English Literature Great

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Why we think it’s a great listen: Some books are meant to be read; others are meant to be heard – Water for Elephants falls into the second group, and is one of the best examples we have of how a powerful performance enhances a great story. Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It's the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

Competition is hotter than the pre-heated ovens as The Great British Baking Competition moves into cake week. Amateur baker Poppy Wilkinson has a lot to deal with, from learning she has talents she never knew about, to trying to keep cool and bake under pressure. She’s also trying to track down the secrets of her parentage. Meanwhile, she’s saved from death by a local Border collie who seems to think she’s part of his flock and herds her out of danger.

The Owl Express: Nate, the great detective, and his dog Sludge, hit the rails on their latest case. Their mission: To guard an owl named Hoot. Hoot belongs to Nate’s cousin, Olivia Sharp, and she thinks someone on the train might be out to get her feathered friend. Then Hoot disappears! The Tardy Tortoise: The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and someone is eating the flowers in Nate's garden. A green tortoise is slowly stepping across the lawn, and Nate is slowly following him. It may take all of Nate the Great's patience and sharp eyesight to find out slowly.

People in Adenville are breathing a sigh of relief. It seems that Tom D. Fitzgerald, the Great Brain, has truly reformed. For months, not one kid has been swindled and not one stunt has been pulled. But when he gets a new bike for Christmas, the Great Brain heads full speed into his old ways. And this time his ideas are bigger than ever. He puts all of Adenville in fear of a prehistoric beast from Skeleton Cave, solves a mysterious bank robbery, and captures the ghost of Silverload Mine.

Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown's schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents - horsemanship, facility with foreign languages and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all. What caused the Indian Mutiny?

No one - fictional or factual - embodies the Jazz Age as completely as F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby. First published in 1925, this legendary novel continues to enthrall generations as it serves as a lens to view our not-so-distant past. Many of our notions about that period are taken from this book. Bathtub gin, flappers, and house parties that last all week enliven Fitzgerald's classic tale. Stylish and engaging, The Great Gatsby is also a startling literate portrait of Gatsby's search for meaning in his opulent world.

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for 40 years. They have proven the existence of dragons - a landmark discovery no one could ever believe is real and a scientific revelation that will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing findings within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see these fabulous creatures for the first time.

An unfortunate chain of events makes Philip responsible for the untimely death of the school bully Sam - the Devil's original choice for an heir. Philip must return to Hell to find Sam and bring him back to life, so that fate can be restored. But trouble is stirring in Lucifer's kingdom and not even Philip can imagine the strange and dark journey that awaits him. A journey that will take him through ancient underworlds and all the way to Paradise.

Philip is a good boy, a really good boy, who accidentally gets sent to hell to become the devil's heir. The devil, Lucifer, is dying and desperately in need of a successor, but there's been a mistake, and Philip is the wrong boy. Lucifer has no other choice than to begin the difficult task of training Philip in the ways of evil. Philip is terrible at being bad, but when he falls in love with the she-devil Satina and experiences the powerful forces of love and jealousy, the task becomes much easier.

Philip's adventures as the Devil's apprentice have changed him-in a good way. Although he misses his friends in Hell, he has made new friends in life. But when the future of the underworld is threatened once again, Philip's help is needed. Death's Die has been stolen and immortality is spreading across the globe. Philip throws himself into the search - and discovers a horrible truth about his own life along the way.

Saba is just a child when he flees the fighting in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia with his older brother, Sandro, and father, Irakli, for asylum in England. Two decades later, all three men are struggling to make peace with the past, haunted by the places and people they left behind.

How did Yo-Yo Ma become a world-renowned cellist? Listeners will learn all about this musician and the significant events in his life in this low-leveled biography.

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) was born in Paris during a time of great social and political upheaval, a ferment that is dealt with extensively in his monumental work In Search of Lost Time. He was a sickly child and spent the earlier part of his short life pursuing a variety of sometimes frivolous activities, which led to his not being taken seriously as a writer. It was not until 1909, when he was 38 years old, that he began work on the groundbreaking novel for which he is known, a task that consumed the rest of his life.

Everyone knew that Tom Fitzgerald, better known as the Great Brain, would get into trouble when he went off to boarding school at the strict Catholic Academy for Boys. But no one - including Tom - knew just how much! Whether he's running an illegal candy store or earning a reputation as the fastest potato peeler, Tom's great brain never falters while his money-making schemes rise to new heights!

Samuel Pepys kept a diary in which he wrote with astonishing candour about the life he saw around him in London in the 1660s, and about his private desires and ambitions. The diary was kept for fewer than 10 years of his long life: Claire Tomalin tells the whole story of the Fleet Street tailor's son who made himself rich and powerful, an MP and adviser to royalty.

Millions of words of scholarship have been expended on the world's most famous author and his work. And yet a critical part of the puzzle, Shakespeare's library, is a mystery. For four centuries people have searched for it: in mansions, palaces, and libraries; in riverbeds, sheep pens, and partridge coops; and in the corridors of the mind. Yet no trace of the Bard's manuscripts, books, or letters has ever been found.

In this personal-growth classic about self-mastery, learn how to find true fulfillment and awaken your hightest potential, and make the most of your life by making the most of yourself. After studying the wisdom of the world's religious leaders and great philosophers, Wallace Wattles argues that the power of thought and positive self-esteem is the only true measure of a man's greatness.

Fire. Wind. Pestilence. Earthquake. Drought. Lightning. These are the six Decimates, wielded by sorcerers for both good and evil. But a seventh Decimate exists - the most devastating one of all. For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides harnessing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But, somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power.

Join Nate the Great and his trusty companion, Sludge, in solving the greatest mysteries a boy could search for. In this collection, Nate hunts down a lost grocery list, a favorite stamp, a genius pet, a beach bag, a yucky valentine, second base, and an evil, book-destroying monster.