52 books in a Year (part 1)
Dive into 52 books in a Year (Part 1), a curated reading list featuring gripping fiction from Tim Dorsey, Terry Pratchett, and classic horror by Shirley Jackson. Explore standout titles like The Haunting of Hill House, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Journey to the Center of the Earth in this essential books collection.
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Maskerade
by Terry Pratchett
The Ghost in the bone-white mask who haunts the Ankh-Morpork Opera House was always considered a benign presence -- some would even say lucky -- until he started killing people. The sudden rash of bizarre backstage deaths now threatens to mar the operatic debut of country girl Perdita X. (nee Agnes) Nitt, she of the ample body and ampler voice. Perdita's expected to hide in the chorus and sing arias out loud while a more petitely presentable soprano mouths the notes. But at least it's an escape from scheming Nanny Ogg and old Granny Weatherwax back home, who want her to join their witchy ranks. Once Granny sets her mind on something, however, it's difficult -- and often hazardous -- to dissuade her. And no opera-prowling phantom fiend is going to keep a pair of determined hags down on the farm after they've seen Ankh-Morpork.
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Feet of Clay
by Terry Pratchett
It's murder in Discworld! -- which ordinarily is no big deal. But what bothers Watch Commander Sir Sam Vimes is that the unusual deaths of three elderly Ankh-Morporkians do not bear the clean, efficient marks of the Assassins' Guild. An apparent lack of any motive is also quite troubling. All Vimes has are some tracks of white clay and more of those bothersome "clue" things that only serve to muck up an investigation. The anger of a fearful populace is already being dangerously channeled toward the city's small community of golems -- the mindless, absurdly industrious creatures of baked clay who can occasionally be found toiling in the city's factories. And certain highly placed personages are using the unrest as an excuse to resurrect a monarchy -- which would be bad enough even if the "king" they were grooming wasn't as empty-headed as your typical animated pottery.
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The Girl Next Door
by Jack Ketchum
Special Leisure movie tie-in edition. A teenage girl is held captive and brutally tortured by neighborhood children. Based on a true story, this shocking novel reveals the depravity of which we are all capable.
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The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse
by Robert Rankin
Jack sets out to seek his fortune in Toy City and hooks up with Eddie Baer as they try to stop a serial killer who is murdering old nursery rhyme characters.
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Florida Roadkill
by Tim Dorsey
Sunshine State trivia buff Serge A. Storms loves eliminating jerks and pests. His drug-addled partner Coleman loves cartoons. Hot stripper Sharon Rhodes loves cocaine, especially when purchased with rich dead men's money. On the other hand, there's Sean and David, who love fishing and are kind to animals -- and who are about to cross paths with a suitcase filled with $5 million in stolen insurance money. Serge wants the suitcase. Sharon wants the suitcase. Coleman wants more drugs . . . and the suitcase. In the meantime, there's murder by gun, Space Shuttle, Barbie doll, and Levi's 501s. In other words, welcome to Tim Dorsey's Florida -- where nobody gets out unscathed and untanned!
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition? includes a glossary and reader?s notes to help the modern reader contend with Wilde?s many allusions and his complex approach to the human condition.Oscar Wilde?s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, first appeared in 1891. Dorian Gray, a handsome young man, falls in with a group of ?friends,? whose amoral philosophies he finds quite appealing. After he has his portrait painted, his frivolity and general demeanor degenerate into wickedness, but only the portrait bears the effects of his descent into decadence and serves as a powerful symbol of Gray?s internal ruin. Dorian himself, however, remains as young and unspoiled as the day he first sat for the painting. Wilde?s exploration of life without limits or consequences shocked its late-Victorian audience and remains highly un-settling to modern readers. We, like Dorian, are forced to reconsider whether total freedom and absolute knowledge are really worth their costs.
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The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson
An anthropologist conducts an unusual research project in a reputedly haunted house.
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Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne
Verne takes young readers on one of the most incredible journeys ever imagined--from Icelands frozen tundra far down into fantastic underground prehistoric worlds and back up again through the fires of an erupting volcano--in this unabridged edition of his classic novel. Illustrations.
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Hammerhead Ranch Motel
by Tim Dorsey
There's a different schemer or slimeball behind every door: cocaine duckpins who have survived only by the dumbest fortune, hard-luck gigolos desperate to score, undercover cops busting undercover cops who are running sting operations on undercover cops. And just down the row, local historian and spree killer Serge A. Storms -- who has stopped keeping up with his meds -- is still looking for a briefcase stuffed with five million dollars...and is now capable of wreaking more havoc than hurricane Rolando-berto, the big wind gathering force offshore, just waiting for the opportunity to blow everything straight to hell. Pack up your bags and head south to sunny Florida. Leave your rational mind at home and come well armed. There's a room with your number on it at the Hammerhead Ranch Motel.
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The Traveling Vampire Show
by Richard Laymon
Three teenagers are determined to get in to see the Traveling Vampire Show when it arrives in their town in the summer of 1963. The promised highlight of the show is Valeria, the only living vampire in captivity. The teens go where they shouldn't, but they find much more than they ever expected.
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What Dreams May Come
by Richard Matheson
The New York Times bestseller A LOVE THAT TRANSCENDS HEAVEN AND HELL What happens to us after we die? Chris Nielsen had no idea, until an unexpected accident cut his life short, separating him from his beloved wife, Annie. Now Chris must discover the true nature of life after death. But even Heaven is not complete without Annie, and when tragedy threatens to divide them forever, Chris risks his very soul to save Annie from an eternity of despair. Richard Matheson's powerful tale of life---and love---after death was the basis for the Oscar-winning film starring Robin Williams.