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Thursday, September 23, 2010

My favorite Novels

Dear Friends,
This is the link to some of my favorite novels; hope You will also like it.
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1.The Alchemist (Paulo CoelhoRead with joy..,(Download)
          The Alchemist is an allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho first published in 1988. The Alchemist was originally written in Portuguese and has since been translated into 67 languages, winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author. It has sold more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries, becoming one of the best-selling books in history.


Plot

The Alchemist details the journey of an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago. Santiago, believing a recurring dream to be prophetic, decides to travel to the pyramids of Egypt to find treasure. He then tells a lone gypsy about this treasure. As he leaves, the gypsy mentions one thing: If he does find the treasure, she wants 1/10 of it. On the way, he encounters love, danger, opportunity, disaster and learns a lot about himself and the ways of the world. One of the significant characters that he meets is an old king named Melchizedek who tells him about discovering his personal legend: what he always wanted to accomplish in his life. And that "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." This is the core philosophy and motto of the book. During his travels, he meets a beautiful Arabian woman named Fatima who explains to him that if he follows his heart, he shall find what it is he seeks. Santiago then encounters a lone alchemist who tells about personal legends. He says that people only want to find the treasure of their personal legends but not the personal legend itself. He feels unsure about himself as he listens to the alchemist's teachings. The alchemist states "Those who don't understand their personal legends will fail to comprehend its teachings."
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2.The Winner Stands Alone (Paulo Coelho)Read with joy..,(Download)
           The Winner Stands Alone is a novel by Paulo Coelho first published in 2008. The book was first published in Portuguese under the title O Vencedor está Só. It is the thirteenth major book by the Coelho. The book is roughly based upon the growing rise of what the author calls The Superclass.




Plot

The book loosely tells the story of three individuals Igor, a Russian millionaire, Hamid, a fashion magnate and Gabriela. Set in the Cannes Film Festival, the tale narrates the epic drama and tension between the characters in a 24 hour period. This is one of most mysterious books ever written by Paulo Coelho.
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3.Angels & Demons ( Dan Brown )Read with joy..,(Download)
            Angels & Demons is a 2000 bestselling mystery-thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who is also the protagonist of Brown's subsequent 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code, and 2009 novel, The Lost Symbol. It also shares many stylistic literary elements with its sequel, such as conspiracies of secret societies, a single-day time frame, and the Catholic Church. Ancient history, architecture, and symbolism are also heavily referenced throughout the book. A film adaptation was released on May 15, 2009, though it was set after the events of The Da Vinci Code film, which had been released in 2006.




Plot



The plot follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, as he tries to stop the Illuminati, a legendary secret society, from destroying Vatican City with the newly discovered power of antimatter.

CERN director Maximilian Kohler discovers one of the facility's physicists, Leonardo Vetra, murdered. His chest is branded with an ambigram of the word "Illuminati". Kohler contacts Robert Langdon, an expert on the Illuminati, who determines that the ambigram is authentic. Kohler calls Vetra's adopted daughter Vittoria to the scene, and it is ascertained that the Illuminati have stolen a canister containing antimatter — a substance with destructive potential comparable to a small nuclear weapon. When at CERN the canister is stored in a unique electrical charger which ensures the anti-matters stability but when removed its back-up battery provides power for 24 hours after which the anti-matter will self-destruct. The canister is somewhere in Vatican City, with a security camera in front of it, as its digital clock counts down to the explosion.
Langdon attempts to retrace the steps of the "Path of Illumination", a process once used by the Illuminati as a means of inducting new members; aspirants to the order were required to follow a series of subtle clues left in various landmarks in and around Rome. The clues indicate the secret meeting place of the Illuminati. Langdon sets off on the Path of Illumination in hopes of delivering the Preferiti and recovering the antimatter canister.

Bernini's Habbakuk and the Angel, and Agostino Chigi's pyramidal wall tomb.
The Path leads Langdon to four locations in Rome, each associated with the one of the primordial elements: 'Earth', 'Air', 'Fire', and 'Water'. Langdon finds one of the Preferiti murdered in a way thematically related to each location's related element. The first cardinal was branded with an Earth ambigram and had soil forced down his throat; the second was branded with an air ambigram and had his lungs punctured; the third was branded with a fire ambigram and was burned alive; and the fourth was branded with a water ambigram and was left to drown at the bottom of a fountain.

West Ponente at Saint Peter's Square.
After finding the bodies of the first two Preferiti, Langdon hurries to the Santa Maria della Vittoria Basilica and finds the Preferiti's abductor in the act of setting the third cardinal on fire. The kidnapper is an unnamed assassin who is working under the orders of the Illuminati master "Janus", whose true identity is unknown. Commander Olivetti is killed and the assassin kidnaps Vittoria. Langdon escapes and accosts the assassin at the final element's landmark (Water), but is unable to save the cardinal.
Langdon must complete the Path of Illumination in order to find the assassin and rescue Vittoria. His search leads him to Castel Sant'Angelo, that hides a tunnel leading directly into the pope's chambers in the Vatican. Langdon frees Vittoria, and together they send the assassin falling several hundred feet to his death. The two hurry back to St. Peter's Basilica, where they find that Kohler has arrived to confront the camerlengo in private. Langdon and Vittoria fear that Kohler is Janus, and that he has come to murder the camerlengo. Hearing the camerlengo scream in agony from being branded with the Illuminati Diamond, the Swiss Guards burst into the room and open fire on Kohler. Just before he dies, Kohler gives Langdon a videotape that he claims will explain everything.
With time running out, the Swiss Guard evacuates the Basilica. The camerlengo rushes back in, claiming that he has received a vision revealing the location of the antimatter canister. With Langdon in pursuit, the camerlengo ventures into the catacombs and finds the canister sitting atop the tomb of Saint Peter. Langdon and the camerlengo retrieve the antimatter and get in a helicopter with only minutes to spare. The camerlengo manages to parachute safely onto the roof of St. Peter's just as the canister explodes harmlessly in the sky. The crowd in St. Peter's Square look in awe as the camerlengo stands triumphantly before them. Because of this "miracle", the papal conclave debate whether to elect the camerlengo as the new Pope. Langdon managed to survive the explosion by using a window cover from the chopper as a parachute, and landed in the Tiber River.
After viewing Kohler's tape Langdon, Vittoria, and the cardinals confront the camerlengo; Shortly before the beginning of the novel, the Pope met with Leonardo Vetra who believed that anti-matter was capable of establishing a link between Man and God. Vetra's beliefs caused great discomfort to the camerlengo. While discussing Vetra, the pope reveals that his support is due to science having given him a son. Without waiting to hear the explanation (that the child was the result of artificial insemination), and horrified that the Pope appeared to have broken his vow of chastity, the camerlengo plots to "rectify" the situation. He poisoned the pope and, under the guise of an Illuminati master (Janus), he recruited the assassin, to kill Vetra, steal the antimatter, and kidnap and murder the Preferiti. The camerlengo planted the antimatter in St. Peter's in order to be seen as the savior of Christendom. The Illuminati "involvement" was merely a plot engineered by the camerlengo to cover his own plans. It is revealed that Camerlengo Ventresca himself was the birth son of the late pope, conceived through artificial insemination. Overcome with guilt Ventresca soaks himself in oil and immolates himself before a crowd of onlookers in St. Peter's Square.
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4.The Count of Monte Cristo ( Alexandre DumasRead with joy..,(Download)
          The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.


The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Daysthrough to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. It is an adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness.
The book is considered a literary classic today. According to Luc Sante, "The Count of Monte Cristo has become a fixture of Western civilization's literature, as inescapable and immediately identifiable as Mickey Mouse, Noah's flood, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood."
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5.Dracula ( Bram Stoker)Read with joy..,(Download)
      Dracula is an 1897 epistolary novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula. It was first published as a hardcover in 1897 by Archibald Constable and Co.

Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is anepistolary novel, that is, told as a series of letters, diary entries, ships' logs, etc. Literary critics have examined many themes in the novel, such as the role of women in Victorian culture, conventional and conservative sexuality, immigration, colonialism, postcolonialism and folklore. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for many theatrical, film and television interpretations since its publication.

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6.The monk who sold his Ferrari (Robin S Sharma)Read with joy..,(Download) 
          “The monk who sold his Ferrari” is a tale, which provides an approach to living a simple life with greater balance, strength, courage and abundance of joy. The fable format is a refreshing change from the tiresome listing of all the good things we could do for ourselves but do not. It makes the message being conveyed linger in our minds. Although most of the principles dealt with can be found in countless other books on self-help and spirituality, there is a difference in the way of Sharma has put things together.
This well crafted story by Robin S Sharma is the tale of Julian Mantle, a lawyer brought face to face with a spiritual crisis. Julian’s spark of life begins to flicker. He embarks on a life-changing odyssey and discovers the ancient culture of India. During this journey he learns the value time as the most important commodity and how to cherish relationships, develop joyful thoughts and live fully, one day at a time.
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           Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.
Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887, was featured in four novels and 56 short stories. The first story, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and the second, The Sign of the Four, in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two novels published in serial form appeared between then and 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1880 up to 1914.
All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Holmes himself ("The Blanched Soldier" and "The Lion's Mane") and two others are written in the third person ("The Mazarin Stone" and "His Last Bow"). In two stories ("The Musgrave Ritual" and "TheGloria Scott"), Holmes tells Watson the main story from his memories, while Watson becomes the narrator of the frame story. The first and fourth novels, A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear, each include a long interval of omniscient narration recounting events unknown both to Holmes and to Watson.
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        The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help book written by Rhonda Byrne, based on the self-help film of the same title. The film was released before the book in DVD format in March 2006. The tenet of the book is that the universe is governed by a natural law called the law of attraction. The law of attraction is said to work by attracting into a person’s life experiences, situations, events, and people that ‘match’ the frequency of the person’s thoughts and feelings. Therefore,positive thinking and feeling positive can create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness. After being featured in two episodes of Oprah, the book reached the top of the New York Times best-seller list, where it remained for 146 consecutive weeks. It continues to frequently appear in the top ten and extended New York Times bestseller list. The Secret book has been translated in to 44 languages,and has over 21 million copies in print.
The book has also reached a high level of notoriety and criticism from those who claim that the book misleads readers with its claims of positive thinking being able to influence a reader's life and real-world outcomes. The book is largely influenced by Wallace D. Wattles' 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich, and which later influenced the writing of The Secret book.
Rhonda Byrne has written a follow-up to The Secret called The Power, which was released on 17 August 2010. Byrne was inspired to write The Power after answering several thousand letters from readers of The Secret.Rhonda Byrne has also written The Secret: 2008 Day-to-Day Calendar and The Secret Daily Teachings (December, 2008) which shared daily insights on how to best use the law of attraction, as well as The Secret Gratitude Book (November, 2007). In September 2009, The Secret also released a book for teenagers called The Secret to Teen Power, which was written by The Secret film's producer, Paul Harrington.

Rhonda Byrne first began researching the law of attraction after she received the book “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles from her daughter during a time of great personal hardship in 2004.Rhonda read and synthesized countless classic books and the words of modern-day teachers who spoke about the ancient wisdom and the ways and methods for people to attract what they desire into their lives.The Secret book includes many quotes from these modern day teachers and historical figures.
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