Contemporary Literature
| Cover | Title | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shogun | Novel by James Clavell, difficult but well worth reading. Story about an Englishman in Japan in the 1600's | rdearman | |
| Taipan | Novel by James Clavell, difficult but well worth reading. Story about merchant traders in Hong Kong in 1800's | rdearman | |
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Graphic Novels
| Cover | Title | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Neil Gaiman. Sandman | Epic series about the seven Endless - Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, and Delirium. Beautiful artwork and mythic-level storytelling. Highly recommended. (kanewai) | kanewai |
|
Brain K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Saga. | Two lovers from opposite sides of an intergalactic war attempt to flee the fighting and find a refuge to raise their child. One of my favorite recent sci-fi series. (kanewai) | kanewai |
Classic Literature
| Cover | Title | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Good Earth | it wasn't that hard to read. It's about Chinese peasant Wang Lung and his family trying to prosper as farmers | Michael K. | |
Nonfiction
| Cover | Title | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
Young Adults
| Cover | Title | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Laura Ingalls Wilder. Little House on the Prairie | The 9 book series covers Laura's life from a 4-year-old to her first four years of marriage. There are also spinoff series that cover her daughter's life (Rose Wilder Lane), and Laura's mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. An interesting series if you like American history. | Michael K. |
| Cold Sassy Tree | A book about a 14-year-old boy living in the Deep South at the turn of the century, with the main problem of the book being his 57-year-old grandpa marrying a woman 20 years younger than he is. It's pretty funny, but it also has some sad parts | Michael K. | |
| No Promises in the Wind | A book about two brothers who travel around trying to make money during the Depression, 8th grade level | Michael K. | |
| The Giver | Middle school classic. Follows a boy named Jonas coming of age in a seemingly utopian society. | Emily96, zhuzilu6wc | |
| Tuck Everlasting | Another middle school level book, about a girl who finds a spring of eternal life in the forest and meets the family who has drunk from it. | Emily96 | |
| Number the Stars | Middle school level. About a young girl protecting her Jewish friend from the Nazis. | Emily96 | |
| The Devil's Arithmetic | I think I read this in Elementary School. About a girl transported back in her family's history to the concentration camps | Emily96 | |
| Charlotte's Web | Classic children's literature about a pig named Wilbur and his gentle spider friend Charlotte. | Emily96, zhuzilu6wc | |
| Bridge to Terabithia | Classic and touching children's novel about friendship and loss. | Emily96 | |
| The Indian in the Cupboard | Probably middle school level. About a boy named Omri who discovers that any plastic toy placed inside his medicine cabinet comes to life. | Emily96 | |
| Black Beauty | Classic. A kind horse named Black Beauty narrates his life, experiencing everything from cruelty to comfort. | Emily96 | |
| Shiloh | Children's novel about a boy who finds an abused beagle and must fight to keep him | Emily96 | |
| The Red Necklace | Middle school or early high school level. About a gypsy boy named Yann struggling through the French Revolution - adventure, romance, magic. | Emily96 | |
| The Great Brain | by John D. Fitzgerald and Mercer Mayer, a childrens story about a boy in the American Midwest who scams his friends and family. There is a series of these books also. | rdearman | |
| How to eat fried worms | Childrens story: Billy must eat fifteen worms in fifteen days, or lose his bet with Alan and Joe. | rdearman |
Movies
| Title | Year | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Here Comes Trouble | Free download, A newspaper publisher (Emory Parnell) is being blackmailed by a burlesque queen (Joan Woodbury), and he sends one of his reporters (William Tracy) to talk to her. | ||
| His Girl Friday | Romantic Comedy - Hilarious romantic comedy starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Russell is rough and tumble reporter looking to get out of the news racket by marrying and becoming a house wife after her divorce from newspaper publisher Grant. Just when she is about to leave town with her husband-to-be the still lovesick Grant drafts her to cover one final breaking news sensation. | ||
| Disroder in Court | Three Stooges Comedy | ||
| D.O.A | 1950 | a film noir drama film directed by Rudolph Maté, considered a classic of the stylistic genre. The frantically-paced plot revolves around a doomed man's quest to find out who has poisoned him – and why – before he dies. | |
| Impact | Wealthy businessman survives attempt by wife to have him killed, makes it look like she succeeded and starts a new life in small town as auto mechanic. | ||
| Suddenly | Three gunmen, who have been hired to assassinate the President, hold a family hostage while waiting for their target. Interesting B film which focuses on psychopathic killer well-portrayed against type by Frank Sinatra. |
Television
| Title | Year | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freaks & geeks | 1999/2000 | The show centers on teenage Lindsay Weir and her younger brother Sam, who both attend William McKinley High School during the 1980–1981 school year in the town of Chippewa, Michigan. The show's starting point is Lindsay's transition from her life as an academically proficient student, star "mathlete", and proper young girl to an Army-jacket-wearing teenager who hangs out with troubled slackers. | zhuzilu6wc |
| My mad fat diary | 2013/present | Set in Stamford, Lincolnshire in 1996, My Mad Fat Diary follows the story of 16-year-old, 16 stone girl, Rae Earl, who has just left a psychiatric hospital, where she has spent four months. | zhuzilu6wc |
| Six feet under | 2001/2005 | On one level, the show is a conventional family drama, dealing with such issues as interpersonal relationships, infidelity, and religion. At the same time, the show is distinguished by its unblinking focus on the topic ofdeath, which it explores on multiple levels (personal, religious, and philosophical). Each episode begins with a death – anything from heart attack or murder to sudden infant death syndrome – and that death usually sets the tone for each episode, allowing the characters to reflect on their current fortunes and misfortunes in a way that is illuminated by the death and its aftermath. The show also has a strong dosage of dark humor andsurrealism running throughout. | zhuzilu6wc |
Podcasts and Audio
| Title | Year | Comments | Thumbs Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philosophy Bites | A podcast discussing philosophy topics, short and normally interesting. Mixture of British and American English. | readerman | |
| Stuff you missed in history class | A podcast dedicated to interesting snippets of history which you might not know about. American English. | rdearman | |
| This Is Your Life Weekly Podcast |
Covers time management, and other topics for business people and anyone interested in self-improvement. American English. |
||
| Listen to Lucy | Podcast by Lucy Kellaway the Finacial Times management columnist. Some very amusing podcasts, normally short 10-15 minutes long. British English. | ||