recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Ben-Hur

## Description

***Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ*** is a novel by Lew Wallace. The story follows the adventures of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince who is enslaved by the Romans and later becomes a Christian. The novel was first published on November 12, 1880 by Harper & Brothers. It is considered one of the most influential Christian books of the nineteenth century, and was the bestselling American novel of the nineteenth century.

## About the Author

**Lewis Wallace** (b. April 10, 1827, Brookville, Indiana, United States - d. February 15, 1905, Crawfordsville, Indiana, United States) was an American lawyer, general, politician, diplomat, and author. He is best known for his novel *Ben-Hur*. He was a Union general in the American Civil War, and also served in the Mexican-American War. After resigning from the US Army in 1865, he was appointed governor of the New Mexico Territory and served as US minister to the Ottoman Empire.

## Trivia

* *Ben-Hur* has been adapted numerous times for film and stage. The most notable adaptation is the 1959 MGM film, which won 11 Academy Awards.
Sons and Lovers

## Description

***Sons and Lovers*** is a novel by D.H. Lawrence. It is a semi-autobiographical book based on Lawrence's childhood and adolescence in his native Nottinghamshire. In particular, it explores his relationship with his mother. The novel was first published in 1913 by Gerald Duckworth & Company of London. It initially received criticism due to allegations of obscenity but is now considered Lawrence's masterpiece.

## About the Author

**David Herbert Lawrence** (b. September 11, 1885, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England - d. March 2, 1930, Vence, Alpes-Maritimes Department, France) was an English author and poet. His works reflect upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization. Lawrence's depictions of sexuality, shocking at the time, gained him a reputation as a pornographer. He endured censorship, persecution, and misrepresentation of his works, and spent his final years in voluntary exile. He died in France in 1930 at the age of 44.

## Trivia

* *Sons and Lovers* has been adapted for screen several times, most notably into a 1960 Academy Award-winning film .

## Other books by D.H. Lawrence

* *The Trespasser* (1912)
* *The Rainbow* (1915)
* *Women in Love* (1920)
* *Lady Chatterley's Lover* (1928)
Dubliners

## Description

***Dubliners*** is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce. The stories depict middle class life in Dublin, Ireland during the early 20th century, when Irish nationalism was at its peak. The book was first published in June 1916 by Grant Richards Ltd. of London.

## About the Author

**James Joyce** (b. February 2, 1882, Dublin, Ireland - d. January 13, 1941, Zürich, Switzerland) was an Irish author and literary critic best known for his modernist novels. In 1904, he migrated to continental Europe, living in Paris, Trieste, and Zürich, where he died in 1941. Although he spent most of his adult life abroad, his fiction centres on Dublin and often deal with Irish identity.

## Trivia

* "The Dead," a story in the book, was adapted into a 1987 film directed by John Huston.
* "Araby" was adapted into a short film in 1999 by Dennis Courtney.
* In 2000, "The Dead" was adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical.

## Other books by James Joyce

* *A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man* (1916)
* *Ulysses* (1922)
* *Finnegan's Wake* (1939)
East of Eden

## Description

***East of Eden*** is a novel by John Steinbeck. The story is set in the Salinas Valley, California between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of World War I. It follows the lives of two families and is loosely based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The novel was first published on September 19, 1952 by The Viking Press of New York City. It is considered Steinbeck's finest novel.

## About the Author

**John Steinbeck** (b. February 27, 1902, Salinas, California, United States - d. December 20, 1968, New York City, United States) was an American author best known for his novels *East of Eden* and *The Grapes of Wrath*, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Most of his works are set in the Salinas Valley, California, where he grew up. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962.

## Trivia

* *East of Eden* has been adapted into a 1955 film and a 1981 television miniseries.

## Other books by John Steinbeck

* *The Red Pony* (1933)
* *Tortilla Flat* (1935)
* *Of Mice and Men* (1937)
* *The Grapes of Wrath* (1939)
* *Cannery Row* (1945)
Peter Pan

## Description

***Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up** or **Peter and Wendy*** is a children's fantasy novel by J.M. Barrie first published in 1911 by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Scribner's in the US. It was first released as a play which debuted at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on December 27, 1904. Both works tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous boy who can fly, and has adventures on Neverland with a girl named Wendy and her two brothers. The primary theme concerns the conflict between the innocence of childhood and the responsibility of adulthood.

## About the Author

**Sir James Matthew Barrie** (b. May 9, 1860, Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland - d. June 19, 1937, London, England) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best known as the creator of Peter Pan. Born in Scotland, he moved to London where he wrote many successful plays and novels. He befriended the Llewellyn Davies family in 1897, whose five sons inspired *Peter Pan.* Barrie adopted the Davies boys after the deaths of their parents. He was made a baronet by George V in 1913, and a member of the Order of Merit in 1922.

## Trivia

* Barrie continued to revise the play for years after its debut until the play script was published in 1928.
* The story of Peter Pan was inspired by Barrie's friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family.
* *Peter Pan* has been adapted into numerous films, most notably the 1953 animated feature film by Walt Disney.

## Other books by J.M. Barrie

* *The Admirable Crichton* (1902)
* *The Little White Bird* (1902)
* *Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens* (1906)
* *When Wendy Grew Up* (1908, published 1957)
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

## Description

***The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane*** is a children's novel by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. The story follows the life of a sentient china rabbit. The book was first published on March 30, 2006 by Candlewick Press of Somerville, Massachusetts. It won the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction.

## About the Author

**Kate DiCamillo** (b. March 25, 1964, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American author, best known for her children's fiction featuring animals. She has won two Newbery Medals for her novels *The Tale of Despereaux* and *Flora & Ulysses*. From 2014 to 2015, DiCamillo was the U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

## Trivia

* *The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane* has often been compared to Hans Christian Andersen's works, in particular "The Steadfast Tin Soldier."

## Other books by Kate DiCamillo

* *Because of Winn-Dixie* (2000)
* *The Tiger Rising* (2001)
* *The Tale of Despereaux* (2003)
* *The Magician's Elephant* (2009)
* *Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures* (2013)
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures

## Description

***Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures*** is a collection of short stories by Vincent Lam. First published on January 17, 2006 by Doubleday in Canada, the book draws on Lam's personal experiences as a medical student and as a professional physician. *Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures* won the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

## About the Author

**Vincent Lam** (b. September 5, 1974, London, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer and medical doctor. His parents immigrated to Canada from the Chinese expatriate community in Vietnam. Lam studied medicine at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1999.

## Trivia

* *Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures* was made into a television series that debuted in 2010.

## Other books by Vincent Lam

* *The Flu Pandemic and You*, co-written with Colin Lee with a foreword by Margaret Atwood (2006)
* *Extraordinary Canadians: Tommy Douglas* (2011)
* *The Headmaster's Wager* (2012)
Around the World in Eighty Days

## Description

***Around the World in Eighty Days*** (French: *Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours*) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne. It was first published serially in the French newspaper *Le Temps* in 1872. The novel was first published in book form on January 30, 1873 by Pierre-Jules Hetzel. The story follows an English gentleman and his French valet in their quest to circumnavigate the world by train in eighty days. The novel was first translated into English in 1873.

## 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

* The novel has been adapted into numerous films, television series, plays, musicals, and video games.
* A sequel to the book, *Around the World in 100 Days* by Gary Blackwood was published in 2010. It follows the protagonist's son as he travels around the world by car.

## Other books by Jules Verne

* *Journey to the Centre of the Earth* (1864)
* *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)
A Christmas Carol

## Description

***A Christmas Carol*** is a novella by Charles Dickens. The story is set in London and follows an elderly miser who is visited by ghosts during Christmastime, transforming him into a kinder man. The novel was first published on December 19, 1843 by Chapman & Hall of London.

## About the Author

**Charles Dickens** (b. February 7, 1812, Landport, Hampshire, England - d. June 9, 1870, Higham, Kent, England) was an English writer and social critic best known for his novels depicting poor social and working conditions. He is considered by many to be the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, and his works remain popular today. The term "Dickensian" is used to describe situations reminiscent of Dickens' writings. A famous celebrity of his time, Dickens took a series of public reading tours later in his career due to public demand.

## Trivia

* *A Christmas Carol* has been adapted numerous times for film, radio, television, and stage.
* *A Christmas Carol* inspired many aspects of modern Christmas celebrations, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, and games.

## Other books by Charles Dickens

* *The Pickwick Papers* (1836-7)
* *Oliver Twist* (1837-9)
* *Nicholas Nickleby* (1838-9)
* *David Copperfield* (1849-50)
* *Bleak House* (1852-3)
* *Hard Times* (1854)
* *Little Dorrit* (1855-7)
* *A Tale of Two Cities* (1859)
* *Great Expectations* (1860-1)
The God Delusion

## Description

***The God Delusion*** is a non-fiction book by Richard Dawkins. First published on October 2, 2006 by Bantam Books, the book delivers a rebuttal of religious belief and the existence of a supreme being. For *The God Delusion*, Dawkins was named Author of the Year at the 2007 British Book Awards.

## About the Author

**Richard Dawkins** (b. March 26, 1941, Nairobi, British Kenya) is a British author and evolutionary biologist best known for his criticism of religion, creationism and intelligent design. He is credited with coining the term "meme" in his book *The Selfish Gene*, as the behavioural equivalent of a gene. Dawkins is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and has been awarded numerous academic and writing awards.

## Trivia

* *The God Delusion* has been translated into 35 languages.
* *The God Delusion* has attracted controversy, with many books written in response*.*

## Other books by Richard Dawkins

* *The Selfish Gene* (1976)
* *The Extended Phenotype* (1982)
* *The Blind Watchmaker* (1986)
* *Unweaving the Rainbow* (1998)
* *The Ancestor's Tale* (2004)
* *The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution* (2009)
Collapse

## Description

***Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed*** is a trans-disciplinary non-fiction book by Jared Diamond. It reviews historical and pre-historical instances of societal collapse, and considers the success or failure different societies have in coping with threats of from environmental changes, climate change, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices. *Guns, Germs, and Steel* was first published in 2005 by Viking Books.

## About the Author

**Jared Diamond** (b. September 10, 1937 Boston, United States) is an American geographer, historian, ornithologist, and author. Originally trained in biochemistry and physiology, Diamond is known for drawing from a variety of fields, including anthropology, ecology, geography, and evolutionary biology. He is a professor of geography at UCLA.

## Trivia

* In 2010, National Geographic released a documentary based on the book.

## Other books by Jared Diamond

* *Guns, Germs, and Steel* (1997)
* *Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality* (1997)
* *The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal* (1991)
* *The World Until Yesterday* (2013)
Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art

## Description

***Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*** (《九章算术》, pinyin: *Jiǔ Zhāng Suàn Shù*) is a Chinese mathematics book composed by generations of scholars during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE). This book is one of the earliest surviving mathematics texts from China. It lays out an approach to mathematics that centers on finding the most general methods or algorithms for solving problems. Majority of the problems involve the computation of rates, proportion, unknown quantities, square roots, and cube roots. These computation methods are extended to solve applied problems on areas, volumes, simultaneous linear equations, quadratic equations, and right triangles.

## About the Author

**Zhang Cang** (张苍, c. 253 - 152 BCE) is credited for compiling and editing the earliest edition of the text. Archaeological evidence suggests that much of its contents is a collection of Chinese mathematical knowledge from the 11th – 2nd century BCE. Later mathematicians wrote commentaries explaining the methods and theory; the most famous commentary was written by the mathematician Liu Hui (刘徽, fl. 3rd century CE).

## Trivia

* In modern times, "算术" (pinyin: suàn shù) refers to arithmetic only; however, "算术" referred to mathematics in ancient China. Hence, the Chinese title 《九章算术》(*Jiuzhang Suanshu*) should be translated as *Nine Chapters on Mathematics*.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

## Description

***A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man*** is the debut novel of James Joyce. Written in modernist style, the story is set in Ireland and follows the religious and intellectual awakening of James Joyce's fictional alter ego Stephen Dedalus. The novel was first published on December 29, 1916 by B.W. Huebsch of New York City.

## About the Author

**James Joyce** (b. February 2, 1882, Dublin, Ireland - d. January 13, 1941, Zürich, Switzerland) was an Irish author and literary critic best known for his modernist novels. In 1904, he migrated to continental Europe, living in Paris, Trieste, and Zürich, where he died in 1941. Although he spent most of his adult life abroad, his fiction centres on Dublin and often deal with Irish identity.

## Trivia

* *A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man* has been adapted for film in 1977.

## Other books by James Joyce

* *Dubliners* (1914)
* *Ulysses* (1922)
* *Finnegan's Wake* (1939)
SuperFreakonomics

## Description

***SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance*** is a non-fiction book by economist Steven Levitt and *New York Times* journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The sequal to *Freakonomics,* the book explores the concept that we all work towards a particular reward. It was first published on October 20, 2009 by William Morrow of New York City.

## About the Authors

**Steven D. Levitt** (b. May 29, 1967, Boston, Massachusetts, USA) is an American economist and writer known for co-authoring *Freakonomics* and its sequel *SuperFreakonomics*. He is currently a professor of Economics and the faculty director and co-founder of the Center for Radical Innovation for Social Change at the University of Chicago. In 2003, he won the John Bates Clark Medal for his work in the field of crime.

**Stephen J. Dubner** (b. August 26, 1964, Duanesburg, New York, USA) is an American journalist, author, and radio and podcast host. He is known for co-authoring *Freakonomics* and its sequel *SuperFreakonomics*. He is also the host of *Freakonomics Radio*.

## Trivia

* In 2010, an illustrated edition of *SuperFreakonomics* was released.

## Other books by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

* *Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything* (2005)
* *Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain* (2014)
* *When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants* (2015)
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

## Description

***The Hunchback of Notre-Dame*** (French: *Notre-Dame de Paris*) is a Gothic novel by Victor Hugo. First published on March 16, 1831 by Gosselin, the novel is set in 15th century Paris. It was first translated into English in 1833 by Frederic Shoberl.

## About the Author

**Victor Hugo** (b. February 26, 1802, Besançon, France – d. May 22, 1885, Paris, France) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist. He is considered one of the greatest French writers of the Romantic literary movement, best known for his novels *The Hunchback of Notre-Dame* and *Les Misérables.* In France, he is best known for his poetry collections. Hugo was also an artist who produced more than 4000 drawings in his lifetime.

## Trivia

* *The Hunchback of Notre-Dame* has been adapted numerous times for film, stage, and television. Some have strayed significantly from the original plot.
Sun Tzu's The Art of War

## Description

**Sun Tzu's The Art of War** (《孙子兵法》, pinyin: Sūn Zǐ Bīng Fǎ) is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BCE) to the early Warring States Period (476 - 221 BCE). The text, which is attributed to the military strategist Sun Wu (孙武, pinyin: Sūn Wǔ), is composed of 13 chapters. Each chapter is devoted to a different set of strategies related to warfare and its applications. Sun Tzu's *The Art of War* remains the most influential text on military strategy and has influenced both Eastern and Western military thinking and business tactics.

## About the Author

**Sun Wu** (fl. 500 BCE), or Sun Tzu (孙子, pinyin: Sūn Zǐ, lit. "Master Sun"), was a Chinese military strategist and general best known for his work *The Art of War*, a treatise on military strategy. He was associated with The School of the Military, one of the philosophical systems of the **Hundred Schools of Thought** of the Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BCE), which advocated military preparedness, economic warfare, and maintaining peace and social order.

## Trivia

* Sun Tzu considered war as a necessary evil that must be avoided whenever possible.

* Sun Bin (d. 316 BCE), a descendant of Sun Wu, wrote a military treatise called *Sun Bin's The Art of War*.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

## Description

***Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*** (or *Alice in Wonderland*) is a children's fantasy novel by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel. The story is set in a subterranean realm down a rabbit hole, inhabited by talking anthropomorphic creatures. The book was first published on November 26, 1865 by Macmillan Publishers Ltd of London. The novel is a prime example of the literary nonsense genre, containing numerous poems and songs, as well as references to mathematical concepts.

## 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

* *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* has been adapted numerous times for stage, screen, radio, etc., and translated into at least 97 languages.
* Alice was inspired by Alice Liddell, who as a child, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll.

## Other books by Lewis Carroll

* *Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There* (1871)
* *The Hunting of the Shark* (1876)
* *Sylvie and Bruno* (1889)
Atlas Shrugged

## Description

***Atlas Shrugged*** is a philosophical novel by Ayn Rand. The story is set in a dystopian United States and explores philosophical themes from which Rand developed her theory of Objectivism. The novel was first published on October 10, 1957 by Random House.

## About the Author

**Ayn Rand** (b. February 2, 1905, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire - d. March 6, 1982, New York City, United States) was the pen name of Russian-American author and philosopher Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum). She was best known for developing the philosophical system Objectivism. Born in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. After publishing her final novel *Atlas Shrugged*, Rand turned to writing non-fiction to promote her philosophy.

## Trivia

* *Atlas Shrugged* was adapted into a three-part film series released between 2011 and 2014.

## Other Books by Ayn Rand

* *We the Living* (1936, revised 1959)
* *Anthem* (1938, revised 1946)
* *The Fountainhead* (1943)
Evangeline

## Description

***Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie*** is an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem is set during the Expulsion of the Acadians (1755-1764) in Nova Scotia, Canada and follows an Acadian girl in search for her long lost love Gabriel. It is written in dactylic hexameter, imitating Greek and Latin classics. It was Longfellow's most famous work in his lifetime and remains one of his most popular and enduring works.

## About the Author

**Henry Wadsworth Longfellow** (b. February 27, 1807, Portland, Maine, United States - d. March 24, 1882, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States) was an American poet and educator best known for his works "Paul Revere's Ride," *The Song of Hiawatha*, and *Evangeline*. Longfellow studied at Bowdoin College where he became a professor. He later became a professor at Harvard college after spending time in Europe. In 1854, he retired from teaching to focus on his writing. He became the most popular American poet of his day.

## Trivia

* Many places in Louisiana and the Canadian Maritime provinces were named after *Evangeline*.
* *Evangeline* has been adapted into numerous films and inspired numerous songs and musicals.
* The idea for the poem came from Longfellow's friend Nathaniel Hawthorne.

## Other Books By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

* *Kavanagh* (1849)
* *The Song of Hiawatha* (1855)
* *The Courtship of Miles Standish* (1858)
* *Tales of a Wayside Inn* (1863)
I Am Malala

## Description

***I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban*** is a memoir by Malala Yousafzai, and co-written by Christina Lamb. The book details the early life of Malala, the rise and fall of the Taliban in her native Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan, and the assassination attempt of Malala when she was 15, following her activism for female education in Pakistan. It was first published in 2013 by Little, Brown and Company in the US and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK.

## About the Author

**Malala Yousafzai** (b. July 12, 1997, Mingora, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) is a Pakistani activist for female education and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Her father Ziauddin Yousafzai is an education activist. Her family ran a chain of schools in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. Malala began her activist work in 2009 when she wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC Urdu detailing her life during the Taliban's occupation of Swat Valley. She rose to prominence and in 2012, she and two other girls were shot by the Taliban after taking an exam. After her recovery, she co-wrote *I Am Malala* and became the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate at the age of 17.

## Trivia

* *I Am Malala* has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Memoir and Autobiography.
* The book has been banned in many schools in Pakistan.

## Other Books by Malala Yousafzai

* *Malala's Magic Pencil* (2017)
* *We Are Displaced* (2019)
Outliers

## Description

***Outliers: The Story of Success*** is a non-fiction book by Malcolm Gladwell in which Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success. The book was first published on November 18, 2008 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

* *Outliers* debuted at number one on both the *New York Times* and *The Globe and Mail* bestseller lists.

## Other books by Malcolm Gladwell

* *The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference* (2000)
* *Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking* (2005)
* *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)
How To Speak Klingon: Essential Phrases For the Intergalactic Traveler

## Description

***How to Speak Klingon: Essential Phrases For the Intergalactic Traveler*** is a picture book and collection of Klingon phrases that are "helpful" in social settings. The book contains ten recordings of key Klingon phrases. Each recording can be accessed by pressing a button.

## About the Author and Illustrator

**Ben Grossblatt** is a writer and editor living in Seattle.

**Alex Fine** is an illustator living and working in Baltimore, Maryland.
Howl's Moving Castle

## Description

***Howl's Moving Castle*** is a young adult fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones. The story is set in a fictional magical kingdom and follows a young woman who seeks help at a moving castle in order to break a curse put upon her. The book was first published in April 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York.

## About the Author

**Diana Wynne Jones** (b. August 16, 1934, London, England, UK - d. March 26, 2011, Bristol, England, UK) an English author best known for her speculative fiction and fantasy novels for children and young adults. Her works often explore themes of time travel and parallel or multiple universes. She has been cited as an influence for many fantasy and science fiction authors including Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling, and Neil Gaiman. Jones has received several literary awards, including the 1996 and 1999 Mythopoeic Award and the 2007 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.

## Trivia

* *Howl's Moving Castle* was adapted into a 2004 animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

## Other books by Diana Wynne Jones

* *Dalemark Quartet* (1975-1993)
* *Chrestomanci Series* (1977-2006)
* *Howl's Moving Castle Series:*
	+ *Castle in the Air* (Book 2; 1990)
	+ *House of Many Ways* (Book 3; 2008)
* *Magids Series* (1997-2003)
* *Derkholm Series* (1998-2000)
The Outsider

## Description

***The Outsider*** (or *The Stranger*; French: *L'Étranger*) is a novella by Albert Camus. The story is set in Algeria and deals with Camus' philosophy of absurdism and existentialism. The novella was first published in 1942 by Gallimard of Paris. It was first published in English in 1946 by Hamis Hamilton of London.

## About the Author

**Albert Camus** (b. November 7, 1913, Mondovi, Algeria - d. January 4, 1960, Villeblevin, France) was a French author, philosopher, and journalist. Born in French Algeria, he studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. He moved to Paris in 1940 and joined the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. He died from a car accident at the age of 46.

## Trivia

* *The Outsider* has been adapted twice for film: an Italian, *Lo Straniero* (1967), and a Turkish film, *Fate* (2001).

## Other books by Albert Camus

* *The Myth of Sisyphus* (1941)
* *The Plague* (1947)
* *The Rebel* (1951)
* *The Fall* (1957)
The Crucible

## Description

***The Crucible*** is a tragedy play by Arthur Miller. It provides a dramatized and partially fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials, which took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692-93. The play premiered on January 22, 1953 at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York City. It won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play.

## About the Author

**Arthur Miller** (b. October 17, 1915, Harlem, New York City, United States - d. February 10, 2005, Roxbury, Connecticut, United States) was an American playwright and essayist. He was best known for his award-winning plays and for his marriage to Marilyn Monroe. Miller won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play *Death of a Salesman.*

## Trivia

* Miller wrote *The Crucible* as an allegory for McCarthyism.
* *The Crucible* has been adapted for film, stage, and television.

## Other books by Arthur Miller

* *All My Sons* (1947)
* *Death of a Salesman* (1949)
* *A View from the Bridge* (1955, revised 1956)
Noise

## Description

***Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment*** is a non-fiction book by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass Sunstein. It concerns 'noise' in human judgment and decision making, which the authors define as undesirable variability in judgments of the same problem. They argue that noise can lead to undesirable consequences, and organizations should seek to reduce and prevent noise. The book was first published in 2021 by Little, Brown and Company.

## About the Author

   **Daniel Kahneman** (b. March 5, 1934, Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli-American psychologist, economist, and author best known for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, and behavioural economics. Born in Tel Aviv, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine, Kahneman grew up in Nazi-occupied France. In 1948, he and his family returned to Israel, where he studied psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating in 1954. Kahneman began his academic career in Israel before becoming a lecturer in cognitive psychology at Harvard University in 1966. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in Prospect Theory. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at Stanford University's Department of Psychology.

## Trivia

* *Noise* was on the *New York Times* bestseller list upon its release.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

## Description

***Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*** is a picaresque novel by Mark Twain. The story follows adventures of Huckleberry Finn and his friend Tom Sawyer who grow up along the Mississippi River in the 1840s. The setting of the novel is based on Twain's childhood hometown, Hannibal, Missouri. The novel was first published in 1884 by Chatto & Windus in the United Kingdom, in 1885 by Charles L. Webster And Company in the United States. It is considered one of the Great American Novels.

## About the Author

**Mark Twain** (b. November 30, 1835, Florida, Missouri, United States - d. April 21, 1910, Stormfield House, Redding, Connecticut, United States) was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was an American author, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer best known for his children's novels *The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* and its sequel *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*, considered to be "The Great American Novel."

## Trivia

* *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* was controversial in its day for its frequent use of coarse language.
* *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* has been adapted into numerous films.

## Other books by Mark Twain

* *The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* (1876)
* *Prince and the Pauper* (1881)
* *Tom Sawyer Abroad* (1894)
* *Tom Sawyer, Detective* (1896)
The Scarlet Letter

## Description

***The Scarlet Letter*** is a historical novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story is set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1642 to 1649. It follows a woman who conceives a daughter through adultery and is then subject to public humiliation. It was first published in 1850 by Ticknor, Reed & Fields.

## About the Author

**Nathaniel Hawthorne** (b. July 4, 1804, Salem, Massachusetts, United States - d. May 19, 1864, Plymouth, New Hampshire, United States) was an American author associated with dark romanticism, a literary movement dealing with the irrational, the demonic, and the grotesque. He is best known for his works that focus on history, morality, and religion.

## Trivia

* *The Scarlet Letter* has been adapted into numerous films, television series, and stage adaptations.
* The novel was one of the first mass-produced books in America.

## Other Books by Nathaniel Hawthorne

* *Fanshawe* (1828)
* *Twice-Told Tales* (1837)
* *Selected Tales and Sketches* (1830-1850)
* *Mosses from an Old Manse* (1846)
* *The House of the Seven Gables* (1851)
The Great Gatsby

## Description

***The Great Gatsby*** is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is set in the Jazz Age of the 1920's on Long Island, New York. The novel was first published on April 10, 1925 by Charles Scribner's Sons of New York City. The novel was a commercial failure after its publication but became a literary masterwork after Fitzgerald's death in 1940. It is now considered by many to be the Great American Novel.

## About the Author

**F. Scott Fitzgerald** (b. September 24, 1896, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA - d. December 21, 1940, Hollywood, California, USA) was an American author, essayist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels depicting the Jazz Age of 1920's America. In the 1930's, Fitzgerald turned to writing screenplays in Hollywood due to the declining popularity of his novels. Struggling with financial difficulties and alcoholism, he died in 1940 at the age of 44.

## Trivia

* *The Great Gatsby* has been adapted for film in 1926, 1949, 1974, and most recently in 2013 starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular character.

## Other books by F. Scott Fitzgerald

* *This Side of Paradise* (1920)
* *The Beautiful and the Damned* (1922)
* *Tender is the Night* (1934)
Mother Courage and Her Children

## Description

***Mother Courage and Her Children*** (German: *Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder*) is a play by Bertolt Brecht. First written in 1939, the play is set in 17th century Europe during the Thirty Years' War. The play premiered in 1941 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich. It is considered the greatest anti-war play of all time.

## About the Author

**Bertolt Brecht** (b. February 10, 1898, Augsburg, Bavaria, German Empire - d. August 14, 1956, East Berlin, East Germany) was a German playwright, theatre director, and poet. During World War II, he lived in the United States. He returned to East Berlin after the war, where he established the Berliner Ensemble with his wife, actress Helene Weigel.

## Trivia

* *Mother Courage and Her Children* inspired Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play *Ruined*.
The Alchemist

## Description

***The Alchemist** (Portuguese: O Alquimista)* is a novel by Paulo Coelho. Set in north Africa, the story follows a young Andalusian shepherd in his journey to the Egyptian pyramids in search for treasure. The novel was first published in Portuguese in 1988 by Rocco. Its English translation was first published in 1993 by HarperCollins.

## About the Author

**Paulo Coelho** (b. August 24, 1947, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian author. His novel *The Alchemist* is the all-time bestselling novel by a Brazilian author. As a teenager, his parents committed him to a mental institution as they were against his dream of becoming a writer. He eventually became a songwriter, composing lyrics for Brazilian artists. In the 1980s, he abandoned his career as a songwriter and became a full-time writer.

## Trivia

* Paulo Coelho wrote *The Alchemist* in only two weeks.
* In 1994, a comic book adaptation was published by Alexandre Jubran.
* In 2002, a theatrical adaptation was produced and performed in London.
* In 2010, a graphic novel adaptation by Derek Ruiz with artwork by Daniel Sampere was published.

## Other books by Paulo Coelho

* *The Pilgrimage* (1987)
* *The Valkyries* (1992)
* *The Fifth Mountain* (1996)
* *The Zahir* (2005)
* *Aleph* (2010)
The Hobbit

## Description

***The Hobbit*** is children's fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. The story is set in Middle-Earth (a fantasy world created by Tolkien himself) before the events of *The Lord of the Rings*. The book was first published on September 21, 1937 by George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London. Tolkien substantially revised the text in order to fit the story into the plot line of *The Lord of the Rings*. This revision became the second edition, published in 1951 in both the United Kingdom and 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.

## Trivia

* *The Hobbit* was initially intended as a standalone story for children.

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

* *The Lord of the Rings* (1954 - 1955)
* *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)
A Thousand Splendid Suns

## Description

***A Thousand Splendid Suns*** is a novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. The story is set in Afghanistan and focuses on women's roles in contemporary Afghan society. It was first published on May 22, 2007 by Riverhead Books of New York City.

## About the Author

**Khaled Hosseini** (b. March 4, 1965, Kabul, Afghanistan) is an Afghan-American author, physician, activist, and humanitarian. He is also a goodwill envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Born in Afghanistan, he now resides in Northern California.

## Trivia

* *A Thousand Splendid Suns* was a number one *New York Times* bestseller for 15 weeks following its release.

## Other books by Khaled Hosseini

* *The Kite Runner* (2003)
* *And the Mountains Echoed* (2013)
* *Sea Prayer* (2018)
The Hound of the Baskervilles

## Description

***The Hound of the Baskervilles*** is the third of four crime novels by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. The novel is set in England's West Country and follows the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a supernatural hound. Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson investigate the case. The novel was originally published serially in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902. It was first published in book form in 1902 by George Newnes Ltd.

## 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 Hound of the Baskervilles* has been adapted into numerous films and television series.
* In 2019, BBC News listed the novel on its list of 100 Most Influential Novels.

## Other Books by Arthur Conan Doyle

* *A Study in Scarlet* (1887)
* *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes* (1892)
* *The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes* (1894)
* *The Return of Sherlock Holmes* (1904)
Candide

## Description

***Candide, ou l'Optimisme*** is a French satirical novella by Voltaire. First published in January 1759, the novella deals with the problem of evil and criticizes Leibnizian optimism. It is one of the most widely taught works of French literature and considered one of the most influential books of all time.

## About the Author

**Voltaire** (b. November 21, 1694, Paris, Kingdom of France - d. May 30, 1778, Paris, Kingdom of France) was the pen name of French Enlightenment author, historian, and philosopher François-Marie Arouet. He is best known for his wit, his criticism of Christianity, and his advocacy for the freedom of speech and secularism.

## Trivia

* In 1760, Voltaire published a sequel entitled *Candide, ou l'optimisme, seconde partie.*
* *Candide* has been adapted numerous times for radio, stage, television, and film.
A Tale of Two Cities

## Description

***A Tale of Two Cities*** is a historical novel by Charles Dickens. The story is set in Paris and London before and during the French Revolution. The novel was first published in serial form from April 30 to November 26, 1859 in the literary periodical *All the Year Round*. It is one of the bestselling novels of all time.

## About the Author

**Charles Dickens** (b. February 7, 1812, Landport, Hampshire, England - d. June 9, 1870, Higham, Kent, England) was an English writer and social critic best known for his novels depicting poor social and working conditions. He is considered by many to be the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, and his works remain popular today. The term "Dickensian" is used to describe situations reminiscent of Dickens' writings. A famous celebrity of his time, Dickens took a series of public reading tours later in his career due to public demand.

## Trivia

* *A Tale of Two Cities* has been adapted numerous times for film, radio, television, and stage.

## Other books by Charles Dickens

* *The Pickwick Papers* (1836-7)
* *Oliver Twist* (1837-9)
* *Nicholas Nickleby* (1838-9)
* *A Christmas Carol* (1843)
* *David Copperfield* (1849-50)
* *Bleak House* (1852-3)
* *Hard Times* (1854)
* *Little Dorrit* (1855-7)
* *Great Expectations* (1860-1)
The Wind in the Willows

## Description

***The Wind in the Willows*** is a children's novel by Kenneth Grahame. It is focused on four anthropomorphized animals living in pastoral Edwardian England. The book was first published on June 15, 1908 by Methuen.

## About the Author

**Kenneth Grahame** (b. March 8, 1859, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - d. July 6, 1932, Pangbourne, England, UK) was a British writer and banker best known for his children's classic, *The Wind in the Willows.* Before becoming a published author, he worked as a banker at the Bank of England.

## Trivia

* *The Wind in the Willows* has been adapted for film, stage, television, and radio numerous times.
* The novel inspired a play, *Toad of Toad Hall,* by A.A. Milne.
The Body Keeps the Score

## Description

***The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma*** is a book by Bessel van der Kolk. The book discusses the effects of psychological trauma on the mind and body, and forms of healing based on van der Kolk's research and experiences. It was first published in 2014 by Viking Press.

## About the Author

**Bessel van der Kolk** (b. July 8, 1943 The Hague, Netherlands) is a Dutch-born psychiatrist, author, researcher, and educator based in the United States. Since the 1970s, he has specialized in the area of post-traumatic stress. He is a professor of Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine and president of the Trauma Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts.

## Trivia

* *The Body Keeps the Score* has been translated into 36 languages and spent more than 141 weeks on the *New York Times* bestseller list for Nonfiction.

## Other books by Bessel van der Kolk

* *Post-traumatic Stress Disorder* (1984)
* *Psychological Trauma* (1987)
* *Traumatic Stress* (1996, with Alexander C. McFarlane and Lars Weisæth)
Brainstorm

## Description

***Brain Storm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences*** is a non-fiction book by Rebecca Jordan-Young. The book argues that sex differences are hardwired into the brain, explaining everything from sexual orientation to gender identity. *Brain Storm* was first published on September 7, 2010 by Harvard University Press.

## About the Author

**Rebecca Jordan-Young** (b. 1963, United States) is an American sociomedical scientist and gender studies scholar. She is an Associate Professor of Women's Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. In 2016, she won the Guggenheim Fellowship.

## Related Books

* *The Female Brain* (2006)
* *The Male Brain* (2010)
Y: The Last Man

## Description

***Y: The Last Man*** is a science fiction comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which every man, boy, and mammal with a Y chromosome suddenly dies. The protagonist Yorick and his pet male monkey are the only males who are spared. The series was first published from 2002 to 2008 by Vertigo Comics. It received three Eisner Awards.

## About the Author

**Brian K. Vaughan** (b. July 17, 1976, Cleveland, Ohio, United States) is an American comic book and television writer best known for his science fiction, superhero, and space opera comics. As a television writer, he worked on the television series *Lost* during seasons three to five. He has won 14 Eisner Awards, 14 Harvey Awards, and a Hugo Award.

**Pia Guerra** (b. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States) is a Canadian comic book artist and editorial cartoonist best known for her work on *Y: The Last Man.* She also works on cartoons for *The New Yorker*, *The Washington Post*, and *The Nib*. Guerra has won numerous awards, including the Harvey Award, Joe Shuster Award, and Eisner Award.

## Trivia

* *Y: The Last Man* is being adapted into a television series that premiered on September 13, 2021 on Hulu.

## Other books by Brian K. Vaughan

* *Runaways* (2003)
* *Ex Machina* (2004-2010)
* *Pride of Baghdad* (2006)
* *Saga* (2012-Present)
* *Paper Girls* (2015-2019)
Romeo and Juliet

## Description

***Romeo and Juliet***, first published in 1597, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare about two young Italian lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families (the Montagues and the Capulets). *Romeo and Juliet* was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime.

## About the Author

**William Shakespeare** (b. 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England - d. April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England) was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He is often called the English national poet and is considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time.

## Trivia

* The title characters Romeo and Juliet are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
* *Romeo and Juliet* has been adapted into numerous operas, ballets, radio programs, televisions series, and films.
* *Romeo and Juliet* inspired the musical *West Side Story.*

## Other books by William Shakespeare

* *The Complete Works of William Shakespeare*