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1984 [Secure eReader]
by George Orwell
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Perhaps no other novel in this century has had a greater impact upon the way we think and talk about our world than George Orwell's classic, 1984. "Big Brother," "doublespeak," and "the thought police" have become part of our everyday lexicon, and the term "Orwellian" has become a familiar adjective for any situation-real or imagined-where conformity is compulsory and where someone always seems to be watching.
Orwell's novel also has the distinction of being, along with Aldous Huxley's Brave N... more info>>
Category: Classic Literature
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43 Reader Ratings:
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2
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The Sign of Four [Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection #2] [MultiFormat]
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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It is in this, the second Holmes novel, that the great detective comes fully to life--not only as a melancholic and an inscrutable master of deduction, but also as an incurable drug addict. "Which is it today?" Watson asks Holmes matter-of-factly on the opening page of the novel, "morphine or cocaine?" "It is cocaine," Holmes famously replies. "A seven-per-cent. solution. Would you like to try it?" Mary Morstan comes to Holmes in the hope that he will be able to solve a mystery. Ten years earlie... more info>> (Published: 1890)
Words: 43138 - Reading Time: 123-172 min.
Category: Classic Literature/Mystery/Crime
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51 Reader Ratings:
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3
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Anthem [MultiFormat]
by Ayn Rand
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This expanded edition of Ayn Rand's classic tale of a future dark age of the great "We"--in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values--is a beautifully written, powerful novel that projects current social trends into the future, and anticipates such later Rand masterpieces as The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
Words: 19508 - Reading Time: 55-78 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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96 Reader Ratings:
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4
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Persuasion [MultiFormat]
by Jane Austen
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Jane Austen's classic romance story in which the young Anne Elliott is persuaded by her plotting family to reject the man she loves, and her attempt to rekindle that love years later. Although written over 180 years ago the story is nevertheless a gripping tale for modern romance fans, packed with irony, wit, and powerful characters. (Published: 1818)
Words: 88397 - Reading Time: 252-353 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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70 Reader Ratings:
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5
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The Divine Comedy [MultiFormat]
by Dante Alghieri
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Dante Alighieri's poetic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise--the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation. [Translation by H. W. Longfellow.] (Published: 1472)
Words: 130570 - Reading Time: 373-522 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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26 Reader Ratings:
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6
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A Tale of Two Cities [MultiFormat]
by Charles Dickens
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Charles Dickens' compelling portrait of the results of terror and treason, love and supreme sacrifice continues to captivate readers around the world. With Frank Muller's brilliant performance, unforgettable characters--the ever-knitting Madame Defarge, the lovely Lucie Manette, her broken father, the honorable Charles Darnay, and the sometimes scurrilous Sydney Carton--burst from the pages, full of life and passion. (Published: 1850)
Words: 139658 - Reading Time: 399-558 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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156 Reader Ratings:
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7
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Moby-Dick [MultiFormat]
by Herman Melville
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Written by one of America's greatest authors, Moby-Dick is a work of tremendous power and depth--one of world literature's great poetic epics. In the novel, published in 1851 after sixteen months of writing, Herman Melville recounts the Promethean quest of Captain Ahab, who, having lost a leg in a earlier battle with White Whale, is determined to catch the beast and destroy it. By the time readers meet Ahab, he is a vengeful, crazed, and terror-provoking figure, for Moby-Dick has come to represe... more info>>
Words: 213741 - Reading Time: 610-854 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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33 Reader Ratings:
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8
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Slaughterhouse-Five [Secure eReader (recommended)/Microsoft Reader/Adobe PDF]
by Kurt Vonnegut
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Unstuck in time, the hero of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five--an unforgettable Everyman named Billy Pilgrim--is never sure what part of his life he is going to have to act in next. Vonnegut's wildly imaginative, witty and affecting novel tells Billy Pilgrim's story in just that fashion. It spins back and forth through time, layering in the elements of Billy's life, which begins, chronologically, in 1922 in the upstate New York town of Ilium, and ends over 50 years later, when he is a success... more info>> (Published: 2002)
Category: Classic Literature/Science Fiction
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32 Reader Ratings:
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9
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The Jungle [MultiFormat]
by Upton Sinclair
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This muckraking novel changed the course of history with its gruesomely detailed picture of the meat-packing industry. Historically accurate and humanistic, the book remains an invaluable mirror by which we may still examine ourselves and society today. (Published: 1906)
Words: 152840 - Reading Time: 436-611 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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8 Reader Ratings:
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10
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Before Adam [MultiFormat]
by Jack London
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A young man in modern America is terrorized by visions of an earlier, primitive life. Across the enormous chasm of thousands of centuries, his consciousness has become entwined with that of Big-Tooth, an ancestor living at the dawn of humanity. Big-Tooth makes his home in Pleistocene Africa, a ferocious, fascinating younger world torn by incessant conflict between early humans and protohumans. Before Adam is a remarkable and provocative tale that thrust evolution further into the public spotligh... more info>> (Published: 1907)
Words: 39095 - Reading Time: 111-156 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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8 Reader Ratings:
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11
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Heart of Darkness [MultiFormat]
by Joseph Conrad
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In Conrad's haunting tale, Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey in search of the enigmatic Kurtz. Traveling to the heart of the African continent, he discovers how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local people. Marlow's struggle to fathom his experience involves him in a radical questioning of not only his own nature and values but the nature and values of his society. (Published: 1899)
Words: 38566 - Reading Time: 110-154 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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28 Reader Ratings:
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12
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Journey to the Centre of the Earth [MultiFormat]
by Jules Vernes
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When Axel deciphers an old parchment that describes a secret passage through a volcano to the centre of the earth, nothing will stop his eccentric Uncle Lidenbrock from setting out at once. So, with silent Hans the guide, the two men embark on a perilous, astonishing, terrifying journey through the subterranean world--the most incredible voyage ever! (Published: 1872)
Words: 73112 - Reading Time: 208-292 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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13
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Pride and Prejudice [MultiFormat]
by Jane Austen
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Pride and Prejudice is the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet (minor gentry), their five daughters, and the various romantic adventures at their Hertfordshire residence of Longbourn. The parents' characters are greatly contrasted: Mr Bennet being a wise and witty gentleman; while Mrs Bennet is permanently distracted by the issue of marrying off her daughters at any cost. The reason for Mrs Bennet's obsession is that their estate will pass by law after Mr Bennet's death to his closest blood relative: his... more info>> (Published: 1813)
Words: 121943 - Reading Time: 348-487 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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127 Reader Ratings:
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14
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Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar [Tarzan Series #5] [MultiFormat]
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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An amnesic Tarzan has been caught plundering the treasure vaults of the lost city of Opar. But a mysterious treasure hunter and a band of thieves have also learned of the hidden wealth. When a bag of jewels Tarzan had taken falls into the hunter's hands, a game of deadly double- and triple-cross begins--and the winner claims the treasure! (Published: 1916)
Words: 66178 - Reading Time: 189-264 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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14 Reader Ratings:
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15
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The Beasts of Tarzan [Tarzan Series #3] [MultiFormat]
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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As the rich Lord Greystoke, Tarzan found himself the target of greedy, evil men. Stranded on a desert island, his wife and son kidnapped, Tarzan's plight seemed helpless. But with the help of Sheeta, the ferocious panther, and the great ape Akut, Tarzan crafted his escape with the giant Mugambi. Yet the trail of the kidnappers led deep into the interior--and it would take all of Tarzan's skills to reach his family in time. (Published: 1914)
Words: 63613 - Reading Time: 181-254 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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19 Reader Ratings:
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16
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The Call of the Canyon [MultiFormat]
by Zane Grey
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Shellshocked war veteran Glenn Kilbournen, in search of himself in the Arizona wilds, realizes that he can never return to his former superficial life.
Words: 75172 - Reading Time: 214-300 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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17
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The Invisible Man [MultiFormat]
by H. G. Wells
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One of the most famous scientific fantasies ever written, this highly imaginative tale focuses on the powers and bold ventures of a scientist, who, after discovering the means to make himself invisible, unleashes a bizarre streak of terror on the inhabitants of an English village. Filled with suspense and psychological nuances of plot. (Published: 1897)
Words: 48733 - Reading Time: 139-194 min.
Category: Classic Literature/Science Fiction
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14 Reader Ratings:
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18
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The Return of Tarzan [Tarzan Series #2] [MultiFormat]
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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Tarzan had renounced his right to the woman he loved, and civilization held no pleasure for him. After a brief and harrowing period among men, he turned back to the African jungle where he had grown to manhood. It was there he first heard of Opar, the city of gold, left over from fabled Atlantis. It was a city of hideous men--and of beautiful, savage women, over whom reigned La, high priestess of the Flaming God. Its altars were stained with the blood of many sacrifices. Unheeding of the dangers... more info>> (Published: 1913)
Words: 89642 - Reading Time: 256-358 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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19
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The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] [MultiFormat]
by Agatha Christie
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The sinking of the Lusitania is only a taste of the action when Tommy meets Tuppence in World War I England and the two set out together to foil an enemy spy. (Published: 1916)
Words: 75310 - Reading Time: 215-301 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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20
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The Sirens of Titan [Secure eReader (recommended)/Microsoft Reader/Adobe PDF]
by Kurt Vonnegut
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"His best book," Esquire wrote of Kurt Vonnegut's 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan, adding, "he dares not only to ask the ultimate question about the meaning of life, but to answer it." This novel fits into that aspect of the Vonnegut canon that might be classified as science fiction, a quality that once led Time to describe Vonnegut as "George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer ... a zany but moral mad scientist." The Sirens of Titan was perhaps the novel that began ... more info>> (Published: 2002)
Category: Classic Literature/Science Fiction
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29 Reader Ratings:
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21
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Wuthering Heights [MultiFormat]
by Emily Bronte
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Emily Bronte's only novel, Wuthering Heights is one of the pinnacles of 19th century English literature. It's the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who falls inlove with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family. (Published: 1847)
Words: 116578 - Reading Time: 333-466 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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20 Reader Ratings:
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22
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A House of Pomegranates [MultiFormat]
by Oscar Wilde
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These four fairy tales from Oscar Wilde weave magical, mythical, and mystical stories of Princes, Princesses, mermaids and Star-Children. Is it any wonder? Wilde wrote these tales were for Cyril and Vyvyan, his young sons. They are fairy tales that teach lessons, but their lessons are unique. Each reader will find a different message, as well as beautiful images and the language of poetry. (Published: 1891)
Words: 33672 - Reading Time: 96-134 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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5 Reader Ratings:
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23
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A Tramp Abroad [MultiFormat]
by Mark Twain
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Cast in the form of a walking tour through Germany, Switzerland, France, and Italy, Mark Twain's account of traveling in Europe (1880) sparkles with his shrewd observations and highly opinionated comments on Old World culture. A Tramp Abroad showcases Twain's unparalleled ability to integrate humorous sketches, autobiographical tidbits, and historical anecdotes in a consistently entertaining narrative. (Published: 1880)
Words: 154673 - Reading Time: 441-618 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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24
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Babbitt [MultiFormat]
by Sinclair Lewis
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Sinclair Lewis drew on his boyhood memories of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, to explore middle-class life in America as no writer had done before. These remarkable novels combine biting satire with an lingering affection for the men and women who, as he wrote of Babbitt, want to "seize something more than motor cars and a house before it's too late." (Published: 1922)
Words: 123807 - Reading Time: 353-495 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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3 Reader Ratings:
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25
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Billy Budd, Sailor [MultiFormat]
by Herman Melville
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If Melville had never written Moby Dick, his place in world literature would be assured by his short tales. "Billy Budd, Sailor," his last work, is the masterpiece before his death in 1891 in which he delivers the final summation in his "quarrel with God." It is a brilliant study of the tragic clash between social authority and individual freedom, human justice and abstract good. (Published: 1924)
Words: 30352 - Reading Time: 86-121 min.
Category: Classic Literature
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8 Reader Ratings:
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![Mid-Length [43138 words]](/images/medium.gif "Mid-Length [43138 words]")
![Short [19508 words]](/images/short.gif "Short [19508 words]")
![Long [88397 words]](/images/long.gif "Long [88397 words]")
