Special Collections
Word Beta Test Reading List
Description: These titles were used during our Beta testing phase. Please feel free to try any of them now, while we convert the rest of the Bookshare library. #general
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The Outsiders
by Se HintonA heroic story of friendship and belonging
No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop.
And he knows that he can count on his friends--true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit.
And when it comes to the Socs--a vicious gang of rich kids who enjoy beating up on "greasers" like him and his friends--he knows that he can count on them for trouble.
But one night someone takes things too far, and Ponyboy's world is turned upside down...
Written over forty-five years ago, The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of fiction. S. E. Hinton's classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published.
Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay AsherClay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker -- his classmate and crush -- who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.
A New York Times Bestseller
Need Help? Or Know Someone Who Does? Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
Algebra
by Ernest Shult and David SurowskiThis book presents a graduate-level course on modern algebra. It can be used as a teaching book - owing to the copious exercises - and as a source book for those who wish to use the major theorems of algebra. The course begins with the basic combinatorial principles of algebra: posets, chain conditions, Galois connections, and dependence theories. Here, the general Jordan-Holder Theorem becomes a theorem on interval measures of certain lower semilattices. This is followed by basic courses on groups, rings and modules; the arithmetic of integral domains; fields; the categorical point of view; and tensor products. Beginning with introductory concepts and examples, each chapter proceeds gradually towards its more complex theorems. Proofs progress step-by-step from first principles. Many interesting results reside in the exercises, for example, the proof that ideals in a Dedekind domain are generated by at most two elements. The emphasis throughout is on real understanding as opposed to memorizing a catechism and so some chapters offer curiosity-driven appendices for the self-motivated student.
Elements of Language
by Holt Rinehart WinstonHere's your chance to step out of the grammar book and into the real world. You may not notice parts of sentences, but you and the people around you use them every day. The following activities challenge you to find a connection between sentences and the world around you. Do the activity below that suits your personality best, and then share your discoveries with your class.
Kavya Pradeep Class 11
by Suryanarayan RanshubheThis is collection of hindi poems from 1910 to 2010 for students of class eleven of Maharastra education board.
Mari Bariethi-01 Mari Bariethi
by Suresh Dalalશરીરમાં જે સ્થાન આંખનું છે એ સ્થાન ઘરમાં બારીનું છે. કહેવું હોય તો એમ કહેવાય કે બારી એ ઘરની આંખ છે. આપણે તો સલામતીથી જીવવામાં માનનારા માનવીઓ; એટલે તો ઘરની ચાર દીવાલો ચણી લીધી. પણ ચાર દીવાલમાં ગૂંગળાઈ રહેવું કેમ પોસાય? આપણે એથી બારીઓ મૂકી. પ્રતીક્ષાના પર્યાય જેવા ઝરૂખાઓ સજાવ્યા, ગૌરવ આપે એવા ગવાક્ષો રખાવ્યા. ઘરની અને બહારની દુનિયા વચ્ચેના સેતુનું કામ બારી જ કરે છે. Essays by Suresh Dalal on various subjects, originally published in a popular series: Mari Bariethi in Janmabhoomi Pravasi
The Lightning Thief
by Rick RiordanPercy Jackson about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Intermediate Award
The Gate of Angels
by Penelope FitzgeraldShortlisted for the Booker Prize: A novel of two &“wonderful characters&” who meet by accident in Edwardian England, and fall inconveniently in love (The Washington Post). In 1912, rational scientist Fred Fairly, one of Cambridge&’s best and brightest, crashes his bike and wakes up in bed with a stranger—fellow casualty Daisy Saunders, a charming, pretty, and almost pathologically generous working-class nurse. So begins a series of complications—not only of the heart but also of the head—as Fred and Daisy take up each other&’s education and turn each other&’s philosophies upside down. From the recipient of a National Book Critics Circle Award, among other honors, this story of an unlikely and possibly doomed romance is a &“deft comedy of manners . . . Fitzgerald&’s elegant prose shines with intelligence and subtle wit . . . Her flair for well-drawn eccentric characters will appeal to fans of Muriel Spark and Barbara Pym&” (Library Journal). &“A singular accomplishment.&” —Boston Globe &“Powerfully bewitching.&” —Los Angeles Times
Critical Learning for Social Work Students
by Mrs Sue JonesSocial work agencies want newly-qualified workers who can practice as highly motivated and self-flourishing professionals. To get to this stage, social work degree students need to be critical, analytical and evaluative in their thinking, reading and writing. And while lecturers may highlight this need when marking assignments, there is limited space to explore these topics within an already tight social work curriculum. This revised second edition helps to tackle this problem and goes to the heart of these essential skills. By using practical examples and interactive features Critical Learning for Social Work Students will help guide you through your degree and on to becoming a fully-developed and critical practitioner. It covers key areas of critical thinking such as developing a clear and logical argument as well as the application of self-evaluation and understanding the 'professional self'. For this edition there is a new chapter on developing emotional intelligence.
The Silent Corner
by Dean KoontzA dazzling new series, a pure adrenaline rush, debuts with Jane Hawk, a remarkable heroine certain to become an icon of suspense “I very much need to be dead.”
These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what.
People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America.
Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important—so terrifying—that they will exterminate anyone in their way. But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are ruthless—and who is driven by a righteous rage they can never comprehend. Because it is born of love.
Jane Hawk’s story continues in The Whispering Room.
A New York Times Bestseller
Wonder
by R. J. PalacioI won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.
August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school.
Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid--but his new classmates can't get past Auggie's extraordinary face.
WONDER, now a New York Times bestseller, begins from Auggie's point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community's struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel "a meditation on kindness" --indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship.
Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can't blend in when you were born to stand out.
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamilloRecalling the fiction of Harper Lee and Carson McCullers, here is a funny, poignant, and utterly genuine first novel from a major new talent.
The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket--and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship--and forgiveness--can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Golden Apples
by Eudora WeltyThis collection of short stories of the Mississippi Delta by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author is &“a work of art&” (The New York Times Book Review). Here in Morgana, Mississippi, the young dream of other places; the old can tell you every name on every stone in the cemetery on the town&’s edge; and cuckolded husbands and love-starved piano teachers share the same paths. It&’s also where one neighbor has disappeared on the horizon, slipping away into local legend. Black and white, lonely and the gregarious, sexually adventurous and repressed, vengeful and resigned, restless and settled, the vividly realized characters that make up this collection of interrelated stories, with elements drawn from ancient myth and transplanted to the American South, prove that this National Book Award–winning writer, as Katherine Anne Porter once wrote, had &“an ear sharp, shrewd, and true as a tuning fork.&” &“I doubt that a better book about &‘the South&’—one that more completely gets the feel of the particular texture of Southern life, and its special tone and pattern—has ever been written.&” —The New Yorker
Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX • A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. &“[Bryan Stevenson&’s] dedication to fighting for justice and equality has inspired me and many others and made a lasting impact on our country.&”—John LegendNAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times • The Washington Post • The Boston Globe • The Seattle Times • Esquire • Time Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn&’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever. Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer&’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction • Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award • Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the Kirkus Reviews Prize • An American Library Association Notable Book&“Every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so . . . a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.&”—David Cole, The New York Review of Books &“Searing, moving . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America&’s Mandela.&”—Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times &“You don&’t have to read too long to start cheering for this man. . . . The message of this book . . . is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful.&”—Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review &“Inspiring . . . a work of style, substance and clarity . . . Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, he&’s also a gifted writer and storyteller.&”—The Washington Post &“As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.&”—The Financial Times &“Brilliant.&”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Rules
by Cynthia LordThis 2007 Newbery Honor Book is a humorous and heartwarming debut about feeling different and finding acceptance. Now in After Words paperback! Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"---in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
I Am Malala
by Malala Yousafzai and Christina LambWhen the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Joe CepedaA reissue of Pam Munoz Ryan's bestselling backlist with a distinctive new author treatment. Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.
Hatchet
by Gary PaulsenThis award-winning contemporary classic is the survival story with which all others are compared--and a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, recipient of the Newbery Honor.
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present--and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent's divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair--it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.
Glencoe Earth & Space iScience
by Juli Berwald and Michelle Anderson and American Museum of Natural HistoryNIMAC-sourced textbook
A Dead Hand
by Paul TherouxA travel writer is drawn into a strange criminal case, and an even stranger romantic affair, in a novel that brings India &“brilliantly, blazingly to life&” (The Washington Post). When Jerry Delfont, an aimless, blocked travel writer, receives a letter from an American philanthropist, Mrs. Merrill Unger, he is intrigued. She informs him about a scandal, involving an Indian friend of her son&’s. Who is the dead boy, found on the floor of a cheap hotel room? How and why did he die? And what is Jerry to make of a patch of carpet, and a package containing a human hand? Jerry is swiftly captivated by the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. Unger—and revived by her tantric massages—but the circumstances surrounding the dead boy cause him increasingly to doubt the woman&’s motives and the exact nature of her philanthropy. Without much to go on, Jerry pursues answers from the teeming streets of Calcutta to Uttar Pradesh. It is a dark and twisted trail of obsession and need. From the author of The Great Railway Bazaar, A Dead Hand is offers &“an abundance of richly drawn characters . . . Theroux has used his travel writer&’s eye and ear and his novelist&’s imagination to craft a tense, disturbing, funny and horrifying book around all of them&” (San Francisco Chronicle). &“The real pleasure is Theroux&’s talent for rendering place and his irreverent comments on everything from the British royals to pop culture, aging, and yes, the venerable Mother Teresa.&” —Publishers Weekly
History Alive! The United States Through Industrialism, Student Edition
by Teachers' Curriculum InstituteNIMAC-sourced textbook