Recommended Reading
Found in the Annenberg Library

Mystery/Murder/Spy

Science Fiction

Fantasy

	Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell Plot twists worthy of The Da Vinci Code. A thriller involving a lost Shakespeare play, The History of Cardenio. On a June day in 2004, at London's rebuilt Globe theater, Rosalind Howard, flamboyantly eccentric Harvard Professor of Shakespeare, gives her friend Katharine Stanley, who's directing a production of Hamlet at the Globe, a small gold-wrapped box. Roz's mysterious gift, which contains a Victorian mourning brooch decorated with flowers associated with Ophelia, propels Kate on a wild and wide-ranging quest that takes her to Utah; Arizona; Washington, D.C.; and back to London.
	A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss Set in 18th-century London, the novel tells the story of Benjamin Weaver, a Jewish pugilist turned private investigator, who is drawn into the labyrinthine world of British finance while attempting to solve the murder of his estranged father.
	The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. It is the summer of 1950—and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia’s family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw.“I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”
	The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian Schizophrenic, yes, and alcoholic-but Bobbie Crocker isn't your stereotypical street person. Bohjalian invests him with mystery; when he dies in Burlington, Vt., he leaves behind photographs from 1960s issues of Life magazine. Eartha Kitt, Dick Van Dyke, Muddy Waters-they're celebrity shots he took, combined with elegant evocations of Jazz Age Long Island. Laurel Estabrook, social worker at Crocker's shelter, discovers something else among them: a snapshot of herself riding a bike, just as she had, seven years before, when savaged by two thugs.
	The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman When reporter Paul Tomm is assigned to investigate the mysterious death of a reclusive academic, he finds himself pursuing leads that date back to the twelfth century and the theft of alchemical instruments from the geographer of the Sicilian court. Now someone is trying to retrieve them. Interspersed with the present action are the stories of the men and women who came to possess those charmed-and sometimes cursed-artifacts, which have powers that go well beyond the transmutation of lead into gold.
	The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova A motherless 16-year-old girl stumbles upon a mysterious book and papers dating back to her father's student days at Oxford. She asks him to explain her find but he disappears before she can learn everything. Reading the salutation of the letters, "My dear and unfortunate successor," the unnamed heroine uncovers an academic quest that begins with her father's mentor's first research into the history of Vlad Tepes (Dracula)
	Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett When the last honest citizen of Poisonville was murdered, the Continental Op stayed on to punish the guilty--even if that meant taking on an entire town. Red Harvest is more than a superb crime novel: it is a classic exploration of corruption and violence in the American grain.
	The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Barcelona, 1945-A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax's other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written.
	Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille The enemy that ex-NYPD detective John Corey must confront isn't an Islamic jihadist; it's a new-millennium Dr. Strangelove plotting to unleash all-out war against the Middle East by detonating a powerful nuke on American soil.
	The Time traveler's wife: a novel, Audrey Niffenegger Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.
	Lie Down With Lions, Ken Follett A riveting tale of international intrigue-and a dangerous old War love triangle-set in Afghanistan.
	Spy who came in from the cold, John Le Carre “With unsurpassed knowledge culled from his years in British Intelligence, le Carré brings to light the shadowy dealings of international espionage in the tale of a British agent who longs to end his career but undertakes one final, bone-chilling assignment.”
	Popular Mystery Authors: Dan Brown. Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, John Grisham, Ken Follett, Dick Francis, John Le Carre, Lisa Scottoline, David Baldacci

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Science Fiction

	Dune, Frank Herbert Set on the desert planet Arakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. A blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
	Foundation series, Isaac Asimov For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire had ruled supreme. Now it was dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, could see into the futre - a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that would last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathered the best minds in the Empire - both scientists and scholars - and brought them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He called his sanctuary the Foundation.
	Frankenstein, Mary Shelley Shelley's classic hints in part at the possible dangers inherent in the pursuit of pure science; it also portrays the injustice of a society which persecutes outcasts such as the "Monster." Disturbing and profoundly moving, Frankenstein has become part of our own mythology.
	Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams The story of a British earthling plucked from his planet, and his subsequent adventures elsewhere in the universe.
	House of Scorpion, Nancy Farmer In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patrâon, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.
	I, Robot, Isaac Asimov In this collection, one of the great classics of science fiction, Asimov set out the principles of robot behavior that we know as the Three Laws of Robotics. Here are stories of robots gone mad, mind-reading robots, robots with a sense of humor, robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world, all told with Asimov's trademark dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction.
	Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison This is the searing story of a black man's fervent quest for personal identity and social visibility that takes him on a journey through the Southern U.S. and later to New York City.
	Prey, Michael Crichton Once again, Michael Crichton combines up-to-the-minute science with relentless pacing to create an electrifying techno-thriller. Deep in the Nevada desert, the Xymos Corporation has built a state-of-the-art fabrication plant, surrounded by nothing but cactus and coyotes for miles and miles. Inside, eight people are trapped -- because outside, waiting for them, looking for them, is a predatory swarm of micro-particles that they themselves created. The swarm is getting bigger and more powerful by the hour, and they must find a way to stop it before it gets inside -- unless it's already too late...
	Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein “Starship Troopers is a classic novel by one of science fiction's greatest writers of all time and is now a Tri-Star movie. In one of Heinlein's most controversial bestsellers, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the universe -- and into battle with the Terran Mobile Infantry against mankind's most frightening enemy.”

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Fantasy

	The Children of Hurin by J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (Editor) The first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in three decades-since the publication of The Silmarillion in 1977-The Children of Húrin reunites fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, Eagles and Orcs.
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7) by J. K. Rowling J. K. Rowling's seventh and final book of her blockbuster Harry Potter series.
	Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
	Crystal Cave series, Mary Stewart Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myridden Emrys -- or as he would later be known, Merlin -- leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man's-son, taking him from prophesying before the High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon ... and the conception of Arthur -- king for once and always.
	Eragon : Inheritance, Book 1, Christopher Palolini In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. “Eragon is filled with nightmare moments, dreams, visions. It never falters in its velocity.” New York Times
	From the Dust Returned, Ray Bradbury From the Dust Returned features one of Bradbury’s most beloved creations: the Elliott family, the original inspiration behind Charles Addams's Addams Family. Mr. Bradbury's book is an incredible journey into the life of a different type of family, made up of the creatures of the night. The writing is pure Bradbury with amazing descriptions of strange and wonderful places and the thoughts and emotions of some of the characters. This is not a full story, per se, but mainly a series of vignettes about the "Elliot" familly. A reviewer
	Once and Future King, T. H. White The whole world knows and loves this book. It is the magical epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Merlin and Owl and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and men who fly, of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. It is the fantasy masterpiece by which all others are judged.

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