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Gene: An Intimate History
Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Notable Book A Washington Post and Seattle Times Best Book of the Year From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies--a magnificent history of the gene and a response to the defining question of the future: What becomes of being human when we learn to "read" and "write" our own genetic information? Siddhartha Mukherjee has a written a biography of the gene as deft, brilliant, and illuminating as his extraordinarily successful biography of cancer. Weaving science, social history, and personal narrative to tell us the story of one of the most important conceptual breakthroughs of modern times, Mukherjee animates the quest to understand human heredity and its surprising influence on our lives, personalities, identities, fates, and choices. Throughout the narrative, the story of Mukherjee's own family--with its tragic and bewildering history of mental illness--cuts like a bright, red line, reminding us of the many questions that hang over our ability to translate the science of genetics from the laboratory to the real world. In superb prose and with an instinct for the dramatic scene, he describes the centuries of research and experimentation--from Aristotle and Pythagoras to Mendel and Darwin, from Boveri and Morgan to Crick, Watson and Franklin, all the way through the revolutionary twenty-first century innovators who mapped the human genome. As The New Yorker said of The Emperor of All Maladies, "It's hard to think of many books for a general audience that have rendered any area of modern science and technology with such intelligence, accessibility, and compassion...An extraordinary achievement." Riveting, revelatory, and magisterial history of a scientific idea coming to life, and an essential preparation for the moral complexity introduced by our ability to create or "write" the human genome, The Gene is a must-read for everyone concerned about the definition and future of humanity. This is the most crucial science of our time, intimately explained by a master.
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CuriousG
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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I usually purchase from my local indie bookshop but noticed that the paperback version was 33% off on Amazon.ca this week so finally ordered it. I've been wanting to purchase this one since it came out and somehow never got around to it.❤️📚

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eol
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

“Normalcy is the antithesis of evolution.”

“Can we make our genomes a little better, without making ourselves substantially worse?”

This #nonfiction book takes a very holistic approach to its subject, which I more than approve of. Aside from dumping on you a huge—and surprisingly digestible—load of info, both #scientific and #historical, it asks important moral questions without turning moralistic.

Highly recommended.

5/5

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Vivlio_Gnosi
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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1st edition, 1st printing!
I love how work on cancer, The Emperor of All Maladies. Adding this to my shelf.
#BookHaul #nonfiction #TBR #science #medicine

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moodduarte
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Sura-na Bheda Pramaana Sunaavo;
Bheda, Abheda, Pratham kara Jaano.
Show me that you can divide the notes of a song;
But first, show me that you can discern
Between what can be divided
And what cannot.
—An anonymous musical composition inspired by a classical Sanskrit poem

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SaraBeth_RN
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Book #11 of 2021 was completed as an audio book during my commute to & from work every day as an oncology nurse. I chose it because I had loved The Emperor of All Maladies SO MUCH. This is an absolutely fantastic narrative of genetics and of humanity. Cannot recommend enough!!!

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cslavick1221
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee

“Junk science props up totalitarian regimes. And totalitarian regimes produce junk science.”

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kranthir
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

Great read if you like science. Mukherjee is an amazing storyteller. Highly recommend it.
At some places though you will feel a little lost especially at the end when discussing about sexual identity and it‘s relationship to genes.

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KVanRead
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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The Gene is a fascinating, fantastic 5⭐️ read!!

#ScienceSeptember #IntegrateYourShelf

ChasingOm His books look so good -- and sooooooooo long! 😳 4y
KVanRead @ChasingOm I did the audiobook and it was really good - find it often makes the big ones go faster😁 4y
tenar I have this one on hold at the library but have been a bit intimidated. Your 5🌟 rating has me more excited! 4y
KVanRead @tenar I don‘t read a lot of science books and wasn‘t sure going in, but I was absolutely fascinated and learned a lot. 4y
31 likes4 comments
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mansipandey
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee

As Franklin charged down the river toward Wilkins, the boats came close enough to collide. "Now she's trying to drown me," he exclaimed in mock horror. There was nervous laughter - the kind when a joke cuts too close to the truth.

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KimHM
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Yes, I am having birthday cake for breakfast, because why not? But I‘m also reading Mukherjee and I‘m far enough along in The Gene that in a minute I‘m going to find his article on Covid-19 in the New Yorker because I trust him. 📚💙📚💜📚💚📚💛📚❤️

sprainedbrain Is it your birthday? If so, happy birthday!! 🥳🥳🥳 5y
9 likes1 comment
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KimHM
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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My schoolwork is finished for the day, and it‘s 70 degrees outside, and the air smells like lilacs 💜📚

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KimHM
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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#company 📚💙📚💙📚💙📚💙📚💙📚💙📚

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KimHM
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Even in a monastery (a walled garden, one room cells), books made all the difference 📚💙📚💙

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emilyhaldi
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Currently sorting through tbr stacks to find some good reading material for the next few weeks... I'm thinking now might be a good time to dive into a chunkster or two!

MicheleinPhilly HA! My friend just texted me that she was considering tackling 5y
BarbaraBB @MicheleinPhilly That is a great idea! 5y
Kalalalatja Definitely a time for chunksters! 5y
emilyhaldi @MicheleinPhilly if now's not the time for chunksters, when will it be?! 🤪 5y
Reviewsbylola I‘m the opposite. I can‘t concentrate so I‘m going for shorter books. 5y
92 likes5 comments
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Hestapleton
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

My pick for #liveandlearn for #booked2020
This was dense in parts, but incredibly informative. Not only did I learn a LOT about genes and the current state of genetics, but this spurned me to learn more about my sister‘s genetic disorder, which I also didn‘t know that much about. Mukherjee writes intelligently and compassionately. Well-worth fighting through some difficult science. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Megabooks This is a really informative book! 5y
Crazeedi I can't wait to read this! 5y
Jee_HookedOnBookz Got this on my shelf! I'm hoping to read it one day😅 5y
84 likes3 comments
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Hestapleton
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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This book is both fascinating and heartbreaking. My little sister has a genetic disorder: gene UBE3A is missing, deleted from her chromosome. As I learn about the importance of genes, the way they are supposed to work and create life, I‘m both thrilled to learn more about why exactly she is who she is, but deeply grieving the loss of little bugger UBE3A, who skipped town and cut her off from so so much.

wanderinglynn Sounds fascinating. 👍🏻 5y
Suet624 💔💔❤️❤️ 5y
73 likes2 comments
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Kell1
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

A history of the gene, a view of where and how the concept came to be, how humanity has used the knowledge from the time it came to knowledge and after recent discoveries. The book is sometimes hard to follow. It was masterfully written with a pint of personal family history from the author and valuable information that all comes together for a better understanding of the gene. Can't recommend this book enough.

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Librarybelle
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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#HumanNature ...as told by our genetic makeup. #Movember

Cinfhen Another #NF I really want to read 5y
emilyhaldi I have this one but have been too intimidated to pick it up 😅 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
86 likes4 comments
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Conservio
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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I recently moved and have started unpacking my books. This is my main shelf for nonfiction TBR.

#exploration #science #genetics #viruses #evensomehistory

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Vivlio_Gnosi
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Adding this #Nonfiction #medical book to my #TBR stack. I'm excited to read Mukherjee's follow up to his wildly successful #EmperorofAllMaladies.
#knowledge #power #PulitzerPrize

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oneonefour
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
Pickpick

Hard to read in parts mainly because I don't have a biology degree. But covers some very essential items

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Kajohnson
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Didn‘t expect a book on genetics to make me laugh out loud 😊

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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
Pickpick

Another deeply informative & meticulous yet accessible book from this author. I‘m fascinated by genetics in general; learning so much about the history of the gene itself, our knowledge of it, our work with it, was eye-opening. I appreciate how well he conveys info to laypeople too—not overly simplifying it but just making it understandable w/o a science degree. At times it got a bit overly academic, but overall well worth the time to read! 4/5 ⭐️

Crazeedi Sounds like a good one, putting on my tbr 5y
alisonrose @Crazeedi 👍🏻 5y
33 likes1 stack add2 comments
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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee

After nearly a decade of intensive hunting, what geneticists have found is not a “gay gene” but a few “gay locations.”

[Look, all 5 feet of me is a “gay location” 🏳️‍🌈💁🏻‍♀️🧚🏼‍♀️]

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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Translation: Cancer is a monstrous bitch.

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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Less than a century ago, folks. Oy vey.

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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee

In the early 1850s, Mendel had tried a more audacious variation of this experiment, starting with white and gray field mice. He had bred mice in his room—mostly undercover—to try to produce mice hybrids. But the abbot, although generally tolerant of Mendel‘s whims, had intervened: a monk coaxing mice to mate to understand heredity was a little too risqué, even for the Augustinians.

???

ravenlee 😆😆😆 5y
32 likes1 comment
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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee

The crucial driver of evolution, Darwin understood, was not nature‘s sense of purpose, but her sense of humor.

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alisonrose
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Some nice light escapist weekend reading!!! I‘m honestly looking forward to it because The Emperor of All Maladies was so good, and I‘m fascinated by genetics, heredity, and the like. Plus, I just found out that my kitty might be very sick and I just need something else I can really focus my mind on right now. #nowreading

8little_paws Oh I'm so sorry about your cat 5y
Ericalambbrown I really enjoyed this one. I hope you do as well. I‘m sorry about your kitty🐱 5y
37 likes3 comments
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sidherinn
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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WanderingBookaneer
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Crazeedi 🤣👍 then we're definitely related!!💗 5y
Chrissyreadit 😆❤️ 5y
Gissy Yes!❤️❤️❤️❤️Tus ancestros son puros libros📚📚📚📚 5y
101 likes3 comments
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CoffeeK8
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

Really interesting! A fabulous deep dive into an what makes us us.

TheBookHippie I enjoyed this too! I got it as an ARC at my first bookcon I attended!! 5y
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athejaswi
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
Pickpick

Eye opening...never knew the sacrifices made by scientists over discoveries.

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Megabooks
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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The basic unit of #Inheritance is the gene, and Mukherjee does a wonderful job explaining it in a way that is interesting for scientists and non-scientists alike. I‘ve listened to this is an audiobook twice, and highly recommend it that way. The narration is excellent. 🎧👍🏻👩🏻‍⚕️

#StarTrekSummerMay

lkurgs I got it last week! Can‘t wait to start reading it. 6y
Megabooks @lkurgs I hope you enjoy it! 6y
lkurgs @Megabooks thank you 😊 6y
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mklong
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

Ask me anything, I‘m a genius now! Well, at least it feels that way after reading this book. Of course some of it went over my head (I‘m still not clear how to make insulin), but less than I expected, owing to Mukhergee‘s incredible ability to make very complicated processes comprehensible to a lay person.

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emilyhaldi
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Genes might be invisible to the naked eye, but have the ultimate influence on our existence 🧬 I would never normally pick this book up on my own but after seeing so many rave reviews I figured I would give it a shot!...someday.
#invisibletouch
#anglophileapril

Mdargusch Clever thinking. 😘 6y
vivastory Well-played! 6y
Reviewsbylola You‘ll never read it but it‘s pretty. 😆 6y
See All 6 Comments
emilyhaldi Is it wrong that your comment motivates me to move this up to #2 spot on my tbr? 😜 @Reviewsbylola 6y
Reviewsbylola I was wondering if it would motivate you. 😆 6y
sisilia I have this, too... unread yet 6y
86 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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Schnoebs
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

5⭐️

I can‘t believe I loved a book on the history of genetics...

This book starts at the very beginning of the field with Darwin and Mendel and works its way all the way to present day with the creation of the human genome project and gene therapy.

I would highly recommend for anyone interested in genetics, eugenics and racism, gender identity and more!

#audiobook #scribd #nonfiction #umn #gradlife #mpls #twincities

Schnoebs @Birdsong28 using this for a book that discusses mental health because I don‘t think I‘ll be picking up anything else that fits this for #52booksin52 6y
Birdsong28 @Schnoebs 👍👍👍👍😘📚📖 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I loved this one too, so very good! 6y
ValerieAndBooks Looks good; stacking!! 6y
34 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Schnoebs
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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This is a book on the history of genetics. I know they are are talking about bacteria/virus chimera but I just keep thinking about the chimera in Full Metal Alchemist. I might have anime on the brain while reading this 🙈

#fullmetalalchemist #fma #nonfiction #science #anime #manga #mpls #twincities

Serotonin Hahahaha, totally 😆 6y
36 likes1 comment
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Oblomov26
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

Amazing book being a history of the development of genetic theory from Darwin and Mendel through to modern day with the fulling mapping of the genome and the use of CRISPR to edit genes. A book which will help you understand one of the key technologies the world and the potential impact that it may have on the future, in a readable and large understandable style.

EricaReads I‘m really into biology books at the moment. This book is next on my list! I‘m currently reading The Tangled Tree and I contain Multitudes. You might enjoy those if you haven‘t read them already 😊 6y
68 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Schnoebs
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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I can definitely say that I never expected myself to put off reading a fantasy novel to keep pick up a required book on the history of genes. Wow, I can‘t get enough of this and the audiobook that I‘m listening too simultaneously is superb!

#weekendplans #requiredreading #nonfiction #audiobook #scribd #umn #gradlife #mpls #twincities

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MalaysianBiblioholic
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Oh! The struggles of a polygamist reader. Some I‘ve started reading a few months ago, one was a couple of days ago and one was a couple of hours ago . But I am determine to finish all of them this year. Is there a gene therapy for this condition? 🤔

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SW-T
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Pickpick

The possibility of understanding and curing illness has to be balanced against human desire for using genetics to create “better” people or the “perfect race.” Scary stuff, fascinating book.

#genetics #geneticscience #science

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SW-T
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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So much great history and information in one book!

#genetics #geneticscience #science

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SW-T
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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1. Get holiday cards addressed and in the mail.
2. Attending a friend‘s retirement party.
3. Russian tea cakes
4. The Gene (tagged)
5. Any #littens who want to participate

#friyayintro @howjessreads

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SW-T
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Happy Sunday!

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MoniqueReads305
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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I think this is my first time #audiocommuting.

Birdsong28 Makes it go faster!! 😀 6y
derr.liz Check your mail! (But wait for Dec 6 to open 🎅) #sss #stuffedstockingswap @Avanders 6y
MoniqueReads305 @derr.liz is it a plain white box? I got one today without any markings and was tempted to open but resisted. 6y
derr.liz Yes, sorry I realized after I sent it that I forgot to mark it obviously on the outside! 📦🔜🎁 6y
37 likes4 comments
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MoniqueReads305
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Finally starting #nonfictionnovember work this meaty selecting. It's clocks in at just under 20 hours.

#amlistening #nonfiction

Riveted_Reader_Melissa It‘s a good one though, I hope you like it. 6y
30 likes1 comment
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the_hibernator
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Started this gem after finishing Hillbilly Elegy on Monday. Excellent beginning!

Gezemice Amazing book. Enjoy! 6y
22 likes2 comments
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Librarybelle
The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Cathythoughts We do 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 6y
Kalalalatja Indeed we do 👏 6y
61 likes1 stack add2 comments