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While classic books have always made great movies, the recent trends in Hollywood leave many critics to wonder if the producers aren’t running out of ideas. However, the most probable explanation could be that people these days have very little patience when it comes to entertainment.

It may sound harsh, but the truth is that very few prefer spending two or three days reading a book when it is so simple to catch the basic idea from a two hours movie adaptation. While they can be viewed as a sign of intellectual laziness, some of these movies are really worth your time.

1. The Godfather trilogy

While Mario Puzzo 1969’s novel did not enjoy the same popularity, the movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola is considered one of the top ten best films of all times. The plot focuses around Vito Corleone – a mafia overlord – and his family. It features the outstanding performance of stars such as Al Pacino and Marlon Brando. It is sufficient to say that since its launch in 1972, the Godfather won three Academy Awards and maintains its second position among box office leaders.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

Published in 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was immediately recognized as a masterpiece of modern American literature. The action takes us back in a time of racial inequality and focuses on the tale of a white public defender Atticus Finch who has the courage to defend a black person who is arrested for undeserved charges. It is said that the humor and warmth of the storyline is the personal insight of Harper Lee who observed a similar event involving her family and neighbors when she was just 10 years old.

3. The Lord of the Rings trilogy

In 2001, director Peter Jackson decided to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s world to life. And what a marvelous job he did! Considered one of the most ambitious movie projects of all times, the Lord of the Rings trilogy follows the story of a young hobbit who decided to leave the quiet life of The Shire and journeys with 8 companions to the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring (and consequentially the evil Dark Lord Sauron) once and for all.

4. Harry Potter

Since the release of the first novel in 1997, J.K. Rowling’s creations have gained an enormous popularity across the globe. It is necessary to mention that the novels and the movies have had their share of criticism from various religious groups who claimed that the author is initiating children in magic practices. However, the story featuring Harry Potter and his friends in various incredible situations at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry managed to surpass all expectations and it is currently one of the most known stories for children worldwide.

5. Donnie Brasco

If you are a fan of movies featuring mafia, then this Mike Newell movie is surely going to blow you off your feet. Featuring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, two prominent actors who ensure an impeccable performance, Donnie Brasco is a novel written by Richard Woodley and Joshep D. Pistone based on a true story. To summarize, the plot concentrates on an undercover FBI agent who manages to infiltrate the mafia only to discover that he has a lot in common with this underground world.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a topic widely written on. The disorder, however, is a mystery. Many parents, researchers and authors try to understand and unravel the mystery. Many books yield insight, others encourage parents to bond. Here are just 10 books I recommend to read if you are interested in learning more about the topic.

1. A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards, Ann Bauer:

Edward is a toddler and 4 years old. His development is slow, and is coupled with a painful withdrawal from the world. Both parents struggle to sustain marriage. The mother Rachel seeks assistance from her brother Mickey to better assist Edward. Mickey suffered from the same disorder but faced trying times in an age where special education was not viewed positively. This book is an excellent read. Bauer does an excellent job at defining autism. It shows that she has done her research.

2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Mark Haddon:

This is a murder mystery told by a teenager with autism, Christopher John Francis Boone. Christopher has a unique ability. He can name all the countries in the world and their capitals, hates the colour yellow, loves animals and knows all the prime numbers up to 7057. Christopher faces troubling times as he uncovers the mystery of what happened to the next door neighbour’s dog. As he unravels what happened, he learns something personal that could change his life.

3. Daniel Isn’t Talking: A Novel, Marti Leimbach:

This is a story of a young boy with severe autism. Unlike Mark Haddon’s book, the story is told from the mother’s point of view. The mother’s courage to help her son become playful, able to speak and as normal as possible is touching. She finds a play therapist who has a knack for helping children like Daniel.

4. Asperger Syndrome, the Universe and Everything Kenneth Hall:

Kenneth is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of 8. A bright student, he faces challenges, behaviour wise and academically. He uses a laptop to express himself and to communicate with others. In this children’s book, Kenneth retells his own story of his struggles and joys. Many other students with Asperger’s may find this book inspiring.

5. Friends in Deed: Julie’s Journey, Elizabeth Ferguson:

In Julie’s Journey, a single mother retells her struggle dealing with the problems she faces raising a 10-year-old son with challenging behaviours and autism. The message is clear here. It encourages parents to bond together. Parents are not alone.

Novel writers as genius persons, because they write a unique story format with the ink of their imagination. Novel readers are also worthy of appraisal, they have the power to mold their imagination into the story line of a novel. However a novel is not like a movie to get on top easily. One novel gets appraisal after it remains in limelight continually for 2-5 years. Books have been the most flexible and reliable source of knowledge and information since hundreds of years. Novels are those books that take the imagination of readers into their story background. Readers start believing each character of a novel as if it exists in reality. Let’s discuss top ten novels that got universal applaud and recognition in last 20 years.

1. Music for Torching (1999):

This novel has been authored by A.M. Homes. The authoress has successfully displayed her amazing skills of writing molded in bonds of deep imagination. She has given unique glow to this novel. ‘Married couples also feel boredom and disappointment despite being well settled’- is the theme of “Music for Torching”. The story revolves around a married couple Paul and Elaine from Suburia. The couple seeks real happiness and contentment in life. They try their best to make their life filled with newness and excitement. Nothing helps them even after they have love affairs, try smoking and hard drinks and try to burn their homes. Finally the couple finds themselves stuck into boredom. They feel themselves to be strangers to themselves, one another and their family.

2. Fight Club (1996):

Chuck Palahniuk has created some other writing pieces beside Fight Club. But the latter contains some hitting dialogues and statements. One of them “Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after that Tyler’s pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die.” has simply left a deep impact on the minds of the readers. Chuck has successfully conveyed a message through his fantasy story. The message is “one need to fight and be ready to face death like risks to live in this tricky world.” Chuck Palahniuk is appreciated for writing novel dialogues that simply hit to the core of heart.

3. House of Leaves (2000):

Danielewski, the writer of this novel story has done an excellent job. He has created a dynamic and credulous story background of a haunted castle. The story theme circulates around a family who comes to the house. A series of horrifying events make the family feel shocked to know that the new house is haunted. In one sequence of the story the readers of the story are taken to hallway and are left to sense the terror of an unseen terror. What should be the expected terror? A ghost or a monster. Some terrifying story aspects like footnotes of books dripping in blood make readers shiver with neurosis. “House of Leaves” is a wonderful creation by Danielewski under horror series. If you enjoy reading horror stories depicting haunted places and haunting spirits, try this novel.

4. We Don’t Live Here Any More (2004):

This story is a movie based novel written by Dubus. The latter has earned a great reputation of being a short story writer of 20th century. His writings prove this claim in a fair way. “We do not live here any more” is the story telling about two couples in their mid age. Their life is tested by destiny through a love affairs, emotional turmoil and testing times in friendship. The novel shows situations of desperation in matters of love and marriage. It shows loneliness of housewives though they are with husband and kids. This novel correctly justifies the statement “We are left as paupers though we have a treasure”.

5. The Road (2006):

This is an interesting story of a father and son, who are on a journey by foot to South Mexico. Cormac McCarthy is the author of this novel. He is perhaps the greatest novelist who is alive today. Cormac has created an interesting story sequence of a father and son traveling through a post apocalyptic world. They encounter attack of cannibals, cold and hunger during their journey. The story displays the love of a father towards his son. Read the novel and watch the sequences I which a father protects his son from hardships of this world. Fortunately “The Road” was bestowed with the Pulitzer Prize.

As kids, we all loved reading books. Books are the medium through which the thoughts of a child and his character can be molded. Therefore reading the correct kids’ books becomes very important. There are thousands and thousands of children’s books available in book stores and in libraries. It is a big task for parents to find the best book that can be a value addition for the child and can interest him as well. To make your task easier given below is a list of the top 10 children’s books writers. Be sure that your child will love reading their books.

1. Kevin Henkes:

He is a successful illustrator and author of children’s books who has won the Caldecott Medal and the Newbery Honor in these two fields. ‘Kitten’s First Full Moon’ was one of his most famous books ever written. He also writes for young – adult fiction and many of his stories are based on his own life experiences.

2. Patricia Polacco:

She too is an illustrator and author of children’s books. The books contain beautiful culture, simple language and great illustrations making her books a must read for children and young kids. Some of her works are Chicken Sunday, Thank You, Mr. Falker and My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother; to name just a few.

3. Eric Carle:

His most famous children’s book has been ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ which has been translated into almost 48 languages. His first story illustration was ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?’ which was a huge bestseller. The illustrations used by him were very different, normally made of hand – painted papers and converted into beautiful images. His books bring out his love of nature. His books are not only entertaining but also full of knowledge and learning.

4. Beatrix Potter:

She created the famous Peter Rabbit character from the book ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’. She had to stay at home and learn music and fine art, while her brother was sent to school. Her collection of books includes – The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, The Tale of Two Bad Mice and The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.

5. E.B. White:

This author of children’s books was born in New York. He has written many novels for children which include some famous names as Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan. As guessed correctly many of his novels have been turned into big animation flicks that have done exceedingly well at the box – office.

Long travels on a flight can get really tiresome as well as boring. To do away with the boredom all aircraft operators provides us the magazines and newspapers. But how interesting can it make our journey? Does is really help to do away with the boredom? I think “no”. How can a boring magazine eliminate the boredom in a long and tiresome journey? We need something interesting something which keeps us so much within them that we forget practically that we are on a flight. The books and novels can serve us well but most of the flight operators won’t provide us the books or the novels we like and are interested in. Therefore, it is we who have to carry one during our travel. Which book to carry? Well, here is a list of top ten books to read on a flight. Hope you find it conclusive and helpful.

1. Goosebumps – by R.L Stine:

Goosebumps is a series of children’s horror fiction novels written by American author R. L. Stine and first published by Scholastic Publishing. It is a collection of stories that feature semi-homogenous plot structures, with fictional kids being involved in scary situations. Themes in the series include horror, humour and the supernatural. This book can be a good read for people who are interested in some supernatural and light horror stories.

2. Twilight series – by Stephenie Meyer:

Twilight is a young-adult vampire-romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer. Twilight till date, has sold 17 million copies worldwide. It spent over 91 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and has been translated into 37 different languages. Twilight is definitely a good choice as it includes romance, power, supernatural and almost all aspects to make it a successful and worthy read.

3. Harry Potter Series – by J.K Rowling

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books narrate the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Wesley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story revolves around Harry’s dilemma involving the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents in his quest to conquer the magic world and rule the non-magical people. This novel is also a super successful movie and generates lots of interest among the young people.

4. The Gossip Girl series – by Cecily von Ziegesar:

Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. “Gossip Girl” is a series that revolves around the lives and romances amongst the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite private school in New York City’s Upper East Side. The series primarily focuses on Blair Waldorf and her best friend, and follows the characters through their high school lives up through their graduation and moving on to college.

5. Relationships for Dummies by Dr. Kate M. Wachs:

This book is filled with snippets of advice for those of us who need help or know someone else who needs a bit of help in the relationship department. The book is filled with insight, true stories and lots of humour. It explores the myths and realities of love and lust and lays it all out in common sense terms that anyone can understand. This book can generate lots of interest as its all about relationships and the ways to keep relationships strong and sound.

It is difficult to make a top ten of these, because the list has to be personal. If you think of the top 10 most read books then The Bible and the Qu’ran have to be at the top of the list. However this list is purely about works of fiction.

1. Homer’s Odyssey

This epic poem has been the starting point for so many Hollywood films, and has interested people for centuries. If you haven’t read it then get a modern translation and see the “truth” behind the Hollywood blockbusters.

2. Dante’s The Divine Comedy

This is one of the best books to come out of the Renaissance, and is a remarkable work. You go through Hell and the inferno to reach Paradise and encounter characters from mythology and Homer on the way.

3. Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment

This is a superb tale of guilt and the need to find redemption which was the starting point for one of Woody Allen’s films, “Match Point.” If you loved the film, but haven’t read this then you should as it is much better than Allen’s film at delving into the recesses of a murder’s mind and his struggle to be punished.

4. Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” will take you into the world of the minor gentry of England in the 18^th century and displays the values of the time with a wit and incisiveness that has not been matched by many authors. Jane Austen wittily writes about the morals of her time and her characters come to life on the page. If you enjoyed the films of the book, do yourself a favour and read the original work as so much of the humour is lost on the screen.

5. Norman Mailer “The Naked and The Dead”

This novel is a mixture of fact and fiction and one of the best to have come out of the Second World War. It is an honest account of a soldier’s feelings and portrays the horror and futility of war extremely well. Many people disliked Mailer because of his personal life, but his novels are well worth reading.

The books in this list are thought to be classics but are in fact, quite overrated. The content is mundane and so are the characters- the reason they are so popular is because the PR department was smart enough to use the right words and phrases.

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien was a professor before he started writing-  fact which is clear in these books. Even though The Lord of the Rings series is very popular and has raised the bar as far as the fantasy adventure genre is concerned, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the details are superfluous and the plot is slightly vague.

2. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

The characters in this popular book are described in such a way that they seem like wooden and lifeless caricatures, the plot is quite boring and the writing is out-dated.

3. White Noise by Don Delillo

Don Delillo is doted on by professors of English literature and is despised by an equal number of students who are forced to read it.

4. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Once a child passes a certain age; he is told to read Atlas Shrugged. It is a widely celebrated book and is considered to be epic and massively successful. In reality, the book moves at a snail’s pace and the political theme is over-hyped enough to bring down the overall quality of the book.

5. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude is said to be that book which gave rise to the genre of magical realism. The plot is extremely complex and there is no doubt that the average and for that matter, the above-average reader will need to log onto the internet just to understand the basics of the novel.

These books have been carefully selected for their entertainment value and the ease with which reading can be resumed after brief intervals.

There are the books you read, and then there are the books that will change your life. We can all look back on the books that have shaped our perspective on politics, religion, money, and love. Some will even become a source of inspiration for the rest of our lives. From a seemingly infinite list of books, we have narrowed down the top 10 books that have shaped our lives and made the skeptics want to put up a book and read it.

1.  The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich

Sex, money, genius and betrayal—the title says it all. Thanks to the movie, The Social Network, it’s now a familiar story. Mark Zuckerberg rises to riches as the entrepreneur of Facebook, enjoying the privileges, but suffering some consequences along the way.

2.  I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas by Lewis Black

Christmas and comedy just seem to go together and Lewis Black’s rant looks at the non-religious traditions of Christmas from an entirely new perspective.

3.  Machine of Death: A collection of stories about people who know how they will die by David Malki !

Thirty-four tomorrow tales surrounding a mysterious machine that can give people information which will change their lives by predicting how they will meet their end.

4.  Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

A collection of four eerie tales from the undisputed master of the macabre.

5.  Surprise: An Erotic Fiction Anthology from Racy Pages by Tinder James

These contemporary stories feature explicit sex and a surprise at every turn.

A lot of books have been written which have had a profound impact on the philosophy of people across the world who have read them. The authors of these books changed the world. While some did it purposely, others were not even aware of the strength of their words. Here are some books which had an adverse impact on the world.

1. Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger

This book was basically a guide-book for those who called themselves witch-hunters. Over 36 editions have been released and it is believed that it single-handedly gave rise to out-of-control witch hunts.

2. Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead

Margaret Mead interviewed several teenage girls in Samoa who told her made-up stories about their sexual promiscuity. However, Mead did not know that and she reported them all in her book as fact.

3. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

This book is now considered to be a guide-book full of rules for those who want their society to live in tyranny. It talks about how a ‘prince’ need not have morals or scruples as long as he can pretend to have them. He also points out how society can be made to understand that evil is more beneficial than good. This book impacted the likes of Hitler and Stalin.

4. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler

This book by Adolf Hitler was not accepted by any publishing house but once he rose to power, it was circulated all over the world. Mein Kampf talks about Hitler’s plan to remove each and every Jew from the world in order to allow the Germans to live peacefully.

5. The Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger supported the use of contraceptive because she felt that inferior human beings had no right to live and that the superior category should solely survive so that the world could be filled with only intelligent and able-bodied people. She lists out the benefits of eugenics as well as purity amongst different races.

Mystery books have always held a fascination for the reading public. They fall into many sub-categories such as murder, legal, police procedural and many others. But wherever there is a question of whodunit and good story behind it, you can be sure that the book will be devoured by the mystery book fans.

Here is a list of the best-selling mystery writers of all times. You may not feel that they are the best writers, but their popularity is unmistakable and for some, even posthumously their books continue to entice readers.

1. Georges Simenon:

The creator of Inspector Maigret was a prolific writer and wrote over 500 books. He is considered to be the forerunner of the police detective genre of books. His books followed the simple formula of murder, investigations, clues and the arrest of the murderer. Simply written and set in Paris, the books have remained ever popular, even 80 years after the first book was published.

2. Agatha Christie:

The Guiness Book of Records lists her as the bestselling book writer of all times, with over four billion copies of her books having been published worldwide. Her mystery novels were never too long,. The stories were superb and the characterization of her detectives such Hercules Poirot and Miss Marple was very well done. She wrote about 80 detective novels, and some plays and also some romantic novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.

3. Arthur Conan Doyle:

Sherlock Holmes’s deductive and reasoning abilities have astonished readers for many decades. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave us a series of mysteries which have enchanted and confounded us. He also wrote science fiction book, plays, poetry, non-fiction books and some historical novels, but he is best remembered for his series of books with Holmes as their central character, accompanied by Watson.

4. Ellery Queen:

The first book written by two friends under this pseudonym was released in 1934, and over eight decades later his books are still very popular. They have instituted a much coveted mystery writer’s award in his name. The books are excellent whodunit mysteries and they are very elegantly crafted and intellectually challenging.

5. Erle Stanley Gardner:

He sold over 100 million books, and his lawyer Perry mason became the bane of most practising lawyers in the US. Every litigant began to expect his lawyer to eventually solve all crimes and find the right killer. Clever legal systems, fast action and good mystery stories are what marked this prolific and best selling writer.