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Rainbirds
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
189 posts | 72 read | 2 reading | 105 to read
Clarissa Goenawan's dark, spellbinding literary debut opens with a murder and shines a spotlight onto life in fictional small-town Japan. Ren Ishida is nearly finished with graduate school when he receives news of his sister, Keiko's, sudden death. She was viciously stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister's affairs, still failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate town years ago. But Ren soon finds himself picking up where Keiko left off, accepting both her teaching position at a local cram school and the bizarre arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician's mansion in exchange for reading to the man's catatonic wife. As he comes to know the figures in Akakawa, from the enigmatic politician to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, alluring student named Rio, Ren delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed, trying to piece together what happened the night of her death. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren struggles to find solace in the void his sister has left behind.
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LeslieO
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Eggs So unique and colorful 👏🏻💗🧡👌🏼 3y
45 likes1 comment
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Kshakal
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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OriginalCyn620 💙💙💙 3y
21 likes1 comment
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emmaturi
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Pickpick

This book I have had since summer 2018, so I was finally glad to read it. And I very much enjoyed it too. Set in Japan, Ren finds out his sister has been murdered. He goes to the place where it happened and tries to find out what happened to his sister. He takes her job in the school she worked and befriends the people she knew. He realises she had lots of secrets. It is not so much a crime story but more about family and their relationships.

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emmaturi
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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These two books are set in Japan. Rainbirds which I am reading deals with Ren, whose sister was murdered. What's Left of Me is Yours deals with a covert industry where a person is hired to seduce one spouse in order to gain the advantage in divorce proceedings. #books

LoverOfLearning Wow both beautiful covers! 4y
31 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#3Books #thatmadememad

1) racial injustice 😡😡
2)I can never get the time back that I spent reading Rainbirds!!! I saw it on someone‘s tbr list so it will soon have a new home!
3) the ending of The Couple Next Door 😱😱

AmyG #2 🤣 4y
Prairiegirl_reading I don‘t get why everyone loved the couple next door. I was mad too. 4y
Jesstifies Me too re: couple next door. At first it seemed super interesting and the tension was really great, and then the plot turned into a complete bizzaro pretzel 🥨!😤 4y
See All 6 Comments
OriginalCyn620 THUG was one of my choices too. Agree with your number 3 and with @Jesstifies! 4y
86 likes6 comments
review
MartinaLove
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Pickpick

4/5⭐
This book was really good. I really enjoyed reading Ishida point of view. He was an enjoyable character. I could of read more chapters.
The mystery was good but you can tell what is about to happen as you read along with Ishida. All the characters were important to the story. Though, I wish we could of get more answers to some of the questions.
PS: This is Romy.

ladym30 Romy is adorable!❤️ (edited) 4y
Well-ReadNeck I enjoyed this one on audiobook! 4y
MartinaLove @Well-ReadNeck I really wish I could listen to audiobooks. Youtubers said the experience of listening to the audio of some books was amazing. I can listen for 5 minutes and after that my mind wonders somewhere else. I heard Daisy Jones and the Six was really good. 4y
MartinaLove @ladym30 Thank you! 🙂 4y
16 likes4 comments
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MartinaLove
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Trying to do the things I used to do before my mother passed away. I miss my mom so much. We were sitting outside to relaxe. She was getting tanned and listening to music while I was reading. ❤

Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Sending love & strength 💜 4y
11 likes1 comment
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MartinaLove
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Currently reading this book also.
Anyone else here is reading 4-5 books at the same time?

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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#Fish (on the cover)
#BoundTogetherJune

“Sadness alone can‘t harm anyone. It‘s what you do when you‘re sad that can hurt you and those around you”

AmyG Haha...we did not love this book. But good quote. 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @AmyG no!!! I‘m going to give it away!! That was the only quote I could find 🤣🤣 (edited) 4y
OriginalCyn620 Great quote! 4y
77 likes3 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#Disappointing
#MarchMadness

I was very disappointed in these #BOTM selections and The Night Tiger not pictured!

#UnpopularOpinion

Come-read-with-me But your lamp is so cool and the books look beautiful! Great picture. 4y
tracey38 It's so sad when disappointed in books. Especially when we look forward to then. But I agree, cute lamp! Love the shade. 💜🙂 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Come-read-with-me awww thank you!! 💜💜 4y
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @tracey38 thank you!!! 💜💜💜 4y
AmyG Rainbirds....oy! 😬 4y
Come-read-with-me @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Always look for the sunny side, right?! 😊 4y
Eggs Lovely photo M.M.M. 🥰 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 4y
mrsthilkey I have Rainbirds but I can't remember why I chose it. 😏 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Come-read-with-me exactly!! 😉 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs thank you 😘😘 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @mrsthilkey I hope you enjoy it!! 4y
Aswenson Circling the Sun was definitely slow for me! 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Aswenson I couldn‘t finish it!! It‘s rare for me not to finish a book!! 4y
80 likes13 comments
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MartinaLove
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Two new books from last year. I'm not sure if I shared those already or not.
I started reading Rainbirds yesterday, so far I like it. It's a mystery. We Follow the main character who is trying to figure out what happend to his sister.
I started Bloodleaf last year, but I didn't have the time to finish it. So far it's a fun fantasy book.

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MartinaLove
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#chillingphotochallenge day 7: Orange

These are all the orange books that I own.

#TeamSlaughter #Scarathlon @Clwojick

+1 participation

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MartinaLove
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Orange books. 🎃🦊

I only have a few. I hope to read Rainbirds and The Haunting of Hill House before the end if the year.

#TeamSlaughter #Scarathlon #FallIsBooked

Team Captain: @Clwojick

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

OriginalCyn620 👌🏻📚🧡 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love your photo!! 🧡🖤 5y
18 likes2 comments
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Megabooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Mehso-so

I love this sentence at the end. 💙📚 Too bad this isn‘t a book I‘d fully recommend, but I‘m willing to borrow this author‘s next book.

This book is more atmosphere than substance, but I wanted substance. If you like atmospheric mysteries, I would say try this. Another day, I may have liked it more since I‘m such a mood reader. 3⭐️

#botmbacklog #bfc #bfcr2 #goteam book 30/28 🥳

wanderinglynn w00t! It‘s all icing now for your book goal! 🥳 5y
cewilf Way to crush that reading goal 🎉 5y
cobwebmoth I think timing has so much to do with whether I enjoy something or not. Yay for you finishing another book! 5y
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Emilymdxn You‘re doing soooo well you star! 5y
Megabooks @wanderinglynn My original goal was 12! 🤣 I way underestimated, but I think I‘m going to stick with 28 for round three so I don‘t discourage myself from reading chunksters. 😉😁📚 5y
wanderinglynn That‘s awesome! 🙌🏻 More than doubled your original goal! You really outdid yourself! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🥳 5y
Megabooks @cewilf Thanks! 💙🥳😁 I just wish I were crushing my fitness goal. Too rainy then too hot/humid to walk today! 5y
Megabooks @cobwebmoth That‘s so true. I know I‘m a terribly moody, subjective reader. More so with fiction than with nonfiction. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5y
Megabooks @Emilymdxn Thanks!! 🥳⭐️🥳 5y
Megabooks @wanderinglynn Thank you!! I never know what my health (both physical and mental) will let me do, but it‘s been nice to have these goals with the bfc! 5y
Reviewsbylola Yeah I didn‘t love this one either. 5y
Megabooks @Reviewsbylola Some of the 2018 picks were 👎🏻👎🏻 5y
86 likes12 comments
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Megabooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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This book has great chapter titles. 📚

Clwojick Love it! 5y
Megabooks @Clwojick love your pictures!! Made my day! 😁😁🤪🤣 5y
Clwojick You should try it! I had so much fun! ♥️ 5y
See All 6 Comments
Megabooks @Clwojick Maybe I‘ll go to Ollie‘s. Lots of books. Really ugly. 🤣🤣 5y
tammysue Love this! 5y
Megabooks @tammysue 😊👍🏻 5y
92 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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Megabooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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New day, new book. And I‘m using my bird bookmark, get it? I‘m so corny! 🤣🤪

I actually slept last night, too, so that‘s good! Working on sleeping 7 hours a day is a goal this week. 😴😴

violabrain Have you read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker? It‘s an amazing book and will help you stick to your sleeping goals! 5y
Megabooks @violabrain Thank you! I‘ve put it on hold at the library!! 5y
violabrain @Megabooks Awesome! It‘s an amazing book! 5y
110 likes3 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#ColorMePretty
#Analogus I tried lol 🤣


Still have to read The Swans of Fifth Avenue, very much disliked Rainbirds, and loved the Tess Gerritsen book 📚

keepingupwiththepenguins Swans of Fifth Avenue is on my TBR too! It sounds so good! 😍 🤓 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🙌🏻📚☺️ 5y
93 likes2 comments
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CoffeeNBooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#30JuneBooks Not one of my favorite books, but I definitely think it's a #PrettyBook.
@howjessreads

RavenLovelyReads I didn‘t care for it either! 🙊 5y
88 likes1 comment
review
lauren.lerner
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Pickpick

When Ren Ishida‘s older sister Keiko is murdered, he leaves Tokyo to tie up her affairs & discovers how little he knew about his beloved sister. Not quite a who-done-it, this book was unexpected & while not really for me, it‘s a lovely novel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
#BOTM #diversereads #readtheworld

38 likes1 stack add
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mhillis
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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February fiction roundup! Rainbirds and The Belles were this month‘s favorites. #februarywrapup

49 likes2 comments
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suvata
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#LMPBC Round 004 - Group M
@RavenLovelyReads @suvata @Collegecatlady @Kappadeemom

I just put Rainbirds in the mail to be returned to @collegecatlady This was a great Round and I really enjoyed sharing books with all of you. Thanks for participating! 😎

Kappadeemom Thank you for organizing! 5y
suvata @Kappadeemom No problem. I love doing it. 5y
55 likes2 comments
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suvata
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Pickpick

Read for Litsy Markup Postal Book Club (#LMPBC) Round 4 - Group M.

Another enjoyable novel translated from Japanese. When Ren hears about his estranged sister‘s death, he sets out on a mission of discovery. Filled with a cast of memorable characters, this book was intriguing and mysterious. I would like to read more from Goenawan in the future.

wellreadredhead I‘m glad you liked it! 5y
ErikasMindfulShelf I picked that one for #BOTM but didn‘t get to it yet. 5y
suvata @irre I hope you like it too 5y
51 likes3 comments
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suvata
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Wayyyyyyyy past my bedtime 🛌

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suvata
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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@RavenLovelyReads
Look what I got in the mail today! Thanks for the other goodies too. I love what your 8-year-old wrote on the Valentines card. Got a big kick out of that. ♥️

#LMPBC Round 004 - Group M
@RavenLovelyReads @suvata @Collegecatlady @Kappadeemom

RavenLovelyReads I‘m glad you got it! My writing- but his words 😉 5y
Laughterhp Are you doing another round of LMPBC? I wasn‘t sure if I missed your signup post or not. 5y
suvata @Laughterhp Back by popular demand, we are doing a Round 5. Keep your eyes peeled because I will be posting a notice in the next week or so. 👀 5y
66 likes3 comments
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allureofbeauty
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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I‘ve decided to start collecting BOTM books that I find used and at like Half Price.
#botm #bookofthemonth #fiction #mystery #used #usedbooks #halfprice #halfpricebooks #bookhaul #books #botmhaul #haul

15 likes1 comment
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RavenLovelyReads
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Finished this a few days ago and I needed a few days to process it. Overall, I didn‘t like the book. I feel the story had a lot of potential, but it wasn‘t executed in a way that blended well. Anybody else have a different point of view? Or anyone else feel the same?

Redwritinghood No, I also thought it was pretty bad. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Totally agree!!! It was a struggle to finish it 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻 5y
bookandcat Oh, I'm sad! I absolutely loved this book, it was 5 stars from me. Loved the prose. 5y
64 likes3 comments
review
MirrorMask
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Pickpick

"Mrs. Katou still didn‘t move. ‘I believe it was her way of saying she loves you, and she forgives you,‘ I continued. ‘That‘s why you need to forgive yourself. For your sake, and hers.‘ I let go of her hands, picked up the book and left the room. After closing the door, I heard faint, muffled sobs. In that moment, I knew she wouldn‘t need me or anyone else to read to her any longer."

#MysterybyWOC #ReadingWomenChallenge2019 @thereadingwomen

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MirrorMask
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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#FriyayIntro @howjessreads

1. Teleport
2. Tagged. I'm currently listening to it.
3. No meat in 2019. Exercise more (which I'm failing miserably at).
4. My last Netflix binge was Kim's Convenience
5. Will do!

VeganCleopatra Yay for #3 5y
Chrissyreadit ❤️❤️❤️❤️no meat!!! 5y
77 likes2 comments
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RavenLovelyReads
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Current read for #LMPBC round 4 #GroupM can we talk about how pretty this book is?? Just beautiful!

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rather_be_reading
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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My library book haul on my lunch break.

jessinikkip Nice! I have been meabing to read the Sue Grafton series but I havent ever seen then at library sales or thrift shops when I have the money for them yet. 5y
laur89 I recently added a Sue Grafton book to my TBR! Are they stand-alone novels, or do they have to be read in order? 5y
rather_be_reading @laur89 pretty sure they build on each other bt not 100% sure 5y
rather_be_reading @jessinikkip ive slowly been picking them up at library sales and thrift stores 5y
113 likes4 comments
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RavenLovelyReads
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Cheers, friends! Happy New Year to all my Litten friends- I‘m having the perfect introvert evening :) Hiws everybody celebrating??

j9brown Same! Having a book and wine night in 🥂 5y
RavenLovelyReads @j9brown sounds like a perfect evening! Cheers! And Happy New Year! 🥂 5y
CarolynM Happy New Year to you too 🎉 5y
Redwritinghood Happy New Year! 🎉🎉🥳🥳 5y
kelli7990 Happy New Year! 5y
65 likes5 comments
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Kappadeemom
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Can‘t sleep. Terrible weather here in Georgia and schools are closed tomorrow. Starting on my #LMPBC pick!

BookishMarginalia Hang in there! 5y
50 likes1 comment
review
wellreadredhead
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Mehso-so

There were a lot of moving parts that I don‘t feel came together 100% for me in the end. I‘m interested to see how the rest of my #lmpbc group reacts to this one. I‘ll be getting this one off in the mail to @Kappadeemom soon! @suvata @RavenLovelyReads

CoffeeNBooks I read this with the #BOTMBuddyRead last month, and several of us felt the same way about it. 5y
TheBookHippie @CoffeeNBooks right?!?!! Ugh. 5y
83 likes2 comments
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EadieB
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Panpan

This was a very hard book to get into. It took me all month to read it as I was not too excited about picking it up again after putting it down. I found it very disjointed and the main character was very unprofessional. The author had a good idea for a plot but didn‘t carry it off too well. Hopefully she can redeem herself with a better book next time.

#rainbird #clarissagoenawan

Andrew65 Totally agree. 5y
55 likes1 comment
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Andrew65
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Panpan

Well at least I can say I finished this book, but not a lot more positive to say. The writing had a nice style to it, but the story was just so disjointed & I couldn‘t tell you what the main point (or even genre) of the book was. The main character was investigating his sister‘s murder, but was questionable in his judgements & actions, & I didn‘t like him. He was also unprofessional in the extreme. A good book was hidden in here but not achieved.

Andrew65 ⭐️ ⭐️ 5y
AmyG Agreed 5y
See All 12 Comments
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Agreed!! 👎🏻👎🏻 5y
Andrew65 @AmyG @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Come on Circe! But not a high standard to beat this month! (edited) 5y
EadieB @Andrew65 I had a hard time finishing this book too. Story was very disjointed and Ren was totally weird and so unprofessional. (edited) 5y
BeansPage Agreed 5y
JaclynW Great review. I completely agree. 5y
Reviewsbylola The bottom line for me was that this one was totally, undeniably forgettable. Nothing special except for the pretty cover! 5y
RebelReader I‘m looking forward to Circe as Rainbirds left me cold! 5y
TheBookHippie Oh I soooooo agree!!!!😭😭😭love sharing all our horrible opinions! 😳🤣📖 5y
87 likes12 comments
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Tonton
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Pickpick

If I was told this book was a translation from the Japanese,I would totally believe it. The author is Indonesian, based in Singapore;and though this is her 1st novel,it shines with her perfect understanding of Japanese aesthetics and style. Ren goes to a small town in the country where his sister inexplicably moved to,and was killed. Less a mystery than a languid unveiling on the meaning of love,longing,and loss. Take your time with this one.

36 likes3 stack adds
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
This post contains spoilers
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Thank you to everyone for participating in this buddy read!! We know it wasn‘t the best! High hopes for Circe!! 🧡🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Any final thoughts on this one?!?!

#BotmBuddyRead

MrsV The book started out with promise, but lost its way after the 1st section we read. It‘s like the author just had too many ideas and just put them in, hoping they would fit. 5y
JaclynW Did anyone else find this book hard to put down? As much as I was puzzled by it and didn't necessarily love the story, I found that I never wanted to put it down. It also had me thinking/puzzling/wondering about it when I did put it down. So odd. I think my brain just wanted to make some sense of it. I was never really successful at it. Were you? Did you like the ending? Were you satisfied? 5y
JaclynW @MrsV And then she never tied them together! 5y
See All 20 Comments
AmyG I didn‘t like this book at all. The only positive thing I can say is it was a fast read. 5y
MrsV @JaclynW Yes! 5y
CoffeeNBooks This was the review I posted the other day: It felt like this should have been a short story instead of a novel. There were so many random threads woven throughout the story that ended up being loose threads that didn't attach to anything else. There were several random characters that weren't developed, and didn't really add anything to the story, so it left me wondering why they were even included. The main plot line seemed hastily resolved. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @JaclynW yes!! I kept thinking at some point it‘s going to come together and make sense! I didn‘t like the ending at all. I sort of understood not wanting to shame his sister‘s name, yet how could he let a murderer go free?!?! 5y
mkittysabibliokitty Aww sorry to hear that! I loved her other book 5y
Andrew65 I can‘t say I ever enjoyed this book, even in the first section. I had the weirdest experience with this book and thought I never got into it, at first I thought it was me and stresses at work! To be quite frank I didn‘t care how it was resolved. It‘s strange because the writing ‘felt‘ good but the plot wasn‘t clear and so mixed up. I‘ve enjoyed the discussions as it helped reinforce my views and that it wasn‘t me. Come on Circe! 5y
Andrew65 And then a favourite with 5y
Andrew65 Thanks for your great work on this @TheBookHippie @MrsV @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks greatly appreciated. 🙌👍👏😍❤️ and thanks everyone for your contributions in the discussions. 👏❤️😍 I love these. 5y
Andrew65 Apologies for being a bit late to the party on this one, caught out by clocks going backwards last night. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 yes!! I love Lillian 💗 5y
BookNAround I missed the discussion because I was napping but I‘m curious if anyone else completely missed how REN figured out that Seven Stars‘ dad was Keiko‘s married boyfriend and that her mom was the likely murderer? I felt like there was so much that was brought up and then never truly tied into the major plot line. 5y
kspenmoll @BookNAround I got it but thought it was weird that he never did anything about it. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @BookNAround I thought it was weird too that he didn‘t do anything about... (edited) 5y
JaclynW @BookNAround Agreed. I had no idea how he came to that conclusion. So out of the blue! 5y
15 likes20 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
This post contains spoilers
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Question #4

How do you think Nae will respond to his phone call? How would you respond?

#BotmBuddyRead

MrsV Punch him in the dick! Answer to both questions. 5y
JaclynW I would tell him to go take a hike because I've already moved on from his worthless, self absorbed a$$!!! I am hoping that is what Nae tells him. 5y
JaclynW @MrsV 😂😂😂 5y
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AmyG What @MrsV said. I hope she tells him she has a new and wonderful boyfriend ...right before she tells him to go fuck himself. 5y
CoffeeNBooks I can't imagine that Nae has been sitting around waiting for him all this time. He made no contact with her while he was gone. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @CoffeeNBooks I agree! Why would he even think that?!?! 5y
CoffeeNBooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks And who would treat their girlfriend like that to begin with?! 5y
Andrew65 I think I know what I‘d tell him to do! and have to agree with @JaclynW 5y
Andrew65 @MrsV 😂😂😂👏👏👏 5y
Andrew65 I wasn‘t sure this book achieved anything but just changed my mind, it got us to form VERY STRONG NEGATIVE OPINIONS around the central character. 😂😂😂 @MrsV @TheBookHippie @JaclynW @AmyG @CoffeeNBooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 5y
Redwritinghood Well, I don‘t think I‘d be talking to him anymore. He‘s ignores her completely for weeks. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 very true!!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 5y
kspenmoll @MrsV 😂😂😂😂 I hope she has a new boyfriend. I would dump him- a fight, then no contact fie 6 months. Please, how selfish, arrogant & narcissistic is that to think she would love to hear from him!!!!😡 5y
JaclynW @CoffeeNBooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Exactly! Who would wait? And who would want a guy like that? 5y
JaclynW @Andrew65 Very true! He wasn't likable or impressive at all. 5y
TheBookHippie Nope ...just no...she's a priority not an option!!!!!! @CoffeeNBooks @Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @JaclynW 5y
JaclynW @TheBookHippie Well said! 5y
13 likes17 comments
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MrsV
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
This post contains spoilers
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JaclynW Exactly! Why?? You can't have a murder mystery story without solving the case! This book was odd. Ren didn't seem to really care. Was he so caught up in his grief? Was he at a loss as to what to do? Did he really even care? What was the point of this story then! I'm so confused! 5y
MrsV @JaclynW It‘s like I cared about her more than he did. 5y
JaclynW @MrsV Totally!! Me too! 5y
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AmyG I did not like this book. I felt that there were so many questions not answered. I didn‘t remotely understand Ren as a character. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @AmyG I agree... it was very bizarre... 5y
CoffeeNBooks I can't even wrap my brain around this story well enough to form an answer, lol! So much of it just didn't make any sense. 😂 5y
Andrew65 @AmyG Have to agree with you, I think this was the weakest book I‘ve read this year. Didn‘t enjoy it or ever feel in it or part of it! And agree with @CoffeeNBooks so much of it didn‘t seem to make sense. Still not sure I know what the author was trying to achieve with this book, or how I‘d categorise the book. 5y
Andrew65 As for the supposed punishment or not of the killer, what was that all about. 5y
Redwritinghood The story makes no sense. He went to find out what happened to her, learned about the baby, etc., then left her behind without a thought. The motivations of REN throughout the book seem really unclear. 5y
kspenmoll @Andrew65 agree with you all. Confusing book, unsympathetic character, @JaclynW He did not seem to care much in the end about his sister & so weird he took on her life. @MrsV I would like to know his sister too. A chore to read. 5y
Andrew65 @kspenmoll Totally agree about being a chore to read. 5y
JaclynW @Redwritinghood Very unclear! 5y
JaclynW @kspenmoll Confusing and weird for sure! 5y
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blurb
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Question #2
Ren seems a bit selfish self evolved and immature to me...what were your thoughts ????

#BotmBuddyRead

MrsV I hate him! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @MrsV me too!! So self absorbed and selfish!! 5y
JaclynW Ren is a puzzle to me. He did seem to be very self serving. I thought the whole point of him going to the city where his sister lived was to try and solve her murder. He definitely didn't do that. He was focused on what he wanted for sure. It was all so bizarre. 5y
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AmyG I think that he has a LOT of issues, most likely because of his childhood. Imagine what a mess he would be if not for a sister who took care of him? He has a lot of growing up to do. 5y
CoffeeNBooks I never got the sense that he was really doing anything to figure out Keiko's murder, even though that was the reason he went to Akakawa to begin with... but then he suddenly figured the whole thing out, somehow. 5y
Andrew65 Firstly what a lovely picture! (edited) 5y
Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Don‘t get me started 😂 but I agree totally self-absorbed and selfish! Unprofessional and abusive to one of his students. I love the fact (not) that he was more concerned with the age difference and not the total abuse of trust with one of his students. Needs to be kicked out of his profession and arrested. Love the way he ‘solved‘ the murder. Think I have to agree with @MrsV 5y
Redwritinghood Completely agree. He still seemed immature and unprofessional. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 definitely shouldn‘t be a teacher!!! 5y
kspenmoll @AmyG good point re his childhood. Although he was looking to solve his sister‘s murder, the book seemed to be about him. If he kept on teaching eventually he would get into trouble. 5y
JaclynW @kspenmoll For sure! 5y
JaclynW @Andrew65 Ya, he shouldn't be a teacher! 5y
Andrew65 @JaclynW He should be struck off for what he did, and possible criminal charges. 5y
TheBookHippie @kspenmoll @AmyG he has many issues and should not be teaching!!!! Grow up ...ugh 5y
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Welcome to our final discussion on Rainbirds!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I am posting for @TheBookHippie today! She is sick 😷☹️ Wishing her a speedy recovery!!

Do you think Keiko actually lived? Her life seems so tragic...
Do you wish we had her perspective ?

#BotmBuddyRead

JaclynW I do think she lived. I think she went after what she wanted. What she wanted however, always seemed to lead her to more tragic circumstances. I do wish we could hear the story from her perspective. I have a feeling it wouldn't have been so disjointed. But I could be wrong. 😜 5y
AmyG First...feel better @TheBookHippie Second- I would think that she would have felt she lived. Her perspective would peobably hve to be a whole other book. I felt there was alot that we still don‘t know about what happenned. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I agree with you guys.. She lived her life the way she wanted, no matter the consequences. I would have rather heard her perspective than Ren‘s!! 5y
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Andrew65 Get well soon @TheBookHippie 🤒😷😍 5y
Andrew65 Not sure she ne er lived but she did have a sad short life! 😢 Couldn‘t take to REN so the book written from her perspective would hopefully have been better. 5y
Redwritinghood Would have liked to have her perspective too. 5y
kspenmoll Get well @TheBookHippie ! I too wish we could get her perspective- still a mystery to me why she left home/fight. She did make her life her own, but as @JaclynW said her choices led to tragedy. 5y
TheBookHippie @kspenmoll thanks I'm up and around today!!! Fingers crossed!!!! Also I wish we heard her story ....@Andrew65 I didn't like her brother at all🙄🙁 it seems so disjointed. There is beautiful language hidden in the story if only we had it!!! 5y
TheBookHippie @AmyG I'm on the mend 🙌🏻🙌🏻🤢 is no joke! 5y
Andrew65 @TheBookHippie We all seem to agree there is a good book hidden in there! 5y
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Our final discussion on Rainbirds starts in 30 minutes!! Yay!! We hope you will join us!! Cohosted by myself and @MrsV or follow the #BotmBuddyRead!! @TheBookHippie is feeling under the weather today 😢 🙏🏻she gets to feeling better!!! I will be posting her questions!

I‘m so ready to start Circe!!

Andrew65 Me too! 5y
56 likes1 comment
review
TheBookHippie
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Panpan

I found a good meaningful part...
That's it

Can't wait to discuss #BOTMBUDDYREAD Sunday 2PM EST until then mums the word on any further talk other than to say the book is dented ...I may have thrown it at the end 😳

kspenmoll 😂 5y
MrsV Yes, this weeks discussion should be quite interesting 5y
41 likes2 comments
review
Redwritinghood
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Mehso-so

#botmbuddyread. Honestly, this was close to a pan for me. The writing was not great and many of the characters were flat. Also, the ending was not as satisfying as I had hoped it would be. Interesting setting and storyline, but I think the author failed to deliver on the plot. I look forward to discussing with the rest of the buddy readers this Sunday! 2.5⭐️

Andrew65 This mirrors my feelings too, but not read the final section yet. At moment around a 2 star book for me. Totally agree with every aspect of your great review. 5y
AmyG @Andrew65 Well I just read the final part and gave it 2 stars on goodreads. MEH 5y
Andrew65 @AmyG I‘m sure that will be my final rating too. 5y
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Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 😂 Forget two stars, give it two 😩😩 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 I wanted to throw this book across the room!! 🤣🤣 5y
Redwritinghood @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @AmyG @Andrew65 Well, it seems like we‘re all having similar reactions to this one! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Redwritinghood for sure!! I‘m glad we are almost done with it!! You win some you lose some 🤷🏼‍♀️ 5y
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wellreadredhead
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Hey #lmpbc round 4 group members! I was thinking of reading one of these three ARCs I have laying around for the next round. Have you guys read any of these or prefer one over the others?

suvata This one looks good 5y
suvata Hey, I just realized we are in the same group again. Cool! 5y
wellreadredhead @suvata I‘m looking forward to it! 5y
RavenLovelyReads I haven‘t read any- I‘ll read anything :) 5y
84 likes4 comments
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TheBookHippie
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Determined to finish this hot mess tonight and OYE!!! See you Sunday #BOTMBUDDY friends ❤️📖🤣😂🤪😳😝🤷🏽‍♀️can't wait to do our final chat!

Sydsavvy Verdict? 5y
TheBookHippie @Sydsavvy beautifully written ...maddening plot story line 🤪 5y
Sydsavvy 🤔🤔🤔😎 5y
TheBookHippie @Sydsavvy it's like she threw all good ideas out then had to figure out what to do with them all...meanwhile we are reading along ... 5y
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review
CoffeeNBooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Panpan

It felt like this should have been a short story instead of a novel. There were so many random threads woven throughout the story that ended up being loose threads that didn't attach to anything else. There were several random characters that weren't developed, and didn't really add anything to the story, so it left me wondering why they were even included. The main plot line seemed hastily resolved.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I wanted to throw this book across the room!!! 😩😩😩 5y
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Rainbirds | Clarissa Goenawan
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Final thoughts!! So many unanswered questions!!
Any books from #Botm you would like to see us read and discuss??

#BotmBuddyRead

Redwritinghood Did we ever do The Leavers as a buddy read? Amazingly, I still haven‘t read that one! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Redwritinghood no, we haven‘t. Not to deter you, but I had to make myself finish that book... (edited) 5y
kspenmoll This book has not been one of my favorites! 5y
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kspenmoll Summer Wives, Clockmakers Daughter, the Mermaid & Mrs Hancock, The Silence of the Girls. Obviously I am way way backed up!!!! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @kspenmoll mine either!! I have high hope for Circe!! 5y
BeansPage When I finish this book I didn't know if I liked it or if I hated it. It is very beautifully written and I appreciate the writing style very much. I mean so good I could taste the ramen noodles that he ate all the time. However the story seems to be lacking. And the funny thing is is I can't put my finger on what exactly it's lacking. I have it on my shelf for reread sometime soon. Maybe then I can figure it out. 5y
AmyG This book! Yes, it‘s written well. In fact, @TheReadingMermaid I think the food descriptions are my favorite part! I don‘t hate it, but I far from love it. I just hope it ties up all or most of the mysteries. And I am with you @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I bailed on The Leavers. Maybe we should wait and see what‘s being released as BOTM picks. I do want to read the new Barbara Kingsolver. 5y
Andrew65 @kspenmoll Ditto, in fact most probably my least favourite of all the Buddy Reads. I have just found it so difficult to get into, to access or to get a handle on. Or to be honest even to care about. @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks (edited) 5y
Andrew65 @TheReadingMermaid Totally agree about thexstory being lacking although not finished yet. Couldn‘t ‘t agree more about not being able to put my finger on it. Well said! 👏 (edited) 5y
Andrew65 @kspenmoll I quite fancy Summer Wives too and did recommend The Clockmaker‘s Daughter in a post earlier this month. (edited) 5y
Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Looking forward to Circe, please let it be better. In case I‘ve been too subtle over the past three weeks 😂 I‘ve not enjoyed this one at all. Even made Red Clocks seem better. 😂😔 5y
kspenmoll I read Circe; love it. Want to read it again with you all!!! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 no worries!! I haven‘t enjoyed the last 3!! Do you have any suggestions? We have some (hopefully) good ones coming up! I now see The Clockmakers Daughter! (edited) 5y
kspenmoll @TheReadingMermaid Agree with you; writing is lovely but for whatever reason I cannot get into the characters, plot, etc. 5y
kspenmoll @Andrew65 Totally agree on both ideas! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 I love Beatriz 💚 5y
CoffeeNBooks Several things I wrote in my notebook this week: 1) I wonder if it was a mistake for Ishido to let Haruna know that he knows what happened to Miyuki- is it going to put a target on his back? Especially since Mr. Katou is such a powerful politician that he made sure there wasn't much in the newspaper about Miyuki's death. 5y
CoffeeNBooks 2) The whole conversation with the building manager was strange, and I couldn't figure out how that entire situation is going to relate to the plot of the story. 3) This book just keeps getting weirder and weirder, and there's so much that just seems so random. 5y
Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I‘d agree about the last few but still enjoyed the experience reading with everyone 🙌👏👍😍, Circe has great recommendations, hope it lives up to them. 5y
Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Can‘t wait to get to Beatriz.😊 5y
CoffeeNBooks Two more things: 1) I'm going to finish this book tonight, because I have to know how it ends!! 2) It doesn't matter to me what book we decide to read next- I agree with @Andrew65, that no matter what the books are like, I enjoy reading them and discussing them with everyone. 5y
Andrew65 They are rated 4.18 and 4.19 respectively on Goodreads. Interestingly Rainbirds is only rated at 3.39. Lower by the time of my rating! Unless something startling happens in the final section. (edited) 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @CoffeeNBooks I wondered that also!! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 I love Elin Hilderbrand! 5y
MrsV This book started out with promise, but just took a wrong turn. To me it‘s like the author just put all her ideas together and just fit them where she could whether it made sense or not. And the fact that I despise Ren certainly does not help. 5y
CoffeeNBooks @MrsV You just said exactly what I couldn't seem to put in words- she put all her ideas together and just fit them where she could. Yes, that describes it exactly. 5y
JaclynW @MrsV Yes!! 5y
TheBookHippie @MrsV total agreement it's a mishmash 🤣🤪😝 5y
TheBookHippie @CoffeeNBooks it's all so weird !!!! Like a spinning top: where will we land ?!?!?! And will we know anything ??? (edited) 5y
TheBookHippie @TheReadingMermaid love the writing style ...that's it for me 😂 5y
TheBookHippie @Andrew65 EATING DIRT or this mess....hmmmm hard call!!! I absolutely love all the discussion with you all!!! It's a highlight every week! 5y
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