Burlington Public Library

Hailed by The New York Times as "a compelling dystopian look at paranoia from one of the most unique and perceptive writers of our time," this brief, captivating novel offers a cautionary tale. The story unfolds within a society in which all traces of individualism have been eliminated from every aspect of life — use of the word "I" is a capital offense. The hero, a rebel who discovers that man's greatest moral duty is the pursuit of his own happiness,...

The Scarlet Letter is the story of three New England settlers at odds with the Puritan society in which they live. Roger Chillingworth, an ageing scholar, arrives in New England after two years separation from his wife Hester to find her on trial for adultery. For refusing to reveal her lover's identity, she is condemned to wear a letter °' sewn onto her clothes. Roger resolves to discover and destroy the man who has stolen his honor. For the next...

"Enjoy Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as you've never seen it before! Andrea D'Aquino's modern, illustrative interpretation of this classic tale follows Alice on her fanciful journey down the rabbit hole where she meets friends like the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar! The lush, multi-faceted images breathe new life into this classic novel, making it a collectible for book and art lovers every where."--Publisher's description....

Relates the adventures of Ben Brown, his performing poodle Sancho, and the two young girls who feed and care for them after the boy and dog run away from the circus.

Following his doctor's instructions, engaging simpleton Charlie Gordon tells his own story in semi-literate "progris riports." He dimly wants to better himself, but with an IQ of 68 can't even beat the laboratory mouse Algernon at maze-solving. Algernon is extra-clever thanks to an experimental brain operation so far tried only on animals. Charlie eagerly volunteers as the first human subject. After frustrating delays and agonies of concentration,...

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts.

The heiress of Styles has been murdered, dying in agony from strychnine slipped into her coffee. And there are plenty who would gain from her death: the financially strapped stepson, the gold digging younger husband, and an embarrassed daughter-in-law. Agatha Christie's eccentric and hugely popular detective, Hercule Poirot, was introduced to the world in this book, which launched her career as the most famous and best loved of all mystery writers....

As a sequel to Eight cousins, Rose Campbell, a young heiress, is not interested in marriage until she has a chance to prove she is a capable person in her own right.

What is the value of human relations, the connection between souls? In Silas Marner, George Eliot explores this question in the story of a reclusive weaver in a small English town who learns to trade his love of gold for the love of those around him. Though he started life as a religious man, a heartbreaking betrayal drove Silas Marner to become a recluse whose only companions were his gold coins. But one day, his gold is stolen and a golden-haired...

"For the diver Kino, finding a magnificent pearl means the promise of a better life for his impoverished family. His dreams blind him to the greed that the pearl arouses in him and his neighbors. Baring the fallacy of the American dream-that wealth erases all problems-Steinbeck's classic illustrates our fall from innocence."--Pub.desc.