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Light from Other Stars
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
41 posts | 24 read | 61 to read
From the author of national bestseller The Book of Speculation, a poignant, fantastical novel about the electric combination of ambition and wonder that keeps us reaching toward the heavens. Eleven-year-old Nedda Papas is obsessed with becoming an astronaut. In 1986 in Easter, a small Florida Space Coast town, her dreams seem almost within reach--if she can just grow up fast enough. Theo, the scientist father she idolizes, is consumed by his own obsessions. Laid off from his job at NASA and still reeling from the loss of Nedda's newborn brother several years before, Theo turns to the dangerous dream of extending his living daughter's childhood just a little longer. The result is an invention that alters the fabric of time. Amidst the chaos that erupts, Nedda must confront her father and his secrets, the ramifications of which will irrevocably change her life, her community, and the entire world. But she finds an unexpected ally in Betheen, the mother she's never quite understood, who surprises Nedda by seeing her more clearly than anyone else. Decades later, Nedda has achieved her long-held dream, and as she floats in antigravity, far from earth, she and her crewmates face a serious crisis. Nedda may hold the key to the solution, if she can come to terms with her past and the future that awaits her. Light from Other Stars is about fathers and daughters, women and the forces that hold them back, and the cost of meaningful work. It questions how our lives have changed, what progress looks like, and what it really means to sacrifice for the greater good.
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bookish_wookish
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Found these at Dollar Tree!

Blerdgal_Fenix Ummm those nails 😍 I see you girl with the holiday cheer!! 2y
Chrissyreadit Wow! It makes me want to go to the dollar tree…. But mine never has good books. Also agree about your nails 🎄💚❤️💚❤️ 2y
bookish_wookish Yes! Its been awhile since i found books there! 🎄 2y
39 likes4 comments
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RamsFan1963
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description or reason for wanting to read the book. Some are old and some will be new. Don't judge me - I have a lot of books.
Day 347

#tbrmountain #bookbuyingdiet

Nicos When will it end ?! 3y
RamsFan1963 @Nicos The count will end at 365, I think one year is enough, even though I have enough books to go on pass that point. 3y
ValerieAndBooks I have at least 365 TBRs as well 😂 you are not the only one! 3y
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erinreads
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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My Christmas #bookhaul from family! Notice any familiar titles, @monalyisha? 😉 I can‘t wait to get to all of these in 2021!

monalyisha So excited!!! 😍😍😍 3y
Gissy 📚📚📚🎄❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚 3y
57 likes3 comments
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monalyisha
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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OK. Waning year check-in.

What's the BEST thing you've read this pandemic?

Unexpectedly, going into the quarantine, I read a lot less than I thought I would. I was easily distractable...& easily dissatisfied. Still, a few books did manage to hold my attention! One is tagged; a few more A+ reads from this year are tagged in the comments. Now that I've got my groove back (at least a little), I'm interested to see which titles kept you all reading!

See All 27 Comments
Chrissyreadit Tuesday Mooney is on my wish list! Actually, they are all on my wishlist! 😜 (edited) 4y
Chrissyreadit I have 1 hour left on Spillover and am so glad I listened to it! My other 5 star reads are Moon of the Crusted Snow , Turn of Midnight, Bellevue, As Bright As Heaven and The Ice Queen. I‘m reading The Five now and I suspect it will also be 5 stars. 4y
Soubhiville My favorite so far this year: 4y
Soubhiville I didn‘t read a lot during the 5 weeks I was at home. I couldn‘t focus and felt distracted. But since May I‘ve been back at work and back to my reading norm. Another I loved recently is 4y
monalyisha @Soubhiville At my library, we're back in the physical space about 3 days a week now (not all staff can be in the building at the same time). I've also found that I'm reading more now that I have less time at home! Ironic how that works, isn't it? 😜 (edited) 4y
Chrissyreadit I loved Braiding Sweetgrass, but I haven't finished it yet- I read 3/4 of it last year and was interrupted by school. Has that ever happened to you? Stopping a book you love but not able to pick it up to finish? 4y
monalyisha @Chrissyreadit I think I've done that about FOUR TIMES with Kerouac's “The Dharma Bums.“ It's like a mental block. 😅 It's been years since I've tried (so who even knows how I'd feel about it now) -- but the last time I did, I genuinely liked it! 4y
Hooked_on_books Some standouts for me this year are books with some humor, like We Ride Upon Sticks, The Southern Book Club‘s Guide to Slaying Vampires, and Devolution. Not much humor in that last one, but I didn‘t want to put it down. 4y
Sharpeipup I read a TON more than I thought but very few were enjoyable. 4y
CassieT I had a Goodreads goal of 25 books for 2020. I‘m 54 books in. Not even kidding. 😂 My kids are 5/3/1, and we just started homeschooling, so it may slow down. But WOW. I also mostly gave up social media. 🤗 4y
monalyisha @CassieT Holy self-improvement! 😬 Congrats! 4y
CassieT @monalyisha I made a resolution to read more fiction this year, so I‘ve been loving books like A Man Called Ove and A Gentleman in Moscow and The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma. I‘ve never been a big fan of fiction but it‘s been a great year so far! 4y
BarbaraBB I have read a lot in our lockdown month‘s (March-May) but mostly looked for easy reads. I loved Lovers & Writers, Very Nice, The Memory Police. Also - thrillers like The Chestnut Man. And always #NYRB classics like Iza‘s Ballad and In a Lonely Place. (edited) 4y
monalyisha @BarbaraBB “The Memory Police” is on my list! Do you think it‘d make a good book club book? 4y
BarbaraBB It‘s pretty straightforward, I don‘t know if there would be very much to discuss but I‘d recommend it anyhow, It‘s very well written and the plot is fantastic! 4y
monalyisha @BarbaraBB That‘s good to know! I‘ll probably just read it on my own then. 😉 4y
monalyisha @soubhiville OMG. “The House in the Cerulean Sea“ looks SO GOOD! I think I saw one bad review of it & discounted it without even reading a synopsis?! What was I *thinking* that day?! It looks RIGHT up my alley! Thank you! (edited) 4y
monalyisha @hooked_on_books I want to read “We Ride Upon Sticks“ so badly! I listed it as one of the books I'd like to receive in upcoming swaps, though, so I have to wait to read it (in case I'm gifted it). What have I done to myself? 😅 (edited) 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick My favorites were My Favorite Half-Night Stand, Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda, and The Shadow of the Wind. I'm reading more than usual this year (76 already compared to 48 all year) and trying to read some of the books I own and are collecting dust. 4y
monalyisha @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Christina Lauren books made my list of “read” titles during quarantine, too! Fluffy helps! 4y
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Megabooks
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Panpan

#BLACKOUTBINGO #bookspinbingo I think this is the first time I‘ve made a TBR for a month and finished it. Thank you @TheAromaofBooks for such a great challenge!! 🥳💖

But I‘m sorry to end on a book I didn‘t enjoy. While this is normally the kind of SciFi I like, I just couldn‘t get purchase on the main plot line in FL in 1986. I very much enjoyed the parts on Chawla, but it just wasn‘t enough for me to even move it to so-so. 2⭐️

TheAromaofBooks YAY!!! This is such an awesome accomplishment!!!!!!!!! 4y
KVanRead Awesome!!!!🙌🏿🙌🏾🙌🏽🙌🏻 4y
Megabooks @TheAromaofBooks thank you!!! 🎉🥳📚🥳 4y
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Megabooks @KVanRead thanks!! 💙🎉🥳📚 4y
marleed I‘m working toward a blackout too! 4y
Ruthiella Bummer the last book didn‘t pan out but congratulations on the bingo blackout! 🥳 4y
Megabooks @marleed awesome!! Excited for you to get it too! 4y
Megabooks @Ruthiella thank you!! 🎉🎉 4y
KarenUK This is awesome! 👏👏👏👏👏 4y
Megabooks @KarenUK thanks!! 💙💙 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick You are a BINGO Rock Star!!! Great job 🎊👏🎊👏🎊👏 4y
Megabooks @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick thank you!!! It was really fun! 💖🎉💖🎉💖🎉 4y
81 likes12 comments
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monalyisha
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

I missed my Book Club meeting because I wasn‘t done reading yet. As Swyler writes, “the act of savoring bends time & world.”

I was more interested in Nedda‘s childhood than in her time aboard Chawla as an adult...but I still loved every moment of this book — even as “moment” became impossible to define. The pervasive sense of homesickness, of citrus & salt; the characters & their relationships; & the writing were utterly gorgeous, sad, & hopeful.

Maria514626 Your review is lovely! 4y
monalyisha Thank you, @Maria514626! I‘m glad. I really loved this one. 💕 4y
Blaire Beautiful cover!! 4y
See All 7 Comments
monalyisha @Blaire It‘s even prettier in person — a bit shimmery! 4y
zohrajabeen Hey am new to this app can anyone explain how to read a particular book coz am jst getting reviews of books😢 4y
monalyisha Hi @zohrajabeen! This isn‘t an app where you download books. Sorry for the confusion! It‘s a social app, where you talk about books/reading habits with others. That being said...stick around! It‘s fun. 😉 4y
zohrajabeen @monalyisha thanks for the clarification 😁 4y
87 likes8 stack adds7 comments
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monalyisha
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Unintentionally matched our mid-bike ride snack to my book!

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JacintaMCarter
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

#2020Book25
Swyler is one of the best character writers I've ever read. She makes them so unique, and includes such specific details about every single one. I would read a 500-page book about people making breakfast if she wrote it. Not only that, but the plotting in this story made me enjoy it way more than I usually do with science fiction. And, best of all, she writes some of the most beautiful sentences, even when describing horrible things.

Cinfhen Wonderful review💜 4y
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theladygreer
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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‪What book did Kris Waldherr pick for #read99women? This "tour de force" from @ErikaSwyler : http://www.greermacallister.com/blog/2020/2/13/read99women-kris-waldherr‬

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pigeonsandcrows
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

A very complex and thoughtful book. Definitely partially sci-fi, part family drama, and part historical fiction about 1980s Florida and the space program. I didn't find the characters very engaging- they came across a bit cold and wooden to me- but overall I thought this was a unique and very interesting read.

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Amiable
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

This book. What to say about this book? I didn‘t understand it; I‘m not sure if I actually liked it; I couldn‘t stop reading it; I can‘t stop thinking about it.

MariettaSG Why Not? 4y
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Amiable
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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The perfect New Year‘s Eve with my book and my cat. (And my husband. Not pictured. 😀) Satisfaction level: Complete. 🥰

tracey38 This is what I'll be doing tonight, though probably fall asleep before midnight. 😁 4y
Redwritinghood Happy New Year! 4y
Tamra Definitely looks complete! 4y
Tanisha_A Beautiful! Happy New Year! 🎉 4y
58 likes4 comments
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Amiable
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Last book started for 2019. Will be the first one I finish in 2020.

Scochrane26 I really like this one. 4y
Amiable @Scochrane26 Only two chapters in, but I'm already impressed with how lyrical the writing is. 4y
Scochrane26 @Amiable sci-fi isn‘t my interest, but we read it for book club. It‘s the first book I‘ve read that talks about the Challenger (I was about the same age as the character), & I liked the family relationships. 4y
57 likes3 comments
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Valink
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

I was unsure about if I liked this book or not until the last 20% or so. I have to admit that I just didn‘t understand the science and couldn‘t picture some of the things that were being explained. It was the human parts of it that I liked, the connection between Nedda and all those that surrounded her, both on earth an in space.

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Branwen
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Couldn't resist taking part in the 50% off Barnes and Noble Sale last week! I ordered online to get the extra discount! 😁👍The box finally arrived today! Gotta love bookmail! I've been wanting to read the Grim Lovelies duology and the tagged book is one of my favorite books of 2019 so far and am happy to have my own copy! 💕📚 #barnesandnoble #bookhaul #bookmail

Megabooks I got that too! (edited) 5y
Branwen @Megabooks Yay! 🤗📚💕 5y
Annl I just finished Light from other Stars and want my own copy also because I took so many photos of passages! I don‘t reread many books but want to reread this one. I live in Florida and follow NASA activities very closely. 4y
Branwen @Annl That's so cool that you follow the Nasa activities! 🚀🛰 I love this book so much and look forward to reading it again! 4y
50 likes4 comments
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Megabooks
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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This book is gorgeous so far. I remember looking for Halley‘s Comet and the subsequent Challenger explosion when I was in elementary school as well. My experiences of those two events were very similar to Nedda‘s, except she was so close to the shuttle launch, her school shook! #sleepingsatellite #ayupaugust

Crazeedi Sounds very good! 5y
Megabooks @Crazeedi It is so far. The older I‘ve gotten, the more I like this type of sci-fi. Things that have a basis in current times/reality, but twist it or move to the near future. (This, Dark Matter, The Martian, etc.) 5y
squirrelbrain I distinctly remember watching Challenger on Newsround, which was a UK news programme for kids. Sounds like a good book.... 5y
See All 8 Comments
Crazeedi @Megabooks I've not really read much sci fi, I should push my boundaries!🤔 5y
Megabooks @squirrelbrain I‘m really enjoying it! 5y
Megabooks @Crazeedi I find having some grounding in a world I understand, makes it more enjoyable for me. I liked more “typical” sci-fi/fantasy in my youth, but my preferences have changed over the years. 5y
Scochrane26 I read this for book club in July & really liked it. First book I‘ve read that has Challenger in it, which was an important event in my childhood, too. Pushed my boundaries because of sci-fi but loved the relationships and themes. Hope you like the rest of it! 5y
Crazeedi @Megabooks that sounds about right, I dont know if I want to jump in to alternative realities from the get go. A little fantasy, time travel etc is good, but nothing too wacky. I'm too old for trying to keep everything straight and figure everything out. Lol 5y
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JSW
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
Pickpick

Is this sci-fi? Yes. Is this a book about family? Yes. Is it a study of human dynamics? Yes. Speculative, alternative fiction? Yes. Is it excellent and trippy and poignant and immersive? Yes. Highly recommend for book groups! 📚👥

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Valink
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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I‘m 1/4 through this book and saw the author tweet yesterday that she would be at a library close to my job tonight. Perfect timing! I love her moon dress and kick ass red boots! Here she‘s reading a passage about the Challenger explosion. I was about the same age as the main character and remember watching with horror in school as it happened live.

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Tanzy13
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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From the author of national bestseller The Book of Speculation, a poignant, fantastical novel about the electric combination of ambition & wonder that keeps us reaching toward the heavens. Light from Other Stars is about fathers and daughters, women and the forces that hold them back, and the cost of meaningful work. It questions how our lives have changed, what progress looks like, and what it really means to sacrifice for the greater good.

60 likes1 stack add
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EliNeedsMoreShelves
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

This is science fiction, with much emphasis on the science, so be prepared to engage your brain muscles as you read. It's also a story of loss, and lonliness, and the lies we tell in hopes of saving others, so don't be surprised when it tugs on your heart muscles, as well. Thoughtful, sometimes painful. One I could read again.

rjsthumbelina This just got bumped up my TBR! 5y
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Scochrane26
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

My library‘s theme for summer is space, so for book club, the librarian chose this book. Think it‘s sci-fi but has main themes of grief, family relationships, mortality, & wanting children to stay children. About halfway through, I wasn‘t sure I liked the sci-fi part, but then I stayed up last night to finish it. A bonus—first book I‘ve read where the Challenger explosion is talked about & the girl is about the same age I was when it happened.

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Scochrane26
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler

“A ship with gravity would have helped their bodies hold up. .... But the colony mission had a timeline: boots on planet by the end of the decade. Droughts, wildfires, and Manila sinking had served only to increase that pressure. Climate change had at last caught up and surpassed the rate of technological advances.”
I wonder if this last sentence is where we are now.

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Scochrane26
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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1. Tagged book and listening to The Study of Scarlet Women
2. Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. 4 print, 1 audio
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

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Expandingbookshelf
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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This dedication is just 🌟Every time I see it, I‘m just happy 💜

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Scochrane26
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Started this one. Sci-fi with past family issues. Not my normal genre, but it‘s for library book club, and the librarian has picked good ones so far.

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Cfrosty
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
Pickpick

Took me a little while to get into the story, but once I was in, it carried me away.

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HeatherBlue
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Super blown away by this book 💙

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Expandingbookshelf
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Light had carried her here, brought her decades from where she‘d begun. In the planets purple glow she found her father, the brother she never knew and his single painful hour...They‘d brought her traveling to the sky‘s end. They‘d woken her to life. She saw her mother...her good eye watered but it wasn‘t crying. It was washing away. The mass of words she‘d held inside her for a lifetime dissolved. She saw. She touched the face of God

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Bookmarkie
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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I had to stop the madness of listening to the audiobook of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle —14 hrs in—-couldn‘t follow it anymore and was not enjoying it that much. Moving on...

Melissa_J This one sounds really interesting! 5y
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SoManyBooksNotEnoughTime
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

I had no idea what this book was about apparently, as I was pleasantly surprised when it took a bit of a horror/scifi turn. I was definitely the target audience for this book. I currently live an hour from where the majority of the book takes place and love the space program. I definitely recommend this and can tell that this is a story I will routinely think back to.

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Branwen
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Super excited about my library hold that finally came in! I've heard a lot of really great things about it! 💕📚 #librarylove

mrozzz I was lucky enough to hear the author speak about it a couple weeks ago- it really sounds great! 5y
Branwen @mrozzz Oh wow! Thatbmust have been so awesome! 😀 5y
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JSW
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Got to see Erika Swyler tonight at my local indie @bookshopsc and she‘s so smart and funny and cool. Can‘t wait to read her new one!

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mrozzz
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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What a cool night! Erika Swyler is such a passionate woman, I was rapt listening to her speak about her new book. I‘ve had it from NetGalley for a little while, but I happily bought a copy (and got it signed). ☺️

Sweettartlaura Ooh I loved her last one! Glad to hear she‘s got another - thanks! 5y
readordierachel How fun! 5y
Skyrimir I‘ve got this one preordered, I‘m really looking forward to it! 5y
90 likes3 comments
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KimM
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

If you were ever a little girl who loved science you will love this book. Science fiction with a dose of horror that Stephen King would approve of. 4⭐️s

#lightfromotherstars
#netgalley
#bloomsbury

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GirlWellRead
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
Mehso-so

The story is framed in two time periods—at the time of the Challenger explosion and then in the future. It was the futuristic timeline/time in space that was disengaging and I was happy to be immersed in the earlier timeline.

What I did enjoy was the writing, there is no doubt that Swyler is a talented author, but I felt bogged down by the terminology and high level of detail and therefore was emotionally disconnected.

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Lauren.Archer
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
Mehso-so

The writing was excellent but at times this book got very technical and lost me. The story takes places on two time lines one in 1986 right at the time of the Challenger explosion and then later upon a space ship. Again for most of the stories I was totally engaged and wanted to follow this family in the earlier timeline and the when they were in space. Only when it went into is technical science jargon I was a goner.

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MelissaS
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

Swyler‘s first novel was so charming, it‘s among my all-time favorites. This new one is mind-bending and heartbreaking and original. It gets published on May 7. Put it on your list now! #netgalley

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underground_bks
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

Nedda is 11 & space-obsessed, when Challenger explodes over her town. Her father, a scientist grieving his infant son, Nedda‘s fleeting youth, & the degeneration of his hands, alters time in wondrous & tragic ways after Challenger. Years later, Nedda is flying toward a distant planet when a dire malfunction makes her reckon with her past. LFOS is a thrilling journey through space & time & a moving exploration of the bond between parent and child.

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ablachly
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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Pickpick

This book is absolutely beautiful. The narrative is split between present day, when Nedda is an astronaut, and 1986, when she's growing up in a small Florida town with a scientist father who used to work for NASA. It's a work of speculative fiction, sure--but also a poignant reflection on relationships, family, death, and time.

ph9k was this part of the ARC box I sent? 5y
ablachly @ph9k Yes - but also maybe I got a Netgalley copy and read it a few weeks ago? BUT I STILL WANT THE HARD COPY YOU GOT ME. 5y
20 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Liberty
Light from Other Stars | Erika Swyler
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How lovely! Very excited to read this one. I love THE BOOK OF SPECULATION. ⭐️🍊📚

JaclynW Pretty. 5y
Bklover Oh I can‘t WAIT to read this. 💙💙💙 5y
Linsy Oooh pretty! 5y
129 likes6 stack adds3 comments