Shelfology Book Pairing

by James Clavell

“Clavell’s biggest triumph yet . . . storytelling done with dash and panache . . . a rousing read.”—Washington Post The setting is Hong Kong, 1963. The action spans scarcely more than a week, but these are days of high adventure: from kidnapping and murder to financial double-dealing and natural catastrophes—fire, flood, landslide. Yet they are days filled as well with all the mystery and romance of Hong Kong—the heart of Asia— rich in every trade. . . money, flesh, opium, power. Praise for Noble House “Fiction for addicts . . . extravagantly romantic . . . a book that you can get lost in for weeks . . . staggering complexity . . . not only is it as long as life, it’s also as rich with possibilities.”—New York Times “Tremendous entertainment . . . a seamless marvel of pure storytelling.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer “A mesmerizer . . . spellbinding.”—Los Angeles Times “Breathtaking . . . only terms like colossal, gigantic, titanic, incredible, unbelievable, gargantuan, are properly descriptive . . . . Clavell has made himself the king of super-adventure thrillers.”—Chicago Tribune Book World

A Novel (25th Anniversary Edition)

by Jonathan Franzen

#1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER *A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: TOP TEN “A spellbinding novel” (People) from the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Franzen, the author of Crossroads, The Corrections is a comic, tragic epic of worlds colliding: an old-fashioned world of civic virtue and sexual inhibitions, a new world of home surveillance, hands-off parenting, do-it-yourself mental health care, and globalized greed. After almost fifty years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson’s disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives. The oldest, Gary, a once-stable portfolio manager and family man, is trying to convince his wife and himself that, despite certain alarming indicators, he is not clinically depressed. The middle child, Chip, has lost his seemingly secure academic job and is failing spectacularly at his new line of work. And Denise, the youngest, has escaped a disastrous marriage only to pour her youth and beauty down the drain of an affair with a married man—or so her mother fears. Desperate for some pleasure to look forward to, Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.