recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

## Description

***Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress*** (French: *Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise*) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Dai Sijie. It was first published in French in 2000 and in English in 2001 by Anchor Books. The story set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and focuses on two teenage boys sent to a rural village for re-education.

## About the Author

in a love triangle with a seamstress from the village.**Dai Sijie** (b. March 2, 1954, Chengdu, Sichuan, China) is a Chinese-French author and filmmaker. Born to educated parents, he was sent to a re-education camp in rural Sichuan during the Cultural Revolution from 1971 to 1974. In 1984, he emigrated to France on a scholarship to study at a French film school. He made three critically acclaimed feature-length films before becoming a published author. He also wrote and directed the film adaptation of his novel *Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.*

## Trivia

* The novel was adapted into a Mandarin-language film in 2002 written and directed by Dai Sijie.

## Other books by Dai Sijie

* *Le Complexe de Di* (*Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch*) (2003)
* *L’Évangile selon Yong Sheng* (*The Gospel According to Yong Sheng*) (2019)
1984

## Description

***Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel*** is a dystopian science fiction novel by George Orwell. First published on June 8, 1949 by Secker & Warburg, the novel is set in the year 1984 as Orwell imagined it, when much of the world has been subject to totalitarianism and mass surveillance. The novel is a prime example of political and dystopian fiction.

## About the Author

**George Orwell** (b. July 25, 1903, Motihari, Bengal Presidency, British India - d. January 21, 1950, London, England) was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair. He was an English novelist, journalist, and critic best known for his dystopian novels characterized by opposition to totalitarianism and support for democratic socialism. He is considered one of the greatest British writers since 1945. Orwell died of tuberculosis at the age of 46. His works remain influential in popular culture.

## Trivia

* The term "Orwellian" is used to describe many of the terms used in the novel which have entered common usage, including "Big Brother," "Thought Police," and "Newspeak."
* *Nineteen Eighty-Four* has been adapted for radio, television, and film.
* *Nineteen Eighty-Four* has often been compared with other dystopian novels, including *Brave New World* and *The Handmaid's Tale.*
The Prophet

## Description

***The Prophet*** is a book by Kahlil Gibran. The book is a collection of 26 prose poetry fables that deal with topics such as life and the human condition. It was first published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf of New York City. The book has been translated into more than 100 languages and has never been out of print.

## About the Author

**Kahlil Gibran** (b. January 6, 1883, Bsharri, Beirut Vilayet, Ottoman Syria - d. April 10, 1931, New York City, United States) was a Lebanese-American author and visual artist. He is best known for his book *The Prophet*, one of the best-selling books of all time. Born in Ottoman-ruled Lebanon, Gibran immigrated to the United States with his family in 1895. He began his career as an artist, having studied art in Paris from 1908 to 1910. In 1911, he settled in New York City, where he published his first book in English. By the time of his death at the age of 48, he had achieved literary fame on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

## Trivia

* *The Prophet* was influenced by the Baha'i Faith, Islam, and Sufi mysticism.
* The book was adapted into an animated film in 2014.

## Other books by Kahlil Gibran

* *Broken Wings* (1912)
* *The Madman* (1918)
* *The Earth Gods* (1931)
* *The Garden of the Prophet* (1933)
The Republic

## Description

***The Republic*** is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 375 BCE. The book concerns justice, the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. It is one of the most influential works of philosophy and political theory.

## About the Author

**Plato** (b. c. 428 BCE–d. c. 348 BCE, Athens, Greece) was an ancient Greek philosopher and founder of the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is considered the founder of Western political philosophy.

## Other books by Plato

* *Euthyphro*
* *Apology*
* *Crito*
* *Meno*
* *Phaedo*
Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination

## Description

***Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination*** is a collection of nine mystery and horror short stories written by Edogawa Rampo (Hirai Taro). The English edition, published in 1956 by Tuttle Publishing [\*], represents the first appearance of his work in the English language.

[\*] Originally called the Charles E. Tuttle Company

## About the Author

**Hirai Taro** (Japanese kanji: 平井太郎, b. October 21, 1894, Nabari, Japan - d. July 28, 1965, Ikebukuro, Japan) was a Japanese author regarded as the first and greatest Japanese writer of mystery stories. Hirai Taro took the pen name Edogawa Rampo (Japanese kanji: 江户川乱步) as a sign of his reverence for the American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849).

## Trivia

* Edogawa Rampo's style of mystery and horror stories is called "Ero-guro-nansensu" (from the English words erotic, grotesque, and nonsense).
The Sound and the Fury

## Description

***The Sound and the Fury*** is a novel by William Faulkner. First published in 1929 by Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, the novel is set in Mississippi in the first third of the 20th century. The story follows a Southern former aristocratic family struggling to deal with the loss of its reputation. A modernist novel, it employs several narrrative styles, including stream of consciousness.

## About the Author

**William Faulkner** (b. September 25, 1897, New Albany, Mississippi, U.S. - d. July 6, 1962, Byhalia, Mississippi, U.S.) was an American author known for his novels and short stories set in Mississippi. He is widely considered one of the best writer of Southern Gothic literature. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 and the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 1955 and 1963.

## Trivia

* The Modern Library ranked *The Sound and the Fury* one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
* *The Sound and the Fury* was adapted for film in 1959 and 2014.

## Other books by William Faulkner

* *As I Lay Dying* (1930)
* *Light in August* (1932)
* *Absalom, Absalom!* (1936)
* *A Fable* (1954)
* *The Reivers* (1962)
The Handmaid's Tale

## Description

***The Handmaid's Tale*** is a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood. The story is set in a near-future totalitarian theonomic state known as Gilead, which has overthrown the United States government. First published in 1985 by McClelland and Stewart Ltd. of Toronto, *The Handmaid's Tale* is a prime example of the feminist science fiction subgenre. It has won numerous awards, including the 1985 Governor General's Award for English-language fiction, the 1987 Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the 1987 Commonwealth Writer's Prize.

## About the Author

**Margaret Atwood** (b. November 18, 1939, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian poet, novelist, environmental activist, and feminist. She is best known for her works exploring gender and identity, religion and myth, and climate change. A renowned Canadian author, Atwood is the founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Writer's Trust of Canada.

## Trivia

* *The Handmaid's Tale* has been adapted into a 1990 film and a Hulu television series.
* In 2019, a sequel was published entitled *The Testaments*.

## Other books by Margaret Atwood

* *The Edible Woman* (1969)
* *Surfacing* (1972)
* *Cat's Eye* (1988)
* *The Robber Bride* (1993)
* *Alias Grace* (1996)
* *The Blind Assassin* (2000)
* *Oryx and Crake* (2003)
* *The Penelopiad* (2005)
* *The Year of the Flood* (2009; sequel to *Oryx and Crake*)
* *MaddAddam* (2013; third novel in *Oryx and Crake* trilogy)
* *The Heart Goes Last* (2015)
* *The Testaments* (2019)
Pride and Prejudice

## Description

***Pride and Prejudice*** is a romantic novel by Jane Austen. Set during Regency era England, the novel explores the issues of manners, education, marriage, and money of the time. It was first published on January 28, 1813 by Thomas Egerton of Whitehall.

## About the Author

**Jane Austen** (b. December 16, 1775, Steventon Rectory, Hampshire, England - d. July 18, 1817, Winchester, Hampshire, England) was an English author known for her novels critiquing the British landed gentry during the Regency era. Her six novels were originally published anonymously and brought her little fame during her lifetime, although they have never been out of print. She died from tuberculosis at the age of 41.

## Trivia

* *Pride and Prejudice* has been adapted numerous times, most notably into an Academy Award-winning 1940 film.
* In 2009, *Pride and Prejudice* was adapted into a parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, entitled *Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.*

## Other Books by Jane Austen

* *Sense and Sensibility* (1811)
* *Mansfield Park* (1814)
* *Emma* (1815)
* *Northanger Abbey* (1818, posthumous)
* *Persuasion* (1818, posthumous)
The Hundred Dresses

## Description

***The Hundred Dresses*** is a children's book by Eleanor Estes and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. It was first published in 1944 by Harcourt Brace. The story centres on a Polish-American girl who is bullied for her last name and wearing the same dress to school everyday.

## About the Author

**Eleanor Estes** (b. May 9, 1906, West Haven, Connecticut, United States - d. October 29, 1924, Hamden, Connecticut, United States) was an American children's author and librarian. Three of her books were Newbery Honor winners and one won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Her books were based on her own childhood in a small town in Connecticut during the early 20th century. After graduating from high school, she became a children's librarian in her hometown, as well as in New York and California.

## Trivia

* The book won the Newbery Honor in 1945.
* The National Education Association listed it as one of its "Teachers Top 100 Books for Children."
* The book is based on an incident from Estes' own childhood.

## Other books by Eleanor Estes

* *The Moffats* (1941)
* *The Middle Moffat* (1942)
* *Rufus M.* (1943)
* *Ginger Pye* (1951)
Summer Dandy Package

The **Summer Dandy Package** is one of many Packages that can be bought from the Shop.

There are three outfits to choose from in this package.

## Items Included

Pink Beach Dolphin - $4.99 USD

**Blue Band Straw Hat****Pink Dolphin Bag**
Fishing Nyan Vacation - $5.99 USD

**Fishing Cat Hat****Vacation Sunglasses**
Let's Go Swimming - $3.99 USD

**Blue Goggles****Lifebuoy Bag**
Understanding Comics

## Description

***Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art*** is a non-fiction comic book series by Scott McCloud. Written in comic book form, it explores the history of comics, technical components, and the cultural significance of comics as an art form and medium of communication. It was first published in 1993 by Tundra Publishing. The book has won multiple awards including the Harvey Award, Eisner Award, and Adamson Award.

## About the Author

**Scott McCloud** (b. Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960, Boston, Massachusetts, United States) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist best known for his non-fiction books about comics, *Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics,* and *Making Comics.* He became a cartoonist in the 1980s as an independent superhero cartoonist and advocate for creator's rights. He was the principal author of the 1988 Creator's Bill of Rights.

## Trivia

* The title of the book is a homage to Marshall McLuhan's 1964 work *Understanding Media.*
* Along with Will Eisner's *Comics and Sequential Art*, the book forms the foundations for comics studies in English.

## Other books by Scott McCloud

* *Zot!* (1984-1990)
* *Reinventing Comics* (2000)
* *Making Comics* (2006)
* *The Sculptor* (2015)
Into the Wild

## Description

***Into the Wild*** is a non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer. It tells of the circumstances surrounding the death of Christopher McCandless, whose body was found in Alaska in 1992. The book was first published in 1996 by Villard of New York City.

## About the Author

**Jon Krakauer** (b. April 12, 1954, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA) is an American writer and mountaineer, known for writing outdoor literature. He successfully climbed Mount Everest in 1996. Krakauer is also a journalist known for his work on the magazine *Outside.*

## Trivia

* *Into the Wild* was adapted into a 2007 film of the same name, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless.

## Other books by Jon Krakauer

* *Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains* (1990)
* *Into Thin Air* (1997)
* *Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith* (2003)
* *Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman* (2009)
Botchan

## Description

***Botchan*** is a novel by Natsume Sōseki. The story is set in a middle school in Japan and is based on Sōseki's personal experience as a teacher. The novel was first published in 1906.

## About the Author

**Natsume Sōseki** (b. February 9, 1867, Tokyo, Japan - d. December 9, 1916, Tokyo, Japan) was a Japanese author and scholar of British literature. He studied in England from 1900 to 1903. Many of his works deal with the relation between Japanese culture and Western culture. He died from a stomach ulcer at the age of 49.

## Trivia

* *Botchan* is one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by many Japanese in their school years.
* The novel has been adapted into manga, film, and anime.

## Other books by Natsume Sōseki

* *I Am a Cat* (1905)
* *Kusamakura* (1906)
* *Ten Night's Dreams* (1908)
* *Kokoro* (1914)
The Interpretation of Dreams

## Description

***The Interpretation of Dreams*** is a non-fiction book by Sigmund Freud. First published on November 4, 1899 by Franz Deuticke of Vienna, the book introduces Freud's theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation. Freud revised the book at least eight times; the final edition was published in 1929.

## About the Author

**Sigmund Freud** (b. May 6, 1856, Freiberg in Mähren, Moravia, Austrian Empire [now Příbor, Czech Republic] - d. September 23, 1939, Hampstead, London, United Kingdom) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a set of theories and therapeutic techniques used to study the unconscious mind in order to treat mental disorders. As a Jew, Freud moved to London in 1938 to escape from Nazism. He died from jaw cancer the following year.

## Trivia

* Because of its lengthy and complex subject, Freud wrote an abridged version of *The Interpretation of Dreams* entitled *On Dreams*, published in 1901.

## Other books by Sigmund Freud

* *On Aphasia* (1891)
* *Studies on Hysteria* (co-authored with Josef Breuer; 1895)
* *The Psychopathology of Everyday Life* (1904)
* *Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious* (1905)
* *Totem and Taboo* (1913)
* *Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego* (1921)
* *The Ego and the Id* (1923)
* *The Question of Lay Analysis* (1926)
* *The Future of an Illusion* (1927)
* *Civilization and Its Discontents* (1930)
* *Moses and Monotheism* (1939)
The Children of Húrin

## Description

***The Children of Húrin*** is an epic high fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien and illustrated by Alan Lee. The story is set in Middle-Earth (a fantasy world created by Tolkien himself) a long time before *The Hobbit* and *The Lord of the Rings* take place. Tolkien wrote the first manuscript of the book in the 1910s and revised it several times throughout his life, but did not complete it before his death. The novel was thus edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien. It was first published on April 16, 2007 by HarperCollins in the United Kingdom and Houghton Mifflin in the United States.

## About the Author

**John Ronald Reuel Tolkien** (b. January 3, 1892, Bloemfontein, South Africa - d. September 2, 1973, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England) was an English writer and scholar who achieved world-renowned fame with his children’s book *The Hobbit* and his highly imaginative epic fantasy *The Lord of the Rings*. Tolkien was also a scholar of the English language, specializing in Anglo-Saxon (Old English) and Middle English at the University of Oxford.

## **Other books by J.R.R. Tolkien**

* *The Hobbit* (1937)
* *The Lord of the Rings* (1954-1955)
* *The Adventures of Tom Bombadil* (1962)
* *The Silmarillion* (1977)
* *Unfinished Tales* (1980)
* *Beren and Lúthien* (2017)
* *The Fall of Gondolin* (2018)
Vanity Fair

## Description

***Vanity Fair*** is a satirical novel by English author William Makepeace Thackeray. The story is set during and after the Napoleonic Wars in England, the Low Countries, Madras, and Rhineland. *Vanity Fair* was first published as a 19-volume serial from January 1847 to July 1848 in *Punch* magazine. It was first published as a single volume in 1848 with the subtitle *A Novel without a Hero* by Bradbury and Evans.

## About the Author

**William Makepeace Thackeray** (b. July 18, 1811, Calcutta, British India - d. December 24, 1863, London, United Kingdom) was a British author and illustrator best known for his satirical works. He was born in India where his father worked for the East India Company. During the Victorian era, his popularity was ranked second only to Charles Dickens.

## Trivia

* *Vanity Fair* has been adapted numerous times for radio, film, television, and theatre.
The Secret Garden

## Description

***The Secret Garden*** is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was first published serially in *The American Magazine* from November 1910 to August 1911. It was first published in book form in 1911 by Frederick A. Stokes Company in the United States and Heinemann in the United Kingdom. The story follows a British girl born in India who is sent to live with her wealthy uncle in a large country house in England after her parents die. She discovers a private walled garden in her uncle's mansion.

## About the Author

**Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett** (b. November 24, 1849, Cheetham, Manchester, England - d. October 29, 1924, Plandome Manor, New York, United States) was a British-American author best known for her children's novels. She was born in England and moved to the United States in 1865 after her father died. She began writing novels in the 1870s. Beginning in the 1880s, she travelled to England frequently and bought a home there in the 1890s, where she wrote her novel *The Secret Garden.*

## Trivia

* The novel has been adapted into numerous films and television dramas. The most famous adaptation was released in 1993 and stars Kate Maberly.
* *The Secret Garden* is considered one of the greatest books written for children.

## Other books by Frances Hodgson Burnett

* *Little Lord Fauntleroy* (1886)
* *A Little Princess* (1905)
Little Women

## Description

***Little Women*** is a coming-of-age novel by Louisa May Alcott. The story is set during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and follows four sisters in their passage from childhood to womanhood. The novel was first published as two volumes in 1868 (Volume 1) and 1869 (Volume 2) by the Roberts Brother of Boston. The two volumes were issued as a single novel in 1880.

## About the Author

**Louisa May Alcott** (b. November 29, 1832, Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States - d. March 6, 1888, Boston, Massachusetts, United States) was an American author best known for her novel *Little Women*. Raised in New England by transcendentalist parents, she grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Her novel is loosely based on her childhood experiences with her three sisters. An abolitionist and feminist, Alcott was active in the temperance and women's suffrage movements throughout her life.

## Trivia

* The characters in *Little Women* were inspired by Alcott's own friends and family.
* The second volume of *Little Women* was published in the UK under the title *Good Wives*.
* *Little Women* has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, television, musicals, and operas. It has also inspired many retellings by several authors, including *March* by Geraldine Brooks.

## Other Books By Louisa May Alcott

* *Little Men* (1871)
* *Jo's Boys* (1886)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth

## Description

***Journey to the Centre of the Earth*** (French: *Voyage au centre de la Terre*) is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne. It was first published on November 25, 1864 by Pierre-Jules Hetzel. A revised and expanded edition was published in 1867. The story is set primarily in a subterranean realm, which the protagonists enter through a volcano. The novel was first translated into English in 1871 and published by Griffith & Farren of London.

## About the Author

**Jules Verne** (b. February 8, 1828, Nantes, France - d. March 24, 1905, Amiens, France) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his adventure and science fiction novels. He is the second-most translated author in the world. Like H.G. Wells, Verne is considered one of the founders of science fiction. He was also known as a prophet of scientific progress as many of his novels involve technology that was fantastic for its time but later became commonplace.

## Trivia

* *Journey to the Centre of the Earth* inspired a theme park ride in Tokyo DisneySea.

## Other books by Jules Verne

* *From the Earth to the Moon* (1865)
* *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas* (1870)
* *Around the World in Eight Days* (1872)
* *The Mysterious Island* (1875)
* *Paris in the Twentieth Century* (1994)
Amadeus

## Description

***Amadeus*** is a play by Peter Shaffer which provides a fictional account of the lives of 18th-century composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. The play premiered on November 2, 1979 at the Royal National Theatre in London. It won numerous awards, including the 1979 Evening Standard Award and 1981 Tony Award for Best Play.

## About the Author

**Sir Peter Levin Shaffer** (b. May 15, 1926, Liverpool, Lancashire, England - d. June 6, 2016, County Cork, Republic of Ireland) was an English author, playwright, and screenwriter. He was best known for his award-winning plays, many of which have been adapted into films. Shaffer was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1987 and named a Knight Bachelor in 2001.

## Trivia

* *Amadeus* was inspired by Alexander Pushkin's 1830 play *Mozart and Salieri*.
* *Amadeus* was adapted into an Academy Award-winning 1984 film of the same name.

## Other books by Peter Shaffer

* *Five Finger Exercise* (1958)
* *The Royal Hunt of the Sun* (1964)
* *Black Comedy* (1965)
* *The White Liars* (1967)
* *Equus* (1973)
Through the Looking-Glass

## Description

***Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There*** (or *Alice Through the Looking Glass*) is a children's fantasy novel by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel. It is the sequel to *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* (1865). The story again follows Alice's adventures in a fantastical world, but this time she enters through a mirror. The book was first published on December 27, 1871 by Macmillan Publishers Ltd of London. The novel contains numerous poems that are now classics in nonsense poetry, such as "Jabberwocky," "Tweedledum and Tweeldedee," and "The Walrus and the Carpenter."

## About the Author

**Lewis Carroll** (b. January 27, 1832, Daresbury, Chesire, England - d. January 14, 1898, Guildford, Surrey, England) was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He was an English author best known for his children’s book *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*, and as a pioneer of the literary nonsense genre*.* Carroll was also a photographer, mathematician, inventor, and Anglican deacon.

## Trivia

* *Through the Looking-Glass* has been adapted several times for film, television, and stage, both as stand-alone features and in combination with *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.*
* Alice was inspired by Alice Liddell, who as a child, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll.

## Other books by Lewis Carroll

* *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* (1865)
The Richest Man in Babylon

## Description

***The Richest Man in Babylon*** is a non-fiction book by George S. Clason. The book provides financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. It has never been out of print and is regarded as a classic of personal financial advice. It was first published in 1926 by Penguin Books.

## About the Authors

**George Samuel Clason** (b. November 7, 1874, Louisiana, Missouri, US - d. April 7, 1957, Napa, California, US) was an American author best known for *The Richest Man in Babylon.* Before writing the book, he attended the University of Nebraska and served in the Spanish-American War. He also started two companies, the Clason Map Company and the Clason Publishing Company. Clason is credited with the saying, "Pay yourself first."

## Trivia

* *The Richest Man in Babylon* was first written as a series of pamphlets distributed by US banks and insurance companies between 1920 and 1924.
Blood

## Description

***Blood: The Stuff of Life*** is a non-fiction book by Lawrence Hill. Originally part of the CBC Massey Lectures Series, the book is an analysis of blood as an historical and contemporary marker of identity, gender, race, class, and nationhood*.* The book was first published in 2013 by House of Anansi Press Inc. In 2015, it won the Hamilton Literary Award for Non Fiction.

## About the Author

**Lawrence Hill** (b. January 24, 1957, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian author best known for his novel *The Book of Negroes*. His father was black and his mother was white. Hill is also an advocate for the economic and social advancement of women and girls in Africa, and volunteers for Crossroads International in Niger, Cameroon, and Mali.

## Trivia

* *Blood* comprises the 2013 CBC Massey Lectures, broadcast in November 2013 as part of CBC Radio's *Ideas* series.

## Other books by Lawrence Hill

* *Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada* (2001)
* *The Book of Negroes* (2007)
* *The Illegal* (2015)
Max Havelaar

## Description

***Max Havelaar; or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company*** (Dutch: *Max Havelaar; of, De koffi-veilingen der Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappy*) is a satirical novel by Multatuli. It was first published in 1860 and tells the story of a Dutch colonial administrator in his battle against the corrupt government system in Java, then a Dutch colony.

## About the Author

**Multatuli** (b. March 2, 1820, Amsterdam, United Kingdom of the Netherlands - d. February 19, 1887, Nieder Ingelheim, Rhine, German Empire) was the pen name of Eduard Dowes Dekker. He was a Dutch author best known for his novel *Max Havelaar,* which criticized the Dutch colonization of Indonesia. Multatuli was born in Amsterdam to a Mennonite family and served as a colonial officer in the Dutch East Indies for almost 20 years. His protests against the abuses of the colonial system led to his resignation in 1856. His pen name is derived from the Latin phrase *multa tuli*, which means "I have suffered much." It refers to both himself and the victims of the injustices he witnessed. Multatuli moved to Germany in 1867, where he died in 1887. Multatuli is now considered one of the Netherlands' greatest authors.

## Trivia

* The novel played a key role in modifying Dutch colonial policy in the Dutch East Indies in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.
* The novel was adapted into a film of the same name released in 1976.
Growing Up in New Guinea

## Description

***Growing Up in New Guinea*** is a non-fiction book by Margaret Mead that documents Mead's encounters with the indigenous people of Manus, Papua New Guinea when they were still untouched by the outside world. Mead compares their attitudes towards family, sex, marriage, child rearing, and religious beliefs with that of modern Western culture. The book was first published in 1930 by Blue Ribbon Books.

## About the Author

**Margaret Mead** (b. December 16, 1901, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States - d. November 15, 1978, New York City, United States) was an American cultural anthropologist. She is best known for her research on attitudes towards sex in the South Pacific and Southeast Asian traditional cultures, which influenced the sexual revolution in the 1960s. Mead was awarded the Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science in 1970.

## Other books by Margaret Mead

* *Coming of Age in Samoa* (1929)
* *Male and Female* (1949)
The War of the Worlds

## Description

***The War of the Worlds*** is a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells. The story is set in southern England, which has been invaded by Martians. It was first published in serial format in *Pearson's Magazine* from April to December 1897. It was first published in book format in 1898 by William Heinemann in the United Kingdom and Harper & Bros. in the United States.

## About the Author

**Herbert George Wells** (b. September 21, 1866, Bromley, Kent, England - d. August 13, 1946, Regent's Park, London, England) was an English author best known for his science fiction novels. As a futurist, his novels foresaw the advent of aircraft, tanks, space travel, nuclear weapons, satellite television, and the World Wide Web. He is now considered the "father of science fiction."

## Other Books by H.G. Wells

* *The Time Machine* (1895)
* *The Island of Doctor Moreau* (1896)
* *The Invisible Man* (1897)

## Trivia

* *The War of the Worlds* has been adapted numerous times for radio, film, and television. The most famous adaptation is the 1938 radio broadcast directed and narrated by Orson Welles.
12 Rules for Life

## Description

***12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos*** is a self help book by Jordan Peterson. It provides life advice through 12 chapters explained through essays in abstract ethical principles, psychology, mythology, religion, and personal anecdotes*.* The book was first published in January, 2018 by Random House in Canada and Penguin Allen Lane in the U.K.

## About the Author

**Jordan Peterson** (b. June 12, 1962, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) is a Canadian clinical psychologist, Youtube personality, author, and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. He obtained a PhD in clinical psychology from McGill University and went on to become an associate professor and researcher at Harvard University. He returned to Canada in 1998 and became a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. In 2016, he gained widespread attention for his criticism of political correctness and identity politics.

## Trivia

* *12 Rules for Life* was a bestseller in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.
* Peterson went on a world tour to promote the book, and received widespread attention from an interview with *Channel 4 News.*

## Other books by Jordan Peterson

* *Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief* (1999)
* *Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life* (2021)
The Moonstone

## Description

***The Moonstone*** is an epistolary novel by Wilkie Collins. An early example of the modern detective novel, the story deals with the theft of a sacred diamond. The novel was first published serially from January to August 1868 in Charles Dickens' magazine *All the Year Round.* It was first published in book form in 1868 by the Tinsley Brothers.

## About the Author

**William Wilkie Collins** (b. January 8, 1824, Marylebone, London, England - d. September 23, 1889, London, England) was an English novelist and playwright best known for his sensation novels, a genre now seen as a precursor to detective and suspense fiction. He was a friend of Charles Dickens, who helped him publish his works.

## Trivia

* *The Moonstone* has been adapted numerous times for film, television, and radio.
* *The Moonstone* is regarded as the precursor of the modern mystery and suspense novel.
The Sun Also Rises

## Description

***The Sun Also Rises*** is the debut novel of Ernest Hemingway. The story is follows a group of British and American expatriates in Paris who travel to Spain to watch bullfights. The characters are based on real people in Hemingway's circle and the plot is based on real events in Hemingway's life. The novel was first published in 1926 by Scribner's of New York City.

## About the Author

**Ernest Hemingway** (b. July 21, 1899, Oak Park, Illinois, United States - d. July 2, 1961, Ketchum, Idaho, United States) was an American author, journalist, and sportsman. He was best known for his modernist novels, including *The Old Man and the Sea*, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. He also won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Before becoming a published author, he served as an ambulance driver in World War I and worked as a journalist for *The Toronto Star.* In the 1920s, Hemingway lived in Paris, where he became part of the expatriate community. He later maintained permanent residences in Cuba and Ketchum, Idaho.

## Trivia

* *The Sun Also Rises* is considered the quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, which was seen as decadent, dissolute and damaged by World War I.
* *The Sun Also Rises* was adapted into a 1956 film starring Tyrone Power and Ava Gardner.

## Other books by Ernest Hemingway

* *In Our Time* (1925)
* *A Farewell to Arms* (1929)
* *To Have and Have Not* (1937)
* *For Whom the Bell Tolls* (1940)
* *The Old Man and the Sea* (1952)
* *A Moveable Feast* (1964)
Endgame

## Description

***Endgame*** is a tragicomedy play by Samuel Beckett. It is an English translation of Beckett's original French play, *Fin de partie*. The play premiered on April 3, 1957 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. It is considered one of Beckett's best works.

## About the Author

**Samuel Beckett** (b. April 13, 1906, Foxrock, Dublin, Ireland - d. December 22, 1989, Montparnasse, Paris, France) was an Irish author, playwright, theatre director, and literary translator best known for his tragicomic works. He lived in Paris for most of his adulthood, and wrote in both French and English. Beckett won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

## Trivia

* *Endgame* was adapted into a French-language one-act opera, *Fin de partie*, which premiered in 2018 at La Scala in Milan.

## Other books by Samuel Beckett

* *The Trilogy*
	+ *Molloy (1951)*
	+ *Malone Dies* (1956)
	+ *The Unnamable* (1958)
* *Waiting for Godot* (1953)
On the Origin of Species

## Description

***On the Origin of Species***, published on November 24, 1859, is a work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin that is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Darwin's book introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. The book presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution.

## About the Author

**Charles Darwin** (b. February 12, 1809, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England - d. April 19, 1882, Downe, Kent, England) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundational theory of modern biology. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures in human history.

## Trivia

* The "theory of evolution" was not first conceived by Charles Darwin. The French zoologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829) had already came up with a similar theory that suggests individual animals physiologically adapt by building up the characteristics that are useful to them or are used more often, and the characteristics that are useless or seldom used are degenerated or lost. These adaptive traits that are acquired by an individual during its lifetime are inherited by its subsequent progeny. Darwin’s theory on the other hand consists of several assumptions that describe the actual mechanisms for evolution: (1) there is reproduction going on within a species, (2) there are variations in traits within a population of a species, (3) natural selection where individuals who are better adapted to the existing environmental conditions than others have a competitive advantage, (4) individuals inherit variations in traits to a certain extent. This makes Darwin's theory with the concept of **natural selection** the most scientific theory of evolution.

* Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 - 1913), another British naturalist, also made observations that led to the discovery of natural selection and evolution.

* Darwin at first shocked the religious Victorian society by suggesting that animals and humans shared a common ancestry. However, his non-religious biology appealed to the rising class of professional scientists.

## Other books by Charles Darwin

* *The Voyage of the Beagle* (1839)
* *The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex* (1871)
* *The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals* (1872)
* *On Natural Selection* (1896)
Kokoro

## Description

***Kokoro*** is a novel by Natsume Sōseki. The story is set in Japan during the transition period from the Meiji era to the modern era. It explores the friendship between a young man and an older man. The novel was first published serially in the Japanese newspaper *Asahi Shimbun* from April 20 to August 11, 1914.

## About the Author

**Natsume Sōseki** (b. February 9, 1867, Tokyo, Japan - d. December 9, 1916, Tokyo, Japan) was a Japanese author and scholar of British literature. He studied in England from 1900 to 1903. Many of his works deal with the relation between Japanese culture and Western culture. He died from a stomach ulcer at the age of 49.

## Trivia

* *Kokoro* has been adapted into films, television series, and manga.

## Other books by Natsume Sōseki

* *I Am a Cat* (1905)
* *Botchan* (1906)
* *Kusamakura* (1906)
* *Ten Night's Dreams* (1908)
The Book of Negroes

## Description

***The Book of Negroes*** is a novel by Lawrence Hill. The story is set during the American Revolutionary War and concerns the American slave trade. The title derives from a historical document written during that time*.* The novel was first published on January 18, 2007 by HarperCollins. It won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize in 2007, the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best Overall Book in 2008, and was the winning selection for CBC Radio's Canada Reads in 2009.

## About the Author

**Lawrence Hill** (b. January 24, 1957, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian author best known for his novel *The Book of Negroes*. His father was black and his mother was white. Hill is also an advocate for the economic and social advancement of women and girls in Africa, and volunteers for Crossroads International in Niger, Cameroon, and Mali.

## Trivia

* *The Book of Negroes* was adapted into a television miniseries which premiered on CBC in Canada and BTE in the United States in 2015.

## Other books by Lawrence Hill

* *Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada* (2001)
* *Blood* (2013)
* *The Illegal* (2015)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

## Description

***The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes*** is a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle and illustrated by Sidney Paget. It was first published in 12 monthly issues from July 1891 to June 1892. The stories follow the detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. John Watson, who identify and try to correct social injustices. All are told in the first-person narrative of Watson.

## About the Author

**Sir Arthur Conan Doyle** (b. May 22, 1859, Edinburgh, Scotland - d. July 7, 1930, Crowborough, England) was a British author and physician best known for creating the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 with the novel *A Study in Scarlet*. Before becoming a published author, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He was also a justice advocate who personally investigated two closed cases, which led to two men being exonerated from the crimes of which they were accused. He was knighted in 1902.

## Trivia

* *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes* has been adapted numerous times into films, television series, and plays. The titular character has been played by over 70 actors in more than 200 films.

## Other Books by Arthur Conan Doyle

* *A Study in Scarlet* (1887)
* *The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes* (1894)
* *The Hound of the Baskervilles* (1902)
* *The Return of Sherlock Holmes* (1904)
The Good Earth

## Description

***The Good Earth*** is a historical fiction novel by Pearl S. Buck. First published on March 2, 1931 by John Day of New York, the story is set in a Chinese village in the early 20th century. The novel is the first book in Buck's *House of Earth* trilogy. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1932, and was influential for Buck winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.

## About the Author

**Pearl** **Sydenstricker Buck** (b. June 26, 1892, Hillsboro, West Virginia, United States - d. March 6, 1973, Danby, Vermont, United States) was an American author best known for her novels depicting peasant life in China. She was the daughter of missionaries, and spent most of her early life in Zhenjiang, China. She returned to the United States in 1935.

## Trivia

* *The Good Earth* was the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932.
* *The Good Earth* helped prepare Americans in the 1930s to consider the Chinese as allies in the war against Japan.
* *The Good Earth* was adapted into a film in 1937, based on the 1932 Broadway stage adaptation.

## Other books by Pearl S. Buck

* *Sons* (1933; *House of Earth* #2)
* *A House Divided* (1935; *House of Earth* #3)
* *China Sky* (1941)
* *Dragon Seed* (1942)
Einstein's Dreams

## Description

***Einstein's Dreams*** is a historical novel by Alan Lightman. The story is is a fictional account of Albert Einstein as a young scientist, troubled by dreams as he works on his theory of relativity. The novel was first published in 1992 by Vintage. It was an international bestseller and has been translated into more than 30 languages.

## About the Author

**Alan Lightman** (b. November 28, 1948, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.) is an American physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur who has served on the faculties of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is currently a professor at MIT. Lightman is also the founder of Harpswell, a nonprofit organization that empowers women leaders in Southeast Asia.

## Trivia

* *Einstein's Dreams* was adapted into a musical, which debuted in Lisbon in 2005.
The Lord of the Rings

## Description

***The Lord of the Rings*** is an epic high fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. The story is set in Middle-Earth (a fantasy world created by Tolkien himself) as a sequel to *The Hobbit*. The first two volumes in the series, *The Fellowship of the Ring* and *The Two Towers,* were first published in 1954 by George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London; the final volume, *The Return of the King,* was first published in 1955. Tolkien wrote the novel in stages between 1937 and 1949.

## About the Author

**John Ronald Reuel Tolkien** (b. January 3, 1892, Bloemfontein, South Africa - d. September 2, 1973, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England) was an English writer and scholar who achieved world-renowned fame with his children’s book *The Hobbit* and his highly imaginative epic fantasy *The Lord of the Rings*. Tolkien was also a scholar of the English language, specializing in Anglo-Saxon (Old English) and Middle English at the University of Oxford.

## Trivia

* *The Lord of the Rings* is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.
* *The Lord of the Rings* has been translated into at least 38 languages.
* *The Lord of the Rings* has been adapted into three award-winning movies.

## **Other books by J.R.R. Tolkien**

* *The Hobbit* (1937)
* *The Adventures of Tom Bombadil* (1962)
* *The Silmarillion* (1977)
* *Unfinished Tales* (1980)
* *The Children of Húrin* (2007)
* *Beren and Lúthien* (2017)
* *The Fall of Gondolin* (2018)
The Last of the Mohicans

## Description

***The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757*** is a historical romance novel by James Fenimore Cooper. The story is set during the French and Indian War, when the French and the British battled for control over North America, with both sides using Native American allies. The novel is set primarily in New York state and follows the abduction of two sisters by Native Americans. It was first published in February, 1826 by H.C. Carey & I. Lea. It is the second book in Cooper's *Leatherstocking Tales* pentalogy.

## About the Author

**James Fenimore Cooper** (b. September 15, 1789, Burlington, New Jersey, United States - d. September 14, 1851, Cooperstown, New York, United States) was an American writer best known for his historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters of the 17th to 19th centuries. He attended Yale University for three years before serving in the U.S. Navy. A prolific writer, he published political, social, and historical works of fiction and non-fiction. He was also the creator of American nautical fiction.

## Trivia

* *The Last of the Mohicans* is one the most popular English-language novels.
* The novel has been adapted into numerous films, television series, and cartoons.

## Other books by James Fenimore Cooper

* *The Pioneers* (1823)
* *The Prairie* (1827)
* *The Pathfinder* (1840)
* *The Deerslayer* (1841)
The Tipping Point

## Description

***The Tipping Point: How Little Things*** ***Make a Big Difference*** is Malcolm Gladwell's debut book in which Gladwell explains how ideas, products, and behaviours spread like viruses after reaching a "tipping point," or threshold. The book was first published in March 2000 by Little, Brown and Company of New York City.

## About the Author

**Malcolm Gladwell** (b. September 3, 1963, Fareham, Hampshire, England) is a Canadian author and journalist who has been a staff writer for *The New Yorker* since 2006. He is best known for his non-fiction books on business and the social sciences. His first five books were *New York Times* bestsellers. Born in England, Gladwell moved to Canada at the age of 6. In 2011, he was appointed to the Order of Canada.

## Trivia

* *The Tipping Point* was a #1 bestseller upon its release. In the wake of its success, Gladwell earned as much as $40,000 per lecture.

## Other books by Malcolm Gladwell

* *Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking* (2005)
* *Outliers: The Story of Success* (2008)
* *What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures* (2009)
* *David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants* (2013)
* *Talking To Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know* (2019)
* *The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War* (2021)
A Main Character

# **Vehicles**

Vehicles can be used to travel and store items when you go on a Expedition. There are 7 vehicles till now.

### Small truck

Small truck can be bought using 10k in-game currency, It can store 30 items.

### Medium Truck

Medium truck can be bought using 855k in-game currency, it can store 180 items.

### Large Truck

Large truck can be bought using 5.2M in-game currency, it can store 480 items.
Anna Karenina

## Description

***Anna Karenina*** (Russian: «Анна Каренина») is a novel by Leo Tolstoy. The story is set in Russia during the reign of Emperor Alexander II and deals with the search for love and happiness in a repressive society. The novel was first published serially from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical *The Russian Messenger*, and first published in book form in 1878. It is widely considered one of the greatest novels ever written.

## About the Author

Count **Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy** (b. September 9, 1828, Yasnaya Polyana, Tula Governorate, Russian Empire - d. November 20, 1910, Astapovo, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire) was a Russian writer. Regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time, he is best known for his realist fiction. He was born into an aristocratic family but orphaned at age nine, and therefore raised by relatives. Aside from his writings, Tolstoy was also known for his Christian anarchism and pacifism.

## Trivia

* *Anna Karenina* has been adapted numerous times for film, television, stage, and radio.

## Other books by Leo Tolstoy

* *War and Peace* (1869)
* *The Death of Ivan Ilyich* (1866)
* *The Kreutzer Sonata* (1889)
* *Resurrection* (1899)
* *The Living Corpse* (1900)