Questions tagged [identification-request]
Questions asking for identification of a literary work (story, novel, poem, play, etc) or author, based on descriptive details provided within the question. Please be thorough and provide ALL of the details that you can remember when using this tag. (For questions seeking the original source of a known quote, use the [quote-source] tag instead.)
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Looking for a book about a Jewish girl hiding her love for a non-Jewish boy
I read this book in 5th grade about a Jewish girl hiding her love for a boy because he was not from her culture. I believe the title was along the lines of "don't tell" or "keep it a ...
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Horror story about boy being turned into a mannequin
I vaguely remember a story that I read in english class during middle school (ca 2008-2010 in Sweden) about a boy being turned into mannequin. From what I remember the boy was dipped in waxed by evil ...
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A novel written in computer code
When looking up strange novels of fiction some years ago, I heard of one that was written all in computer code, with if statements and some other bits of code that was used to tell the story of an AI.
...
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Thriller from the early to mid 1960's involving blackmailing an official over underage liason
The main character was a James Bondish type, whose martial art skills allowed him to see off some attackers even when drunk. After this, he was recruited into MI5 or similar, the Chief of which mixed ...
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Trying to remember a children's book about a boy who was a potato peeler for the king, and later served him ice cream
I am trying to remember a book from my childhood; it was old, around 1960-70, and a thick collection book.
The a story was along the lines of "A boy worked in the King's large kitchen and used to ...
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Book about a teen girl who had to move to a country house for the summer but discovered lots of secrets there
It was about a teenage girl who moved to a country house for the summer against her decision. She discovered lots of secrets and locked doors in this house and developed a crush on a boy who was ...
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Book about a coffee-seller and a young girl
I read this a year or so ago. I would guess that it was from the 1800s. It was definitely set in London.
The main character is a coffee-seller who is quite selfish. We are introduced to him selling ...
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Searching for an illustrated children's book with anthropomorphic animals, a sled, and a train
When I was little, we had two small books that I cannot remember the names of. The stories were set in a winter scene with pine trees and snow, the main characters were (three?) anthropomorphic ...
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Version of Dracula (Bram Stoker)
I'm looking for a version of Dracula by Bram Stoker (if that version exists):
In Chapter XI, Memorandum left by Lucy Westenra, there is the following sentence:
I kept my eyes fixed on the window, but ...
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Short story about young boy bitten by a black widow
This was maybe 4-6 years ago. I read a stapled-together paper printout. It was maybe 30 pages total.
In the story, a young boy woke up one morning and got ready for school. When he was putting his ...
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YA book about a young girl flies on plane to see father or uncle. She eats a cheese and mayo sandwich and gets sick
My 6th grade teacher read this book to us in 1983 or 1984. Seems like it had a yellow cover. It wasn’t a short story. A girl lives with her mom and travels by plane to see her father or uncle. Mom ...
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Series of teen/children's books about stories from the historical religions of different countries, 80s or before
I'm looking for a great series of books I read in the mid- to late 80s, in the UK.
They were approximately A4 sized, hardback, about an inch thick, with colourful painted or drawn dust covers (the ...
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Adventure story involving island "Tombuktu"
My grandfather died more than 30 years ago, but before that he used to tell us countless stories.
One of them was an adventure story, involving a European (?) arriving on an island named "...
- 5,596
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Looking for a children's book about a boy who drifts to a mysterious island on an inflatable tube after being washed out to sea
The story based in Britain is, as far as I can remember, about a boy who falls asleep on an inflatable tube at sea while on a family holiday to the beach.
He then drifts to a mysterious island whose ...
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Novel where a girl finds a book of drawings (I think from someone in a coma) and it inspires her and her friends to do criminal art
I think I read this around 2020. I can vividly recall where I was when I was reading it, an event space next to my town's pool and community library (I was completing reading the book so I could check ...
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Looking for a British childrens book, I think from the 1950s, called "C-for-Charlie"
I remember, when I was very young in the 1960s, reading an already-tattered book called (I think) "C-for-Charlie". The plot was about a boy who discovered a Gremlin -- C-for-Charlie -- who ...
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Novella about man reminiscing about his girlfriend/wife while standing by her dead body
I read a novella about 10 years ago, which I thought was written by Dostoevsky, but I haven't been able to find it since.
Plot: A middle-aged man stands near the body of his girlfriend (or wife) who ...
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Looking for a children's book series with three main characters and horses
I read this series around ten years ago, give or take a few years. There are three main characters, all girls. One of their names was either Lucy or Lulu, but started with an L. There are three horses....
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Greek myth about an athlete who kills another man with a discus
I was wondering if someone could help me identify this story from Greek (I'm almost certain) legend that I read when I was young (in the 80s or 90s).
Anyway, an athlete is competing at the discus, but ...
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Looking for an old children’s book that has a monster eating children
I’m in my 30s and checked out this really old (old back then) book all the time. It was something about a monster who ate kids, I think, and the monster always said “yada yada yada psu psu psu” or ...
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Looking for poem in which sleep is as great an equalizer as death
There was a poem on the 2015 AP English Literature and Composition exam multiple choice section that I only barely remember. The topic was along the lines of "sleep is as great an equalizer as death" ...
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Can you identify this story involving apple of wisdom
I have read this story a long time ago. I remember some fragments like this:
There is a young man travelling (maybe on a train). He starts talking to another passenger in the same seat (or cabin). ...
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Short horror story I read two years ago about a Jack-in-the-box
About two years ago I read a short story about a Jack-in-the-box that is unused. I believe that he was at the bottom of the toy box and where he came from was unknown.
In the house were a bunch of ...
- 11k
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Possible Hitchcock anthology short story written before 1970 about newlyweds honeymooning In the Caribbean
I am searching for a short story written before 1970. It may have been featured in an Alfred Hitchcock anthology of scary stories.
It was about a young newlywed couple honeymooning on a Caribbean ...
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Story, possibly by Fitzgerald, about a reformed alcoholic seeing his city anew
In Finding the Raga, Amit Chaudhuri writes:
If I'm not mistaken, there's a story or an essay by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man emerging from twenty years of alcoholism, noticing the city he lives in ...
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Looking for the name of a book with Bruegel's Tower of Babel as the front cover
I'm looking for the name of a book I read three years ago (although it was published in the early 2000s maybe) about a boy who leaves his village and goes to a large city. The cover art is a corner of ...
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English children's book, possibly from the 50's, about a boy, a girl, and their dog who stay in a valley menaced by a witch and her fox familiar
A boy and a girl, accompanied by their rather vain dog, go to stay in a valley that is menaced by a witch and her familiar, a fox. The children are tasked to assist the guardian of the valley, who is ...
- 5,596
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Looking for a childrens book I read in the early 1990s
I loved a book in the early 90s (in the UK) but was probably published earlier. What I remember is firstly the book was A5 size, similar to a ladybird cover. Hardback but papery textured? Possibly ...
- 5,596
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Novel, possibly by Walter de la Mare, where protagonist is descended from the Green Girl
Long ago I read a brief mention of a novel where the protagonist was a man descended through many centuries from the medieval Green Girl of Woolpit.
And I have an idea for a story where a future ...
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Looking for a historical book set in London whose main character is a young boy
I've forgotten most of this book's plot, but I read this book around 6 or so years ago. Its main character is a young boy, either in his early teens or nearly a teenager. His mother died and left him ...
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Short story about a box of grief I read in university
I would really appreciate help remembering a short story I read when I was majoring in creative writing some years back. Here are the details I remember:
it centers around a young boy in a ...
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What was the case where Sherlock answers Watson's private thoughts?
I recall a Sherlock Holmes mystery where the detective and his assistant are in their apartment and Watson is working over some decision that he has to make. Suddenly Holmes pipes in to give his ...
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What was the (classical Greek?) story about a guy who made art (a statue?) that he fell in love with and she became alive?
The title was something like Agamemnon.
What happened to the guy?
I bet the story had a tragic ending. He probably goes to hell for some reason. And if the reason was something virtuous like love, ...
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1
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Childhood book about a teddy who can't sleep
I am searching for a children's book I read in the late 90s about a teddy bear who sneaks around the bedroom when the boy is away or asleep. He plays with the toy soldier, ballerina and some other ...
- 11k
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Comedy mystery short story involving an inept detective, stolen diamonds, and a baby's rattle
I remember reading this as a short story in an anthology, probably in the early 1990s. My parents had a lot of books with crime stories in them, as well as humor anthologies, so that unfortunately ...
- 11k
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Looking for short story about a girl called June and her summer experience
When I was in 8th grade, we had an English literature class and we read a lot of short stories. The year was around 1998 and the books where scholastic books that the school used.
The story that I am ...
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Account of picking up a black hitchhiker who then wanted to be let out
I remember decades ago reading a book with the following vignette, set in the 60s. The white male narrator is driving through the countryside and picks up a hitchhiking young black man. The rider is ...
- 11k
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Novel about a man trying to solve the long ago disappearance of his younger brother
I was reading the entry for Raincoat of Horror and it suddenly made me remember a book I read in the last year or two, around 2022-2023, I think as an ebook from the library. I'm going to look through ...
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Book (maybe first in series) about a teenage assassin who's seeking revenge for his parents
I read this somewhere in the last 12 years or so, probably closer to 8-12 years ago based on my scant memories of circumstances (namely that I was reading it while waiting for the bus nearby my ...
- 11k
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Senior citizen ladies solve crimes
I've read three or four ebooks about two ladies that are senior citizens solving crimes. They live in a place called "Tawas" I thought I'd saved them in my library but am unable to find them ...
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What was the theological pamphlet attributed to Thomas Middleton?
The Wikipedia article on Thomas Middleton contains the following claim:
Due to a theological pamphlet attributed to him, Middleton is thought by some to have been a strong believer in Calvinism.
...
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From which original text does this Rumi poem derive? "What was said to the rose that made it open..."
What is the original writing in Farsi by Rumi?
What was said to the rose that made it open.. was said to me here in my chest.
What was told the cypress that made it strong and straight, what was
...
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Looking for a book with the story of a little boy who rode a train and was later found dead
I remember my mom reading this book full of many short stories and this one has stuck with me the most.
A boy and his friends decide to do this thing where they hop on a train and ride for awhile but ...
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Kids eat everything in a random house and think they ate the dwellers' baby [closed]
I'm looking for the name of an old children's book where the kids smell something nice. The kids then stumble along a house full of food and eat everything in the house. They are tricked into thinking ...
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Postapocalyptic sci-fi book with robot "Angels" suppressing human knowledge
I'm looking for a book title about a postapocalyptic world where the survivors live in isolated villages and knowledge and technological progress is suppressed by "Angels" that turn out to ...
- 3,052
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Are these two novels referred to in The Overstory real, and if so, can anyone identify them?
The Overstory is a 2018 novel by Richard Powers, in which the lives of nine characters are intertwined with each other and with those of trees. At one point, two of the characters are tree-sitting in ...
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YA book involving disappearing subatomic particles?
I think it involved some sort of romantic subplot, but I'm not sure. I also remember it having the discussion of death, maybe of the main characters mother?
The most significant thing I remember is ...
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Asking for author of a short story "The postman and the old woman"
I've just read a touching short story "The postman and the old woman". Strangely, I can't find the name of writer anywhere. I think it's from "Chicken soup for the soul" series but ...
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Story with opening line about finding God behind the moon
There's a sci-fi story with a cracking opening line. It goes something like
It happened around the time they found god, behind the moon, and they sent a fleet of spaceships to tow Her out
I maybe ...
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Book Identification: Chapter Book about Father's Alcoholism
I remember reading this book way back when I was a kid. Though, but I can't remember when. I believe it was a chapter book. I don't remember much, but this is what I can piece together about it:
The ...
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