The 50 Book Challenge 2009

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bigdirtyfoot
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Post by bigdirtyfoot »

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
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Rishell
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Post by Rishell »

1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 498 pages
2. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer 563 pages
3. Go Ask Alice Anonymous 228 pages
4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 328 pages
5. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk 293 pages
6. Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik 218 pages
7. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey 430 pages
8. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews 411 pages
9. Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews 439 pages
10. If There be Thorns by V.C. Andrews 374 pages
11.Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews 376 pages

Really good!!
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bigdirtyfoot
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Post by bigdirtyfoot »

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.

If you’re going to read this, don’t bother.
After a couple pages, you won’t want to be here. So forget it. Go away. Get out while you’re still in one piece.
Save yourself.

This is how Palahniuk’s Choke begins. It is a fair warning. Having never read any of his works before, I decided to begin with this one based on positive reviews from friends of mine. But I’ve also heard some downright nasty opinions of this book as well. Suffice it to say that this is not for everyone.

You can read my full review here.
David Wilder

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mirra
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Post by mirra »

1. Septuagenarian Stew by Charles Bukowski
2. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
3. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski
4. South Of No North by Charles Bukowski
5. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski
6. Notes Of A Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
7. Book Of Dreams by Jack Kerouac
8. Selected Poems by Malcolm Lowry
9. Love Is A Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski
10. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
11. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
12. June 30, June 30 by Richard Brautigan
13. The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. Collection Of Poems by Richard Brautigan
15. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan
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daLai
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Post by daLai »

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le Carré - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
Simon Kittlaus aka 季士è
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bigdirtyfoot
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Post by bigdirtyfoot »

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.

You can read my review here.
David Wilder

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mirra
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Post by mirra »

1. Septuagenarian Stew by Charles Bukowski
2. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
3. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski
4. South Of No North by Charles Bukowski
5. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski
6. Notes Of A Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
7. Book Of Dreams by Jack Kerouac
8. Selected Poems by Malcolm Lowry
9. Love Is A Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski
10. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
11. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
12. June 30, June 30 by Richard Brautigan
13. The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. Collection Of Poems by Richard Brautigan
15. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan
16. Siddharta by Herman Hesse
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Cod
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Post by Cod »

1. Duma Key, Stephen King, 638pgs
2. The Death List, Paul Johnston, 416pgs
3. L'empire Des Loups, Jean-Christophe Grange, 464pgs
4. La Sombra del Viento, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 516pgs
5. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 222pgs
6. Dearly Devoted Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 207pgs
7. Thinner, Richard Bachman (Stephen King), 405pgs
8. Diary, Chuck Palahniuk, 281pgs

Wow! 8O

It was my first ever Chuck Palahniuk's book. I've heard a lot of good words about this author and finally I was able to read something from him. At the beginning I thought I'm not going to like this book but fortunatelly every next page was making it more and more interesting.
Michał Biarda (Me-how Be-r-da)
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bigdirtyfoot
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Post by bigdirtyfoot »

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.
19. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 326 pg.

You can read my review here.
David Wilder

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Rishell
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Post by Rishell »

1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 498 pages
2. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer 563 pages
3. Go Ask Alice Anonymous 228 pages
4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 328 pages
5. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk 293 pages
6. Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik 218 pages
7. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey 430 pages
8. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews 411 pages
9. Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews 439 pages
10. If There be Thorns by V.C. Andrews 374 pages
11.Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews 376 pages
12. Seeds of Yesterday by V.C. Andrews 408 pages

I really enjoyed reading this series. These books are quite old but still very entertaining. This author was suggested to me by several people at work. Cant wait to read more of her novels.

* David* Im glad to see someone else has read Choke. It was nice to read your opinion. I enjoyed the book as well. You didnt mention it but did you happen to watch the movie? I preffered the book by far give it a watch if you havent already.
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Post by Zac Miley »

1. Streams of Silver (RA Salvatore)
2. Raw Deal (Ken Smith)
3. Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction (Eugenie C. Scott)
4. What's God got to do with it? (Robert Ingersoll)
5. Macbeth (Shakespeare)
6. Self-Help (Lorrie Moore)
7. The Great Anarchists (I forget)
8. On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
9. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Jay (8:06:01 PM): Bu-bu-buu-buug--Looks up, and the feeling goes away like a sneeze-bu-buuuh-BULLLSHITTT
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*
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Post by daLai »

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le Carré - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
Simon Kittlaus aka 季士è
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Jeremy
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Re: The 50 Book Challenge 2009

Post by Jeremy »

1. The Joke's Over; Memories of Hunter S Thompson Ralph Steadman 387pg
2. Bottomfeeder; How the fish on our plates are killing the planet Taras Grescoe 357 pg
3. Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 110 pg
4. A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists David G. Myers 136pg
5. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe 368pg
6. The Black Swan; The impact of the highly improbable Nassim Nicholas Taleb 300pg
7. The Life You Can Save; Acting now to end world poverty Peter Singer 189pg
8. The Empire Of The Sun J.G. Ballard 351 pg
9. The Missionary Position; Mother Teresa in theory and practice Christopher Hitchens 98pg
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carol 327pg
11. The Revenge of Gaia James Lovelock 204pg

This book should be read by everybody, and especially environmentalists. I have avoided Lovelock in the past because all I knew of "Gaia theory" was the usage by New Agers, who it turns out have obviously never read Lovelock's work and don't understand the term at all - which is hardly surprising I guess. He does use a lot of annoying metaphors and personifications, although freely concedes that they are metaphors and that they will annoy scientists, but he's also so good at presenting facts and making rational arguments. Although I need to do more research, I think reading this book has convinced me that nuclear power is a good thing - which is a fairly massive change of mind for me. Highly recommended.
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Post by mirra »

1. Septuagenarian Stew by Charles Bukowski
2. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
3. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski
4. South Of No North by Charles Bukowski
5. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski
6. Notes Of A Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
7. Book Of Dreams by Jack Kerouac
8. Selected Poems by Malcolm Lowry
9. Love Is A Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski
10. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
11. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
12. June 30, June 30 by Richard Brautigan
13. The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. Collection Of Poems by Richard Brautigan
15. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan
16. Siddharta by Herman Hesse
17. Peter Camenzind by Herman Hesse
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Cod
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Post by Cod »

1. Duma Key, Stephen King, 638pgs
2. The Death List, Paul Johnston, 416pgs
3. L'empire Des Loups, Jean-Christophe Grange, 464pgs
4. La Sombra del Viento, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 516pgs
5. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 222pgs
6. Dearly Devoted Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 207pgs
7. Thinner, Richard Bachman (Stephen King), 405pgs
8. Diary, Chuck Palahniuk, 281pgs
9. Błędy (Mistakes), Jakub Małecki, 295pgs

It was a really weird book and I didn't like it at all. It wasn't bad - it was just too abstract.
Michał Biarda (Me-how Be-r-da)
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Radek
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Post by Radek »

mirra wrote:1. Septuagenarian Stew by Charles Bukowski
2. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski
3. Mockingbird Wish Me Luck by Charles Bukowski
4. South Of No North by Charles Bukowski
5. The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski
6. Notes Of A Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
7. Book Of Dreams by Jack Kerouac
8. Selected Poems by Malcolm Lowry
9. Love Is A Dog From Hell by Charles Bukowski
10. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
11. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
12. June 30, June 30 by Richard Brautigan
13. The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. Collection Of Poems by Richard Brautigan
15. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 by Richard Brautigan
16. Siddharta by Herman Hesse
17. Peter Camenzind by Herman Hesse

Charles bukowsky is really amazing. You should watch Barfly with M. Rourke, movie based on a facts from his life.
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Post by daLai »

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le Carré - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
Simon Kittlaus aka 季士è
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Cod
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Post by Cod »

1. Duma Key, Stephen King, 638pgs
2. The Death List, Paul Johnston, 416pgs
3. L'empire Des Loups, Jean-Christophe Grange, 464pgs
4. La Sombra del Viento, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 516pgs
5. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 222pgs
6. Dearly Devoted Dexter, Jeff Lindsay, 207pgs
7. Thinner, Richard Bachman (Stephen King), 405pgs
8. Diary, Chuck Palahniuk, 281pgs
9. Błędy (Mistakes), Jakub Małecki, 295pgs
10. Zakazane po legalu, Dorota Szczepańska, 270pgs

I have no idea how to translate it into English. I got this book by accident. It's a story of a few days of young Polish girl's life. She is addicted to drugs, dance and sex and have tons of thoughts. The main one which is still repeated during the book is that drugs are cool and alcohol and cigarettes which are legal aren't cool. It's good the book weren't that long because it started to be boring a little bit after a half of it. The ending was surprising.
Michał Biarda (Me-how Be-r-da)
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bigdirtyfoot
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Post by bigdirtyfoot »

1. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 307 pg.
2. Great American Hypocrites, Glenn Greenwald, 290 pg.
3. The Monster of Florence, Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi, 322 pg.
4. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, editors Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, 351 pg.
5. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Mitch Earleywine, 328 pg.
6. Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins, 337 pg.
7. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 352 pg.
8. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander and Ann Shulgin, 978 pg.
9. Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac, 409 pg.
10. The Wheel of time, Carlos Castaneda, 209 pg.
11. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck, 411 pg.
12. Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, 820 pg.
13. Buddhism: Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen, 159 pg.
14. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, 798 pg.
15. DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman, 358 pg.
16. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, 309 pg.
17. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pg.
18. Kingdom of Fear, Hunter S. Thompson, 351. pg.
19. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 326 pg.
20. True Hallucinations, Terence McKenna, 237 pg.

Best McKenna I've read so far. It's about a psychedelic experiment that the McKenna brothers and three friends underwent while traveling in the Amazon. The book also touches on Terence's Timewave (Novelty) Theory. Highly recommended - very good. You can read my review here.
David Wilder

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daLai
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Post by daLai »

1. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 197p.
2. Saul Bellow - The Adventures Of Augie March 536p.
3. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep 220p.
4. Joseph Heller - Catch-22 519p.
5. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen 436p.
6. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go 282p.
7. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye 192p.
8. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird 281p.
9. John Le Carré - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 229p.
10. F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby 115p.
11. Philip K. Dick - Ubik 224p.
12. William Burroughs - Naked Lunch 201p.
13. George Orwell - 1984 254p.
Simon Kittlaus aka 季士è
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