❈ The Untold Story of my Bookshelf ❈

2001: A Space Odyssey

by Arthur C. Clarke

"On the Moon, an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications of this discovery that for the first time men are sent out deep into our solar system. But long before their destination is reached, things begin to go horribly, inexplicably wrong..."

One of the greatest-selling science fiction novels of our time, this classic book will grip you to the very end. If you enjoy science-fiction tales with prophetic descriptions about the cosmos, join the moon-watcher Dave and his AI "friend", Hal-9000, in this space odyssey.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer of Stanley Kubric's film adaptation.

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

Largely set in a futuristic World State, inhabited by genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, this novel, published in 1932, anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by only a single individual: the story's protagonist.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer for the new series adaptation of this masterspiece.

Cosmos

by Carl Sagan

The story of fifteen billion years of cosmic evolution transforming matter and life into consciousness, of how science and civilisation grew up together, and of the forces and individuals who helped shape modern science. Everything you think you know about the universe is about to become much more clear after reading this book. A story told with Carl Sagan's remarkable ability to make scientific ideas both comprehensible and exciting, based on his acclaimed television series.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the new series adaptation developed by National Geopgraphic.

Death Note

by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami, a death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal... or his life?

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the Anime trailer and check out here the new film adaptation.

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

"Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes".

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity. Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the new film adaptation of this terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future.

Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions

by Edwin A. Abbott

This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square, a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women-thin, straight lines-are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status.

Through strange occurrences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms, Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions—a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world.

Charmingly illustrated by the author, Flatland is not only fascinating reading, it is still a first-rate fictional introduction to the concept of the multiple dimensions of space.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer of the feature film adaptation by Ladd Ehlinger.

Frankenstein

by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

"I see by your eagerness, and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted - that cannot be. Listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject. I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery. Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow".

With these words Mary Shelley started her seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster. The original 1818 text preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer of my favourite film adaptation.

Harry Potter

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by an owl, taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The Reason ... HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD! Follow Harry and his friends Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger in a timeless journey filled with magic, friendship and the eternal battle between light and darkness.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer of the first film of this unforgetable blockbuster series.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Could you survive on your own in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning? In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer of the bestseller adaptation.

I Am Malala : The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

by Malala Yousafzai

"I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday. When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education".

This is an autobiographical book by Malala Yousafzai, co-written with Christina Lamb. The book details the early life of Yousafzai, her father's ownership of schools and activism, the rise and fall of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in Swat Valley and the assassination attempt made against Yousafzai on 9 October 2012, when she was aged 15, following her activism for female education.

On 10 October 2014, Yousafzai was announced as the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Having received the prize at the age of 17, Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel laureate.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🗣️ Watch here Malala's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

🎓 Discover the Malala Fund and how it contributes for a world where every girl can learn and lead.

Les Misérables

by Vitor Hugo

Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, when, owing to a case of mistaken identity, another man is arrested in his place; and by the relentless investigations of the dogged Inspector Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer of the new BBC series adaptation.

🎶 If you are fan of musicals, watch here the trailer of the oscar award-winning film adaptation.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

by George Orwell

Critics have hailed it as his "most solid, most brilliant" work. The scene is London, where there has been no new housing since 1950 and where the city-wide slums are called Victory Mansions. Science has abandoned Man for the State. As every citizen knows only too well, war is peace.

To Winston Smith, a young man who works in the Ministry of Truth (Minitru for short), come two people who transform this life completely. One is Julia, whom he meets after she hands him a slip reading, "I love you". The other is O'Brien, who tells him, "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness". The way in which Winston is betrayed by the one and, against his own desires and instincts, ultimately betrays the other, makes a story of mounting drama and suspense.

This is a calling for all lovers of dystopian romances. If you love this genre as much as I do, check out this brilliant book. But remember big brother is watching you!

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here Michael Radford's film adaptation.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel García Márquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendiá family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad and alive with unforgettable men and women—brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul—this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction. This brilliant, bestselling, landmark novel tells the irreconcilable conflict between the desire for solitude and the need for love—in rich, imaginative prose that has come to define an entire genre known as "magical realism".

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer for the new film adaptation.

Pride & Prejudice

by Jane Austen

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer for the film adaptation.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

by Yuval Noah Harari

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution — a #1 international bestseller — that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be human.

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one — homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🗣️ Watch here one of Yuval Noah Harari's TED Talk on "Why humans run the world".

🌍 Discover how the Sapienship community is focusing on the challenges facing the world today.

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

by Edgar Allan Poe

Spiral into a dimly lit world, down streets lined with madmen and their black deeds, through the cold twists of the catacombs, and into rooms where secrets dwell. From the tortured mind of Edgar Allan Poe, these three tales, "The Black Cat", "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Cask of Amontillado" speak to the hidden places inside us all. Capturing the mist and shadows rising from the stories are illustrations by prominent artist Gary Kelley. Angular and dark, his work heightens the Gothic terror that is Poe's trademark and creates windows into Poe's world.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the movie trailer of a compeling thriller inspired by Poe's most famous writings.

🪶 If you're a fan of poetry, check out here the narrative poem "The Raven".

The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer for the film adaptation.

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession", it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer for the latest film adaptation.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer for the film adaptation.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

"Standing on the fringes of life... offers a unique perspective.
But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor."

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

🔍 Find out more about it on Wikipedia.

🎥 Watch here the trailer for the film adaptation.