Tag: Classics
The Fall (Albert Camus)
The Fall: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“Elegantly styled, Camus’ profoundly disturbing novel of a Parisian lawyer’s confessions is a searing study of modern amorality.”
New Books Playground says: The Fall was our first Camus and we’re not sure whether we really got it. Continue reading…
Of the Conduct of the Understanding (John Locke)
Of the Conduct of the Understanding: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“John Locke, widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work had a great impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. Continue reading…
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“The last novel Ernest Hemingway saw published, The Old Man and the Sea has proved itself to be one of the enduring works of American fiction. It is the story of an old Cuban fisherman and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Using the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway takes the timeless themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss and transforms them into a magnificent twentieth-century classic.”
New Books Playground says: The Old Man and the Sea is our favorite classic book from the famous author. Continue reading…
Flatland (Edwin A. Abbot)
Flatland: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“Flatland is a two-dimensional world of geometric figures. The narrator is a square, which makes him a member of the professionals. He has a dream about a one-dimensional world of lustrous points called Lineland. He trys to convince the Lineland King of a second dimension but it is impossible for the King to see outside of his straight line. A Sphere visits Flatland once each millennium to train a new apostle of the existence of Spaceland a three dimensional world. The Square cannot comprehend a third dimension until he sees Spaceland for himself. Continue reading…
It (Stephen King)
It: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“Stephen King’s terrifying, classic #1 New York Times bestseller, ‘a landmark in American literature’ (Chicago Sun-Times)—about seven adults who return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they had first stumbled on as teenagers… an evil without a name: It.
Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real.
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. Continue reading…
Thoughts on Design (Paul Rand)
Thoughts on Design: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“One of the seminal texts of graphic design, Paul Rand’s Thoughts on Design is now available for the first time since the 1970s. Writing at the height of his career, Rand articulated in his slender volume the pioneering vision that all design should seamlessly integrate form and function. This facsimile edition preserves Rand’s original 1947 essay with the adjustments he made to its text and imagery for a revised printing in 1970, and adds only an informative and inspiring new foreword by design luminary Michael Bierut. Continue reading…
Highlights from The Elements of Style (William Strunk Jr.)
From our journey through random or quality (or random quality) books, here are some highlights from William Strunk Jr.’s The Elements of Style (1920).
Emphasis as it appears in the original work may be missing, and our own edits, though marked, may be broad. Important: By sharing these highlights we neither endorse nor recommend respective authors and their views. Assume that we know little of the authors, and that we have nuanced views on the matter—as with all our book recommendations.
Elementary Rules of Usage
1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ’s.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred.
One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. Continue reading…
The Mysterious Stranger (Mark Twain)
The Mysterious Stranger: Learn more at Amazon or at Goodreads.
“In 1590, three boys, Theodor, Seppi and Nikolaus, live relatively happy simple lives in a remote Austrian village called Eseldorf […]. The story is narrated by Theodor, the village organist’s son. Other local characters include Father Peter, his niece Marget, and the astrologer.
One day, a handsome teenage boy named Satan appears in the village. He explains that he is an angel and the nephew of the fallen angel whose name he shares. Young Satan performs several magical feats. Continue reading…
Highlights from Natural Law: Or The Science of Justice (Lysander Spooner)
From our journey through random or quality (or random quality) books, here are some highlights from Lysander Spooner’s Natural Law: Or The Science of Justice (1882).
Emphasis as it appears in the original work may be missing, and our own edits, though marked, may be broad. Important: By sharing these highlights we neither endorse nor recommend respective authors and their views. Assume that we know little of the authors, and that we have nuanced views on the matter—as with all our book recommendations.
[…]all legislation whatsoever is an absurdity, a usurpation, and a crime.