Recommendations based on العنكبوتby مصطفى محمود

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Forty Rules of Love

    by Elif Shafak
    A story of romance and spiritual enlightenment, exploring the teachings of a Sufi master.

    Ella Rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy , a novel written by a ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Prisoner of Zenda

    by Anthony Hope
    A thrilling adventure of mistaken identity, political intrigue, and romance.

    On the eve of the coronation of King Rudolf V of Ruritania, his younger half-brother Michael, Duke of Strelsau, has him drugged. The unconscious king is abducted and imprisoned in a castle in the ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Sophie's World

    by Jostein Gaarder
    A journey of philosophical discovery told through a young girl's exploration of the world.

    Sophie Amundsen is a 14-year-old girl who lives in Lillesand , Norway. The book begins with Sophie receiving two messages in her mailbox and a postcard addressed to Hilde Møller Knag. Afterwards, she ... (Wikipedia)

  4. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

    by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    A man's quest for happiness and meaning, resulting in a journey of self-realization.

    The story opens with the narrator wandering the streets of St. Petersburg . He is contemplating the ridiculousness of his own life, and his recent realization that nothing matters to him any more. It ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

    by Sun-mi Hwang
    A hen's quest to break free of her mundane life and fulfill her dream of flying.

    A Korean, Charlotte's Web,More than 2 million copies sold, This is the story of a hen named Sprout. No longer content to lay eggs on command, only to have them carted off to the market, she glimpses ... (Goodreads)

  6. Samarkand

    by Amin Maalouf
    Epic tale of a man's journey to discover his identity and the truths of his ancestry.

    The first half of the story is set in Persia (present day Iran ) and Central Asia in the 11th century, and revolves around the scientist, philosopher, and poet Omar Khayyám . It recounts the creation ... (Wikipedia)

  7. King Lear

    by William Shakespeare
    An aging king's descent into madness reveals the consequences of pride and vanity.

    Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the ... (Goodreads)

  8. Chess Story

    by Stefan Zweig
    A chess master's attempt to regain his lost skill, and the psychological battle he faces.

    The narrator opens the story on a passenger liner traveling from New York to Buenos Aires. Driven to mental anguish as the result of total isolation by the Nazis , Dr B, a securities expert hiding ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Blindness

    by José Saramago
    A society is plunged into chaos when everyone suddenly loses their sight.

    Blindness is the story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city, and the social breakdown that swiftly follows. The novel follows the misfortune of a ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Ugly Truth

    by Jeff Kinney
    Greg Heffley navigates the ups and downs of middle school, including crushes, friendships, and embarrassing moments.

    Greg Heffley has always been in a hurry to grow up. But is getting older really all it’s cracked up to be? Greg suddenly finds himself dealing with the pressures of boy-girl parties, increased ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Sense of an Ending

    by Julian Barnes
    An exploration of memory and its impact on the present, looking at the choices we make in life.

    By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers, The Sense of an Ending extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with the best-selling Arthur & George and continued with Nothing to Be ... (Goodreads)

  12. In the Country of Last Things

    by Paul Auster
    A dystopian journey through a post-apocalyptic world, filled with desperation and hope.

    The novel takes the form of a letter from a young woman named Anna Blume. Anna has ventured into an unnamed city that has collapsed into chaos and disorder. In this environment, no industry takes ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Night in Lisbon

    by Erich Maria Remarque
    Two refugees meet in Lisbon during WWII and share their stories of love, loss, and survival.

    The story takes place in the opening months of World War II. Josef Schwarz is a refugee who offers his visa and tickets for America to another refugee desperate to leave Lisbon. He does this in ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Unbearable Lightness of Being

    by Milan Kundera
    A story of love and loss in a politically turbulent Czechoslovakia.

    In The Unbearable Lightness of Being , Milan Kundera tells the story of a young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing and one of his mistresses and ... (Goodreads)

  15. Ghosts

    by Henrik Ibsen
    A family's struggle to face the consequences of their past and present.

    Helen Alving is about to dedicate an orphanage she has built in memory of her late husband. Despite his affairs, Mrs. Alving stayed with him to protect her son from the taint of scandal and for fear ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Architect's Apprentice

    by Elif Shafak
    A young boy becomes the apprentice of the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire, and navigates through love, war, and the construction of Istanbul's most iconic buildings.

    From the acclaimed author of, The Bastard of Istanbul, a colorful, magical tale set during the height of the Ottoman Empire In her latest novel, Elif Shafak spins an epic tale spanning nearly a ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Raven

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A man is visited by a mysterious raven, leading him on a journey of grief and reflection.

    In Gustave Doré, one of the most prolific and successful book illustrators of the late 19h century, Edgar Allan Poe's renowned poem The Raven found perhaps its most perfect artistic interpreter. ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Prestige

    by Christopher Priest
    Two rival magicians use deception and misdirection to outwit each other in a dangerous game of one-upmanship.

    The events of the past are related through the diaries of 19th century magicians Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden. The diaries are read by their great-grandchildren, Kate Angier and Andrew Westley ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Insulted and Humiliated

    by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    A story of revenge, focusing on morality and redemption.

    Natasha leaves her parents' home and runs away with Alyosha (prince Alexey) – the son of Prince Valkovsky. As a result of his pain, her father, Nikolai, curses her. The only friend that remains by ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Fifth Mountain

    by Paulo Coelho
    A man's spiritual journey, overcoming obstacles and finding his place in the world.

    The story is based on the account of Biblical prophet Elijah from the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings chapters 17-19). The focus is on Elijah's time in Zarephath (in this book named Akbar). In ninth century ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Overcoat

    by Nikolai Gogol
    A tale of a lowly bureaucrat's journey to reclaim his sense of self-worth.

    The story narrates the life and death of titular councillor Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin (Russian: Акакий Акакиевич Башмачкин), an impoverished government clerk and copyist in the Russian capital of ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Prophet

    by Kahlil Gibran
    Collection of poetic musings about life, spirituality, and love.

    Kahlil Gibran’s masterpiece, The Prophet, is one of the most beloved classics of our time. Published in 1923, it has been translated into more than twenty languages, and the American editions alone ... (Goodreads)

  23. Big Girl

    by Danielle Steel
    A young woman struggles with her weight and self-esteem, finding love and acceptance along the way.

    In this heartfelt and incisive new novel, Danielle Steel celebrates the virtues of unconventional beauty while exploring deeply resonant issues of weight, self-image, sisterhood, and family. A chubby ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Gambler

    by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    A story of addiction and gambling, and the psychological depths of a man’s desperation.

    The first-person narrative is told from the point of view of Alexei Ivanovich, a tutor working for a Russian family living in a suite at a German hotel. The patriarch of the family, The General, is ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Eleven Minutes

    by Paulo Coelho
    A young woman's journey of self-discovery and sexual liberation.

    Eleven Minutes is the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Merchant of Venice

    by William Shakespeare
    A tale of justice, mercy, and revenge, a struggle between religious and secular law.

    Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000 ducats to subsidise his expenditures as a ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Zorba the Greek

    by Nikos Kazantzakis
    A man embarks on a journey of self-discovery, learning to embrace life with gusto and joy.

    The book opens in a café in Piraeus , just before dawn on a gusty autumn morning. The year is most likely 1916. The narrator, a young Greek intellectual, resolves to set aside his books for a few ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

    by Victor Hugo
    A story of love, loyalty and redemption set amidst the stunning architecture of 15th century Paris.

    The story is set in Paris in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI . The Romani Esmeralda (born as Agnes) captures the hearts of many men, including those of Captain Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire , but ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Gulliver's Travels: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.

    by Jonathan Swift
    A fanciful journey to lands of tiny people, giant people, talking horses, and other strange creatures.

    The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his life and history before his voyages. During his first voyage, Gulliver is washed ashore after a shipwreck ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Monkey's Paw

    by Diane Mowat
    A cursed monkey's paw grants three wishes to a family, but at a terrible cost.

    Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about ... (Goodreads)