggle.(Summary from Wikipedia)...

Literature