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openStory about an angel visiting a boarding house Literature
I read this online, and I don't really remember its length — I think it was a short story, but it might have been a novel. It was British and probably from 1900-1920. A mysterious stranger comes to stay in a boarding house where everyone is unhappy, and by talking to them and making them see their flaws he leaves them better people. It never explicitly says he's an angel, but it's mentioned that he has a hump or burden on his back which is implied to be his wings. The people in the house include a bickering middle-aged couple who are always putting each other down in front of others, as well as their grown daughter, who IIRC is the most redeemable of the group, but kind of cynical and dissatisfied with life. The other one that stuck out to me (because of the time period) was that one young man is a self-loathing Jew who pretends not to be, and the angel character tells him there's nothing wrong with being a Jew.
openUnknown Literature
What is the 1956 hardcover book that has a page with different colored heads in a row about and what is the title and author? The book has a brown spine with large black upper case lettering.
Edited by J6432-96660openSuperman origin story. Literature
Picture book aimed at children. I try to look it up and get others like it... but. I specifically remember the version where Lara shoots down going on the rocket because it's set up for one, and the description of how the young Clark could see further than Martha using her "field glasses." That phrase, "field glasses."
There might have been another one about the origin of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, with the crashed spaceship.
Looking for a title, publishing information. Something to find this exact one.
Edited by Caswinresolved Comic - Man joins brand design team Literature
I'm trying to help my brother find something. He thinks it may have been one story in a larger book, possibly one that mixed prose and comics, or not. Here's his description:
Man joins design team finding a brand for google-like corporation
I remember it was in an anthology of the best American works of fiction or something similar. It may have been the best american nonrequired reading anthology. I read it in the last two years and I believe it was published in the last five, but am not positive about the latter. The story is somewhat dystopian - the corporation has become a huge player in world affairs.
The main character is a young man who joins a design team creating a new brand and logo for a google-out-of-control like organization.
During the story the man is afflicted by a mysterious cold-like sickness supposedly cause by plants on the property. He gets medicine from a semi-sinister doctor at the company, which helps him. They tell him that the sickness is due to allergies, but we never get the full explanation.
The main character goes for a swim each day and sees a woman sitting by the pool that he lacks the courage to talk to. During his last swim, he looks up and she is no longer there. He wonders whether he imagined her entirely.
The design team is led by a man who is somewhat obsessed with primality. He leads the team to break in to the headquarters of their rivals in the final act of the comic.
The last scene is the main character looking at a bloody handprint after injuring himself during the break in. He decides that this will be the new logo of the corporation.
Edited by SubsetopenAnyone know what fairytale this is? Literature
Every now and again I remember reading this epically screwed-up fairy-tale in the Chinese translation as a kid. It's possible this was a Chinese original, in which case I'm screwed on finding the source, but something about it feels like a translated... possibly Grimm story?
Anyway, it was about a little girl on a farm who was just screwed from day one: a toad stole her beauty, a goose stole her intelligence, and an old witch her strength. Her parents, with a daughter that was all but useless, tied her up in the yard to use as a scarecrow. There was a happy ending with a prince on a white horse carrying her off, I guess, but I don't remember the back half clearly at all...
Ring any bells for anyone?
openCYOA time/space travel sci-fi series where every page was like a painting Literature
This was a series of I believe 4 to 6 books, of which I had two, that used incredibly detailed full-color illustrations on every page and were about as large physically as a trade paperback but with thinner page counts, i think about 30-50. The story I remember most clearly was about averting some time catastrophe that turned out to be an alien kid getting a birthday present that he used improperly and ended up causing irreparable damage to the universe if not stopped. Another scene had you being visited by 'security' robots where the first two were unthreatening and you needed to see them to get items to pass, while pushing your luck for the third robot had you get killed.
I remember also you had some kind of psychic link to your spaceship and its computer, who was snarky about a lot of things but could give you advice when needed. If the ship was damaged or destroyed you died too, and there was only one or two good endings per book, as I recall.
resolved Please help me! I need to find a book! Literature
It's a non fiction about the writer and his teacher or mentor, a very intelligent man who's mind and memories are fading because of dementia. He gets progressively worse and he even knows it. I read about it on Tear Jerker.
resolved YA novel Lindquists Literature
I read this some time around 2014, iirc there's a young girl who's father is a geneticist in a nuclear winter Russia. Her father is trying to make creatures that will preserve the genes of all mammals(?) and creates these little fuzzy things that he calls "Lindquists". His goal is to smuggle them out of the country, but he is arrested before he can, and so the girl MC is tasked with caring for them all on her own while trying to keep herself alive and out of the secret policy's custody. A lot of the book is her struggle to feed herself and stay warm in the harsh elements, and angsting over the health of the little Lindquists. (Idk if this helps but the Lindquists were described as small ferret like creatures)
openClassic Christmas Crafts Literature
I remember reading a book on traditional Christmas celebrations when I was younger. I cannot recall the title or the publish date, but it has a solid red cover seems to be from long before my time. The first section (and the one that interested me the most) contained instructions for various arts-and-crafts projects, including ornaments made from fruit (if I'm recalling correctly) and a felt tapestry of the Three Wise Men. The one that stuck out to me the most was a table-craft based on the 12 Days of Christmas; the bird figures were made from paper while the human figures were built using ping-pong balls and conical paper cups, and the 4 Calling Birds were perched in the Partridge's Pear Tree.
openBratty kids Literature
I vaguely remember a book from my childhood that I'm pretty sure was part of a series. It was about a Bratty Half-Pint boy, narrated by his best friend. The one story I vaguely remember saw the bratty boy and another (female?) classmate sneak onto the school playground, which was closed off due to the installation of new equipment, and test a new slide before anyone else. And no, I'm pretty sure it's not Horrid Henry or any version of Dennis the Menace.
openall-girls boarding school consisting of cyborgs Literature
looking for a book where a girl gets sent to an all-girls boarding school by his dad. the principal is a friend of said dad. mom is dead. every girl in said school turns out to be cyborgs made by the principal. girl shuts down the power grid of cyborgs and runs away. it was a very short and illustrated book, so it's probably a children's book. it's similar to girls with sharp sticks, but it's not. any ideas?
openBook about thinly veiled Dungeons and Dragons and how it's bad. Literature
Short novel. Looked like it was part of a series. Not sure if it was variations on a theme or the same cast. The only scene I can swear to is, a player declares himself to be his character, maybe he puts on a wizard hat? Climbs on a stump and declaims from there while the narration shifts to, character name in quote marks.
Edited by CaswinopenLilliputian-sized people fight horde of goblin-type creatures Literature
Children's chapter book that was read in 90s but possibly older
- The main characters are lilliputian-sized people who live in fortress/castles in (I think) rubbish tip
- They live in a fortress because they come under regular attack from hordes of goblin creatures with green skin and red or orange hair
- There are multiple fortresses and they have an alliance to send aid to each other during the attacks by the goblin creatures
- At the start of the book, the horde attacking is bigger then usual and a group of the main characters are sent to the allied fortress to get help
- The group gets to the allied fortress but finds that the fortress has already been destroyed by the horde
- The group encounter two surviving knights of the fortress. The two knights ride cats - as in domestic cats. The others are shocked at this cause cats are generally seen as a danger to them but the knights raised them from kittens.
- The knights offer to come with the group back to their fortress, saying the cats are worth an army by themselves and the only reason they couldn't save their own fortress was because they were out on patrol at the time.
- They return to the fortress and defeat the horde.
resolved Ancient Structures on Mars Literature
I'm trying to remember a book (I think it's a full novel, but it might be a short story) where an expedition to Mars discovers ancient ruins, but no bodies/graves, at least until one of the members of the expedition falls over and sees slight mounds indicating the graves of the Martians. I recall one of the side stories being that a meteorite hits the surface some distance from the main camp, and biologists are excited to discover microbial life deep inside the crater, and decide to put a dome over the crater as an experiment.
Anybody know what I'm talking about?
openA girl, a boy, a land that is a chessboard Literature
This is the longest of long shots because I can hardly remember any details about the book, but I'm hoping someone can jog my memory.
It's a young adult or middle grade fantasy novel that I'm guessing was published in the 20th century - I want to say it had a 70s, 80s or early 90s vibe for some reason.
The two main characters are a boy and a girl, both teenage or around that age. These two characters do not know each other and are physically separate at the beginning of the book but end up meeting each other during it.
The setting is vaguely fantastic but I can't remember any particular features except that the land they're in has square areas of alternating color, texture, landscape, or what have you. It turns out that if seen from a great height the land resembles (or is) a giant chessboard.
I believe there may have been other chess motifs such as knights in black (or red?) or white armor.
The overall vibe/atmosphere of the book is what I remember most because unlike a lot of children's fantasy it was not extremely plot heavy (that I recall) - instead it had a dreamy, almost somber, mysterious air. For example, I believe it starts in medias res. The characters are approaching each other from opposite directions for different reasons. They may not know how they got to this land. etc. It was such a unique story and written unlike anything I had read previously. This is why I want to say it seems like a 70s novel, because although it was clearly written for young readers and about young people the plot seemed very grown-up. (I sort of want to compare it to Lloyd Alexander except I'm pretty sure it isn't him - the story had far less fantasy trappings than average, it could almost have been scifi-fantasy.)
It's been such a long time since I read this book and I'm sure I've gotten much of it mixed up or forgotten. But I do remember a boy, a girl, and a land that is a chessboard. Thanks for reading and for any help/leads.
Edited by pellycanopenChildren's book where a minor becomes a therapist Literature
In this book there's a youngster, I think a teen, and she essentially opens up a therapist office. And one of her clients ends up being some criminal. And there's something I think I recall about the criminal really liking to eat cannoli. It looked like it was meant to be the first in a series about teens in unlikely professions, but I'm unsure if they ever actually had other entries made.
openYA post-apocalyptic book series with high-tech Literature
I remember reading a YA post-apocalyptic series where everyone lived in these bubble(?) communities, had eye patch things kinda like Google Glass, and lived insanely long lives (the main character had a parent like 200 years old but looked middle age). The bubble was because the outside world was toxic, but the main character did something and was forced outside only to find she was able to survive (I think there was something about experimenting on the outsiders). She falls in love with an outsider and realizes how messed up the society she grew up in was.
I think in a later book people from the outside AND inside cross a toxic ocean to find an island unaffected by the toxicity (like the eye of a storm)
resolved A Filipino children's picture book about bath Literature
I do not remember the name, but I do remember reading it. It's a Filipino Picture Book about a boy who doesn't like taking a bath. His grandma pursuades him to do it but refuses. He even tricks her one time but really he just wet his hair. Suddenly, he realizes he smells awful and gets mocked by his classmates. He finally tries a bath and realizes the book's aesop. Baths Are Fun.
openBook i read about AI Literature
I read a book in middle school about some kind of vaguely cyberpunk future. story focuses on a music dj who puts together an AI core to run their sets by combining two outdated AI cores and the AI ends up being sentient and makes her own music. Has anyone else read this????
I vaguely remember this book about the story of arachne ( a human turned into a spider by athena). Athena turns her into a spider because she felt death was too good for her hubris. The book repeatedly says "spin,spin,spin"
At the end of the book, Athena is literally describes as a bitch and a witch. The book outright says "she is no heroine".
Does anyone else recall this book?