Worse Than It Sounds / Literature

• Atlas Shrugged: A group of clever and productive individuals stick it to authority in a well-thought out yet ambitious manner. An unattractive but resourceful woman searches for the perfect Love Interest while society collapses around her.
  • The Fountainhead: By the same author, the epic tale of a man who will stop at literally nothing to preserve his integrity as an artist. Contains many powerful romantic scenes in which the artist pursues the one woman he feels worthy of him.
• Captain Underpants: In a corrupt world where the adults in power frequently conspire to make children everywhere miserable and complacent, two young, creative and brave anarchists fight back against the cruel adults with the help of a man born from their immense imaginations.
• Ciaphas Cain: A reluctant, self-deprecating man and his uniquely-scented companion struggle with the costs of accidental heroism in a war-torn far future, alternately aided and hindered by an army that has bought into the illusionary reputation built around him and a mysterious, powerful woman who hangs the terrible truth over them.
• The Da Vinci Code: A murder investigation unearths an Ancient Conspiracy. Very creative with history.
• Dragonriders of Pern as written by Todd McCaffrey: New additions to a beloved series that has been in print for over 40 years which clear up some of the confusion in the older books.
• Effi Briest From the author of the most renowned travel guide to one of Central Europe's last untouched wildernisses of his era comes a tale of love, betrayal, romance and gender norms of the 19th century. Filled to the brim with resonant symbolism, duels, Star-Crossed Lovers and the dirty secrets of the highest rungs of society, this book is most notable for its daring and stunning last sentence. Required classroom reading.
• Everybody Poops A deep examination of the human race, and the tragic flaw suffered by every member of mankind.
• Fifty Shades of Grey: An ordinary young woman with low self-esteem meets a charming billionaire by chance and forms a relationship with him, but in the process learns some unsettling truths about the man she loves and must make the difficult choice of whether to stay by his side despite the danger or leave him and put her own safety and well-being first.
  • Fifty Shades Darker: The young woman chooses to stay loyal to her man, but learns even more about his dark past and must cope with his dual nature while attempting to help him overcome said dark past.
  • Fifty Shades Freed: The couple is finally married, but still must overcome trials such as impending parenthood and the man's most hated rival attempting to bring him down.
• Harlequin/Mills & Boon: A publishing house renowned for their diverse, world-spanning stories, loaded with a passionate series of insights into the human condition. Very distinct for its authorial base, employing a distinct language in all of its work.
• Horrid Henry: a boy with behaviour problems struggles to cope with neglectful parents, hateful teachers who overestimate him, his perfectionist brother who is obsessed with making him feel shit, and a sexist hate group formed against him and his friends.
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: A deeply conservative diatribe against the social welfare system, exposing the corruptive influence of unrestrained greed and the American obsession of an instant gratification culture.
• Inheritance Cycle: A boy must become a man as he and his companions seek to liberate their home from a vicious dictator and his legions of nefarious monsters. Action, adventure, romance, all combine to create an unimaginable tale that will resonate all too strongly.
• Left Behind: Four people cope with the effects of a mysterious, devastating event that wipes out a large number of the human population, including every child on the planet, and take it upon themselves to stop the one man hell-bent on taking advantage of the world's chaos for his own nefarious purposes. A thrilling read with unrelenting suspense.
• Legacy of the Force A man embraces his destiny to change the galaxy, but ultimately chooses not to fulfill it because of his family. Notable for its inversion of gender roles and inclusion of non-stereotypical characters.
• The Legend of Rah and the Muggles: An epic, heartbreaking tale of two brothers and the differences between them that threaten to split them apart forever.
• Lesbian Land 2250: A profile of a bizarre future society seen through the eyes of a recent immigrant. The story explores such concepts as genetic engineering and cloning, and describes the society's rituals, customs, structure and values in extensive detail.
  • Alternately: An intriguing investigation of a society whose members are devoted to finding enjoyment in even the most unusual of practices. Particularly notable for its clever consideration of maintaining a population in a land filled entirely with females, and also well-known for its portrayal of female homosexuality. This tale, packed with skilled characterization and touching, sexy love scenes, is guaranteed to inspire strong emotion and deep sadness in even the most coldhearted of readers.
• The Maradonia Saga: In a series of books sure to resonate with readers of all ages, two remarkable young siblings reach a magical land that defies description, learning a series of life lessons in the process of growing up and realizing their true destiny, learning new skills along the way, even as the young man is corrupted by the powers of hell. Despite her young age, the author's stunning prose, creative dialogue, strong characterization and relatable protagonists have earned her a small but dedicated fanbase.
• Maximum Ride: An exploration of the potential evils of genetic engineering if the field takes its studies too far. It focuses on a group of horrific freaks of nature that escaped from the lab where they were illegally grown, and the lab's efforts to capture them back.
• A Modest Proposal: An essay suggesting an innovative way to get children involved with cooking.
• "Mrs. Snipkin and Mrs. Wobblechin," by Laura Elizabeth Richards: Two rather rude women argue about the room temperature; it ends with one of them getting smacked in the jaw with a soup cup and knocked out a window. You know; for kids!
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The 21st-century American equivalent to The Iliad and The Odyssey.
• A Plague of Sorcerers: A tale of love, betrayal, and uniqueness set in a city ravaged by germ warfare.
• La Princetta et le Capitaine: A tale of high adventure in which a spirited young woman flees an arranged marriage in the desire to create her own happiness, and with her friends becomes embroiled in events that test all characters' self-images and moral principles. The author uses symbolism to great effect.
• Stardoc: A Villain with Good Publicity uses a brilliant if volatile surgeon's messed-up upbringing and weird origin to get her declared a non-person... thus officially ruining relations between humanity and a Proud Warrior Race. Even in the far future, Humans Are Bastards.
• Sword of Truth: A man discovers he was heir to an empire he never knew of, and only through finding his true self can he stop a greater one.
• Touched By Venom: An epic fantasy set in a brutal but brilliantly realized world that valiantly tackles such controversial issues as racism, sexism, class warfare, religion, and government corruption, as well as exploring the powerful bond between a band of brave priestesses and their dragon companions.
• The Turner Diaries: A war story in which a band of rebels fight a tyranical government, this time interlaced with interesting commentary on American race relations. Popular among notable political theorists.
• The Twilight Saga: A wildly popular series with a highly relatable protagonist for many young women. Can a vibrant, clever young woman and a luminous young man from different worlds find happiness together despite the considerable danger inherent in their union?
  • New Moon: The young man and woman break up when she is accidentally injured. The woman is forced to endure months and months away from her soulmate, seeking comfort and solace in her childhood friend. She then embarks on a journey to stop her lover from killing himself by exposing his secret.
  • Eclipse: The woman is grief-stricken when the two men in her life are in conflict.
  • Breaking Dawn: The battle to which the books have been leading up to erupts when she is given the baby she so rightly deserves. All the characters are given a happy ending for which they worked so hard.
• Valley of the Dolls: a landmark in proto-feminist literature, this best-seller explores the complicated lives of women in the entertainment industry. It addresses female friendship, the physical and psychic costs of tyrranical beauty standards, the grinding road to success, the hazards of fame and romance, and the protagonists' self-destructive coping mechanisms.
• Victoria: Written by a famous political and military commentator, this war novel features freedom fighters overthrow an authoritarian regime and battle mass-murdering extremists in a heroic crusade to save America. Full of dramatic scenes and scathing commentary, this tale has found a fandom among diverse people for a variety of reasons.
• Whateley Academy: A group of mismatched students from all walks of life gain superpowers and learn about themselves as they grow up at the world's most prestigious Superhero Academy.
• The Wheel of Time: In a world where magic itself has been torn asunder, Men and Women must overcome their differences to defeat the return of an ancient evil. An epic tale of Good and Evil told in unprecedented detail.