LLC Recorded Books
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"From a swashbuckling pirate fantasy to a meditation on American morality-- two classic Steinbeck novels make their black spine debuts. In awarding John Steinbeck the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel committee stated that with 'The Winter of Our Discontent, ' he had "resumed his position as an independent expounder of the truth, with an unbiased instinct for what is genuinely American." Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of the novel,...
2) Child of God
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Falsely accused of rape, Lester Ballard is released from jail, and a trip to the dry-goods store, an errand to the blacksmith, and other incidents are transformed into scenes of the comic and the grotesque.
Child of God is a taut, chilling novel that pumbs the depths of human degradation. Falsely accused of rape, Lester Ballard-- a violent, dispossessed man who haunts the hill country of East Tennessee-- is released from jail and allowed to roam...
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The magnificent second novel from the legendary author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Sailor Song is a wild-spirited and hugely powerful tale of an Oregon logging clan. A bitter strike is raging in a small lumber town along the Oregon coast. Bucking that strike out of sheer cussedness are the Stampers: Henry, the fiercely vital and overpowering patriarch; Hank, the son who has spent his life trying to live up to his father; and Viv, who fell...
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Edith Wharton’s classic story of one woman’s quest for wealth and status after the turn of the twentieth century
Beautiful, selfish, and driven, Undine Spragg arrives in New York with all of the ambition and naiveté that her midwestern, nouveau riche upbringing afforded her. As cunning as she is lovely, Undine has but one goal in life: to ascend to the upper echelons of high society. And so with a single-minded tenacity,...
Beautiful, selfish, and driven, Undine Spragg arrives in New York with all of the ambition and naiveté that her midwestern, nouveau riche upbringing afforded her. As cunning as she is lovely, Undine has but one goal in life: to ascend to the upper echelons of high society. And so with a single-minded tenacity,...
5) The warden
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Reverend Septimus Harding is warden of the alms-house at Barchester providing charity for twelve of the town's neediest and an income for himself to the town's way of thinking. John Bold, even though he is in love with the Reverend's daughter, decides to look into this apparent misuse of church funds.
7) Catch-22
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Catch-22 is one of this century's greatest works of American literature. First published m 1961, Joseph Heller's profound and compelling novel has appeared on nearly every list of must read fiction. It is a classic in every sense of the word. Catch-22 took the war novel genre to a new level, shocking us with its clever and disturbing style. Set in a World War II American bomber squadron off the coast of Italy, Catch-22 is the story of John Yossarian,...
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American author, naturalist, and abolitionist, Henry David Thoreau was a principal figure of the 19th century movement of Transcendentalism. Central to the philosophy is a belief that people, who are inherently good, are corrupted by the organized institutions of society and that consequently the best community is one that is built upon on independence and self-reliance. This corrupting influence is discussed in one of Thoreau's most famous essay,...
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After popularizing Gonzo journalism with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson turned his drug-fueled wit and savage insight to the race for President. With On the Campaign Trail '72, Thompson deconstructs the 1972 campaigns of George McGovern and Richard Nixon, laying bare a political process that is both seductive and utterly repellent.
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When it was first produced in 1959, A Raisin in the Sun was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for that season and hailed as a watershed in American drama. A pioneering work by an African-American playwright, the play was a radically new representation of black life. "A play that changed American theater forever."
12) Cranford
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Cranford, in 1842, is a market town in northwest England. It is a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate network of ladies. It seems that life has always been conducted according to their social rules. For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns, the arbiter of correctness, and Matty, her demurring sister, the town is a hub of intrigue. Handsome new doctor Frank Harrison has arrived from London; a retired Captain and his daughters move...
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Classics - St. Charles Public Library
Freedom to Read: Books Unite Us
OBD Banned Books Week (September) - Adult
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Freedom to Read: Books Unite Us
OBD Banned Books Week (September) - Adult
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Description
Originally published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises is Ernest Hemingway's first novel and a timeless example of his spare but powerful writing. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the...
14) Les misérables
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"Immortalized in popular culture through stage and film adaptations, Victor Hugo's sprawling 1862 novel chronicles the struggles of former convict Jean Valjean and his relentless pursuit by Inspector Javert. A thrilling tale of narrow escapes, romance in the midst of a revolution, and heroism at Waterloo, the story forms a parable of a morally empty state that values retribution rather than justice"--
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Classics - St. Charles Public Library
Native American Fiction
Native American Heritage Month (adults)
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Native American Fiction
Native American Heritage Month (adults)
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The Last of the Mohicans is the second and most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's five Leatherstocking Tales. Set in 1757 during the fierce French and Indian wars, Cooper's classic novel of adventure follows an adroit scout and his companion as they weave through the lush and spectacular wilderness of upstate New York, fighting to save the beautiful daughters of a fort commander from a treacherous Huron renegade. With its death-defying chases and...
16) Queer
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Originally written in 1952 but not published till 1985, Queer is an enigma - both an unflinching autobiographical self-portrait and a dazzling political novel Set in Mexico City during the early fifties, Queer follows William Lee's hopeless pursuit of desire from bar to bar in the American expatriate scene. As Lee breaks down, the trademark Burroughsian voice emerges; a maniacal mix of self-lacerating humour and the Ugly American at his ugliest. Burroughs'...
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Is there a more enduring, legendary detective than Sherlock Holmes? This quintessential collection includes many of the famous cases that made the legendary Sherlock Holmes one of fiction's most popular creations. Set against the foggy backdrop of London and the English countryside, each story unravels an exciting new mystery, from mistaken identity and ominous omens to counterfeit currency and jewellery theft. Including 'A Scandal in Bohemia', 'The...
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"In the early 19th century, a French sociologist and political scientist undertook a seven-month journey throughout the newly formed United States. Alexis de Tocqueville surveyed the young nation's religious, political, and economic character and reported his findings in two volumes, published in 1835 and 1840. Two centuries later, Democracy in America remains among the most astute and influential surveys of American politics and society. de Tocqueville...
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This beloved historical satire, played out in two very different socio-economic worlds of 16th-century England, centers around the lives of two boys born in London on the same day: Edward, Prince of Wales, and Tom Canty, a street beggar. During a chance encounter, they realize they are identical and, as a lark, decide to exchange garments and roles -- a situation that briefly, but drastically, alters the lives of both youngsters. Brimming with gentle...
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Originally published as Castaneda's master's thesis in anthropology, this documents Castaneda's supposed apprenticeship with a Yaqui Indian sorcerer, don Juan Matus. Dividing the work into two sections, Castaneda begins by describing don Juan's philosophies, then continues with his own reflections.