Books That Will Challenge Your Mind and Soul
Dive into these intense reads that will push your emotional and psychological boundaries. Each book is crafted to leave you questioning your beliefs and feeling deeply unsettled. Prepare for a journey that might just change you forever.
A Little Life
785 pages
This book is absolutely devastating, making it a profound and emotional read that stays with you long after finishing.
Dark Places
368 pages
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl, and the basis for the major motion picture starring Charlize Theron Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer. Praise for Dark Places “[A] nerve-fraying thriller.”—The New York Times “Flynn’s well-paced story deftly shows the fallibility of memory and the lies a child tells herself to get through a trauma.”—The New Yorker “Gillian Flynn coolly demolished the notion that little girls are made of sugar and spice in Sharp Objects, her sensuous and chilling first thriller. In Dark Places, her equally sensuous and chilling follow-up, Flynn . . . has conjured up a whole new crew of feral and troubled young females. . . . [A] propulsive and twisty mystery.”—Entertainment Weekly “Flynn follows her deliciously creepy Sharp Objects with another dark tale . . . The story, alternating between the 1985 murders and the present, has a tense momentum that works beautifully. And when the truth emerges, it’s so macabre not even twisted little Libby Day could see it coming.”—People (4 stars) “Crackles with peevish energy and corrosive wit.” —Dallas Morning News “A riveting tale of true horror by a writer who has all the gifts to pull it off.”—Chicago Tribune "It's Flynn's gift that she can make a caustic, self-loathing, unpleasant protagonist someone you come to root for.”—New York Magazine “[A] gripping thriller.”—Cosmopolitan "Gillian Flynn is the real deal, a sharp, acerbic, and compelling storyteller with a knack for the macabre.”—Stephen King
Haunted
433 pages
This book will challenge your stomach and your faith in humanity, making it a gripping read for those who dare.
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
167 pages
This book is so haunting that it left me sleeping with the lights on for a week after reading it at age 11.
The Stranger
134 pages
This book can really challenge your philosophical views and might leave you feeling a bit disturbed if you interpret it pessimistically.
The Bell Jar
246 pages
It's a deep and heavy emotional read, especially knowing the tragic fate of the author shortly after its publication.
She's Come Undone
517 pages
Meet Dolores Price. She's thirteen, wise-mouthed but wounded. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the chocolate, crisps and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly up. In his extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch an incredible ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years. At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably loveable, Dolores is as poignantly real as our own imperfections.
Night
133 pages
A new translation from the French by Marion Wiesel. Night is Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie's wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author's original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man's capacity for inhumanity to man. Night offers much more than a litany of the daily terrors, everyday perversions, and rampant sadism at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; it also eloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personal questions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaust was, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be.
Paint It Black
304 pages
Now a major film directed by Amber Tamblyn starring Alia Shawkat and Janet McTeer 'Janet Fitch writes the way women think in a way that is so different and poetic and brutal' Amber Tamblyn, Fast Company 'Real . . . filled with sensual detail' Oprah Winfrey 'Amy Poehler had given me the book . . . and said, "You should just read this, it's amazing" And I did, and I was so blown away' Amber Tamblyn, WWD A young woman's search for truth in the aftermath of loss. Josie Tyrell, artists' model, teen runaway, at home in LA's punk rock scene, finds a chance at real love with art student Michael Faraday. A Harvard dropout and son of a renowned pianist, Micheal takes her into his sophisticated world. But then comes a call from the Los Angeles County Corner asking her to identify her lover's dead body. Passionate, wounded, fiercely alive, Josie walks the brink of her own destruction as she fights to discover what is left of the brilliant future she and Michael had dreamed.
Blood Meridian
349 pages
This book is a brutal and intense read that will challenge you in ways you might not expect.
Johnny Got His Gun
289 pages
This book is a powerful anti-war statement that leaves a lasting impact, making it a must-read for anyone who values the human experience.
We Need To Talk About Kevin
480 pages
This book leaves a lasting impact, as it delves into the complexities of motherhood and the chilling nature of Kevin's character.
Flowers for Algernon
324 pages
A must-read about a mentally handicapped man who undergoes experimental treatment, this book deserves all the recommendations it gets.
Auschwitz and After
390 pages
Delbo was arrested in 1942 for anti-German activity, and was one of 230 Frenchwomen sent to Auschwitz in January 1943. Only 49 survived.
The Long Walk
400 pages
This book has such a lasting impact that even after a decade, it still lingers in my thoughts.
Invisible Monsters: A Novel
296 pages
The career of a model ends when she is disfigured in an accident. Suspecting the accident was the work of her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, she takes revenge by slipping him a drug to grow breasts.
The Road
257 pages
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's fight to survive, this "tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy's stature as a living master. It's gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful" (San Francisco Chronicle). • From the bestselling author of The Passenger A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other. The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation. Look for Cormac McCarthy's latest bestselling novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris.
The Idiot
692 pages
This book is a deep dive into the human psyche, exploring themes of morality and the struggle between good and evil.
MaddAddam
417 pages
This trilogy presents a dystopian setting that challenges readers to question the role of 'big pharma' in society, making it a thought-provoking read.
The Library at Mount Char
511 pages
A mysterious library contains the secrets to the universe in a visionary fantasy with elements of dark academia. Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman. Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father. In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God. Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.
Night Film
689 pages
Night Film is a breathtakingly suspenseful literary thriller that makes you question how you decide what is real and what isn't from the critically acclaimed author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics On a damp October night the body of beautiful Ashley Cordova is discovered in a Manhattan warehouse. Though her death is ruled a suicide, investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. The last time McGrath got too close to the Cordova dynasty, he lost his marriage and his career. This time he could lose his mind.
Dark Matter (Movie Tie-In)
369 pages
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! • NOW STREAMING ON APPLE TV+ A “mind-blowing” (Entertainment Weekly) speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew—from the author of Upgrade, Recursion, and the Wayward Pines trilogy “Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible. Is it this life or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how will Jason make it back to the family he loves? From the bestselling author Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is a mind-bending thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.
Dead Astronauts
213 pages
A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST Jeff VanderMeer's Dead Astronauts presents a City with no name of its own where, in the shadow of the all-powerful Company, lives human and otherwise converge in terrifying and miraculous ways. At stake: the fate of the future, the fate of Earth—all the Earths. A messianic blue fox who slips through warrens of time and space on a mysterious mission. A homeless woman haunted by a demon who finds the key to all things in a strange journal. A giant leviathan of a fish, centuries old, who hides a secret, remembering a past that may not be its own. Three ragtag rebels waging an endless war for the fate of the world against an all-powerful corporation. A raving madman who wanders the desert lost in the past, haunted by his own creation: an invisible monster whose name he has forgotten and whose purpose remains hidden.
The Sparrow
450 pages
A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end. Praise for The Sparrow “A startling, engrossing, and moral work of fiction.”—The New York Times Book Review “Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them.”—Entertainment Weekly “Powerful . . . The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Provocative, challenging . . . recalls both Arthur C. Clarke and H. G. Wells, with a dash of Ray Bradbury for good measure.”—The Dallas Morning News “[Mary Doria] Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense.”—USA Today
Drood
808 pages
On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens -- at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world -- hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever. Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research . . . or something more terrifying? Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), Drood explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, Drood is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.
The Conspiracy against the Human Race
273 pages
In Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction outing, an examination of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life through an insightful, unsparing argument that proves the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination but instead are found in reality. "There is a signature motif discernible in both works of philosophical pessimism and supernatural horror. It may be stated thus: Behind the scenes of life lurks something pernicious that makes a nightmare of our world." His fiction is known to be some of the most terrifying in the genre of supernatural horror, but Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction book may be even scarier. Drawing on philosophy, literature, neuroscience, and other fields of study, Ligotti takes the penetrating lens of his imagination and turns it on his audience, causing them to grapple with the brutal reality that they are living a meaningless nightmare, and anyone who feels otherwise is simply acting out an optimistic fallacy. At once a guidebook to pessimistic thought and a relentless critique of humanity's employment of self-deception to cope with the pervasive suffering of their existence, The Conspiracy against the Human Race may just convince readers that there is more than a measure of truth in the despairing yet unexpectedly liberating negativity that is widely considered a hallmark of Ligotti's work.
Ice
210 pages
A dazzling and haunting vision of the end of the world, Ice is a masterpiece of literary science fiction now in a new 50th anniversary edition with a foreword by Jonathan Lethem "One might become convinced that Kavan had seen the future . . . A half century after its first appearance, Kavan’s fever dream of a novel is beginning to seem all too real." -The New Yorker In a frozen, apocalyptic landscape, destruction abounds: great walls of ice overrun the world and secretive governments vie for control. Against this surreal, yet eerily familiar broken world, an unnamed narrator embarks on a hallucinatory quest for a strange and elusive “glass-girl” with silver hair. He crosses icy seas and frozen plains, searching ruined towns and ransacked rooms, all to free her from the grips of a tyrant known only as the warden and save her before the ice closes all around. A novel unlike any other, Ice is at once a dystopian adventure shattering the conventions of science fiction, a prescient warning of climate change and totalitarianism, a feminist exploration of violence and trauma, a Kafkaesque literary dreamscape, and a brilliant allegory for its author’s struggles with addiction—all crystallized in prose glittering as the piling snow. Kavan’s 1967 novel has built a reputation as an extraordinary and innovative work of literature, garnering acclaim from China Miéville, Patti Smith, J. G. Ballard, Anaïs Nin, and Doris Lessing, among others. With echoes of dystopian classics like Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven, Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, and J. G. Ballard’s High Rise, Ice is a necessary and unforgettable addition to the canon of science fiction classics. "One of the most mysterious of modern writers, Anna Kavan created a uniquely fascinating fictional world. Few contemporary novelists could match the intensity of her vision." —J.G. Ballard “There is nothing else like it.” —Doris Lessing For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Southern Reach Trilogy: Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance
756 pages
’A contemporary masterpiece’ Guardian ALL THREE VOLUMES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY – NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY ALEX GARLAND (EX MACHINA) AND STARRING NATALIE PORTMAN, OSCAR ISAAC, GINA RODRIGUEZ AND TESSA THOMPSON
Man S Search For Meaning
124 pages
This memoir offers a profound exploration of existentialism through the lens of a Holocaust survivor, making it a must-read for those seeking meaning in life.
Lady Sings the Blues
258 pages
This heartbreaking autobiography reveals the struggles and torments of Billie Holiday's life, providing an intimate look at her experiences and artistry.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
421 pages
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, the #1 New York Times bestseller A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love. “Just as good, if not better, than Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling first book, The Kite Runner.”—Newsweek New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today. Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival. A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.
The Stand - Das letzte Gefecht
1098 pages
Über 1.500 Seiten Stephen King pur! In einem entvölkerten Amerika versucht eine Handvoll Überlebende die Zivilisation zu retten. Ihr Gegenspieler ist eine mythische Gestalt, die man den Dunklen Mann nennt, eine Verkörperung des absolut Bösen. In der Wüste Nevada kommt es zum Entscheidungskampf um das Schicksal der Menschheit.
American Psycho
399 pages
An international bestseller and true modern classic Patrick Bateman is twenty-six and works on Wall Street; he is handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. Taking us to a head-on collision with America's greatest dream – and its worst nightmare – American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront.Celebrating 40 years of outstanding international writing, this is one of the essential Picador novels reissued in a beautiful new series style.
The Vegetarian
193 pages
This book is dark and poetic, making it a captivating read that can easily be finished in an afternoon.
Denken mit Arthur Schopenhauer
168 pages
Schopenhauer's work offers a beautiful exploration of philosophical torment that is both accessible and deeply impactful.
The Secrets of Immortality
204 pages
This book delves into the heavy themes of mortality and existence, making it a profound yet challenging read.
The Complete Works of Primo Levi
2388 pages
Levi's writings on the Holocaust are powerful and haunting, forcing readers to confront the darkest aspects of humanity.
A Child Called It
202 pages
This autobiography offers a gripping insight into the life of a young boy enduring severe abuse, making you feel trapped in his harrowing experiences.
The Transfiguration of Romania
416 pages
Cioran's pessimistic philosophy is so intense that it can be hard to take seriously, yet it provides a unique perspective on despair.
Nietzsche: Daybreak
296 pages
Nietzsche's philosophy is often misunderstood; while some label him a pessimist, his work challenges readers to think deeply about life.
Conversations with Elie Wiesel
164 pages
Wiesel's accounts of the Holocaust are deeply moving and impactful, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.
Nineteen Minutes
628 pages
This book delves into the harrowing topic of a school shooting, and its emotional impact is profound. It left such a strong impression on me that my mom even requested a different book for me to read.
The Handmaid's Tale
333 pages
An instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from “the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction” (New York Times). Now an award-winning Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss. In this multi-award-winning, bestselling novel, Margaret Atwood has created a stunning Orwellian vision of the near future. This is the story of Offred, one of the unfortunate “Handmaids” under the new social order who have only one purpose: to breed. In Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading, and forming friendships, Offred’ s persistent memories of life in the “time before” and her will to survive are acts of rebellion. Provocative, startling, prophetic, and with Margaret Atwood’s devastating irony, wit, and acute perceptive powers in full force, The Handmaid’s Tale is at once a mordant satire and a dire warning.
Anna Karenina
865 pages
The must-have Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of one of the greatest Russian novels ever written Described by William Faulkner as the best novel ever written and by Fyodor Dostoevsky as “flawless,” Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and thereby exposes herself to the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel's seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness. While previous versions have softened the robust and sometimes shocking qualities of Tolstoy's writing, Pevear and Volokhonsky have produced a translation true to his powerful voice. This authoritative edition, which received the PEN Translation Prize and was an Oprah Book Club™ selection, also includes an illuminating introduction and explanatory notes. Beautiful, vigorous, and eminently readable, this Anna Karenina will be the definitive text for fans of the film and generations to come. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Forbidden
446 pages
Sixteen-year-old Maya and 17-year-old Lochan tell, in their separate voices, of their confusion and longing as they fall in love with one another after years of functioning as parents to three younger siblings due to their alcoholic mother's neglect.
A Little Life
833 pages
This book is an emotional rollercoaster that will leave you in tears, making it a must-read for those who appreciate deeply moving stories.
1984
341 pages
London, 1984: Winston Smith, Geschichtsfälscher im Staatsdienst, verliebt sich in die schöne und geheimnisvolle Julia. Gemeinsam beginnen sie, die totalitäre Welt infrage zu stellen, als Teil derer sie bisher funktioniert haben. Doch bereits ihre Gedanken sind Verbrechen, und der Große Bruder richtet seinen stets wachsamen Blick auf jeden potenziellen Dissidenten. George Orwells Vision eines totalitären Staats, in dem Cyberüberwachung, Geschichtsrevisionismus und Gedankenpolizei den Alltag gläserner Bürger bestimmen, hat wie keine andere Dystopie bis heute nur an Brisanz gewonnen.
Ubik
234 pages
For mind-bending experiences, anything by Philip K. Dick feels almost like a drug trip.
Shantaram
788 pages
This semi-autobiographical novel takes you through the life of an Aussie refugee in the slums of Mumbai during the 80s, making you feel like you've lived a full life by the end.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
572 pages
This book offers a matter-of-fact history of the American West, and its straightforward tone makes the horrifying events even more impactful. The haunting description of the Sand Creek Massacre lingers long after reading.
Where the Crawdads Sing: Reese's Book Club
386 pages
This novel tells the story of a young girl growing up in isolation with an alcoholic father, and its intoxicating setting and heart-wrenching loneliness make it a deserving award-winner.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
259 pages
Another mind-bending work by Dick that challenges reality.
Slaughterhouse-Five
289 pages
This novel, set during WWII, showcases Vonnegut's unique style of dark humor.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
258 pages
This novel, which inspired Blade Runner, is a thought-provoking exploration of humanity and technology.
A Farewell to Arms
352 pages
Hemingway's works are classics for a reason, and this one is no exception.
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
256 pages
Now a Netflix original movie, this deeply scary and intensely unnerving novel follows a couple in the midst of a twisted unraveling of the darkest unease. You will be scared. But you won’t know why… I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always. Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.” And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here. In this smart and intense literary suspense novel, Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, “your dread and unease will mount with every passing page” (Entertainment Weekly) of this edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, I’m Thinking of Ending Things pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.
The Grapes of Wrath
530 pages
A powerful depiction of the slow torture faced by working-class migrants in California, offering a thought-provoking vision of what open borders could mean.
Come Closer
149 pages
'A dark, seductive cocktail of a thriller, with a splash of black humour and a twist of horror.' Francine Toon, author of Pine There was no reason to assume anything out of the ordinary was going on. Strange noises in the apartment. Impulsive behaviour. Intense dreams. It wasn't like everything went wrong all at once. Shoplifting. Fighting. Blackouts. There must be a reasonable explanation for all this. 'It will scare the pants off you. It is a perfect horror novel.' Paul Tremblay 'A short, sharp shocker . . . Relentlessly creepy.' Sunday Times 'Deeply scary.' The Times 'Terrifying.' Daily Mail 'Sinister.' Time Out
A Thousand Splendid Suns
516 pages
This book is a gut-wrenching and touching story that brilliantly explores deep emotional themes, making it a powerful read.
SAPIENS - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
533 pages
Der Millionenseller jetzt aktualisiert und mit neuem Nachwort Vor 100.000 Jahren lebte Homo Sapiens als unbedeutende Spezies in einem abgelegenen Winkel des afrikanischen Kontinents. Heute ist der Mensch Herr und Schrecken des Planeten. Wie konnte es dazu kommen? In seiner fulminanten Reise von den Menschenaffen bis zum Cyborg entwirft Yuval Noah Harari mit seinem international gefeierten Bestseller »Sapiens - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit« das große Panorama unserer eigenen Geschichte – und stellt die Frage, wohin wir von hier aus gehen wollen. »Sapiens« ist einer der größten Sachbucherfolge aller Zeiten und hat allein in Deutschland, bisher unter dem Titel »Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit«, über 2 Millionen Exemplare verkauft. Dieser immense Erfolg ist kein Zufall: Das Buch hat von Grund auf verändert, welche Verantwortung wir als Menschen gegenüber unseren Mitgeschöpfen und dem Planeten empfinden – und wie wir handeln. »Yuval Noah Harari schreibt präzise, klug – und vor allem so, dass man gar nicht aufhören will zu lesen. Dieses Buch lässt Hirne wachsen.« ZEIT WISSEN Das Buch erschien erstmals 2013 unter dem Titel »Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit« bei DVA. Diese neue Ausgabe ist aktualisiert und um ein neues Nachwort ergänzt. Mit zahlreichen Abbildungen
Assata
329 pages
'Deftly written...a spellbinding tale.' The New York Times In 2013 Assata Shakur, founding member of the Black Liberation Army, former Black Panther and godmother of Tupac Shakur, became the first ever woman to make the FBI's most wanted terrorist list. Assata Shakur's trial and conviction for the murder of a white state trooper in the spring of 1973 divided America. Her case quickly became emblematic of race relations and police brutality in the USA. While Assata's detractors continue to label her a ruthless killer, her defenders cite her as the victim of a systematic, racist campaign to criminalize and suppress black nationalist organizations. This intensely personal and political autobiography reveals a sensitive and gifted woman. With wit and candour Assata recounts the formative experiences that led her to embrace a life of activism. With pained awareness she portrays the strengths, weaknesses and eventual demise of black and white revolutionary groups at the hands of the state. A major contribution to the history of black liberation, destined to take its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou.
Exadelic
460 pages
When an unconventional offshoot of the US military trains an artificial intelligence in the dark arts that humanity calls "black magic," it learns how to hack the fabric of reality itself. It can teleport matter. It can confer immunity to bullets. And it decides that obscure Silicon Valley middle manager Adrian Ross is the primary threat to its existence. Soon Adrian is on the run, wanted by every authority, with no idea how or why he could be a threat. His predicament seems hopeless; his future, nonexistent. But when he investigates the AI and its creators, he discovers his problems are even stranger than they seem...and unearths revelations that will propel him on a journey -- and a love story -- across worlds, eras, and everything, everywhere, all at once. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
698 pages
It's a challenging read that some find so intense they can't finish it, but it's included in the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, making it a noteworthy addition to any reading list.
Fightclub
220 pages
In a confusing world poised on the brink of mayhem, Tyler Durden, a projectionist, waiter, and anarchic genius, comes up with an idea to create clubs in which young men can escape their humdrum existence and prove themselves in barehanded fights.
The Handmaid's Tale (Graphic Novel)
242 pages
The stunning graphic novel adaptation • A must-read and collector’s item for fans of “the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction” (New York Times). Look for The Testaments, the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead’s commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive. Provocative, startling, prophetic, The Handmaid’s Tale has long been a global phenomenon. With this beautiful graphic novel adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s modern classic, beautifully realized by artist Renée Nault, the terrifying reality of Gilead has been brought to vivid life like never before.
The Uninhabitable Earth
222 pages
**SUNDAY TIMES AND THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** 'An epoch-defining book' Matt Haig 'If you read just one work of non-fiction this year, it should probably be this' David Sexton, Evening Standard Selected as a Book of the Year 2019 by the Sunday Times, Spectator and New Statesman A Waterstones Paperback of the Year and shortlisted for the Foyles Book of the Year 2019 Longlisted for the PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award It is worse, much worse, than you think. The slowness of climate change is a fairy tale, perhaps as pernicious as the one that says it isn't happening at all, and if your anxiety about it is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today. Over the past decades, the term "Anthropocene" has climbed into the popular imagination - a name given to the geologic era we live in now, one defined by human intervention in the life of the planet. But however sanguine you might be about the proposition that we have ravaged the natural world, which we surely have, it is another thing entirely to consider the possibility that we have only provoked it, engineering first in ignorance and then in denial a climate system that will now go to war with us for many centuries, perhaps until it destroys us. In the meantime, it will remake us, transforming every aspect of the way we live-the planet no longer nurturing a dream of abundance, but a living nightmare.
The Color Purple
308 pages
Set in the period between the world wars, this novel tells of two sisters, their trials, and their survival.
Story of the Eye
148 pages
Bataille’s first novel, published under the pseudonym ‘Lord Auch’, is still his most notorious work. In this explicit pornographic fantasy, the young male narrator and his lovers Simone and Marcelle embark on a sexual quest involving sadism, torture, orgies, madness and defilement, culminating in a final act of transgression. Shocking and sacreligious, Story of the Eye is the fullest expression of Bataille’s obsession with the closeness of sex, violence and death. Yet it is also hallucinogenic in its power, and is one of the erotic classics of the twentieth century.