Voluntary reading book

If you want the opportunity to get 1,5 points for your final grade, don't wait your time and choose one of the books over here! 

First of all, go through this list  and find the level you have. Then, go to the list of that level and choose your book. Once you've chosen it, leave a message over here saying the one you want. Remember there is one book per person (you CAN'T read the same book as another person), so if someone else has chosen the book you want you will need to choose another one. Next week I will post here what you'll have to do to get the points.

IMPORTANT! 

To help you, I have crossed the ones already taken so far :)

streets of London

Tina lives on the streets of London. She has a friend but he goes away suddenly. What can she do? How can she get new friends, some money and a home? Will she be happy?

Dark streets

Tom Casey is a police detective who doesn't like newspaper reporters. Then Anna Brodsky comes to interview him for her newspaper and she is soon involved in helping Tom solve a case involving a car thief.

the house of the seven gables

The House of the Seven Gables is the home of an important family: the Pyncheons. They have the house and a lot of land, but no money and many problems. Is there a curse on the family? This is a story about money, murder, and love.

twenty thousand leagues under the sea

Captain Nemo and the crew of his submarine, the Nautilus, travel the earth and discover unique worlds under the sea. But they are not all happy. A classic novel by Jules Verne.

the tomorrow mirror

Jason looks in the mirror and sees a bruise under his eye. Why can’t his school friends see it? Later, a ball hits him in the same eye. Now people can see the bruise – and it hurts. Jason doesn’t understand…

little women 

The story of the four March sisters and their loves, problems and adventures is sometimes sad, often funny but always charming. Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women in 1868. It is also a film starring Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon.

Run for your life (Horror, mystery)
Kim is running through the streets of the old town. She is frightened. A man with dark eyes and a knife is looking for her. He is going to catch her. This holiday in beautiful Barcelona is suddenly very dangerous. Where is Kim’s friend Dave? What can she do? 
You can read it here

Jhonny English (Comedy)


Johnny English is a Secret Service agent. He often makes very bad mistakes. But now he's got an important job: security for the Queen and her crown. There are problems - a lot of problems. But is Johnny English England's only hope?

the last of the mohicans (Historic)

Uncas is the last of the Mohican Indians. He is with his father and Hawkeye when they meet Heyward. Heyward is taking the two young daughters of a British colonel to their father. But a Huron Indian who hates the British is near. Will the girls see their father again?

the lady in the lake (murders)

Detective Philip Marlowe is looking for Derace Kingsley’s wife, Crystal. Is she dead or not? Marlowe finds more than one dead body and learns about women, drugs, men in love, and a police cover-up. Who killed The Lady in the Lake and why?

You can read it here

the quest -x2 (There is one copy left)

At last the fishing net lay in the bottom of the boat. Lek stepped forward and opened the net. He picked up the blue and white thing. It was a plate, Lek started to laugh. But his friend Daeng thinks the plate could be worth alot of money.

all about australia (culture)

Read All About Australia and find out about the Aborigines, the native people of this amazing land, and the first white settlers, many of whom were convicts transported there against their will. Discover animals unique to Australia, including the most dangerous spiders and snakes in the world. Learn about Australia's special food, traditions, holidays and sport and see what makes this country so different from the rest of the world.

all about the usa (culture)

All About the USA tells us about the country's history and culture. Find out about the pilgrims who first came to this land and the interesting places and people that are part of this nation. Travel to the vast Grand Canyon and then head to the spectacular Niagara Falls. You will also discover the reasons behind special holidays and read about interesting legends and myths. Read All About the USA and experience the best of the USA.

all about scotland (culture)

All About Scotland describes the history of this special country in the north of Britain. Find out about Scottish heroes and talented writers. Travel to the wild Highlands and around the deep lochs. Watch out for that Loch Ness Monster! Learn about Scottish inventions that changed the world and the interesting food the Scots eat at a Burns Supper. You can even discover why Scottish men wear kilts!

THE WITHERED ARM

A woman and a man... words of love whispered on a summer night. Later, there is a child, but no wedding-ring. And then the man leaves the first woman, finds a younger woman, marries her... It's an old story. Yes, it's an old, old story. It happens all the time - today, tomorrow, a hundred years ago. People don't change. But this story, set among the green hills of southern England, has something different about it. Perhaps it is only a dream, or perhaps it is magic - a kind of strange dark magic that begins in the world of dreams and phantoms...

Goodbye Mr Hollywood

Nick Lortz is sitting outside a café in Whistler, a village in the Canadian mountains, when a stranger comes and sits next to him. She's young, pretty, and has a beautiful smile. Nick is happy to sit and talk with her. But why does she call Nick 'Mr Hollywood'? Why does she give him a big kiss when she leaves? And who is the man at the next table - the man with short white hair? Nick learns the answers to these questions three long days later - in a police station on Vancouver Island.

Sherlock Holmes and the Sport of kings 

Horseracing is the sport of kings, perhaps because racehorses are very expensive animals. But when they win, they can make a lot of money for the owners, for the trainers, and for the people who put bets on them.

Silver Blaze is a young horse, but already the winner of many races. One night he disappears, and someone kills his trainer. The police want the killer, and the owner wants his horse, but they can't find them. So what do they do? They write to 221B Baker Street, of course - to ask for the help of the great detective, Sherlock Holmes

the story of the treasure seekers

Mr Bastable has lost all his money, so his children decide to look for treasure. They have many adventures and meet a lot of exciting people. But will they find treasure and make their family rich again? And who is the man from India, and can he help them?

journey through arabia

More than two thousand years ago, traders brought spices and incense by camel caravan across deserts and mountains from the south of Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the story of that journey, and of the rich and beautiful cities on the way.

stories of other worlds

A mountain climber, high in the Andes, falls into a strange valley. In London, a man is looking for a green door. A third man tries to help an unhappy ghost. Each of these exciting stories shows us two very different worlds. But which is better? And can we really be happier in another world?

the storm

Tessa Mclean is lonely and unhappy. She never wanted to leave Inverkeld and go to live on Seagull Island and she doesn't like her father's new wife Sheena. Then one stormy night Sheena has an accident and Tessa is the only one who can help her. 

simply suspense

'Her first thought was "I must not scream" ' A man must open one of two doors: one will bring him love, the other will bring him death. A woman goes into her hotel room, but it's not her room and she is not alone. In London, a man stays the night in a waxwork museum, and he is very afraid ...Three terrifying short stories. Be careful if you read them alone

the witches of pendle ( only one book available, and online)

Witches are dangerous. They can kill you with a look, or a word. They can send their friend the Devil after you in the shape of a dog or a cat. They can make a clay picture of you, then break it . . . and a few weeks later you are dead. Today, of course, most people don't believe in witches. But in 1612 everybody was afraid of them. Young Jennet Device in Lancashire knew a lot about them because she lived with the Witches of Pendle. They were her family . . . 

You can read it here

mary, queen of scots (historic)

 England and Scotland in the 1500s. Two famous queens - Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, the Protestant Queen of England. It was an exciting and a dangerous time to be alive, and to be a queen. Mary was Queen of Scotland when she was one week old. At sixteen, she was also Queen of France. She was tall and beautiful, with red-gold hair. Many men loved her and died for her. But she also had many enemies - men who said: 'The death of Mary is the life of Elizabeth.'

paper moon
In 1935, Addie Pray is a little American girl. Her mother is dead and her father, Long Boy, isn’t an honest man. He tricks people and makes money illegally. But Addie loves Long Boy and soon starts to help him in his “business”. Together, they have many exciting adventures and lucky escapes from danger. But will they always be lucky?

going for gold (Historic)

The first recorded Olympic Games took place in Olympia in 776 BCE. The ancient Greeks saw them as a way of honouring the gods. The modern-day Olympic games started in 1896 and have usually taken place every four years. Today, athletes from all over the world compete in this huge international event, watched by billions of people worldwide. They're all united by the same ambition: to go for GOLD!

all about ireland 

All About Ireland presents many fascinating facts about this country. Visit beautiful areas like the Giant's Causeway and ancient monuments. Follow the Irish Troubles and see how peace was finally achieved. Read interesting myths, legends and traditions of this land, including why Irish mothers had sleepless nights and how the Halloween tradition of "trick or treat" started. Meet the Irish giants of the literary world and learn why this small country touches the lives of people around the globe

villains! (culture-biographies)

Meet three famous villains. In 19th-century Russia, Rasputin influences the Russian court after his strange powers heal the sick son of the Tsar. In 16th-century France, Queen Catherine de Medici poisons her enemies and is called "Madame Serpent". Sweeney Todd, and 18th-century English barber, runs a sinister business. His customers are disappearing. His neighbour is famous for her delicious meat pies. But what is the secret ingredient in them?

Double Cross (Philip Prowse) --> MYSTERY, Thriller

A politician survives an attempted assassination in Stockholm, and secret agent Monika Lundgren is instructed to find the people responsible. As she races across the world, through Finland, England, South Africa and Mozambique, she encounters a strange football team, a rock musician and a madman with dreams of world power.

Just good Friends (Penny Hancock) --> ROMANTIC (only online)

It’s a love story, which opens before readers the eternal question “can be a friendship between a man and a woman, or it’s just delayed sex” Stephany is a language teacher and very pretty woman. Maybe every man can consider that she is a perfect woman in all aspects, she’s just a dream. Stephany’s boyfriend Max is an architect, he had many girls, but only Stephany could win his heart. After two months of relationships, they decided to go on vocation to Italy. A comfortable flat, which belonged to Stephany’s good friend Carlos, was waiting for them on the Ligurian Sea. Her friend Carlos was an Italian, she taught him English five years ago and they liked each other very much. Nothing happened between them in the past in London. But could they be in safe from the passion in such romantic place?

You can download it here for ebooks

the cellist of sarajevo--> historic

There is little food or water and the city is attacked, every day, from the hills. Ordinary people try to live their lives, but they are losing hope for the future. Then, one day, some decide to wait in a line for bread...

How I met myself --> MYSTERY (only online)

One icy winter's evening in Budapest, John Taylor is on his way home from the office when a man runs into him and knocks him over. The man turns to say sorry and John is amazed at what he sees: the man is John's double. The double rushes away but leaves no footprints in the snow. Over the next year it becomes clear to John that the meeting was no accident and that his double has a very important message to give him.

You can read it here

Grey Owl --> Historic, MYSTERY

In the 1930s Grey Owl was the most famous North American Indian in the world. He wanted to save his land, its forests and animals. He wanted to change the world. He also had a very strange secret. This book tells his true story.

How to be an alien--> COMEDY, CULTURE

Why are the English different from Europeans? This funny book describes the strange things English do and say. 

You can read it here

the man from nowhere

A plane crashes in the middle of the desert in Oman leaving a pilot and his family hurt and stranded. The pilot begins a journey across the desert to get help but collapses from exhaustion. He is found and taken to a nearby hospital but he is unconscious and no one has any idea who he is or where he has come from. Meanwhile time is running out for his wife and son who are waiting in the desert for help to arrive. 

a picture to remember

Aires is waiting at the traffic lights on her motorbike. She notices two men with a gun in the car next to her. Seconds later she is hit by a taxi, and wakes up in hospital with no memory of the accident or the two men. However, the men are afraid of what might happen if her memory returns and plan to make sure it never does. 

superbird

A spaceship crashes on a strange planet. The only survivor, Mary Mount, is taken prisoner by an alien civilization. In time she is allowed to return to her old planet with some of her new friends. But when they arrive back at her home, the plan seems to have changed. And Mary doesn't receive the welcome she expects.

the double bass mystery (x2)

Penny Wade travels to Barcelona to perform in a concert with her orchestra. But the trip is not quite what she imagined. Her double bass goes missing and her boyfriend is acting very strangely. One night everyone is woken by screams and the orchestra manager is found dead on the street outside their hotel. Did he fall from the hotel window or was he pushed? And what has Penny's missing double bass got to do with it?

myths and legends

Why is the sea salty? How did four of China's rivers get their names? This collection offers myths and legends from all over the wold and some interesting explanations about why the world around us is the way it is.

 

the ghost of the green lady

At Billy Harrison's new school, he hears the legend of the Ghost of the Green Lady. On the night of 1st February, a green light appears over the school lake and then the ghost appears. Billy wants to see this for himself. But somebody is stealing valuable objects from the school and everybody is under suspicion. What's going on?

the invisible man

A terrifying cautionary tale of one man’s obsession with pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery. Griffin’s dream of being the first invisible man turns into a nightmare as the realities of the situation become clear in increasing degrees of deception, theft and murder.

a convict's tale 

Set in 1797, this is the story of 14-year-old Ann Telford's difficult journey from the slums of Durham in England, through the horrors of Durham Jail to a convict ship bound for faraway Australia. Jailed for seven years for stealing food for her brother and herself, Ann Telford must survive the harsh conditions to build a better future.

the impostor 

Seventeen-year-old Jay Hudson looks exactly like Karsten Peters, a famous model. Detectives trying to expose a band of jewellery thieves take advantage of Jay’s likeness to Karsten and have Jay sent to London to be trained as a model. Jay then embarks on a dangerous mission where he must take Karsten’s place in an exclusive fashion show in Paris. There is no room for mistakes in this exciting adventure story

the chrysalids

Some years after a terrible war, the world is still dead and black, while in other places, plants, animals and people grow in strange shapes. In Waknuk people follow strict rules of their own religion. Plants, animals and children must be perfect. David is different, but this difference is kept secret until people start asking questions. Life suddenly becomes very dangerous.

new york--> culture

Every year, millions of tourists visit New York—the most exciting city in the world. Read about its history, its sights and its people. What makes New York “the city that never sleeps?”

the horse whisperer

One winter's morning in New York State, there is an accident on an icy mountain road. Thirteen-year-old Grace and her much-loved horse, Pilgrim, are very badly hurt. Grace's mother beleives her daughter will only recover if her horse can be saved. Can Pilgrim be nursed back to health? Can the Horse Whisperer work his magic?

The ironing man (Colin Campbell) --> ROMANCE, COMEDY

A young man appears at the door and seems to be the answer to Marina's wishes. She and her husband Tom have moved from London to a quiet village, and Marina is bored with her life, as it seems she does nothing but housework. One day she wishes for somebody to help with the ironing, and the 'ironing man' appears. Not only does he help Marina with the housework, but he also helps Tom realise just how important Marina is to him.

Tales from Longpuddle  --> ROMANTIC

Tony Kytes is a favourite with the girls but he's not terribly clever. If you meet an old girlfriend and she asks for a ride home in your wagon, do you say yes? And then if you meet the girl you are planning to marry, what do you do? Very soon, Tony is in a great muddle, and does not know how to escape from it. These stories are set in an English country village of the nineteenth century, but Hardy's tales of mistakes and muddles and marriages belong in any place, at any time.

the girl who loved tom gordon 

“Help me, I’m lost! Please help me. I’m lost” Nine year old Trisha McFarland becomes lost in the forest while hiking with her mother and brother along the Appalachian Trail in Maine. As Trisha starts to cry, she remembers Tom Gordon. Tom Gordon is a professional baseball player. He has never met Trisha McFarland. This is the story of Trisha McFarland and Tom Gordon, and how a man she never met, saved her life.

a town like alice(romantic)

Jean Paget is a brave and intelligent English girl who meets again in Alice Springs the Australian soldier with whom she had fallen in love in Malaya during World War II. 

A foreigner in Britain (Culture)

How does it feel to visit Britain for the first time? What are the first impressions of a visitor to Britain? This account of one foreigner’s visits to Britain is told through an entertaining selection of personal anecdotes and introduces the reader to some of the more unusual aspects of the British way of life.

A foreigner in Australia (Culture)

Bondi Beach, the Great Barrier Reef and the sacred Ayers Rock are only a few of the wonders you will read about in A Foreigner in Australia, the third in our successful series of travel fiction. Here, we accompany Antonio's cousin Daniel on his travels around Australia. Along the way, he falls in love with Emily, a pretty girl from Ireland. But distance will inevitably keep them apart. Can their relationship survive?

Culture shock (CULTURE)

Spanish teenager, Paloma Santos, is unhappy. She and her family must move to England for three years, because of her father’s job. In England, Paloma must improve her English and make friends at a new school. She must also deal with problems in her family. Life is not easy for Paloma. Will she be able to adapt to her new life?

the breathing method (Stephen King)-->Horror   AVAILABLE ONLINE 

There is a club in New York where men tell each other stories. Some of these are mysterious, some are horrible. One night a doctor tells the story of a young woman who gives birth to her baby. A normal enough event? Not this one.

You can read it here

the day of the jackal 

A secret organisation plans to assassinate the French President, General de Gaulle. Their leader, Colonel Marc Rodin, decides to hire a professional, someone unknown to French police. He and his men choose “the Jackal.” Can police detective Claude Lebel stop the killing and save the President’s life?

the mayor of Casterbridge

Unemployed farmer Michael Henchard gets drunk one day and auctions his wife and daughter to the highest bidder. The next day, he bitterly regrets his action and promises to atone for it. He swears not to drink alcohol for the next 21 years. Twenty years later, two women come looking for Henchard, who is now the successful mayor of Casterbridge. What will happen next?

THE CLIENT (Suspense)

Eleven-year-old Mark Sway is in trouble. He and his brother, Ricky, have witnessed the suicide of a famous gangster’s lawyer. The lawyer told Mark some important information before he died and everybody, including the FBI, the Mafia and the press, want to know what it is. Reggie Love, Mark’s lawyer, must protect her young client, for she knows that Mark’s powerful enemies will stop at nothing to get to him.

Moonfleet (adventure)

Moonfleet is an adventure story set against the background of smuggling in southern England in the 18th century. It follows the life of John Trenchard, a lonely young orphan, and his search for a lost diamond. Read about the smugglers as they hide contraband in secret vaults in the graveyard. Can they escape from the cruel magistrate who pursues them without mercy? Will John ever find the precious diamond?

The queen and I (Comedy)

In this hilarious fantasy, the Republican Party wins the British elections and the monarchy is dismantled. The Queen and her family are sent to live on a council estate. They must learn to budget their limited finances and the Queen must even learn to cook. It’s hard to survive without servants and staff, but the Queen doesn’t let it get her down. She’s a survivor and still a queen at heart

Pride and Prejudice (Romance)

Most middle-class young women living in 19th-century England shared the same ambition: to find and marry a rich husband. But rich husbands expected rich wives. Sisters Jane and Elizabeth Bennet come from a poor home. Is their beauty and intelligence enough to win them the husbands they desire? Will charming bachelors Charles Bingley and handsome, arrogant Mr Darcy be prejudiced by their social status or will love triumph in the end?