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Hailed as one of the world's supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought face to face with his own mortality. How, Tolstoy asks, does an unreflective man confront his one and only moment of truth? A thoroughly absorbing and, at times, terrifying glimpse into the abyss of death, it is also a strong testament to the possibility of finding spiritual salvation.

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One of the earliest feminist works in American literature, The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier. Unsatisfied with societal expectations and unhappy with her family life, she begins to fall in love with the dapper Robert Lebrun. Lebrun's flirtations, along with the lifestyle of renown musician Mademoiselle Reisz, rejuvenates Edna's sense of freedom and independence. However, an affair with the womanizer Alcee Arobin provides Edna with a taste of the danger that comes from living outside of social convention. Trapped between the life she is expected to live and the one she longs to lead, Edna struggles to find happiness. Also included are eight of Chopin's most celebrated short stories: A Pair of Silk Stockings, A Reflection, A Respectable Woman, Beyond the Bayou, Desiree's Baby, Ma'ame Pelagie," «The Kiss,» and «The Locket.»"

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In this epic poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of the king of the Danes whose great hall is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel bare-handed and goes on to kill Grendel's mother with a giant’s sword that he recovers from her lair. Later, as king of the Geats, Beowulf confronts a dragon that terrorizes his kingdom. J.R.R. Tolkien said of Beowulf that it is in fact so interesting as poetry, in places poetry so powerful, that this quite overshadows the historical content.

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A Study in Scarlet is an 1887 detective novel by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. In it, the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, two of the most famous figures in all of literature, are introduced. Brought together by a mutual friend, Dr. Watson begins assisting his new roommate Holmes with his work as a “consulting detective”. In helping the police with a vexing pair of murders, Holmes displays his uncanny ability to assemble deductions based on seemingly minor details of the crime. The story is told from Dr. Watson’s perspective, who takes up the mission of describing Holmes’ exploits when the police take the credit in the end for solving the crime.

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It's animated adventure on a gigantic scale in this whimsical laughter-filled tale of some very tiny people who learn some very big lessons about life, accepting differences, love and spaghetti! Produced by Golden Films/Directed by Diane Eskenazi.

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An English scientist, known only as the Time Traveler, constructs a machine that allows him to move back and forth through different periods of time. Testing this machine, the man travels forward to AD 802,701. Here he discovers a lazy, non disciplined group of people who do not seem interested in anything. Thinking he has seen all he needs for his research, he decides to travel back home. Upon returning to where he left his time machine, he discovers an intelligent, violent group of people called the Morlocks, have stolen it. Seeing that this futuristic society has more secrets than he realized, the Time Traveler must find his machine and travel back to his time before an untimely end at the hands of the Morlocks.

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This classic novel takes place in Lantern Yard, a slum street in an unnamed city in Northern England, during the early 19th century. There, Silas Marner, a weaver and a member of a small Calvinist congregation, is falsely accused of stealing the congregation's funds while watching over their very ill deacon. Two pieces of evidence are against Silas: his possession of a pocket knife and the bag that formerly contained the money. Although there is also strong evidence that Silas' best friend, William Dane, has framed him (since Silas had lent his pocket knife to William shortly before the crime was committed), Silas is exiled by the community of Lantern Yard and moves to the village of Raveloe, where he lives as a recluse, caring only for work and money. Bitter and unhappy, Silas' circumstances begin to change though when an orphaned child is left in his care…

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Siddhartha, the ninth book written by Hermann Hesse, is about a young Indian boy who leaves his home in hopes of finding enlightenment with the wise Goutama, which in this story is the Buddha. After learning what he can from Goutama, he decides to go off into the busy city, and leads a life of greed and lust. When he realizes that the lifestyle is not fulfilling, and he reflects on his life, he goes to a river and contemplates suicide. However, it is here that Siddhartha meets a man who will change his life and help lead him to enlightenment, in this classic coming of age story about finding meaning and purpose.

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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a humorous 1889 novel by American writer Mark Twain. In it, a Connecticut engineer is accidentally transported back to the time of King Arthur. He convinces the inhabitants of that time that he is a magician, and uses his knowledge of modern technology to stun them with such feats as demolitions, fireworks, and the shoring up of a holy well. Twain wrote the book as a satire of Romantic notions of chivalry after a dream in which he was a knight himself, noting the inconvenient weight of the armor.

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Candide is a French satirical novella first published in 1759 by Voltaire. It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life and being indoctrinated in “optimism” by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt finish of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. It concludes with Candide advocating a deeply practical precept, we must cultivate our garden, in lieu of the professor’s earlier mantra, all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. Candide is recognized as Voltaire's magnum opus and is often listed as part of the Western canon; it is among the most frequently taught works of French literature.

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