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Books Worth Getting Lost In

Books emoji 59 items
This collection is full of reads that kept me up way past my bedtime, thought about long after finishing, and would happily recommend to a friend. Enjoy 📖✨
Sections
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Society

 
Martina Giussani profile picture
A chilling classic about a world where the government watches everything, controls truth, and punishes independent thought. 1984 follows Winston Smith as he quietly rebels against a system built on fear, surveillance, and lies—raising the terrifying ...
1984 | George Orwell
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The Handmaid’s Tale follows Offred, a woman forced into servitude in a totalitarian society where women’s rights have been stripped away and fertility is controlled by the state. As she quietly resists, the story explores power, freedom, and what it ...
The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood
 
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A group of farm animals overthrow their human owner, dreaming of equality and freedom. But as the pigs take control, power slowly corrupts, rules quietly change, and the revolution turns into something eerily familiar. Animal Farm is a sharp, darkly ...
Animal Farm | George Orwell
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A powerful coming-of-age story set in the racially divided American South. Through young Scout Finch’s eyes, we watch her father, Atticus, defend a Black man falsely accused of a crime—challenging prejudice, injustice, and small-town hypocrisy. It’s ...
To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee
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Martina Giussani profile picture
Invisible Women is an absorbing cornucopia of thought-provoking facts - fascinating, alarming and face-palming in equal measures. Caroline Criado Perez shows up the shortcomings of a world designed for men by men. The consequences of treating men as ...
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
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Martina Giussani profile picture
A glorious American classic everyone should read: It’s life-changing if you read it as a teen, and still stunning when you reread it as an adult. The first time I read Fahrenheit 451 was in my 7th grade English class. I've returned to it again and ag...
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
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Martina Giussani profile picture
I recently read Letter to a Child Never Born and it left a deep impression on me. It’s written as a mother’s intimate letters to the child she may never get to bring into the world, and it explores love, loss, choice, and existence in a very raw and ...
Letter to a Child Never Born | Oriana Fallaci
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Bitcoin & Finance

 
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A deep dive into money, Bitcoin, and why sound money matters. Saifedean Ammous connects history, economics, and Bitcoin to explain how monetary systems shape society and why Bitcoin offers a radically different alternative.
The Bitcoin Standard: Decentralized Banking
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This book argues that history moves in predictable generational cycles (periods of growth, rebellion, decline, and crisis) and that we’re currently in a major societal crisis phase that started around 2008. Using Strauss‑Howe’s generational theory, a...
The Fourth Turning Is Here | Neil Howe
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The Big Print takes a clear, no‑nonsense look at how America’s monetary system went off track, arguing that decades of money printing and debt have weakened the economy, fueled inflation, and widened wealth inequality. Lepard traces the history from ...
The Big Print: What Happened To America | Lawrence Lepard
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Fiat Food dives into how modern money and power shaped what we eat and how it’s hurting our health. Lysiak argues that once governments abandoned the gold standard and embraced fiat currency, economic incentives shifted toward cheap, processed foods ...
Fiat Food | Matthew Lysiak
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Ray Dalio breaks down why nations fall into financial trouble, using history as a guide. He explains how debt cycles, overspending, and poor economic policies can lead countries to default, devalue their currencies, and lose global influence. The boo...
How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle
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Martina Giussani profile picture
If you’re looking to understand Bitcoin beyond just price speculation, Bitcoin: The Ultimate Collateral is a compelling read. It reframes Bitcoin as pristine collateral in a global financial system increasingly dependent on trust and debasement-resis...
Bitcoin: The Ultimate Collateral - Braiins

Classic Literature

 
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A passionate, controversial classic that explores love, desire, class, and emotional freedom. Lady Chatterley's Lover follows Constance Chatterley as she struggles with loneliness in an unhappy marriage and finds a deep connection that challenges soc...
Lady Chatterley's Lover | D. H. Lawrence
 
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A timeless tale of endurance and quiet strength. The Old Man and the Sea follows an aging fisherman who sets out alone to prove his worth after a long streak of bad luck. His struggle against the sea and a massive marlin becomes a powerful meditation...
Old Man and the Sea | Hemingway Ernest
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A powerful collection of short stories that explores loneliness, emotional distance, and the quiet struggles between men and women. Hemingway’s signature sparse style makes each story feel sharp and understated, yet deeply emotional beneath the surfa...
Men Without Women | Hemingway
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If you’re looking for a timeless romance with sharp wit and emotional depth, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen is a must-add to your list. It’s a captivating story of love, heartbreak, and social expectations, following two sisters as they navigat...
Sense and Sensibility | Jane Austen
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"Little Women" follows the lives of the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, as they grow up during the American Civil War. Full of heart, humor, and sisterly bonds, it’s a timeless story about family, dreams, and finding your own path in the ...
Little Women | Alcott
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To the Lighthouse follows the Ramsay family and their guests during visits to a seaside home, where small moments, thoughts, glances, unfinished conversations, carry enormous emotional weight. As years pass and life changes, the novel explores how pe...
To the Lighthouse | Virginia Woolf
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I recently read The Shadow of the Wind and it completely pulled me in from the first pages. It’s a beautifully written mystery set in post-war Barcelona, centered around a boy who discovers a forgotten book that leads him into a maze of secrets, dang...
The Shadow of the Wind | Carlos Ruiz Zafon
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A dark, stormy tale of obsession and revenge. Wuthering Heights follows the intense, destructive love between Heathcliff and Catherine: one that warps generations, blurs the line between passion and cruelty, and refuses to fade even after death. Wild...
Wuthering Heights | Emily Brontë
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“Emma” by Jane Austen is a witty and charming classic about a confident young woman who loves matchmaking but isn’t always right about other people’s feelings, or her own. As Emma Woodhouse’s plans start to unravel, she slowly learns about self-aware...
Emma | Jane Austen
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"Lolita" tells the controversial and haunting story of Humbert Humbert, a literature professor whose obsessive infatuation with a young girl, Dolores “Lolita” Haze, drives him into a dark and morally complex journey. Nabokov’s novel is a masterful bl...
Lolita | Nabokov Vladimir
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A man named Josef K. wakes up one morning to find he’s arrested for a mysterious crime he doesn’t know. As he navigates an absurd, nightmarish legal system, nothing makes sense, authority feels unreachable, and every attempt to defend himself only en...
The Trial | Kafka, Franz
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The novelist and essayist Elizabeth Hardwick is one of contemporary America's most brilliant writers, and Seduction and Betrayal, in which she considers the careers of women writers as well as the larger question of the presence of women in literatur...
Seduction and Betrayal: Women and Literature | Elizabeth Hardwick
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Novels

 
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Between life and death there is a library. In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed finds herself in a mysterious place where every book represents a different version of her life, based on the choices she could have made. As she explores these alternate l...
The Midnight Library | Matt Haig
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A beautifully layered novel about family, sacrifice, love, and the choices that echo across generations. Hosseini’s storytelling is emotional, poetic, and deeply human, weaving together interconnected lives across different countries and decades. If ...
And the Mountains Echoed | Hosseini, Khaled
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Step into a whimsical world of curious adventures! Filled with unforgettable characters like the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts, this timeless classic sparks imagination and wonder for readers of all ages. Whether you're revisi...
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll
 
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A refreshing and inspiring read that invites you to slow down and rethink what it really means to live well. Blending travel, reflection, and life philosophy, Gotto shares a journey toward simplicity, freedom, and presence, reminding us that happines...
La Pura Vida | Gianluca Gotto
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In March 2020, Belle Burden was safe and secure with her family at their house on Martha’s Vineyard, navigating the early days of the pandemic together, building fires in the late afternoons, drinking whisky sours, making roast chicken. Then, with no...
Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage | Belle Burden
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Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wis...
The Correspondent | Virginia Evans
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Self Development

 
Martina Giussani profile picture
Everyone asks for this book, and for good reason—it’s not just another self-help book. James Clear provides an incredibly practical and actionable system for making real, lasting changes through tiny, manageable steps. I actually started using his me...
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
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Martina Giussani profile picture
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der ...
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma | Bessel Van Der Kolk
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Unlock the extraordinary within. Becoming Supernatural blends science and spirituality to show how meditation, mindset, and energy work can help you heal, transform, and create the life you truly want. Practical, inspiring, and mind-opening.
Becoming Supernatural | Joe Dispenza
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A thought-provoking collection that challenges how you see yourself, your habits, and the world, perfect for anyone ready to rethink, reflect, and grow.
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think | Brianna West
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A quiet, reflective book about noticing the present moment and the small things we often overlook in everyday life. It encourages the reader to pause and consciously look outward and inward. A calm, poetic work that lingers long after reading.
Was nützt der schönste Ausblick | John Strelecky
 
Martina Giussani profile picture
If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated with where you are, the problem isn't you. The problem is the power you give to other people. Two simple words “Let Them" will set you free. Free from the opinions, drama, and judgments of others....
The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About
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Murakami

Needs his own collection as one of my favourite writers

 
Martina Giussani profile picture
A surreal, dreamlike novel that follows two seemingly separate journeys: a teenage boy who runs away from home to escape a dark prophecy, and an elderly man who can talk to cats. As their paths slowly intertwine, the story blends reality with the str...
Kafka on the Shore | Haruki Murakami
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Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 follows Aomame and Tengo, two lonely souls in Tokyo whose lives slowly begin to intertwine in a strange alternate reality. Aomame, a fitness instructor with a secret double life as an assassin, realizes she has slipped into a s...
1Q84. (1&2) | Haruki Murakami
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A nostalgic, emotionally raw story about love, loss, and growing up. Set in 1960s Tokyo, it follows Toru Watanabe as he navigates grief, fragile relationships, and the quiet loneliness of early adulthood. Tender, melancholic, and deeply introspective...
Norwegian Wood (Tokyo Blues) | Haruki Murakami
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A quiet, nostalgic story about Hajime, a man whose comfortable adult life is upended when he reconnects with his childhood love. Murakami explores memory, longing, and the bittersweet ache of choices we can’t undo, showing how the past quietly shapes...
South of the Border, West of the Sun - Murakami
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A collection of introspective, subtly surreal stories told from the perspective of a reflective narrator. Each tale explores memory, love, loss, and the strange twists of everyday life, blending the ordinary with moments of quiet wonder and melanchol...
First Person Singular | Murakami, Haruki
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A man’s ordinary life unravels when his wife mysteriously disappears, sending him into Tokyo’s surreal underworld. Blending mystery, dreams, and the uncanny, this novel explores love, loss, and the hidden depths of human experience, where reality and...
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle | Haruki Murakami
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A quiet, unsettling piece that lingers more than it explains. In typical Murakami fashion, the story moves through a subdued emotional register, ordinary moments gradually opening into something strange, ambiguous, and psychologically charged. “Desir...
Desire by Haruki Murakami
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Dostoevsky

Needs his own collection as one of my favourite writers

 
Martina Giussani profile picture
A lonely dreamer wanders the streets of St. Petersburg and meets a young woman caught in her own struggles. Over four magical nights, they share hopes, confessions, and fleeting romance, but reality intrudes, leaving a bittersweet, unforgettable impr...
White Nights | Dostoevsky, Fyodor
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A gripping exploration of faith, doubt, and morality, The Brothers Karamazov follows the lives of the troubled Karamazov family. As the passionate brothers, Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha, grapple with love, jealousy, and their father’s murder, Dostoevsky...
The Brothers Karamazov | Dostoevsky, Fyodor
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A gripping dive into guilt, morality, and the human psyche. When impoverished student Raskolnikov commits a murder, he sets off a psychological battle with his conscience, society, and fate. Dostoevsky explores crime, punishment, and the blurry line ...
Crime and Punishment | Dostoevsky
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Beneath the bustling streets lies a world most people never see: a labyrinth of tunnels, hidden corners, and fleeting moments. This collection captures the stories, faces, and memories that exist quietly in the shadows: the laughter, the struggles, t...
Notes from the Underground | Dostoevsky
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A gripping tale of obsession, risk, and the highs and lows of human desire. The Gambler follows Alexei, a young tutor consumed by his addiction to roulette, as he navigates love, wealth, and the dangerous allure of chance. A thrilling dive into passi...
The Gambler | Dostoevsky
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Prince Myshkin, a kind-hearted and naïve man, returns to Russian high society after years in a Swiss sanatorium. His innocence and honesty clash with the deceit, ambition, and passion around him, sparking love, jealousy, and tragedy. A deeply human s...
The Idiot | Dostoevsky
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Harry Potter

Author: J.K. Rowling

 
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This is where the magic begins. Harry Potter, an ordinary boy living a difficult life with his neglectful relatives, suddenly learns on his eleventh birthday that he is a wizard. He is whisked away to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a pla...
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone; Book 1
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Harry returns to Hogwarts for his second year only to find the school under threat. A hidden chamber has been opened, unleashing a terrifying creature that is attacking students. Strange messages appear on the walls, whispers echo through corridors, ...
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets; Book 2
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This book takes a darker, more emotional turn as Sirius Black, a dangerous prisoner, escapes from Azkaban prison and appears to be hunting Harry. Dementors, terrifying creatures that feed on fear and despair, are stationed around Hogwarts, affecting ...
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban; Book 3
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Harry is unexpectedly entered into the dangerous Triwizard Tournament, a magical competition between three wizarding schools that tests courage, intelligence, and survival skills. As he competes in increasingly dangerous tasks involving dragons, unde...
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; Book 4
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Harry returns to Hogwarts to find that many people refuse to believe Voldemort has returned. The Ministry of Magic interferes with Hogwarts, installing strict control through Dolores Umbridge, making life at school miserable and oppressive. Feeling i...
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Book 5
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As Voldemort’s influence spreads, Harry begins private lessons with Dumbledore to uncover the dark wizard’s history. Together, they explore Voldemort’s past and the creation of Horcruxes, objects that contain fragments of his soul and make him nearly...
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; Book 6
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The final book follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they leave Hogwarts behind to complete the dangerous mission of destroying Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Without the safety of school, they face constant danger, isolation, and uncertainty while uncovering ...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Book 7
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The official script of the hit West End stage production that continues the story of the wizarding world years after the original series. This two-part play follows Harry Potter as an adult, now working at the Ministry of Magic, while his son Albus S...
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production
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The Harry Potter Books 1–7 Special Edition Boxed Set is a complete collector’s collection of the iconic fantasy series that follows Harry Potter’s journey from an ordinary boy to the wizard who changes the magical world forever. This set includes all...
Harry Potter Books 1-7 Special Edition Boxed Set