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With Their Backs to the Reader
Book covers showing persons not facing the reader but turning their backs. So what is being expressed here: A cold shoulder? Deceit? Loneliness? Shame? Guilt? Sexual allure? Or the exact opposite -- innocence and a complete absence of suspicion?
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| 1 |
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A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1)
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)
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| 3 |
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Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
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P.C. Cast (Goodreads Author)
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| 4 |
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Torment (Fallen, #2)
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Lauren Kate (Goodreads Author)
3.84 avg rating — 243,752 ratings
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| 5 |
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Jane Eyre
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Emma
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4.05 avg rating — 958,319 ratings
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| 7 |
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Untamed (House of Night, #4)
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| 8 |
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The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle, #3)
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Libba Bray (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 73,121 ratings
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| 9 |
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Persuasion
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4.15 avg rating — 758,389 ratings
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| 10 |
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Madame Bovary
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3.71 avg rating — 366,891 ratings
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| 11 |
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Sense and Sensibility
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4.09 avg rating — 1,274,414 ratings
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| 12 |
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Water for Elephants
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Sara Gruen (Goodreads Author)
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| 13 |
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Perfect Plans
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4.11 avg rating — 473 ratings
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| 14 |
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The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
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| 15 |
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The Crucible
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3.61 avg rating — 454,812 ratings
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| 16 |
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Eyes Like Stars (Théâtre Illuminata, #1)
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3.72 avg rating — 12,670 ratings
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| 17 |
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)
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| 18 |
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Nobody's Princess (Nobody's Princess, #1)
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| 19 |
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The Chosen One
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3.85 avg rating — 15,640 ratings
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| 20 |
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Anna Karenina
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| 21 |
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Ash
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Malinda Lo (Goodreads Author)
3.63 avg rating — 37,622 ratings
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| 22 |
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Change of Heart
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Jodi Picoult (Goodreads Author)
3.94 avg rating — 124,773 ratings
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| 23 |
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The Bell Jar
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4.05 avg rating — 1,172,822 ratings
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| 24 |
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Entwined
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3.87 avg rating — 37,926 ratings
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| 25 |
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Storm Glass (Glass, #1)
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Maria V. Snyder (Goodreads Author)
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| 26 |
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Wings of the Wicked (Angelfire, #2)
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Courtney Allison Moulton (Goodreads Author)
4.22 avg rating — 14,687 ratings
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| 27 |
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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4.16 avg rating — 217,640 ratings
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| 28 |
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Hereafter (Hereafter, #1)
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Tara Hudson (Goodreads Author)
3.71 avg rating — 17,063 ratings
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| 29 |
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The Red Necklace (French Revolution, #1)
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3.79 avg rating — 8,242 ratings
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| 30 |
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The Alienist (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, #1)
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4.06 avg rating — 180,054 ratings
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| 31 |
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Palimpsest
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Catherynne M. Valente (Goodreads Author)
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| 32 |
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The Woman in White
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4.01 avg rating — 163,510 ratings
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| 33 |
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Song of the Sparrow
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Lisa Ann Sandell (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 10,628 ratings
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| 34 |
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Dark Companion
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Marta Acosta (Goodreads Author)
3.57 avg rating — 4,021 ratings
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| 35 |
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Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)
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Kendare Blake (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 107,301 ratings
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| 36 |
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The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy, #1)
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Amish Tripathi (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 126,509 ratings
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| 37 |
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Nobody's Prize (Nobody's Princess, #2)
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3.86 avg rating — 6,590 ratings
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| 38 |
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Everlost (The Skinjacker Trilogy, #1)
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Neal Shusterman (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 36,508 ratings
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| 39 |
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The Piano Teacher
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3.36 avg rating — 23,737 ratings
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| 40 |
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Jinx
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Meg Cabot (Goodreads Author)
3.72 avg rating — 27,432 ratings
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| 41 |
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Stray (Shifters, #1)
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Rachel Vincent (Goodreads Author)
3.79 avg rating — 37,376 ratings
score: 535,
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| 42 |
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The Thorn Birds
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4.25 avg rating — 362,153 ratings
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| 43 |
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Sleeping with Santa
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Debra Druzy (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 67 ratings
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| 44 |
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Lady Windermere's Fan
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3.92 avg rating — 26,744 ratings
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| 45 |
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A School for Unusual Girls (Stranje House, #1)
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3.89 avg rating — 4,477 ratings
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| 46 |
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Kushiel's Chosen (Phèdre's Trilogy, #2)
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4.30 avg rating — 41,568 ratings
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| 47 |
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Die Flammende (Die sieben Königreiche, #2)
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4.09 avg rating — 192,965 ratings
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| 48 |
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White Oleander
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Janet Fitch (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 364,266 ratings
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| 49 |
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Die Beschenkte
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4.06 avg rating — 477,749 ratings
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| 50 |
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For Whom the Bell Tolls
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3.99 avg rating — 313,258 ratings
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| 50 |
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Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, #1)
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Carrie Vaughn (Goodreads Author)
3.69 avg rating — 33,722 ratings
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| 52 |
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The Mayor of Casterbridge
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3.86 avg rating — 65,352 ratings
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| 53 |
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Revelations (Blue Bloods, #3)
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Melissa de la Cruz (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 79,117 ratings
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| 54 |
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles
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3.84 avg rating — 299,109 ratings
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| 55 |
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Mermaid
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Carolyn Turgeon (Goodreads Author)
3.62 avg rating — 6,116 ratings
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| 56 |
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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4.24 avg rating — 3,083,069 ratings
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| 57 |
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Pants on Fire
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Meg Cabot (Goodreads Author)
3.65 avg rating — 18,146 ratings
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| 58 |
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The Kreutzer Sonata
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3.86 avg rating — 34,460 ratings
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| 59 |
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The Outsider
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4.03 avg rating — 1,337,188 ratings
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| 60 |
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The Peach Keeper
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Sarah Addison Allen (Goodreads Author)
3.86 avg rating — 64,537 ratings
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| 61 |
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Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)
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Becca Fitzpatrick (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 293,702 ratings
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| 62 |
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The Moonstone
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3.91 avg rating — 97,709 ratings
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| 63 |
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The Grapes of Wrath
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4.02 avg rating — 977,393 ratings
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| 64 |
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The Sorrows of Young Werther
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3.69 avg rating — 150,669 ratings
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4 people voted
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| 65 |
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Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2)
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Becca Fitzpatrick (Goodreads Author)
3.98 avg rating — 335,547 ratings
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| 66 |
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House of Many Ways (Howl's Moving Castle, #3)
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4.05 avg rating — 48,610 ratings
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| 67 |
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes
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4.51 avg rating — 215,062 ratings
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| 67 |
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Adam Bede
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3.83 avg rating — 26,227 ratings
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| 69 |
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Eve (Eve, #1)
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Anna Carey (Goodreads Author)
3.68 avg rating — 44,162 ratings
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| 70 |
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Casino Royale (James Bond, #1)
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3.74 avg rating — 93,489 ratings
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| 71 |
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Runaway (Airhead, #3)
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3.90 avg rating — 24,905 ratings
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| 72 |
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The Red and the Black
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| 72 |
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Russian Winter
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3.75 avg rating — 10,323 ratings
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| 74 |
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Stealing Heaven
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3.71 avg rating — 9,167 ratings
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| 75 |
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The Springsweet (The Vespertine, #2)
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Saundra Mitchell (Goodreads Author)
3.80 avg rating — 865 ratings
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| 76 |
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Nana (Les Rougon-Macquart, #9)
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| 77 |
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
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4.19 avg rating — 798,030 ratings
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| 78 |
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Fateful
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3.88 avg rating — 11,169 ratings
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| 79 |
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Extraordinary (Impossible, #2)
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3.27 avg rating — 3,586 ratings
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| 80 |
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The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
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3.36 avg rating — 138,485 ratings
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| 81 |
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The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
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4.03 avg rating — 14,524 ratings
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| 82 |
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The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)
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3.89 avg rating — 616,824 ratings
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| 83 |
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The Gilded Cage
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3.23 avg rating — 1,385 ratings
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| 84 |
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City of Thieves
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4.30 avg rating — 163,229 ratings
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| 84 |
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Die for Me (Revenants, #1)
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Amy Plum (Goodreads Author)
3.98 avg rating — 55,942 ratings
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| 86 |
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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)
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Rick Riordan (Goodreads Author)
4.31 avg rating — 3,361,705 ratings
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| 86 |
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Exile for Dreamers (Stranje House, #2)
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Kathleen Baldwin (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 1,592 ratings
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| 88 |
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One Corpse Too Many (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #2)
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4.07 avg rating — 17,654 ratings
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| 89 |
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The Summer That Changed Everything
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3.33 avg rating — 8,518 ratings
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| 89 |
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Stay
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Deb Caletti (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 11,317 ratings
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| 91 |
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The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici
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Jeanne Kalogridis (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 7,387 ratings
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| 92 |
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Lotte in Weimar
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3.58 avg rating — 1,427 ratings
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| 93 |
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Found (The Missing, #1)
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3.98 avg rating — 41,640 ratings
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| 94 |
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The Tide Knot
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3.99 avg rating — 5,599 ratings
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| 95 |
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The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1)
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Julia Quinn (Goodreads Author)
3.80 avg rating — 666,183 ratings
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| 96 |
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Reached (Matched, #3)
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Ally Condie (Goodreads Author)
3.54 avg rating — 176,104 ratings
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| 97 |
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One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd (One Thousand White Women, #1)
by
Jim Fergus (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 135,199 ratings
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| 98 |
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Before Green Gables
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3.95 avg rating — 16,606 ratings
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| 99 |
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To the Lighthouse
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3.81 avg rating — 209,383 ratings
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| 100 |
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Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #1)
by
J.R. Ward (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 352,013 ratings
score: 256,
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952 books ·
224 voters ·
list created November 13th, 2009
by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (votes) .
Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large)
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More voters…
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by
Lobstergirl
(new)
Nov 14, 2009 03:14PM
I wonder how many books have that Caspar David Friedrich painting on the cover (the one that's on Sorrows of Young Werther) - that could probably fill its own list.
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Yes, I noticed that too ...Thanks for going through all the lists I sent you lately, btw! I know it's been a lot ...
Don't forget Nicole Mones' Lost in Translation, an amazing read about art and love in China. All Mones' novels are great, but this one is her best!
I'm loving this list! I just went through all of my books and voted for everything that fit the category. I voted for over 50 books and only one of them is among the top 100. There are obviously a lot of books like this! And I think Kim Harrison's Hollows series accounts for at least a quarter of them. ;P
I noted this trend in book covers a little while ago. There's more being released every day. I blame it on The Alienist. All books want to be The Alienist. I am happy to learn that others have noticed this phenomenon as well.
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