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Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women | Kate Moore
The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark dangerThe Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive -- until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come. Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives...
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RiversEve
Panpan

2 stars

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Sargar114
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Sargar114
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Pickpick

A phenomenal read. A nonfiction story that reads like fiction. You come to love these women that were put through such horrors and completely disregarded by the company that caused them. I was in awe of their resilience and determination to fight.

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Lizwarnerpdx
Pickpick

This book was a sad story. But important. It took a long time, but these women‘s sufferings brought about real, impactful changes to the workplace.

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atenelli
The Radium Girls | Kate Moore (Writer and editor)

That was the tragedy. Radium had been known to be harmful since 1901. Every death since was unnecessary.

4 likes1 stack add
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atenelli
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GinaKButler
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Up next on audio! 🎧

I‘m using this for 2017 in the Book Girls Guide Backlist Challenge.

#bookspinbingo

21 likes1 stack add
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atenelli

I really enjoy this book, but have a hard time making progress because my lunch break get cut short due to work stress.😕

BkClubCare Boo to work stress! {{{hugs}}} 5mo
atenelli #BkClubCare Thank you☺️. Luckily, it will be quieter later in the summer - more time for 📚! 5mo
7 likes2 comments
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atenelli
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My birthday was alittle while ago, but I am so excited that I got my belated gift today. My old kindle had died after ten years, and I meade fue with the app. However, I am so happy right now. And don‘t get me wrong, I loove physical books, but my eyes not so much.

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atenelli

I started reading The Radium Girls this morning for one of my June challenges. I really enjoy it, but I am already horrified what was don3 to these women.

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atenelli
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Of course, to the layman, all this was unknown. The mainstream position as understood by most people was that the effects of radium were all positive; and that was what was written about in newspapers and magazines, championed across product packaging and performed on Broadway.

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Brooke_H
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Pickpick

This was a fascinating examination of a part of history I didn‘t know much about: the girls and women who worked painting luminous watch dials with straight-up radium and the resulting court case against the US Radium Corporation. This book is very hard to read at times—radium poisoning is a horrifying way to die, and Moore doesn‘t shy away from giving us every detail. I would have liked more personal details about the women.

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MaggieCarr
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Pickpick

Kate Moore- you make me grit my teeth while reading. Thank you for telling truths, for riling people up with your storytelling, for compelling readers to speak up and out about wrong doings in history so that going forward we can do better.

33 likes1 stack add
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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Pickpick

This is a heartbreaking account of women seen as disposable by industry fighting for their lives & justice while corporations made millions. A nonfiction following the short lives of women doing glamorous work painting clock & watch faces & military instrument dials with glowing radium paint. The women‘s history spans before WWI to WWII, telling stories of their friendships, families & fight for future industrial hygiene & workers‘ compensation.

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Cosmos_Moon_River
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Happy beach day in Pensacola! Although glowing, not so bright for the girls of Orange, NJ and Ottawa, IL in the 1920s.

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Christinak
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Pickpick

This was a very difficult subject matter. I pretty much read this straight through.
To be honest I probably sped through this to avoid having my mind sit on the horrible, tragic lives these women led.

29 likes1 stack add
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

My #roll100 pick for February. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Moore‘s undertaking of this tragic (yet critically important) moment in American - and world - history was a gripping narrative. Difficult to read at times, one can only imagine the suffering the women endured.

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 2y
37 likes1 comment
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Pigpen_Reads
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Bailedbailed

This was a #TrappedonanIsland pick for January. I made it about 55% through and can't read anymore. Maybe someday in the future I'll try to finish it.

@aperfectmjk

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Jadams89
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Pickpick

First book of 2023! What a sad, tragic story.

smalldogs_bigbooks2419 I had to bail. Way too sad. 😢 2y
Bklover I get it! You want to just yell at them to Stop!!! @smalldogs_bigbooks2419 (I love small dogs too!) (edited) 2y
34 likes2 comments
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Clwojick
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@Pigpen_Reads Here are the books I chose for you to read for Januarys #TrappedOnAnIsland. 💛. You had so many interesting ones on your list, that it was hard to choose! 💛

Pigpen_Reads Thank you! I'm really hoping to get through these this month. I really need to tackle my TBR 😅 What's perfect is that Girl Made of Stars is also one of my #Roll100 picks! 2y
Clwojick I‘ve heard a lot of good things about it! Can‘t wait to hear your thoughts, since I have most of these on my TBR too 😉 2y
62 likes2 comments
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these_dreams
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First book of 2023

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kspenmoll
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📕 Radium Girls
📓 Ruth Rendall
📽️ Rear Window
🎸R.E.M.
🎤Revolution (Beatles)
#manicmonday #LetterR

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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I enjoyed the first 35% or so of this book, reading in horrified fascination. But life is too short for this writer's soppy style and it just hasn't kept my interest.

SamAnne She needed an editor. 2y
marleed I was really glad this book exposed me to this history, but the writing itself was a miss for me. I‘m not a fan of of authors creating naive dialogue for those who came before us. 2y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @marleed you put it so much better than me 🙂 2y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @SamAnne indeed! Wonder what happened there 2y
41 likes4 comments
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xicanti
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I got some solid Candy Crush time in earlier while I listened to more of this gripping book. Good as it is, Moore does enough obviously fictionalized scene setting that I‘ve gotta wonder if the details that plausibly came from interviews and court documents actually did, or if she‘s just led me to assume so. Can anyone who read the print edition tell me if it‘s got thorough footnotes or endnotes? #audiogaming #deweyoct #readathon

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BeckyWithTheGoodBooks
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Phenomenal book about the women and girls working in the nation‘s radium dial factories after WWI. They fought against the corporations that knowingly allowed them to be poisoned, and their contributions to science, history, and labor law can not be lauded enough. Marketed as a biography, I consider this to have true crime elements due to the atrocities these companies committed. #scarathlondailyprompts #poison #teamslaughter

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Karisimo
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Pickpick

My Library book club read this as our first narrative non-fiction selection and it was enjoyed by all!

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DebinHawaii
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#BookMoods #MadeYouMad

Radium Girls made me cry & made me VERY mad. Kate Moore‘s second book The Woman They Couldn‘t Silence is in my Kindle #TBR & from the description, I‘m sure it will make me equally angry! 🥵😡🤬

EKonrad Loved both of those books! Infuriating but so good! 2y
Eggs 💔😳😡 2y
jlhammar Yes, Radium Girls made me so angry! Great choice. I still need to read her newer book. 2y
JuliaTheBookNerd Working in Nuclear Medicine, Radium Girls made me so mad! Absolutely disgusting how those girls were treated! 🤬 2y
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Lynnsoprano
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Pickpick

I didn‘t cry until close to the end, but now it‘s hard to stop. An incredibly moving, often infuriating, telling of an important story. What these women endured, and the callousness of the companies that employed them, is a story that everyone needs to know. It‘s not a perfect book, but it accomplishes its purpose in making the reader care. No higher purpose or praise.

Suelizbeth Definitely a powerful read and hard to forget. 📚❤️ 2y
Suzze It was so Maddening to realize how much they knew and ignored. Very hard to forget any of it. 2y
TieDyeDude Just wait until you read her next book! I hope the author has a good self-care regiment, because she researched some brutal topics. 2y
60 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Lynnsoprano
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Another library hold came in, and I‘m having trouble putting this down. I watched the movie a couple weeks ago, which I know is a dramatization, and thought it did a good job of telling a horrific story. It turns out that it doesn‘t hold a candle to what actually happened. This is making me angry as well as heartbroken, because I know that there are still industries with so little regard for their workers.

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cajunsyd
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A part of history that I knew nothing about. This read has been very interesting so far.

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451Degrees
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Mehso-so

I hate giving this book a so-so😔 I have so much respect for the women in the dial painting industry for without them I would not have the protections I would probably have as an X-ray tech. But I just don‘t like how the author put the story. It felt redundant and confusing at times with way too many characters involved without much differentiation. Still a fascinating and horrific read about occupational hazards and workers rights!

Booknerd222 I really enjoyed this book but I wish there was more story vs so many facts thrown in. 3y
451Degrees @Booknerd222 I agree😫 I was really suckered in for the first third of the book and then it just felt like it kept going and going. I got lost a bunch and just didn‘t really like how the writing came out of it. I think with a different author it would have been a knock out of the park. Besides a good chunk of the book was just references. Just felt too stiff almost (edited) 3y
Booknerd222 I felt the same way lol 3y
Megabooks Excellent review. You put succinctly why I bailed. 3y
451Degrees Thank you @Megabooks ! It feels harsh since I have so much respect for the subject matter but it really was a bit of a struggle 3y
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451Degrees
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Haven‘t checked in in a bit but hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Been reading this for my work book club, a group of X-ray techs💀💀, and this book is extremely harrowing! All that these women went through! Can‘t seem to put it down🧪🧪

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Carolhreads
Pickpick

An absolutely heartbreaking, heart wrenching true story I got so angry while reading this and I cried a lot . The negligence on behalf of the girls employers to do the things that they did . It was so callous and cruel . I went on a rollercoaster of emotions as the girls f fought for justice and as they fought to hang on to live to see that justice . Wow this book is something else .

ICantImReading This book has been on my shelf for awhile, I really need to pick it up soon! 3y
Carolhreads @ICantImReading please please please do if you read nothing else this year or once you finish your current read please give it a shot it is so good !!! 3y
21 likes2 comments
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smalldogs_bigbooks2419
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Bailedbailed

Sorry @suvata @Jerdencon @IndoorDame I just couldn‘t hold on to this story. If I knew it had a happy ending, I might have held on. It‘s just way too sad. Hoping the other three books in this swap will be less tragic. 🥺

suvata No apologies necessary. I‘m sure there will be some in this group that you will enjoy more. 3y
45 likes1 comment
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DarkMina
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#Two4Tuesday

1- Tagged book, Night, The Diary of Anne Frank, Ghost Soldiers and many more. Of course nonfiction changes your view because it is actual experiences of others that are very different from yours. Fiction can definitely effect you as well.
2- Not usually.

Wanna play? @Elizabeth2 @hannah-leeloo @5feet.of.fury @Blueberry @DaveGreen7777 @BookDragonNotWorm @TheRiehlDeal @eanderson @persephone1408 @Cazxxx @Mavey

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 🍀🍀🍀 3y
DaveGreen7777 Thank you for the tag! 3y
DarkMina @DaveGreen7777 You‘re welcome! 3y
20 likes3 comments
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smalldogs_bigbooks2419
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Spending my Sunday afternoon trying to remind myself that the point of the swap I joined is to write down and share my thoughts as I read. I accidentally skipped that part in chapters 1 through 4. I‘m also working to get over my aversion to writing IN books and wondering if this really was the best swap to join, but I love the idea so I‘m just going with it. Sticky notes and pencil are helping. @suvata @Jerdencon @IndoorDame #markcuppostalbookclub

suvata You‘ll get used to it. After 13 rounds it becomes very easy. Lol (edited) 3y
Jerdencon @suvata exactly!! Although sometimes I get so wrapped up in reading I forget to write! (edited) 3y
suvata @Jerdencon That happens to me too. 😄 3y
smalldogs_bigbooks2419 I also haven‘t read nearly as much of it as I would have liked to by now. I‘m almost 100 pages in, and this book has 400. 😳 3y
41 likes4 comments
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smalldogs_bigbooks2419
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I‘m so glad this round of #markuppostalbookclub starts on my day off from work! Now I can indulge in a #chunkster of a book, enjoy a big ass mug (my husband calls it a BAM) of coffee, and avoid getting out of my robe for much longer than I usually can. Happy reading @Jerdencon @suvata and @IndoorDame #LMPBC #Round14 #GroupA

suvata Sounds like an amazing day. Have fun. 3y
IndoorDame Sounds perfect! Enjoy! 3y
Jerdencon Excited for this book! 3y
smalldogs_bigbooks2419 @Jerdencon I‘ll be sending each book to you when I‘m done. I‘m not a very fast reader, but I think allowing myself to have these binge reading days will mean finishing with plenty of time to pass them on before the next start date. (edited) 3y
34 likes4 comments
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Bibliophile004
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Pickpick

I watched the Netflix movie based off this book. The book is so much better! It was hard to read at times, because of the suffering of the dial painters. These young women were consuming RADIUM, yet they were told it was safe. Even though the corporations knew otherwise. In the end though, these young women changed federal health standards for all workers. They have saved countless lives. Their story is one of courage, & strength despite the odds.

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smalldogs_bigbooks2419
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@Jerdencon @suvata @IndoorDame I don‘t have a huge home library like some Littens do. These are the only two books I could find that fall under the category of Historical Fiction. Let me know what you think. I love any excuse to go back to the bookstore, but figured I‘d start with what I already have. #LMPBC Round 14 Group A.

Jerdencon I‘ve read all the light we cannot see but would definitely be interested in the Radium girls 3y
suvata I‘ve read All The Light.. too. 3y
IndoorDame I haven‘t read either, so I‘m happy with whatever works for the group 3y
smalldogs_bigbooks2419 I think we‘re settled on Radium Girls. I started it a few weeks ago. It didn‘t really grab my attention, but I‘m happy to try again. I‘ve read All The Light We Cannot See but was at least 6 years ago, so it probably would have felt like reading it for the first time again. 3y
38 likes4 comments
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Kempfme
The Radium Girls | Kate Moore (Writer and editor)
Pickpick

This was very disturbing to read the graphic description of what these women went through. It was also frustrating to read how the corporate lawyers were acting.yet this was very interesting and informative.

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smalldogs_bigbooks2419
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Thank you so much @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks for this sweet holiday surprise and to everyone else who has sent me such sweet holiday cards. Work has kept me extremely busy over the last few months, so I‘m way behind on responding to anything, but I received several and loved every one of them. 😘

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks You‘re very welcome!! 📚💚🖤 3y
46 likes2 comments
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EadieB
The Radium Girls | Kate Moore (Writer and editor)
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#WondrousWednesday
@Eggs @TheSpineView Thanks for the tag!

1. Downsizing and moving my library 📚 painting the interior of my house and getting rid of 2 large dumpsters of belongings I no longer need.

2. The Radium Girls and We Begin At The End

3. End of Covid and changes in the midterm of government

Anyone reading this is tagged!

TheSpineView You're welcome! 3y
Eggs #1:congratulations! That is huge! I‘m gradually culling through stuff but I yearn for a simpler life…Thanks for playing Eadie🥰 3y
EadieB @Eggs Yes! It felt good to get rid of all that stuff that weighs you down! 3y
Mitch Letting go of possessions can be super liberating can‘t it 👍🏼 3y
EadieB @Mitch Yes! They sit around for years and you never need them. I just have a hard time deciding what to get rid of and what to keep. 3y
44 likes5 comments
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DarkMina
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#12Booksof2021 #3rdBookof2021 #March

So sad what these young women went thru!

Andrew65 2nd nomination for this one. 3y
20 likes1 comment
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FelinesAndFelonies
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Today is my birthday! 🥳 Yesterday my hubby took me to see the Radium Girls memorial in Ottawa, IL. He knows how to make me smile. Very cool for this book nerd.

vonnie862 Happy birthday! 3y
Soubhiville Happy birthday! I love that someone dressed her warmly! 3y
Jas16 Happy Birthday 🎉🎂🎈🎁 3y
See All 18 Comments
DaveGreen7777 Happy Birthday! 🥳🎂🎉🎁🎈 3y
Laughterhp Happy birthday! 3y
AmyK1 Happy birthday! 3y
BookDragonNotWorm Happy Birthday! Great photo! 3y
TheLudicReader Happy birthday. 3y
Librarybelle Happy Birthday! 3y
marleed Happy Birthday! And cool - the radium girls deserve a memorial! 3y
IuliaC Happy birthday! 🎁🎉 3y
Ruthiella Happy Birthday! 🥳🥳🥳 3y
DarkMina Happy birthday! I loved that book. So cool you got to visit the memorial! 3y
JessClark78 Happy Birthday! 🎊🎂🎉 3y
Megabooks Happy birthday!! 🥳🥳🥳 3y
Trashcanman Happy belated birthday 🎉🎉🥳🥳 3y
FelinesAndFelonies @Trashcanman thank you. ,🥰 3y
69 likes18 comments
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FelinesAndFelonies
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Pickpick

Kate Moore does such a great job bringing historical women to life. Her ability to write about average women & their experiences in a way that brings them to life is second to none. This book is a look at the women who painted luminous dials & watches in the first half of the 1900's & their fight for compensation. As women's rights are again in peril, this book gives a voice to the women that fought when their voices were much smaller. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

EvieBee Fabulous review! Own it but I need to get on the ball and read it. 3y
tenar And fabulous photograph! 3y
MallenNC I thought this one was really great. I was glad to learn about these women, even though their story was infuriating. 3y
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Trashcanman 🤗❤️ 3y
Megabooks I look forward to your reviews 👍🏻 3y
FelinesAndFelonies @EvieBee once I read it I was mad at myself for letting it sit on my shelf for so long. @tenar thank you. My 11 year old is an aspiring photographer so she loves to help me stage pictures. 😉 @Trashcanman hello friend! I'm so glad to hear from you! @Megabooks thank you. 🥰 3y
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Zuhkeeyah
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Pickpick

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I couldn‘t put this book down. The story told is one of strength and perseverance to a degree I cannot even comprehend. The first chapter made me do a full stop when the process of painting the watch dials with luminescent dye containing minute amounts of radium was explained in detail. These women fought their bodies and the legal system for justice.

Highly recommend to all.

December #bookspin complete!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3y
13 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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BeckyWithTheGoodBooks
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1. Hanging at home with my kiddos. No traveling yet with an unvaccinated two year old.

2. Kate Moore ❄️ Tana French ❄️ Wally Lamb

3. A Blanket of Melancholy Pizza Rolls 😂😂😂

Thanks @Eggs and @BeeMagical for the opportunity!! That fantasy book title is helping my mood. 😀

Eggs Thanks for joining in ❄️💙☃️ 3y
12 likes1 comment
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Zuhkeeyah
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“That was the tragedy. Radium had been known to be harmful since 1901. Every death since was unnecessary.”

The final line of the book (seen above) was as powerful as the first chapter. All events in the book take place after 1915. All of the pain and heartache could‘ve been prevented.

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Zuhkeeyah
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I‘m ready for another round of #bookspinbingo.

I probably won‘t get a bingo due to the craziness of the holidays but it‘s always fun to try. Happy reading everyone!

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wildwoodreads
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Y‘all I‘ve been obsessed with audiobooks lately. And to top it off I‘ve been obsessed with nonfiction audiobooks. I don‘t even know who I am anymore. 😂 But seriously. Life has been hectic and audiobooks have saved me. And I‘ve enjoyed every single one that I‘ve picked up. So if you have any audiobook recommendations leave them in the comments.

A few I‘ve been loving: https://wildwoodreads.com/2021/11/10/audiobooks-that-ive-been-loving/

DarkMina Radium Girls was so sad but good! If you want another good non fiction, Midnight in Chernobyl was excellent. 3y
wildwoodreads @DarkMina Oh I had forgotten about Midnight in Chernobyl. It had been on my tbr but I kept putting it off. Definitely need to pick it up! 3y
TheRiehlDeal I‘m currently listening to The Monster of Elendhaven and it‘s really good so far. It‘s really short; like 3 hours and 53 minutes. I agree, I wasn‘t into audiobooks years ago, but I‘ve been listening for a couple years now. Non-fiction audiobooks have really helped me get into them. 3y
See All 6 Comments
Catsandbooks I just read this one by Jane Goodall and it was excellent as an audiobook! 3y
Tera66 I loved this one, it's heartbreaking 💔, but written so well. 3y
BkClubCare My favorite NF audiobook is 3y
77 likes2 stack adds6 comments