Katniss Everdeen, Samwise Gamgee, Rincewind, Claire Fraser, Harry Potter, The Gunslinger, Ramona Quimby, and Stannis Baratheon. These characters all exist within multi-book series and hold a special place in popular culture. In fact, it seems that ongoing series are an infatuation the modern reader can't get enough of. It's hard to find someone talking about a book that doesn't continue after the final page, but after reading the seventh book in the Chronicles of Narnia...or even the latest issue of The Walking Dead, you might be ready for one of these stand-alone stories.
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession." It is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.
Rooms
by Lauren Oliver
YA author Lauren Oliver delivers her adult debut with this novel narrated by two ghosts. Estranged patriarch Richard Walker has died, leaving behind a country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His alienated family have arrived for their inheritance, but the Walkers are not alone. Alice and Sandra, two long-dead and restless ghosts, linger within the house's walls, bound eternally to its structure. Though their voices cannot be heard, the ghosts speak through the house itself as truths that surface with explosive force.
Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines--puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize.
In Her Shoes
by Jennifer Weiner
Two women with nothing in common but a childhood tragedy, shared DNA, and the same size feet, are about to learn that their family is more different than they ever imagined, and that they're more alike than they'd ever believe. Sisters Rose and Maggie are featured in this story that take them from the streets of Philadelphia to Ivy League libraries to a "retirement community for active seniors" in Boca Raton.
Join one of our book discussions as we prepare for the best-selling author's visit on April 10th!
Parallel
by Lauren Miller
A collision of parallel universes leaves 18-year-old Abby Barnes living in a new version of her life every day, and she must race to control her destiny without losing the future she planned and the boy she loves.
