John Dough and the Cherub

L. Frank Baum

Originally published in 1906, John Dough and the Cherub remains a whimsical fantasy tale for all ages, by the author of the classic Oz books. John Dough is a gingerbread man who has come alive because the baker who made him poured quite unwittingly a great quantity of the precious Essence of Vitality into the dough from which he was formed. John escapes from several people who want to eat him, and arrives on the Isle of Phreex. His new friend and constant companion is Chick, the Cherub, a very beautiful child of indeterminate sex. After a good deal of travel and many adventures, John becomes ruler of the Twin Kingdoms of Hiland and Loland, where a prophecy stated that the next king would not be made of flesh and blood. So come journey with John Dough the gingerbread man, his good friends Chick the Cherub and Para Bruin the Rubber Bear, and as Baker par excellence Jules Grogrande would say, Bon appetite!

Black Vulmeas Vengeance

Robert E. Howard

Pulp adventure, seemingly a bit crude and dashed off quickly, but good storytelling none the less. Pirates and lost cities a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones rolled into one, but also with echoes of one of Howards best known tales of piracy, the Conan story Queen of the Black Coast a superior story. The writing here is okay, entertaining enough, and even manages a little character exposition, but Howard could do and did do better work.

Pot-Bouille

Émile Zola

Pot-Bouille raconte lhistoire du jeune Octave Moore, venu conquérir Paris. Il est beau, charmant et reve de conquérir le monde entier. Octave a un plan: il lui semble quil lui serait plus facile de se lancer dans une carriere avec laide de femmes. Les lecteurs regardent comment la vie sociale se transforme en une comédie monstrueuse dhypocrisie.

The Cure of Silver Caon

Max Brand

Do you love stories about the untamed days of the Old West? In "Seor Coyote", Frank Pollard, a small-time rancher down on his luck and owing the bank $500, looks to his legendary friend, Slip Liddell, to give him the money before the banker, Foster, forecloses on his ranch. Liddell refuses to pay Foster, even for his friend. Pollard threatens to do something about it, and then the bank is robbed and Foster shot. Will Liddell help when his friend is accused of the crime? "The Cure of Silver Canyon" is a wonderful Max Brand Western short that blends plenty of drama, action, and emotion into an exciting read. Experience the West as only Max Brand could write it!

The Green Bungalow

Fred M. White

In short stories, Fred M. White often has a love theme. So in the story The Green Bungalow. The main character, Hilton Blythe, has a generous character and is always happy to give useful advice. He was proud that nobody and nothing had ever shocked him. However, one meeting, one look changed everything...

Confidence

Henry James

It only seems in the book that people can always deceive themselves, and life cannot be regulated on the scientific principles that fall on Gordons shoulders as the main character. Crazy scientist Gordon Wright calls Longville in Baden-Baden to judge whether he should marry Angela. After a couple of years, Longville meets Angela again at a French beach resort and realizes that he loves her.

The Voyage Out

Virginia Woolf

Rachel Vinrace sets out on a voyage from the confines of her home in England, where she is raised by her spinster aunts, to the exotic coast of South America in the early twentieth century. But more than just the physical journey from one shore to another, The Voyage Out is a story of the transformation of this essentially unworldly girl to a more self-possessed woman in love with the seemingly enlightened yet searching young writer, Terence Hewet. Her experiences, from a first kiss to a surprising flowering of real love, may inspire the reader to reflect on gender roles in society, love among intellectuals, and the strivings and sorrows of life. Some of the most lovely and illuminating writing flowed from Virginia Woolfs hand as she wrote the words to describe the conversations as well as the innermost thoughts of her characters. Complex characters, vivid and beautiful descriptions of the exotic surroundings, and very real human internal struggles all make for a brilliant novel that one should savor slowly and thoroughly.

Way of the Lawless

George Owen Baxter

If you love thrilling adventure stories with twist and turns then this Western adventure will offer you just what you need. It tells the story of a decent young man, Andrew Lanning , who through a couple of unlucky breaks, is forced into the life of a desperado. He made one mistake in the beginning, and now the most feared lawman in the mountain desert, Hal Dozier, is on his trail and will stop at nothing to bring the outlaw Lanning to justice. But is Andrew guilty of all the things he is being accused of? There is one, a pretty young girl, who doesnt believe all she hears about him. Highly recommended, especially for those who love the Old Western genre.

Last Train Out

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Though dated stylistically, this novel has the makings of a decent movie thriller. The story takes place between the Anschluss, the Nazi takeover of Austria, March 1938, and the invasion of Poland in September 1939. A wealthy Jewish banker, philanthropist, and art collector is forced to flee Vienna to avoid imprisonment by the Nazis. He disappears on the night the Germans march into Austria, and his fortune and collection vanishes with him, leaving behind his personal secretary, Pamela Grey, and his agent, the mysterious Marius Blute.

Destry Rides Again

Max Brand

This fast-paced story is about a tough rebel named Destry who is sent to prison for years, serving time for a crime he did not commit. Once out, he aims to seek revenge on the 12 jury members who sent him to prison and voted for his incarceration. However, his mission isnt to kill but to find other unique ways as punishment and to make their lives miserable. Neatly plotted and briskly told, it illustrates Brands remarkable gift for storytelling. One of the greatest western authors of all time. Max Brand leads the reader on a very authentic tale of the old west the way it was.

False Evidence

E. Phillips Oppenheim

The story of a gallant soldier who is dismissed his regiment, and disowned by his father, because he has been found guilty, on false evidence, of cowardice in the field. He changes his name, and later his son falls in love with the daughter of the man whose false evidence led to his ruin.

The Kingdom of the Blind

E. Phillips Oppenheim

In this tale of espionage set during World War I Britain, we encounter a variety of characters. Surgeon-Major General Hugh Thomson, the works apparent antagonist, who is endeavoring to clear the British troops of spies. He is on the trail of a German master spy who seems to be able to travel across the lines and back and forth between Germany and England. Captain Granet is a wounded war hero recently awarded the DSO and recovering after having been captured twice and escaping twice from the Germans. From an encounter with Captain Ronald Granet at Granets aunts luncheon, Thomson begins to feel suspicion toward him. But is this only due to Granets interest in Thomsons girl, Geraldine Conyers?

Harmer John

Hugh Walpole

Harmer John went to Italy to study art there. He was enraged by the desire to develop a plan to save the world. Life is a pure flame, and we live under the invisible Sun inside us... We all live in the cemetery of the innocent saints, as in the sands of Ayegipt; Ready to be anyone, in the ecstasy of eternity and be content with six feet, like Adrians moles. Will the main character be able to ask for his task?

Partners of the Out-Trail

Harold Bindloss

Life in British Columbia is primitive, and Jim sometimes felt that he had to fight against the insidious influence of wildlife. He studied at McGill to begin his professional career. However, poverty did not prevent him from traveling, what he liked most to do. Jim was thin with confidence in his eyes. He had to go a lot more to make a new dream come true.

Claws of the Tigress

Max Brand

Claws Of The Tigress is an adventurous historical romance set in 16th-century Italy. The main character is Tizzo, a master swordsman, known as Firebrand because of his flaming red hair and flame-blue eyes. Max Brand (1892-1944) is the best-known pen name of widely acclaimed author Frederick Faust, creator of Destry, Dr. Kildare, and other beloved fictional characters. Prolific in many genres he wrote historical novels, detective mysteries, pulp fiction stories and many more. His love for mythology was a constant source of inspiration for his fiction, and it has been speculated that these classical influences accounted in some part for his success as a popular writer.

The Courts of the Morning

John Buchan

Although this book was listed in a collection of Richard Hannay stories, Hannay makes only a brief appearance at the beginning. Begins in the pleasant atmosphere of a country house in the Scottish borders, where Richard Hannay is the guest of his old friend, Sandy Arbuthnot. The action is set in Olifa, a fictional country on the west coast of South America. When Sandy Arbuthnots friend John Blenkiron discover that a charismatic industrial tycoon is plotting to rule the world from his base in the small South American country of Olifa, Sandy leads a revolution to scuttle the plot and allow the Olifans to decide their own fate. As it turns out, these events are only the prelude to a dramatic series of adventures which take place against the backdrop of a small South American Republic that has fallen under the spell of a ruthless Dictator.