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Angelmaker
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
A Wall Street Journal and Booklist Best Mystery of 2012 From the acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World, blistering gangster noir meets howling absurdist comedy as the forces of good square off against the forces of evil, and only an unassuming clockwork repairman and an octogenarian former superspy can save the world from total destruction.Joe Spork spends his days fixing antique clocks. The son of infamous London criminal Mathew Tommy Gun Spork, he has turned his back on his familys mobster history and aims to live a quiet life. That orderly existence is suddenly upended when Joe activates a particularly unusual clockwork mechanism. His client, Edie Banister, is more than the kindly old lady she appears to beshes a retired international secret agent. And the device? Its a 1950s doomsday machine. Having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the British government and a diabolical South Asian dictator who is also Edies old arch-nemesis. On the upside, Joes got a girl: a bold receptionist named Polly whose smarts, savvy and sex appeal may be just what he needs. With Joes once-quiet world suddenly overrun by mad monks, psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses and threats to the future of conscious life in the universe, he realizes that the only way to survive is to muster the courage to fight, help Edie complete a mission she abandoned years ago and pick up his fathers old gun . . .From the Hardcover edition.
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review
Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

I think my original review from 11 months ago (can find it linked to posts about the book) says it all. My addendums are: 1) still a good time upon reread, even with the darker bits, and 2) Edie Bannister is really one of the two main characters, rather than a secondary character, considering how much of her life and colourful personality is on page. If spy/crime/sci-fi/horror sounds good, pick it up!

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Awwwww, the baby elephant presents you with a hat! 🎩🐘🥹...Oooohhh, sorry dude, the baby elephant just barfed in your submarine. 😬

9 likes1 stack add
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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

When I say spy/crime/mystery novel with hints of sci fi horror, let it be known I mean there are spies AND criminals AND mysteries and also truly original speculative elements. Still, I fear this description will not provide you with an adequate idea of how delightfully bonkers this book is. I do not mean that in a perjorative sense. This has to be one of my favourite madcap adventures of the year. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? The writing has some hilarious and witty moments; it also has its fair share of dark and violent moments.
There are strong themes around identity, family, and destiny, becoming your own person amidst the stories of others; what constitutes right v. wrong, especially when you tack on traditional moral and legal considerations, and modern bureaucracy and government and the suggestion of what is done in the shadows ostensibly for the greater good without oversight or citizen input;
1y
Robotswithpersonality 3/? also the power of knowledge and deception, and I would argue, the danger of unconditional faith, it lands somewhere between an ode to and a cautionary tale of reverence for traditional craftsmanship. 1y
Robotswithpersonality 4/? Highlights:
Secondary character queer elderly lady spy (still a badass), get her story retroactively and it is largely a delight.
Interpreted thoughts/subtitles from fiesty elderly dog (who survives) that puts his one tooth to excellent use on a number of occasions
Harmlessly ludicrous sexcapades involving train timetables
Utterly charming criminal network
1y
See All 9 Comments
Robotswithpersonality 5/? Cons:
Creepy costumed cult - the reveals just make them creepier
Truly sick and twisted villain
Weird wobbling between fatphobia and fetishization of fatness in regards to how one character is described and interacted with. [Need own voices to weigh in on this one, but it felt more like objectification and denigration then positive representation.]
⚠️animal cruelty, animal death, torture, gore, cannibalism
1y
Robotswithpersonality 6/6 While it appears this author specializes in long books, I can't resist finding out if the others are as captivating. Will definitely be trying out his work again in the future. 1y
julesG You write the most intriguing reviews. Now I want to read this book, stat. 1y
Robotswithpersonality @julesG Heed the warnings! Otherwise, I highly recommend. ☺️ 1y
BookwormM I loved Gnomon 1y
Robotswithpersonality @BookwormM That is the other of his works that intrigues me the most. Glad to have a vote of confidence! ☺️ 1y
7 likes9 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Naughty boy. 🐶🐝🤣

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Grade A Distraction! 😂

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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DUDE. 😖 Points for creative description of noise. Trying not to contemplate the level of mess involved in a sea sick elephant. 🤢🐘

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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The Wind in the Willows reference!

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Added to my vocabulary:

"gelid: icy; extremely cold."

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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It's the super hero of lawyers! 😆

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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🍅🤫😎

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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A singular sense of justice.

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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"Books are good and we should have more of them."
Agreed. ?

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Robotswithpersonality
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Love of old things.

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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Did I lug this book around all day and not read a single page? 🫣 YOU KNOW IT! 😜

Just realising how hard (with zero planning) I leaned into an art(ist) theme today 😂 dress, Ken Done ; mask, Vincent Van Gogh; tote bag, Ethel Carrick

Lauram It‘s a good look on you! (edited) 2y
50 likes1 comment
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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Off to a delightfully strange start! ⛳️

AlaMich I loved this book! It‘s bananas but it‘s a fun ride! And fun fact, he‘s John le Carré‘s son. (edited) 2y
thegirlwiththelibrarybag @AlaMich, that is a fun fact! I‘m not very far in yet - but I‘m enjoying his turns of phrase ☺️ 2y
39 likes2 comments
review
Decalino
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

This book has a manic energy that got a little exhausting toward the end, but all in all it was a wild and fantastical ride full of gangsters, spies, scientists, monks and, at the center of it all, a clockmaker just trying to live his (quiet, lonely) life. Occasionally harrowing and frequently philosophical, Angelmaker packs a lot into its pages. Including intricate clockwork bees.

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Squidapus
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Mehso-so

Squidapus thought this book was very inconsistent; there are some great bits in there like the characters and the idea central to how the doomsday device works. But the author couldn't decide if this was a character study or a Hollywood movie. So a lot of the pacing and tone was all over the place. He'd have characters tell pages long stories that weren't important. Wasted talent because there's some great writing and characterization in there

Squidapus Side critique; this book sure did love to let you know that all the women in it were DTF, at all times, even with each other. Super male gazey which is impressive considering one of the characters is a 90 year old bisexual woman 5y
Clare-Dragonfly Ugh, I‘ve had enough of the male gaze in books! I am unstacking this. 5y
Squidapus @Clare-Dragonfly What made it awkward is he had an amazing 90 year old bisexual lady spy...and still in her flashbacks she thought about boobs and butts all the time 5y
13 likes3 comments
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Squidapus
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Here's one for you; a man accidentally starts a doomsday device from the 50s and a secret agent tries to stop it while fighting a cornucopia of villainous characters. Squidapus is interested in trying this new author!

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janeycanuck
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Mehso-so

Not my style - I read it for the #ReadHarder 2018 task of a book with a female protagonist over 60, if I hadn‘t been trying to complete the challenge only using books recommended on the Read Harder podcast, I‘d likely have moved on to something else.

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BeththeBookDragon
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Mehso-so

I have no idea what to think about this book.

Victoriahoperose Omg. So glad I‘m not the only one. 6y
BeththeBookDragon @Victoriahoperose Some of it was funny, some I couldn‘t follow and it was longggg 6y
43 likes1 stack add2 comments
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AshleyS
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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I‘m pretty bad at shopping at local bookstores, amazon is just so cheap! But I checked out the new Moon Palace location in Minneapolis today and it‘s pretty great!

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Elizabeth_Chatsworth
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

Boo the Yorkie: Aren't I angelic?

Mommy loves this novel ANGELMAKER. It's a steampunk-fantasy-gangster-espionage-romance genre mix up, with clockwork bees and old-fashioned villains in London's East End.

It's not the easiest read (verbose) but the (very British) humor makes the journey worthwhile. 9/10.

#dogsoflitsy #petsoflitsy #fantasy

booksandsympathy Sounds fascinating. 7y
Elizabeth_Chatsworth @booksandsympathy It's extremely verbose, so I'd recommend reading a few pages on Amazon before buying to make sure it's your cup of tea. It is funny though! 7y
Reggie Your genre mix up alone makes me want to read this. Lol 7y
145 likes8 stack adds3 comments
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knp4597
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
Panpan

Meh. Not for me. Frenzied. Lots of jumping back and forth in time that lost me. Parts reminded me of “His Dark Materials” trilogy - which I‘m not a fan of, and Orwell‘s “1984”.

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Centique
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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#septembowie #underpressure

Well Joe is under pressure when his simple life as a clockmaker gets turned around by a pair of villains - Edie (despite being an accomplished octogenarian spy) is probably under pressure as she tries to save the world - and Cuparah (the steampunk submarine!) is definitely under pressure submerged to 1000 feet! 😜

Right hand photos - thanks Google. Left hand photos - the Rotorua Settlers and Steam Museum (they rock!)

Cinfhen I need to read a #Steampunk novel for #popsugarchallenge but I keep pushing it off!!! So NOT my genre 😶 7y
Centique @cinfhen This is really a literary mystery with just the variation that technology is a little different. If you like literary mysteries I don't think the tech would put you off. 😊 7y
55 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Victoriahoperose
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Panpan

This was so super slow and I just couldn't get into it. I'm super disappointed because I was excited to read it, but it just didn't ever capture my interest!

knp4597 I‘m glad I wasn‘t the only one 7y
14 likes1 comment
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MaureenMc
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Book Fair, day two! Because one visit simply isn't enough, amirite?

#bookhaul

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Tnovo
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Lazy Sunday morning ☕️📖. Started slow but starting to enjoy this one about 70 pages in.

AlaMich It's wacky! You've been warned...😉 8y
Josie Your reading spot looks so cozy! 8y
Tnovo Wacky is good, @AlaMich nice break from reality 😉 8y
Tnovo Thank you @Josie my bedroom is my retreat, my happy comfy place. 8y
13 likes4 comments
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caitso
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Book haul #2 from the Niantic Book Barn's annual sale! See anything you love?

Tnovo I LOVE the Book Barn!! ❤️️📚 nice haul! 8y
caitso @Tnovo isn't it THE BEST?! 8y
3 likes2 comments
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Liberty
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Day 4 of the #Riotgrams challenge: favorite villain! I love Shem Shem Tsien, aka The Opium Khan.

"Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there was a boy born in the nation of Addeh Sikkim, in the royal palace, who wanted nothing more than to lead his people into a new world of prosperity and hope. He was suited to the task: clever and able and well-favored.” The Opium Khan looked nostalgic.

"I locked him in a steel box and burned him alive.”

Leniverse 😳 8y
Juli I need to read that book! 8y
AlaMich I can vouch for the awesomeness of this book!! 8y
AmyLarge I found the pacing a bit odd with this one. The ending felt like a sprint finish after having run a marathon! Not a favourite I'm afraid.... 😖 8y
150 likes13 stack adds4 comments
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AlaMich
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

A crazy, wacky, wonderful book that I couldn't even begin to describe. You just have to sign up and go along for the ride! 😀

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Tonton
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Epic urban fantasy!

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rabbitprincess
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Close-up of the cover of the edition of Angelmaker I read. This was a recommendation from my cousin & I enjoyed it. Bought my brother a copy and he enjoyed it too. Keep meaning to read more Harkaway!

#seasonsreadings2016 day 14: steampunk (this is the first book I saw tagged as "steampunk" in LibraryThing that I'd read)

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Redwritinghood
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

I listened to this as an audiobook. I'm very slow with audiobooks, but that is not a reflection on the book. This was crazy fun. Very unique and irreverent, but well plotted and written. The narrator was great for this audiobook as well.

RanaElizabeth Harkaway's books are insane but great! 8y
Redwritinghood @RanaElizabeth This is the first book of his I've read. Will have to check that one out too. (edited) 8y
38 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Redwritinghood
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Based on currently available empirical data, this seems to be true.

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Lizpixie
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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#photoadaynov16 #day1 #novembertbr This is my preliminary TBR pile for this month.I have so many still plus all the books I've bought recently, so this is not a definitive list by any means. These are the ones I'd like to be reading next, until I get distracted by other pretty pretty books! To Kill A Mockingbird & The Secret Garden are top of the order, I've seen the movies but never read the books I'm ashamed to say. It's gonna be a great month.

James Great pile of books! The Name of the Wind will be a good place to start November. 8y
Gayan I see a Christopher Moore but can't read the title, which one is it please? I love his books. ❤️ 8y
Lizpixie @Gayan it's Sacre Bleu 8y
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Gayan Thanks! I haven't read that one yet, but I have it. 8y
Lindy Angelmaker is fantastic! 8y
Jess_Read_This Gorgeous copy of The Secret Garden! 💕 8y
57 likes6 comments
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Redwritinghood
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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For #unforgettablewomen I pick Edie Banister. She reminds me of the cool snowboarding granny in the movie Hoodwinked (never trust a bunny). #booktober.

Cinfhen Ha😂love that graphic 8y
33 likes1 comment
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Centique
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

Wow, this was great. It started out slow and beautifully descriptive and I fell a little bit in love with this clockwork maker and his life. The shady but somehow good hearted underworld he's linked to was my favourite part. And then it started to go a lot faster and it got crazy and steampunk and superspies and horrendous villains and... WOW. Mind is blown.

(Picture is unrelated - lights I photographed today that felt a bit steampunk!)

13 likes1 stack add
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emily_jkn
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Book club is Sunday and I don't think I'm going to finish. 😯

brookelee At least I won't be the only one!! 8y
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Lizpixie
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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I. Have. No. Willpower. I'm in so much trouble,the husband was home & intercepted the large box these came in before I could get to the door😔But, look! Lovely lovely books make me feel better!😍 I've had to promise that October will be a #nobookbuymonth after I've already made September #allthebooksmonth.That's fair,I guess.Though I did point out I said nothing when he bought two quad bikes,a dirt bike & a caravan to put at his sisters property.

Hooked_on_books And books are cheaper and longer lasting than his purchases! 8y
Lizpixie @Hooked_on_books exactly! Can you come explain that to him please? He's not quite talking to me at the moment😬 8y
BooksTeasAndBookishThings It's so nice to know I am not the only Wife that wants to intercept book packages lol l get my monthly book subscription boxes and that was supposed to calm my book buying to basically nothing unless it was a special book like KMM's new release and now any Stiefvater. But occasionally... I NEED one because of Litsy. If he doesn't see it, he won't get as mad lol 8y
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Lizpixie @BooksTeasAndBookishThings my thinking precisely. At least he doesn't know that most of these books are only the first in a series!🙈🙉🙊 8y
BookishMarginalia That's what I was thinking! You're going to need the rest of the series! 8y
Sue Nice stack! I'm also planning on making October Nobooktober - with a couple of caveats. 8y
[DELETED] 2232195534 😂😂😂 8y
Claireluana Ooh some gems in there! 8y
Dragon Nice pile looks like hours of happy reading 😄👍 8y
58 likes9 comments
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Yamich49
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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My #augusthaul for #augustofpages #photochallenge (minus my BOTM and books from book box subscriptions). There were a lot of ebook and audiobook sales this month and I clearly took advantage of them. 😬💸💸📚📚

Cinfhen Oh my! How awesome is that stash?!? I'm having lots of book envy today😩🤑❣ 8y
BookishFeminist 👀👀👀 girl you didn't include your subscription boxes! 😂 8y
Yamich49 @Cinfhen Right?!? Looking at everyone's stacks of books today is definitely giving me book envy. 8y
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Yamich49 @BookishFeminist 👀😏 Well I didn't have a picture of them on my phone and wasn't at home so I had to leave them out of this one....😎 8y
Zelma @Cinfhen me too. I bought a few books this month but mainly did my library thing and and read through some arcs. Book envy is real! 😆 8y
BookishFeminist @Yamich49 Also I see what you did there! 👀 trying to comment on my August haul when you've got twice as many & I included my BOTM! LOL. Gotta keep each other honest. 😏 8y
49 likes6 comments
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Sarahj87
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway

Having trouble getting into this one. Not sure if it's the book or just in a bit of a reading funk 😦

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Oblomov26
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Had many candidates but this is the first that leapt to mind, Edie Bannister the 90 year old ex super spy ably assisted by Bastion her blind pug #favefemalecharacter #augustphotochallenge

50 likes9 stack adds1 comment
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JessReads
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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"Love causes people to do stupid things. That does not, she realizes now, make them the wrong things."

Just Nick Harkaway dropping some casual comic wisdom this morning.

21 likes2 stack adds
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JessReads
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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It's a rainy road trip day! Good thing I have this to keep me distracted on the 5+ hour drive we have ahead of us.

23 likes1 stack add
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Redwritinghood
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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My eyes are tired tonight. Thank goodness for audiobooks. I've heard good things about this one and have had it on my TBR list for awhile.

carys14 Same here. It has probably been downloaded on my Audible app for almost a year now 8y
37 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Anei
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
Pickpick

I'm even more terrified of bees than I was before. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because bees are jerks, even if they're mechanical, and because there were a lot of really funny moments. Some parts didn't gel for me, but I was also pretty distracted reading it because I was in the middle of moving.

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GuiltyFeat
Angelmaker | Nick Harkaway
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Pickpick

Took a couple of hundred pages to get going but once Polly turns up things really started to move. Steampunky lunacy with loads of London underworld gangster joy.

I bought this because I wanted to read The Regional Office is Under Attack and this was suggested as something similar. Chunkier and more literary than I expected but tons of fun.

ImaginativeMom The cover, please. 😊 8y
BeththeBookDragon I'm reading The Regional Office is Under Attack right now and I'm struggling a little bit getting into it. I'm not sure if it's the book or if I have too much on my mind to focus on the audio... 8y
GuiltyFeat @bethfriedman906 I think I'll hold out for a cheaper copy. The hardback will probably go for a penny plus postage in six months. 8y
41 likes4 stack adds3 comments