Book Database API

       
                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            [{"book_id":5907,"name":"The Hobbit","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546071216i/5907._SY75_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5907.The_Hobbit?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=1","authors":["J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.29,"created_editions":516,"year":1937},{"book_id":34,"name":"The Fellowship of the Ring","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1298411339i/34._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34.The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=2","authors":["J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.39,"created_editions":1042,"year":1954},{"book_id":33,"name":"The Lord of the Rings","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566425108i/33._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33.The_Lord_of_the_Rings?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=3","authors":["J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.53,"created_editions":921,"year":1954},{"book_id":18512,"name":"The Return of the King","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520258755i/18512._SY75_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18512.The_Return_of_the_King?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=4","authors":["J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.57,"created_editions":899,"year":1955},{"book_id":15241,"name":"The Two Towers","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661031399i/15241._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15241.The_Two_Towers?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=5","authors":["J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.49,"created_editions":875,"year":1954},{"book_id":119,"name":"The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347803870i/119._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119.The_Art_of_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=6","authors":["Gary Russell"],"rating":4.6,"created_editions":9,"year":2002},{"book_id":30,"name":"J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656625315i/30._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30.J_R_R_Tolkien_4_Book_Boxed_Set?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=7","authors":["J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.61,"created_editions":213,"year":1954},{"book_id":36,"name":"The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388290346i/36._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36.The_Lord_of_the_Rings?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=8","authors":["Chris   Smith","Christopher  Lee","Richard Taylor"],"rating":4.58,"created_editions":21,"year":2003},{"book_id":20310621,"name":"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594919131i/20310621._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20310621-the-lord-of-the-rings?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=9","authors":["Brian Sibley","Michael Bakewell","J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.67,"created_editions":18},{"book_id":15222,"name":"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Visual Companion","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630657083i/15222._SX50_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15222.The_Lord_of_the_Rings?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=J378Fm5sBr&rank=10","authors":["Jude Fisher","J.R.R. Tolkien"],"rating":4.65,"created_editions":16,"year":2001}]
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

       
                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            {"book_id":2767052,"name":"The Hunger Games #1The Hunger Games","cover":"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586722975i/2767052.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052","authors":["Suzanne Collins"],"rating":4.33,"pages":374,"published_date":"September 14, 2008","synopsis":"Could you survive on your own in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love.Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles. Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award. Suzanne Collins has balls ovaries of steel to make us willingly cheer for a teenage girl to kill other children. In a YA book. Two reasons why this book rocks: (a) It is not Twilight, and (b) I really hate reality shows.  \n  Seriously, how long would it take for reality shows to evolve from \"Survivor\" to \"Hunger Games\"? \nYes, this book is full of imperfections. It often requires a strenuous suspension of disbelief. It can cause a painful amount of eye-rolling and shaking fist at the book pages. Its style is choppy and the first-person present tense gets annoying. The story is simple, and the message is heavy-handed. But is does set a better example for young impressionable pre-teens than gushing stories about sparkly co-dependency. And here is an obligatory taken out of contest Twilight-bashing quote: \n  “But just the fact that he was sparkling leads me to doubt everything that happened.” \n So why did I add it to my to-read list for my future (hypothetical) daughter? Because Katniss is cool and a badass. She is fierce, independent, resourceful, intelligent, and skilled. She is loyal to her friends and family. She is a survivor. She will never allow a guy to carry her around as though she is a delicate flower. She skewers that apple in the pig's mouth with an arrow in front of the Gamemakers in the most awesome way imaginable. For all that, I love this imperfect, surly, prickly, sullen and perpetually pissed-off, quick to jump to judgment, and sometimes clueless girl.  And I love this book because - despite The Hunger Games being YA literature that seems to hinge on the romantic puppy love - the happiness of Katniss does not revolve solely around a cute male lead. Yes, there is a (hated) love triangle here *eyeroll* but there are other issues that occupy Katniss' mind - such as the survival of her friends, family, and herself rather than just pining over a cute boy. (*)\n   * Unlike other so-called \"books\", where a boyfriend of a few months dumping you is a valid reason for catatonia and almost-suicide.(**)** And yet we still get readers who divide themselves into the incredibly annoying \"Team Peeta\" and \"Team Gale\". (***)*** Because clearly nothing else ever matters besides sappy love - in a book about children murdering each other. *eyeroll* \n  \n Now, here is what bugged me about the romance that DID make it into the book. There is actually a LOST OPPORTUNITY here to have a YA book where people CAN be just friends, where devotion and loyalty stem from friendship and respect and not from attraction.  Katniss and Peeta could have had plenty of other reasons to care for each other that don't include puppy love - they are from the same district, same school, he gave her that bread, she trades with his dad, etc. But alas, that did not happen. I understand that Collins had to cater to the way that YA publishers and Hollywood tend to view us, the female audience. At least Katniss escapes the perils of insta-love. But poor Peeta - all of his actions are colored by him being \"Lover Boy\", and I think it detracts from his personality and reduces him from a kind compassionate person to a fool in love who'd do anything for Katniss only because of his physical attraction to her. Yeah......Rue...Oh, Rue... Now, back to the GOOD. Rue, my favorite character. Little, fragile, almost-too-perfect Rue who was clearly doomed from the start. Who despite her appearance was neither weak nor helpless. Whose death scene brought the human side to Katniss (who, until that point, was almost bordering on robotic). There was real grief and anger and sadness in that scene, and from that point on I began to care. Suzanne Collins strictly follows the \"show, don't tell\" rule. (Actually, she does it to such an extent that the book reads almost like a screenplay.) The plot moves along at a fast pace, only slowing down a bit in the drawn out Capitol makeover and cave makeout sessions. Collins does not shy away from gruesome scenes, making many parts of the book hit home.----------I enjoyed it despite the imperfections. Katniss easily beats the majority of the popular YA heroines. And because of all her coolness, this gets 3.75 stars. \n  \"Exactly how am I supposed to work in a thank-you in there? Somehow it just won't seem sincere if I'm trying to slit his throat.\" \n-----------------------------------------\n  EDITED TO ADD:\n So I saw the movie today. All I have to say - Suzanne Collins may have given life to Katniss, but Jennifer Lawrence definitely gave her heart. Lawrence's Katniss has such emotional depth, and she brings such truthfulness to her character. Excellent adaptation with a great balance of tugging on the heartstrings and darkness. I CRIED TWICE (yes, apparently I am less of a cynic than I thought). First time - when Katniss volunteers for Prim and people salute her. I JUST CHOKED UP. It felt so real. I have a brother who is much younger than me, and all I could think at that moment was how I would do the exact same thing for him WITHOUT ANY HESITATION. It wouldn't even be a choice. Just like it wasn't for Katniss. *Sob* The second time I teared up - Rue. Oh Rue... And the salute from District 11 - so powerful and so touching. I...I...I just can't... PLEASE EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO AND GRAB A BOX OF TISSUES. OR TWO. OR TEN. *SOB* Dystopian Perfection.  In a post-apocalyptic future, life has turned extremely hard. Fighting poverty and hunger every day, sixteen years old hunter Katniss does absolutely everything in her power to have enough for her defenseless little sister, and a barely lucid mother. Life is hard, yet not impossible, until the one fateful day arrives. Once every year, the ever vigilant all powerful Capitol of Panem celebrates for their entertainment the “Hunger Games”, a yearly tournament where a handful representatives of each district are forced to fight in a massive arena, to the death. In a sad turn of events, young Katniss will have to fight not only for herself, but for the future of her starving family.I think this series needs as much introduction as Lord of the Rings; but what the hey, old habits die hard. Maybe not everyone has read it, maybe not everyone has watched it, but doubt anyone has never heard of it at some point. One of the greatest dystopian fiction of all time, or at least one of the best-selling ones. A literature masterpiece? Hardly. One of the most entertaining ever? Quite possibly! Astounding world building and character development. Not a profound reading at all, but a plot perfectly balanced, fast paced and action packed; if you can withstand YA that is, and the triangle thingy. Along with Percy Jackson and Divergent, one of the pillar series that sparked my literary addiction. Highly Recommendable.*** Hunger Games (2012) is a superb adaptation, maybe as good as the book, if not better. Highly popcorn and re-watch worthy. I don’t normally reread, or feel the desire to; but lost count of how many times I’ve watched the movie on TV. It just never gets old, and is perfect, for what it is; really bringing the characters alive in a way a book never can, and few adaptations ever succeed. ...
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

       
                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            [{"book_id":199515825,"name":"All This & More","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705105878l/199515825._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199515825-all-this-more"},{"book_id":202950650,"name":"The Book of Elsewhere","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705250763l/202950650._SX318_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202950650-the-book-of-elsewhere"},{"book_id":200234471,"name":"Whoever You Are, Honey","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1704383122l/200234471._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200234471-whoever-you-are-honey"},{"book_id":198663065,"name":"Made for You","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701371512l/198663065._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198663065-made-for-you"},{"book_id":200488206,"name":"The Deading","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699110391l/200488206._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200488206-the-deading"},{"book_id":195790798,"name":"The West Passage","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1692904499l/195790798._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195790798-the-west-passage"},{"book_id":195790688,"name":"State of Paradise","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705608078l/195790688._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195790688-state-of-paradise"},{"book_id":201626899,"name":"These Deathless Shores","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701096449l/201626899._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201626899-these-deathless-shores"},{"book_id":60305959,"name":"The Spice Gate","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1702084308l/60305959.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60305959-the-spice-gate"},{"book_id":199392395,"name":"This Great Hemisphere","cover":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1702931000l/199392395._SY475_.jpg","url":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199392395-this-great-hemisphere"}]