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#Iran
review
angieinwonderland
The Stationery Shop | Marjan Kamali
Mehso-so

The setting, the premise, and the lyrical prose were all there for me, but somehow, this story never grabbed me and pulled me in. I strangely can't even pinpoint why or where it failed me personally since it is good storytelling.

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DyAnne
Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar
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“From the Palace of Dariush,” said the caption underneath, “Older than the Roman Colosseum!” Some solace in history, perhaps, knowing other civilizations had also destroyed themselves. In fact, the record seemed to suggest such destruction was inevitable, the endpoint of every people.”

review
Injeanious
The Lion Women of Tehran | Marjan Kamali
Pickpick

Another example of don‘t judge a book by its cover. It didn‘t appeal to me because the cover looked so serious but I had read all of the other BOM book of the year finalists so got this one free! History, love, hardship and friendship. Really enjoyed it!

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Teresereading
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Dawn rose over Clew Bay and the small Irish village of Ballinacroagh.
#FirstlineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

review
lil1inblue
The Blood of Flowers: A Novel | Anita Amirrezvani
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Pickpick

This was riveting coming-of-age story about an unnamed girl set in 17th century Persia. The historical and cultural aspects were fascinating. I appreciated how folktales were woven into the story and how the plot somewhat mirrored the style of those folktales. The descriptions of Persian carpets were so beautiful; they made the art come to life.

This pairs well with the nonfiction book I'm reading about Iran's history.

review
rachaich
Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar
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Pickpick

What an intense and different novel, exploring art, the world, love and the life death continuum.
I found it tough at times in it's bleak honesty but alongside that, such gorgeous writing.
Will remain with me.

review
britt_brooke
Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Because of how his mother died, Cyrus becomes obsessed with the concept of dying a meaningful death. Or perhaps, with living a meaningful life. A clever and introspective study of grief. Full circle creativity, and flawless execution, lead to its much-deserved critical acclaim. Wholly unique. I loved it!

BarbaraBB Glad you did! 3w
Trashcanman 👋👋👋👋👀 3w
britt_brooke @Trashcanman Heyyyy!! Good to see you here! 3w
87 likes3 stack adds4 comments
blurb
BarbaraBB
Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar
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#LitsyToB25 Martyr! is our winner today. Only Tracy, Holly and Theresa voted for Rejection. Short stories and the tournament aren‘t always a good match.
And we do agree with the #ToB25 judgment today so in both tournaments we‘ll see Martyr! continue.

See All 20 Comments
Chelsea.Poole I really, really enjoyed Rejection…and I‘m normally not into short stories. But Martyr took hold of me in a much more intense way, so I had to vote for it! 1mo
Suet624 I‘m so happy!! 1mo
Bookwormjillk Another set I didn‘t get to, but Matyr! is high on my list since @Butterfinger ‘s glowing review. 1mo
BarbaraBB @Chelsea.Poole I remember that you liked it so much. Too bad it met Martyr! that soon in the tournament 1mo
Lesliereadsalot Now I have to get to Martyr!! 1mo
Well-ReadNeck I may need to re-read Martyr! it might hit different at a different time, but I just thought it was 👍🏼, not really 🤯Rejection made me feel sooooooo uncomfortable in all the best ways. I did listen on audio which I think may have enhanced it for me since tone is so important to that one. Voted the other way, but not disappointed here. 1mo
Well-ReadNeck For those of you who may not have made it that far, the final story in Rejection ties it all together in the absolutely best (and funniest) way 1mo
Megabooks I love short stories, but I was not a fan of rejection. Glad to see Martyr move on! 1mo
fredthemoose Ugh—I didn‘t necessarily love Rejection, but Martyr! was my least favorite of this year‘s list. Just did not like or care about the MC at all. 😝 Glad others liked it more. (edited) 1mo
ChaoticMissAdventures I liked both of these, hate it when that happens, but I loved Martyr! the writing was so sharp about addiction. Glad to see it move on. 1mo
Hooked_on_books I‘m unsurprised given the accolades Martyr has earned. Like @fredthemoose , I struggled with the MC. I also didn‘t like the big reveal of who the female artist was. For me it was a bit silly. And I thought Rejection was great in a disturbing way. I feel like the author had a good time writing it and that came through. 1mo
Butterfinger Martyr was my favorite. I thought it was very relatable. It brought to light things that I never learned. 1mo
Jas16 I could not even finish Rejection so Martyr easily got my vote. 1mo
sarahbarnes I still want to read Martyr at some point! 1mo
GatheringBooks I voted for Martyr which is keeping me up for several nights now - I knew 100 pages in that this was my choice. 1mo
kwmg40 I'd read the first story in Rejection and never got back to it. I really liked Martyr! so it was an easy decision for me. 1mo
cariashley Pleased with this outcome! 1mo
62 likes20 comments
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cariashley
The Lion Women of Tehran | Marjan Kamali
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Book(er) of the Month time! 😹 It‘s a minor miracle I was able to stage this, haha. I wasn‘t super excited about these when I ordered, but now that they‘ve arrived I‘m looking forward to them. #BookerCat #botm

tpixie Cute trick! Hope kitty 🐈‍⬛ doesn‘t think it‘s a litter box! lol😹😹😹 1mo
Ruthiella Cats love an empty box! 😻 1mo
AmyG I am listening to Part of Your World and loving it. 1mo
See All 13 Comments
Nebklvr If thats the biggest box available, then kitty will just have to make do although they appear a little disgruntled. 1mo
Soubhiville What a fun photo! 1mo
cariashley @Nebklvr @Ruthiella Booker loves ALL boxes, but yeah he‘s getting too big for these! 1mo
cariashley @tpixie ha he does kind of have that stance 😅 1mo
tpixie @cariashley 😹🩵 boxes are fun!!! 1mo
cariashley @AmyG ooh good to know! 1mo
marleed Loved both books, love the ‘staging‘! (edited) 1mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 1mo
peanutnine 😻😻😻 1mo
52 likes13 comments
blurb
peaKnit
The Lion Women of Tehran | Marjan Kamali
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Thank you @CSeydel for this bracket model. I thought I‘d join the fun! #bookbracket2025

CSeydel Great start! 1mo
26 likes1 comment