Eitanli/goodreads huggingface dataset:
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
by Allan Gurganus
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Civil War, Historical, War, Southern, American Civil War
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.84

Allan Gurganus's Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All became an instant classic upon its publication. Critics and readers alike fell in love with the voice of ninety-nine-year-old Lucy Marsden, one of the most entertaining and loquacious heoines in American literature.Lucy married at the turn of the last century, when she was fifteen and her husband was fifty. If Colonel William Marsden was a veteran of the "War for Southern Independence", Lucy became a "veteran of the veteran" with a unique perspective on Southern history and Southern manhood. Her story encompasses everything from the tragic death of a Confederate boy soldier to the feisty narrator's daily battles in the Home--complete with visits from a mohawk-coiffed candy-striper.
My Sister Jodie
by Jacqueline Wilson
Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Teen, Family
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.11

Pearl and Jodie are sisters. Pearl is the younger one, small, shy and anxious. Jodie is nearly three years older, bold and brash and bad and Pearl adores her. When their parents get new jobs at Melchester College, a Victorian Gothic mansion, the girls spend a bizarre summer holiday in the boarding school with just a few leftover children for company. Things start to change now they are in their new home. Jodie has always been the leader but now it's Pearl who's making new friends. When term begins, their strange summer is over. But things keep on changing. Jodie really doesn't fit in with the posh teenagers in her class. Pearl is blossoming. Maybe she doesn't need Jodie as much as she used to. But Jodie needs her. And when the school celebration of Firework Night comes around and a tragic event occurs, Pearl realises quite how much she does need her big sister.
The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness
by R.D. Laing
Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Science, Psychiatry, Mental Health, Psychoanalysis
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.10

In The Divided Self (1960), Laing contrasted the experience of the "ontologically secure" person with that of a person who "cannot take the realness, aliveness, autonomy and identity of himself and others for granted" and who consequently contrives strategies to avoid "losing his self". Laing explains how we all exist in the world as beings, defined by others who carry a model of us in their heads, just as we carry models of them in our heads. In later writings he often takes this to deeper levels, laboriously spelling out how "A knows that B knows that A knows that B knows..."! Our feelings and motivations derive very much from this condition of "being in the world" in the sense of existing for others, who exist for us. Without this we suffer "ontological insecurity", a condition often expressed in terms of "being dead" by people who are clearly still physically alive.This watershed work aimed to make madness comprehensible, and in doing so revolutionized the way we perceive mental illness. Using case studies of patients he had worked with, psychiatrist R. D. Laing argued that psychosis is not a medical condition, but an outcome of the 'divided self', or the tension between the two personas within us: one our authentic, private identity, and the other the false, 'sane' self that we present to the world. Laing's radical approach to insanity offered a rich existential analysis of personal alienation and made him a cult figure in the 1960s, yet his work was most significant for its humane attitude, which put the patient back at the centre of treatment. R.D. Laing (1927-1989), one of the best-known psychiatrists of modern times, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.This work is available on its own or as part of the 7 volume set iSelected Works of R. D. Laing
The New Testament
by Anonymous
Genres: Religion, Classics, Nonfiction, Christianity, Spirituality, Christian, Philosophy
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.29

John Drury's clear, marvelously erudite, and richly detailed introduction to the Everyman's Library edition of The New Testament reminds us why the King James Version, first published in 1611, has been the favorite of English readers for centuries. Despite a plethora of new translations in the second half of the twentieth century, the King James Version retains its power and appeal because "it has the intrinsic value of a classic and is an enduring masterpiece."Drury outlines the fascinating history of this magisterial translation, marveling at the "patient generosity" with which the translators sifted through and distilled a century of previous scholarship. He points out that their work has endured not only because of the astonishing care they took to reflect faithfully the syntax of the original Hebrew and Greek–which enabled them to dispense with the densely entangled prose style that characterized English writing at the time–but also because of their concern to writers from Milton to Coleridge to George Eliot. From the doctrinal richness of the letters of St. Paul to those four masterpieces of storytelling, the Gospels, The New Testament has served as a source of inspiration for centuries.To quote George Steiner on the centrality of the Bible: "What you have in hand is not a book. It is the book. That, of course, is what 'Bible' means. It is the book which, not only in Western humanity, defines the concept of a text. All our other books, however different in matter or method, relate, be it indirectly, to this book of books…All other books are inhabited by the murmur of that distant source."
Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence
by David Benatar
Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology, Politics, Death, Science, Sociology
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.94

Better Never to Have Been argues for a number of related, highly provocative, views: (1) Coming into existence is always a serious harm. (2) It is always wrong to have children. (3) It is wrong not to abort fetuses at the earlier stages of gestation. (4) It would be better if, as a result of there being no new people, humanity became extinct. These views may sound unbelievable--but anyone who reads Benatar will be obliged to take them seriously.
Jane Austen: A Life
by Claire Tomalin
Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, British Literature, Classics, Books About Books
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.89

At her death in 1817, Jane Austen left the world six of the most beloved novels written in English—but her shortsighted family destroyed the bulk of her letters; and if she kept any diaries, they did not survive her.  Now acclaimed biographer Claire Tomalin has filled the gaps in the record, creating a remarkably fresh and convincing portrait of the woman and the writer. While most Austen biographers have accepted the assertion of Jane's brother Henry that "My dear Sister's life was not a life of events," Tomalin shows that, on the contrary, Austen's brief life was fraught with upheaval.  Tomalin provides detailed and absorbing accounts of Austen's ill-fated love for a young Irishman, her frequent travels and extended visits to London, her close friendship with a worldly cousin whose French husband met his death on the guillotine, her brothers' naval service in the Napoleonic wars and in the colonies, and thus shatters the myth of Jane Austen as a sheltered and homebound spinster whose knowledge of the world was limited to the view from a Hampshire village.
Dom Wars: Round 1 & 2 (Dom Wars, #1-2)
by Lucian Bane
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.18

Lucian Bane’s inner Dom is out of control and hungry for things he can’t name. When he signs up for Dom Wars, he meets Tara who is naive to the BDSM world. Her reckless dominance and puritan heart fascinate him. But when he discovers the pain in her past, it unleashes his true Dom within.  Lucian and Tara make it to round two in the DOM WARS. The challenges now revolve around trust, and while Tara's inhibitions in the world of BDSM are slowly being crushed by Lucian's passion, her deep rooted fears become the real obstacle he must dominate.
Short Stories From Rabindranath Tagore
by Rabindranath Tagore
Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, India, Indian Literature, Literature, Nobel Prize
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.23

The sixteen short stories collected here were written between 1891 and 1917 by the Bengali poet, writer, painter, musician and mystic, Sir Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). Throughout these stories, Tagore's main interest is people and the kaleidoscope of human emotions, as men and women struggle with the restrictions and prohibitions of contemporary Hindu society.
Sixteenth Notes: the breaking of the rose-colored glasses
by Taylor Rhodes
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.88

This is a story about the climb out of depression, out of addiction, out of lust that I didn't deserve or shouldn't consider love. I grew and molded myself into someone I hope to look back on and be proud of. This is my story.
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
by Elizabeth Lesser
Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Psychology, Memoir, Personal Development, Mental Health
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.01

NEW YORK TIMES  BESTSELLER • This inspiring guide to healing and growth illuminates the richness and potential of every life, even in the face of loss and adversity —now updated with additional toolbox materials and a new preface by the authorIn the more than twenty-five years since she co-founded Omega Institute—now the world’s largest center for spiritual retreat and personal growth—Elizabeth Lesser has been an intimate witness to the ways in which people weather change and transition. In a beautifully crafted blend of moving stories, humorous insights, practical guidance, and personal memoir, she offers tools to help us make the choice we all face in times of challenge: Will we be broken down and defeated, or broken open and transformed? Lesser shares tales of ordinary people who have risen from the ashes of illness, divorce, loss of a job or a loved one—stronger, wiser, and more in touch with their purpose and passion. And she draws on the world’s great spiritual and psychological traditions to support us as we too learn to break open and blossom into who we were meant to be.
Daniel's Diary
by Rajeshwari Chauhan
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.08

When Mrinalini, an art restoration expert, ventures into the ruins of Rang Mahal and the Palace of Sumangarh, an accidental discovery of a skeleton and a manuscript detailing the exploits of Daniel, a Portuguese artist, opens a window to the forgotten era of grace and grandeur. The blossoming of love between a Moghul Emperor and a Rajput princess, is seen through the eyes of a foreign traveller, who himself falls in love with the Rajput princess. The plot revolves around Daniel's quest for beauty and passion, the ecstasy and agony of love. He meets the famous courtesan Mahamaya only to lose her. It also draws a modern day parallel in the life of Mrinalini, a woman who seeks refuge in artistic pursuits and architectural ruins when relationships in life confuse her. Will she be able to decode the clues left behind by Daniel? Will the curse of centuries-old unfulfilled love break into a happy ending for Mrinalini?
Stalk Me (The Keatyn Chronicles, #1)
by Jillian Dodd
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, High School, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.95

From USA Today,  bestselling author Jillian Dodd comes the first book in the addictive Keatyn Chronicles series. Discover a breathless fairy-tale romance with swoon-worthy characters, suspense, and a glittering celebrity world. Fans of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and reality TV will devour this pulse-pounding, sexy teen drama set against the backdrop of Hollywood and an East Coast boarding school. Keatyn has everything she ever dreamed. Her life is following the script she wrote for the perfect high school experience. She’s popular, goes to the best parties, dates the hottest guy, and sits at the most-coveted lunch table. She’s just not sure she wants it anymore. Because, really, things aren’t all that perfect. Her best friend is threatening to tell everyone her perfect relationship is a scam. Her perfect boyfriend gets drunk at every party they go to. It’s exhausting always trying to look and act perfect. And, deep down, she isn’t sure if she has any true friends. To add to the drama, her movie star mom has a creepy stalker. A hot, older man flirts with her and tells her they should make a movie together. And she’s crushing on an adorable surfer. Dating him would mean committing social suicideSo she writes a new script. One where all the pieces of her life will come together in perfect harmony. But little does she know, there's someone who will do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek
by Maya Van Wagenen
Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Contemporary, Biography, Humor, Teen, Biography Memoir
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.01


A touchingly honest, candidly hysterical memoir from breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen
Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular? The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise—meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence.
THE YEAR OF THE FROG
by Juls Amor
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.08

Dig into the mind of a middle-aged woman trying desperately to fit into society chained with churches on every corner, consumerism for prosperity and the idea of coupledom to feel complete. Two years ago something snapped and Juls sold everything including her successful private practice to run away alone and focus on her own healing. “THE YEAR OF THE FROG” candidly portrays the struggle she went through trying to do everything perfectly to fit into a society entrenched with what she calls “Controligion”. In the book she defines Controligion as a way to command with the illusion of a moral code keeping the soul small. Juls tried to fit into that world for over 40 years seeking the Prince of Peace for salvation, consumerism for prosperity and kissing frogs to find Prince Charming. She abruptly sold her entire life to seek her soul. Juls traded in scientific fact for feeling, medical journals for Shamanic healing and the church for Mother Earth’s teachings - turning her mid-life crisis into a mid-life awakening.
The Brugan
by Stephen          Moore
Average rating on Goodreads: 5.00

Sarah Lemming feels lost. She’s twelve years old and her life is a horrible mess! Her father is dead. She detests her mother’s new boyfriend. And now they’re all moving into an ancient ruined cottage, that’s slap bang in the middle of nowhere!And then there’s the Brugan! When he comes crashing into Sarah’s world she just knows that nothing will ever be the same again. He’s ugly. He’s smelly. He’s a vile shade of green. The grown-ups don’t even believe he exists! And it’s not that he means to be bad; it’s just that the Brugan is lost too! And his mischief is more dangerous, more powerful, more deadly than anyone could have imagined.Can the Brugan ever find his way home? Can Sarah...?
The Fog
by James Herbert
Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Science Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural, Audiobook
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.89

A peaceful village in Wiltshire is shattered by a disaster which strikes without reason or explanation, leaving behind a trail of misery and horror. A yawning, bottomless crack spreads through the earth, out of which creeps a fog that resembles no other. Whatever it is, it must be controlled.
The Book of Tea
by Kakuzō Okakura
Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Japan, History, Classics, Tea, Japanese Literature
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.86

Now available in a gorgeous hardcover slipcase edition, this "object d'art" will be sure to add grace and elegance to tea shelves, coffee tables and bookshelves. A keepsake enjoyed by tea lovers for over a hundred years, The Book of Tea Classic Edition will enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the seemingly simple act of making and drinking tea.In 1906 in turn-of-the-century Boston, a small, esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner, Boston's most notorious socialite. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty—and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Okakura had been taught at a young age to speak English and was more than capable of expressing to Westerners the nuances of tea and the Japanese Tea Ceremony.In The Book of Tea Classic Edition, he discusses such topics as Zen and Taoism, but also the secular aspects of tea and Japanese life. The book emphasizes how Teaism taught the Japanese many things; most importantly, simplicity. Kakuzo argues that tea-induced simplicity affected the culture, art and architecture of Japan.Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's The Book of Tea Classic Edition is still beloved the world over, making it an essential part of any tea enthusiast's collection. Interwoven with a rich history of Japanese tea and its place in Japanese society is a poignant commentary on Asian culture and our ongoing fascination with it, as well as illuminating essays on art, spirituality, poetry, and more. The Book of Tea Classic Edition is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time.
The  Alternate Ending
by M.J. Thompson
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.91

"Sod this crap. I swear if he is cheating, I'll chop it off myself."  After Nate leaves for college together with his twin and Hope’s brother, the couple struggles to uplift their relationship.  They try to survive through phone calls and skype video chats, but it wasn’t enough to quench her longing for him.  To remedy this, Hope plans a trip with Heather and Dean to surprise her boyfriend and their brothers. But as it turns out, they were the ones in for a surprise…
Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting
by Amy Lou Jenkins
Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Nature
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.14

Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting is a narrative of mother-and-son nature outings across the state of Wisconsin. In a style that blends the voices of Janisse Ray and Annie Dillard, a mother and son explore parallels in the world of people and nature. The interconnected chapters stand on their own and build upon each other. These explorations of natural history, flora and fauna, and parenting themes demonstrate that the mythic thread that winds through everything can still be found, even in a world of wounds. Amy Lou Jenkins' award-winning writing is rich in sensory immediacy, characterization, natural history, and humor.
Anthills of the Savannah
by Chinua Achebe
Genres: Fiction, Africa, Nigeria, African Literature, Historical Fiction, Classics, Literature
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.85

Chris, Ikem and Beatrice are like-minded friends working under the military regime of His Excellency, the Sandhurst-educated President of Kangan. In the pressurized atmosphere of oppression and intimidation they are simply trying to live and love - and remain friends. But in a world where each day brings a new betrayal, hope is hard to cling on to. Anthills of the Savannah (1987), Achebe's candid vision of contemporary African politics, is a powerful fusion of angry voices. It continues the journey that Achebe began with his earlier novels, tracing the history of modern Africa through colonialism and beyond, and is a work ultimately filled with hope.
The Ghost Road (Regeneration, #3)
by Pat Barker
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, World War I, Historical, Literature, British Literature
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.09

  The final book in the Regeneration Trilogy, and winner of the 1995 Booker Prize The Ghost Road is the culminating masterpiece of Pat Barker's towering World War I fiction trilogy. The time of the novel is the closing months of the most senselessly savage of modern conflicts. In France, millions of men engaged in brutal trench warfare are all "ghosts in the making." In England, psychologist William Rivers, with severe pangs of conscience, treats the mental casualties of the war to make them whole enough to fight again. One of these, Billy Prior, risen to the officer class from the working class, both courageous and sardonic, decides to return to France with his fellow officer, poet Wilfred Owen, to fight a war he no longer believes in. Meanwhile, Rivers, enfevered by influenza, returns in memory to his experience studying a South Pacific tribe whose ethos amounted to a culture of death. Across the gulf between his society and theirs, Rivers begins to form connections that cast new light on his--and our--understanding of war.Combining poetic intensity with gritty realism, blending biting humor with tragic drama, moving toward a denouement as inevitable as it is devastating, The Ghost Road both encapsulates history and transcends it. It is a modern masterpiece
The Constitution of the Tunisian Republic: Unofficial Translation
by Med-Ali Mekki
Average rating on Goodreads: 5.00

Final Constitution of the Tunisian Republic adopted on 26 January 2014. This document is an unofficial translation prepared by Med-Ali Mekki on January 26 2015 and is provided for Information, Academic and Educational purposes. Copyright (c)2015 by Med-Ali Mekki All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review, scholarly journal or by Tunisian authorities. First Printing: 2015 ISBN 978-1-329-73189-9 Translation ID: 17953391
Dom Wars: Round Three (Dom Wars, #3)
by Lucian Bane
Genres: Romance, BDSM
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.27

Dom Wars Round Three heats up with the Demon Domination challenge. Tara is up first to face the demons of her past and Lucian is ready to dominate for her. But that gets tricky when he realizes the demons he's fighting could be the end of them.
Nineteen Cuts
by Ringo Gene Hayden
Genres: Fiction
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.56

My name is Thorn and I was dead once. My mind, my heart, and my spirit were as lifeless as a pond of bleach. So I carved into my slender wrists with a double-edged blade. Nineteen cuts in all, representing nineteen soul-destroying years I should have never been forced to endure. But I am proof that not even death can stop the bleeding.I am very dead — purging every last drop of crimson fluid from my veins has that effect — but I am also still very alive. I'm just not...human anymore.Suicide wasn't the end. It was just the little nap I took at the end of a shitty life. I got the luxury of waking up again. And that's when the fun began. The Freak Show. I was purged of the romantic delusion that death would heal me, because the beautiful and perverted Brehnn are coming for me. The cruel beings will gift me a nightmare only a diseased mind could fathom. And if they ever catch me, after they've had their fun, I won't be the guest at their dinner table. I'll be the entrée.