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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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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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Torment (Fallen, #2)
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| 5 |
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Jane Eyre
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Emma
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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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3.97 avg rating — 73,129 ratings
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| 9 |
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Persuasion
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4.15 avg rating — 758,852 ratings
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| 10 |
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Madame Bovary
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3.71 avg rating — 367,155 ratings
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| 11 |
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Sense and Sensibility
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| 12 |
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Water for Elephants
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| 13 |
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Perfect Plans
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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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| 16 |
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Eyes Like Stars (Théâtre Illuminata, #1)
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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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| 20 |
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Anna Karenina
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| 21 |
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Ash
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3.63 avg rating — 37,626 ratings
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| 22 |
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Change of Heart
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Jodi Picoult (Goodreads Author)
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| 23 |
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The Bell Jar
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| 24 |
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Entwined
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| 25 |
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Storm Glass (Glass, #1)
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| 26 |
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Wings of the Wicked (Angelfire, #2)
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4.22 avg rating — 14,688 ratings
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| 27 |
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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| 28 |
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Hereafter (Hereafter, #1)
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3.71 avg rating — 17,061 ratings
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| 29 |
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The Red Necklace (French Revolution, #1)
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3.79 avg rating — 8,246 ratings
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| 30 |
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The Alienist (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, #1)
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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 — 163,588 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 — 10,630 ratings
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| 34 |
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Dark Companion
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3.57 avg rating — 4,020 ratings
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| 35 |
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Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)
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| 36 |
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The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy, #1)
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4.14 avg rating — 126,545 ratings
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| 37 |
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Nobody's Prize (Nobody's Princess, #2)
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| 38 |
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Everlost (The Skinjacker Trilogy, #1)
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3.96 avg rating — 36,524 ratings
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| 39 |
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The Piano Teacher
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3.36 avg rating — 23,748 ratings
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| 40 |
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Jinx
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Meg Cabot (Goodreads Author)
3.72 avg rating — 27,437 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 — 37,374 ratings
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| 42 |
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The Thorn Birds
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4.25 avg rating — 362,235 ratings
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| 43 |
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Sleeping with Santa
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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 — 26,750 ratings
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| 45 |
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A School for Unusual Girls (Stranje House, #1)
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| 46 |
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Kushiel's Chosen (Phèdre's Trilogy, #2)
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4.30 avg rating — 41,577 ratings
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| 47 |
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Die Flammende (Die sieben Königreiche, #2)
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4.09 avg rating — 192,997 ratings
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| 48 |
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White Oleander
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| 49 |
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Die Beschenkte
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4.06 avg rating — 477,813 ratings
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| 50 |
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For Whom the Bell Tolls
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3.99 avg rating — 313,390 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 — 65,373 ratings
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| 53 |
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Revelations (Blue Bloods, #3)
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3.90 avg rating — 79,127 ratings
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| 54 |
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles
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3.84 avg rating — 299,210 ratings
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| 55 |
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Mermaid
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Carolyn Turgeon (Goodreads Author)
3.62 avg rating — 6,117 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 — 3,084,652 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 — 34,500 ratings
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| 59 |
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The Outsider
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4.03 avg rating — 1,338,737 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 — 64,544 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 — 293,752 ratings
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| 62 |
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The Moonstone
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3.91 avg rating — 97,749 ratings
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| 63 |
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The Grapes of Wrath
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4.02 avg rating — 977,807 ratings
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| 64 |
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The Sorrows of Young Werther
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3.69 avg rating — 150,788 ratings
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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 — 335,600 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 — 48,647 ratings
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| 67 |
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes
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4.51 avg rating — 215,101 ratings
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| 67 |
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Adam Bede
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3.83 avg rating — 26,234 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 — 44,164 ratings
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| 70 |
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Casino Royale (James Bond, #1)
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3.74 avg rating — 93,546 ratings
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| 71 |
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Runaway (Airhead, #3)
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3.90 avg rating — 24,907 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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| 74 |
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Stealing Heaven
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| 75 |
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The Springsweet (The Vespertine, #2)
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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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| 78 |
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Fateful
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| 79 |
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Extraordinary (Impossible, #2)
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3.27 avg rating — 3,587 ratings
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| 80 |
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The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
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| 81 |
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The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
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| 82 |
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The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)
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3.89 avg rating — 617,110 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 — 163,300 ratings
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| 84 |
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Die for Me (Revenants, #1)
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3.98 avg rating — 55,948 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 — 3,363,216 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 — 17,663 ratings
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| 89 |
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The Summer That Changed Everything
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3.33 avg rating — 8,517 ratings
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| 89 |
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Stay
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Deb Caletti (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 11,316 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 — 7,390 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 — 41,645 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 — 666,588 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 — 176,148 ratings
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| 97 |
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One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd (One Thousand White Women, #1)
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Jim Fergus (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 135,233 ratings
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| 98 |
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Before Green Gables
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| 99 |
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To the Lighthouse
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3.81 avg rating — 209,525 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 — 352,105 ratings
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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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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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