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Leisure Reading @ UFV Library

Learn about some of the books you can read for fun! We've included bestsellers, prize winners, and staff picks. Also learn about how you can enter our book bingo contest each Fall term.

Number in the Title

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One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey

"In this classic novel, Ken Kesey's hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Nurse Ratched." - Syndetics Summary

*Print book

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Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

"The premier novel of the French Revolution, by England's greatest author Set against the bloodthirsty backdrop of revolutionary France, this monumental saga--one of the most famous works in all of literature--is at its heart the story of a beautiful woman and the two men who compete for her love: Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat who renounces his heritage, yet stands accused of treason in the rush to the guillotine, and Sydney Carton, a disillusioned English barrister who finds his salvation in the ultimate act of sacrifice." - ProQuest Description

*eBook

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Five Little Indians by Michelle Good

"Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn't want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission." - Syndetics Summary

*Print book

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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

"In the kingdom of Illyria, a love triangle has everyone on edge. Orsino loves Olivia, a bereaved noblewoman who is in mourning for her dead brother. Olivia loves Cesario, who is actually a woman named Viola. Viola had dressed as a man in order to gain employment in Orsino's household. Viola, of course, falls in love with Orsino, and he has no knowledge of the true identity of his "male" servant, Cesario. A romantic romp full of tricks, twists, and happy reunions, this unabridged version of William Shakespeare's classic comedy was first published in England in 1623." -ProQuest Description

*eBook

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Twelve Years a Slave

"Twelve Years a Slave tells the story of Solomon Northup, a free-born man of colour who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South in 1841. His true tale of captivity, torture and abuse brings to life the unimaginable evils of slavery in a time when it was yet to be outlawed. Equal parts slave, travel, and spiritual narrative, Twelve Years A Slave reveals Northup to be a person of astonishing strength and wisdom." - ProQuest Description

*eBook

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Catach-22 by Joseph Heller

"Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved." - Summary from Simon and Schuster

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The Fallen One: A Mystery by Rick Blechta

"When renowned opera singer Marta Hendriks sees her dead husband in a Paris street, she fears she’s losing her mind — or did she actually see him?" - Canada Commons Summary

*eBook

stack of books on desk with top book open and plant on desk behind and window

Reading List

If you know of a title, make sure to check if UFV Library (or the public library or a friend) has it using the search box at the top of this page. Not sure if any of the suggestions in this list suit your fancy? Check out this list of 100 titles from LibraryThing.

Photo by Fang-Wei Lin on Unsplash

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