books i would sell my soul to read for the first time
Items in this hypelist
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Babel
R. F. Kuang · 2022
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War “Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out.” -- Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of Brass From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire. Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide… Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?
Clockwork Angel
Cassandra Clare · 2010
Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still. Discover the “compulsively readable” (Booklist) first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy, prequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series! Clockwork Angel is a Shadowhunters novel. When Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks, and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Kidnapped by a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length…everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world…and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir
Michelle Zauner · 2021
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American—“in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself” (NPR). • CELEBRATING OVER ONE YEAR ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo · 2015
<p><b>See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series,<i> Shadow and Bone</i> -- Season 2 streaming now!</b><br><br><b>Meet Kaz Brekker and his crew: Jesper, Inej, Wylan, and the star-crossed Nina and Matthias, on the heist of a lifetime in <i>Six of Crows </i>from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo. </b><br><br> Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone. . . .<br><br> <i>A convict with a thirst for revenge.<br><br> A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.<br><br> A runaway with a privileged past.<br><br> A spy known as the Wraith.<br><br> A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. <br><br> A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. </i><br><br> Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.<br><br> <i>Six of Crows</i> by Leigh Bardugo returns to the breathtaking world of the Grishaverse in this unforgettable tale about the opportunity—and the adventure—of a lifetime.<br><br> Read all the books in the Grishaverse!<br><br> <b><u>The Shadow and Bone Trilogy </u></b><br> (previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)<br> <i>Shadow and Bone</i><br> <i>Siege and Storm</i><br> <i>Ruin and Rising</i><br><br> <b><u>The Six of Crows Duology</u></b><br> <i>Six of Crows</i><br> <i>Crooked Kingdom</i><br><br> <b><u>The King of Scars Duology</u></b><br> <i>King of Scars<br> Rule of Wolves</i><br><br> <i>The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic</i><br> <i>The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic<br> The Lives of Saints</i></p>
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong · 2021
A New York Times bestseller • Nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction • Ocean Vuong’s debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century “A lyrical work of self-discovery that’s shockingly intimate and insistently universal…Not so much briefly gorgeous as permanently stunning.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post “This is one of the best novels I’ve ever read...Ocean Vuong is a master. This book a masterpiece.”—Tommy Orange, author of There There and Wandering Stars On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one’s own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard. With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years. Named a Best Book of the Year by: GQ, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Library Journal, TIME, Esquire, The Washington Post, Apple, Good Housekeeping, The New Yorker, The New York Public Library, Elle.com, The Guardian, The A.V. Club, NPR, Lithub, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue.com, The San Francisco Chronicle, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, and more!
The Outsiders
S. E. Hinton · 2006
Over 50 years of an iconic classic! The international bestseller and inspiration for the new Broadway musical-- a heroic story of friendship and belonging.<br/><br/>No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.<br/><br/>The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of fiction that laid the groundwork for the YA genre. S. E. Hinton's classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published. "The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world." —The New York Times<br/>"Taut with tension, filled with drama." —The Chicago Tribune<br/><br/>"[A] classic coming-of-age book." —Philadelphia Daily News<br/><br/>A New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Book<br/>A Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book<br/>An ALA Best Book for Young Adults<br/>Winner of the Massachusetts Children's Book Award
Piranesi
Susanna Clarke · 2020
New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction World Fantasy Awards Finalist From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality. Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known. For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.
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The Raven King
Maggie Stiefvater · 2016
Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Maggie Stiefvater · 2014
The Third Installment In The Mesmerizing Series From The Irrepressible, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Maggie Stiefvater. Blue Sargent Has Found Things. For The First Time In Her Life, She Has Friends She Can Trust, A Group To Which She Can Belong. The Raven Boys Have Taken Her In As One Of Their Own. Their Problems Have Become Hers, And Her Problems Have Become Theirs. The Trick With Found Things, Though, Is How Easily They Can Be Lost. Friends Can Betray. Mothers Can Disappear. Visions Can Mislead. Certainties Can Unravel. In A Starred Review, The Bulletin Called The Dream Thieves, The Previous Book In The Raven Cycle, A Complex Web Of Magical Intrigue And Heart-stopping Action. Now, With Blue Lily, Lily Blue, The Web Becomes Even More Complex, Snaring Readers At Every Turn. Praise For The Dream Thieves: * Richly Written And Filled With Figurative Language . . . This Story Of Secrets And Dreams, Of Brothers And Of All-too-real Magic Is An Absolute Marvel Of Imagination And An Irresistible Invitation To Wonder. -- Booklist, Starred Review * Mind-blowingly Spectacular . . . Stiefvater's Careful Exploration Of Class And Wealth And Their Limitations And Opportunities Astounds With Its Sensitivity And Sophistication. The Pace Is Electric, The Prose Marvelously Sure-footed And Strong, But It's The Complicated Characters . . . That Meld Magic And Reality Into An Engrossing, Believable Whole. -- Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review * A Paranormal Thriller . . . This Installment [is] More Tense And Foreboding Than Its Predecessor -- And Every Bit As Gripping. -- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review * A Complex Web Of Magical Intrigue And Heartstopping Action. -- The Bulletin, Starred Review * Readers Who Want A Moody Chill And Appreciate An Atmospheric Turn Of Phrase Will Want To Spend More Time In Henrietta. -- School Library Journal, Starred Review Praise For The Raven Boys: Stiefvater Is A Master Storyteller. -- Usa Today A Dizzying Paranormal Romance Tinged With Murder And Welsh Mythology. -- The Los Angeles Times * Simultaneously Complex And Simple, Compulsively Readable, Marvelously Wrought. -- Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review * A Tour De Force . . . Such A Memorable Read. -- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review * One Unexpected And Wonderful Surprise After Another . . . A Marvel Of Imagination. -- Booklist, Starred Review * The Raven Boys Is An Incredibly Rich And Unique Tale, A Supernatural Thriller Of A Different Flavor. . . . Fans Have Been Salivating For Stiefvater's Next Release And The Raven Boys Delivers. -- School Library Journal, Starred Review Equal Parts Thriller And Mystery, With A Measured Dash Of Romance Sprinkled On Top . . . Maggie Has Woven Such A Unique, Intriguing Narrative That I Struggled For Comparisons. -- Mtv.com A Publishers Weekly Best Book Of The Year The Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books 2012 Blue Ribbons List
The Dream Thieves
Maggie Stiefvater · 2013
Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.<br/><br/>One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.<br/><br/>And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.<br/><br/>Ronan is one of the raven boys - a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface - changing everything in its wake.<br/><br/>Of THE RAVEN BOYS, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY wrote, "Maggie Stiefvater's can't-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two." Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure.
The Raven Boys
Maggie Stiefvater · 2013
An all-new series from the masterful, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!<br/>Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.
