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The House of Mirth

The House of Mirth is the fourth novel by Edith Wharton. First published in 1905, the novel is Wharton's first important work of fiction. It sold 140,000 copies between October and the end of December, adding to Wharton's existing fortune. The House of Mirth was written while Edith Wharton lived at The Mount, her home in Lenox, Massachusetts.The House of Mirth tells the story of Lily Bart, a woman who is torn between her desire for luxurious living and a relationship based on mutual respect and love. She sabotages all her possible opportunities for a wealthy marriage, loses the esteem of her social circle, and dies young, poor, and alone. Lily is initially of good social standing and rejects several offers of advantageous marriage. The book begins with Lily's 'scandalous' visit at a single man's apartment (Lawrence Selden). They seem to have a feeling for each other, but, unfortunately, Lawrence is not in possession of a big fortune, which turns Lily rather towards Percy Gryce, a young and timid millionaire. When everyone is convinced that Percy will propose to Lily on the next occasion, she suddenly changes her mind and steps back. This is clearly caused by an unexpected visit by Lawrence Selden, who is now convinced of his love for her, but does not want to risk marriage. Gryce soon marries another girl from the same circle. Lily's social standing erodes when her friend Judy Trenor's husband Gus gives Lily a large sum of money. Lily innocently accepts the money, believing that it is the return on investments he supposedly made for her. The rumors of this transaction, and of her mysterious visit to Gus in his city residence, crack her social standing further. One day Lily receives a note from Selden. She is sure he is going to propose and accepts the meeting the next day. Selden, frightened by this sudden change of her heart (earlier she virtually escaped when he tried to kiss her), flees to Havana, and then Europe, leaving no notice.
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The Worst Journey in the World

SUMMARY: "Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time that has ever been devised," wrote Apsley Cherry-Garrard in a deceptively jaunty introduction to this classic story of bravery and fortitude first published in 1922. The story he relates is of Scott's last expedition to the Antarctic, from its departure from England in 1910 to its arrival in New Zealand in 1913; it is one of the most famous and tragic in the annals of exploration. Driven by an obsession for scientific knowledge, these brave polar explorers embarked on a journey into the unknown, testing their endurance by pushing themselves to the ultimate physical and mental limits as they surveyed the striking and mammoth land that lies far to the south.Cherry-Garrard was himself a member of the expedition that had two goals: to discover as much as was scientifically possible about the terrain and habitat of Antarctica, and to be the first to reach the South Pole. The party was plagued by bad luck, weather conditions of unanticipated ferocity, and the physical deterioration of the party on the last part of the journey. Confronted by the shattering knowledge that Roald Amundsen had reached the South Pole a month before them, Scott's party then had to negotiate the last, heroic part of their journey, a doomed attempt which has entered modern mythology.The Worst Journey in the World is the inside story of this most famous of journeys and is truly one of the best and most moving books of travel ever written. Join Scott's expedition as he and his team venture deep into the frozen unknown. This volume is the second in the continuing series of Explorers Club books.
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Next of Kin

Originally published as “The Space Willies” in 1958. A slightly extended version of it was published a year later under the title “Next of Kin”. This is a comic story of a military misfit who successfully conducts a one-man psychological warfare operation against an alien race and its allies, with whom humans and allied races are at war.
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Martin Eden

FROM THE PUBLISHER Martin Eden, Jack London's semiautobiographical novel about a struggling young writer, is considered by many to be the author's most mature work. Personifying London's own dreams of education and literary fame as a young man in San Francisco, Martin Eden's impassioned but ultimately ineffective battle to overcome his bleak circumstances makes him one of the most memorable and poignant characters Jack London ever created. "In Martin, (London) created one of the great twisted heroes of American literature . . . a hero doomed from the outset because his own passions are bigger and more complicated than any man could bear." SYNOPSIS The semiautobiographical Martin Eden is the most vital and original character Jack London ever created. Set in San Francisco, this is the story of Martin Eden, and impoverished seaman who pursues, obsessively and aggressively, dreams of education and literary fame. London, dissatisfied with the rewards of his own success, intended Martin Eden as an attack on individualism and a criticism of ambition; however, much of its status as a classic has been conferred by admirers of its ambitious protagonist.
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Space 1999 - The Psychomorph

Space 1999 - The Psychomorph
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The Deep Blue Good-By

From a beloved master of crime fiction, The Deep Blue Good-by is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat.   Travis McGee is a self-described beach bum who won his houseboat in a card game. He’s also a knight-errant who’s wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. He only works when his cash runs out, and his rule is simple: He’ll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half.   “John D. MacDonald was the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.”—Stephen King   McGee isn’t particularly strapped for cash, but how can anyone say no to Cathy, a sweet backwoods girl who’s been tortured repeatedly by her manipulative ex-boyfriend Junior Allen? What Travis isn’t anticipating is just how many women Junior has torn apart and left in his wake. Enter Junior’s latest victim, Lois Atkinson.  Frail and broken, Lois can barely get out of bed when Travis finds her, let alone keep herself alive. But Travis turns into Mother McGee, giving Lois new life as he looks for the ruthless man who steals women’s spirits and livelihoods. But he can’t guess how violent his quest is soon to become. He’ll learn the hard way that there must be casualties in this game of cat and mouse.  Features a new Introduction by Lee Child
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Buried in the Snow

Far away, in a chalet nestled high up in the Jura Mountains, a boy and his grandfather are caught in an avalanche during the harshest winter in memory. Surviving on little more than the milk of a young goat, Jacques and his grandfather are faced with the bitter reality that they may not make it through the winter. When it looks like life couldn't possible be worse, the weight of the unrelenting snow is compromising the integrity of the roof, and the integrity of their faith in God. After fending off a pack of ravenous wolves, starvation, and coming to grips with the brevity of life, Jacques will learn an important lesson that though God is often beyond our understanding, we are never beyond His love.
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Secret Lovers

Since his reemergence with the publication of The Old Boys, Charles McCarry has been heralded as one of the few espionage writers whose books break out of the genre to shine as brilliant novels. The Secret Lovers is a McCarry tale at its finest– an exploration of the spying game, but also a riveting psychological portrait of a man ensnared by his own profession. A courier delivers a dissident Russian manuscript to Paul Christopher early one morning in West Berlin; minutes later, the courier is dead. Meanwhile in Rome, Christopher’s wife takes a lover to stir her husband out of his stoicism. These two seemingly discrete events set in motion a spiral of Cold War intrigue, both personal and political, that leads Christopher from Europe to the Congo. In this relentlessly suspenseful novel, McCarry, who "surpasses Len Deighton and John le Carre" (Washington Post), builds his multilayered story to a outstandingly satisfying end.
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The Cool Cottontail

The Cool Cottontail is the second Virgil Tibbs mystery series (the first being In the Heat of the Night). In this mystery, Tibbs finds himself at a nudist colony in Los Angeles where the victim (who was not one of the guests) is found floating dead in the pool. Set against this unusual backdrop, the guests of the resort prefer guarding their secrets to solving the murder mystery, particularly when the investigating detective is black. Author John Ball often used social issues of the day to feature as issues in his work, making his work controversial but at the same time, some of the best and most relevant fiction of his time. Along with racism other social taboos, Ball had no problem with nudism; naked people are the least of the problems these characters face.ABOUT THE AUTHORJohn Ball wrote over thirty novels during his career including mysteries, war novels, adventure stories, but his reputation as a novelist is based on his first work—the 1965, In the Heat of the...
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Bewitched

COMPILATION In Too Deep P.I. Harry Lonnigan wasn't fooled by her disguise. The waif dressed as a boy, who was about to blow his cover and maybe get herself killed, was every inch a woman. His first priority should have been reuniting Charlie with her estranged father—but her first priority was to seduce Harry, and before Harry knew it, he was in too deep. Married To The Boss Dana Dillinger had been R.J. Maitland's right hand for years—loyal, dependable... and hopelessly, secretly in love with him. So when he popped the question to prove he wasn't the playboy the press labeled him, she accepted his "proposal." But where R.J. envisioned a marriage in name only, Dana refused to settle for anything less than his heart....
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The Seed of the Toc-Toc Birds

Little did Prof. Reubens suspect what his atom-tampering would set loose upon the world.
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