Catalog Search Results
Author
Lexile Measure
800L
Summary
Meet Ignatius J. Reilly, a 30-year-old medievalist who lives at home with his mother in New Orleans, and pens his magnum opus on Big Chief writing pads he keeps hidden under his bed. Considered by many a comic masterpiece that memorably evokes the city of New Orleans and whose robust protagonist is a modern-day Falstaff, Don Quixote, or Gargantua; other are not amused by a fat, flatulent, gluttonous, loud, lying, hypocritical, self-deceiving, self-centered...
Author
Summary
Raised by a wealthy, idiosyncratic and alcoholic mother, Amory Blaine is arrogant and lacking in proper social etiquette which he eventually has to learn. En route from the Midwest to Princeton University, he experiences flirtations with some predatory young women and a chance at friendship with some intellectual young men. His romantic relationship ended when his soul-mate rejected him to marry a wealthier young man.
Author
Summary
David Copperfield enjoys an idyllic life with his gentle, widowed mother and his loving nurse, Peggotty. Then tragedy strikes when Mr. Murdstone weds David's mother and drives her to an early grave. Despised by his stepfather, the boy is forced to live in misery and poverty until he runs away to throw himself upon the mercy of his eccentric aunt. Charles Dickens's classic tale of growing up.
5) Martin Eden
Author
Lexile Measure
1020L
Summary
Martin Eden (1909) is a novel by American writer Jack London. The book follows the tradition of the Künstlerroman, a narrative that traces the life and development of an artist, to tell the story of a young man not unlike London himself. Part fiction, part autobiography, Martin Eden examines the consequences of dreams and achievements, successes and failures, for a young artist struggling with fame. The novel is heavily influenced by London's socialist...
Author
Summary
Sons and Lovers is one of the landmark novels of the twentieth century. When it appeared in 1913, it was immediately recognized as the first great modern restatement of the oedipal drama, and it is now widely considered the major work of D. H. Lawrence's early period. This intensely autobiographical novel recounts the story of Paul Morel, a young artist growing to manhood in a British working-class family rife with conflict. The author's vivid evocation...
7) Odd Thomas
Author
Series
(Dean Ray),Odd Thomas novel) volume 1
Lexile Measure
1040L
Summary
Odd Thomas, a short order cook at the Pico Mundo Grill, keeps his ability to speak with ghosts a secret from all but his girlfriend, Stormy, and the local police chief who he occasionally helps solve or prevent crime, but his unusual talent leads him and his fellow citizens into big trouble when a strange man comes to town followed by a horde of borachs--ghostly harbingers of mayhem.
8) Jacob's room
Author
Summary
This landmark novel tells the story of the all-too-brief life of Jacob Flanders, from his childhood in Scarborough through his student years at Cambridge and his bachelor days in London to his death while still a young man during World War I. Though he is an object of love and desire for many of the characters in the novel, Jacob remains curiously unknowable during his short life, as remote and mysterious as the classical landscapes and Greek ruins...
Author
Summary
“One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose and one part A Separate Peace . . . a smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs.”—San Francisco Chronicle
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two friends are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia...
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two friends are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia...
10) Fight Club
Author
Series
Appears on list
Summary
The story of a young man who discovers that his rage at living in a world filled with failure and lies cannot be pacified by an empty consumer culture. Relief for him and his disenfranchised peers comes in the form of secret after-hours boxing matches held in the basements of bars.
Author
Series
Lexile Measure
1040L
Summary
Augie is a poor but exuberant boy growing up in Chicago during the Depression. While his friends all settle into chosen professions, Augie demands a special destiny. He tests out a wild succession of occupations, proudly rejecting each as too limiting—until he tangles with the glamorous perfectionist Thea.
Author
Series
Summary
Kenneth Ward, a young eastern lad just out of prep school, goes west on his summer break to join his friend Dick Leslie, a forest ranger in Arizona. Ken is honest and loyal but hot-headed, and runs into plenty of trouble when he discovers a big lumber steal going on. The Young Forester is packed with all the thrill, color and action that have made Zane Grey famous.
Author
Summary
In this enthralling departure, Burke weaves the tale of Iry Paret. Released from prison after two years for manslaughter, Iry heads to Montana for a fresh start on a ranch owned by a prison buddy's father. He also hopes to nail down a song he's been working on, unable to get quite right. But soon new troubles bring tragic consequences, and it will take a lot more than a soulful tune to ease the pain.
Author
Summary
A poignant and unforgettable novel from Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the monumental New York Times bestsellers
The Deep End of the Ocean and The Most Wanted,
A Theory of Relativity is a powerful tale that explores the emotional dynamics and dramas of two families fighting for custody of a young child. The very first author selected by the Oprah Book Club, Mitchard is a matchless, wise, and warm chronicler of families and their human foibles-and...
15) The goldfinch
Author
Summary
"Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately...
Author
Series
Carson Springs novel volume 1
Summary
Forty-eight-year-old widow Samantha Delarosa Kelly's life is changed when she becomes pregnant with her much younger lover's child. Her younger daughter sees it as an insult to her late father, while her elder daughter is bitter that her mother is pregnant but she can't have a baby.
Author
Series
Return to Red River volume 2
Summary
For as far back as he can remember, the dream of becoming a writer has burned brightly in Thorliff's heart. But when he arrives at college, things are not as he had imagined. Thorliff longs for the familiarity and nurture of his loved ones back home. The distance has created a rift between Thorliff and his childhood sweetheart. The only bright spot in his life is his job at the town newspaper. Will he be forced to leave one dream behind to pursue...
18) Chesapeake blue
Author
Series
Chesapeake Bay saga volume 4
Summary
Now a grown man returning from Europe as a successful painter, Seth Quinn is settling down on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Still, a lot has changed in St. Christopher - and the most intriguing change of all is the presence of Dru Whitcomb Banks. But a secret Seth's kept hidden for years threatens to explode, destroying his new life and his new love.
Author
Lexile Measure
640L
Summary
"Young Asher Lev is an obedient son of strict Jewish parents. When his artistic endeavors are discovered, he is sent to a religious leader for consultation because artists are not viewed favorably by the Hasidim. Asher'sstruggle for fulfillment and his ultimate rejection by his parents are poignantly drawn." Shapiro. Fic for Youth. 2d edition.
Author
Summary
"Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria Forester--even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that stone barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie ... and the most exhilarating adventure of the young man's life."--Amazon