Lyons Regional Library

Presents Thoreau's reflections on his experience living alone in the woods surrounding Walden Pond as well as his philosophy concerning man's need to reevaluate life and commune with nature.

'Miss Dashwood had a delicate complexion, regular features, and a remarkably pretty figure. Marianne was still handsomer. Her form, though not so correct as her sister's ... was more striking' As the title of Jane Austen's first published novel suggests, the difference between two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, lies not only in their appearance but also in their temperament. Yet Sense and Sensibility not only contrasts Elinor's good sense,...

Tom, a foundling, is discovered one evening by the benevolent Squire Allworthy and his sister Bridget and brought up as a son in their household; when his sexual escapades and general misbehavior lead them to banish him, he sets out in search of both his fortune and his true identity. Amorous, high-spirited, and filled with what Fielding called the glorious lust of doing good, but with a tendency toward dissolution, Tom Jones is one of the first characters...

"Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology" by John Dewey is a thought-provoking exploration of human behavior and its connection to social dynamics. In this influential work, Dewey examines the complex relationship between human nature, individual conduct, and the social forces that shape human behavior. The book begins by questioning traditional views of human nature and behavior, challenging the notion of fixed and predetermined...

In the California apple country, nine hundred migratory workers rise up "in dubious battle" against the landowners. The group takes on a life of its own-stonger than its individual members and more frightening. led by the doomed Jim Nolan, the strike is founded on his tragic idealism-on the "courage never to submit or yield."

Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector...

Six works selected from Nietzsche's writings, including "The Birth of Tragedy," "Beyond Good and Evil," and "On the Genealogy of Morals" reflect the philosopher's critique of Western morality and insights into Christianity and art.