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#MandMChallenge2020
review
sprainedbrain
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Pickpick

Only my second Christie.😳

I liked it a lot—great assortment of characters and a wonderful twist, well-written and delightfully mysterious.

All of that said, the audiobook made this an experience... Dan Stevens is always fantastic, but he‘s incredible narrating this book! It‘s like listening to a full cast as he reads with a different voice for each character. Every time he said HERCULE POIROT I was 👏🏻. Absolutely savored the audio!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

sprainedbrain This was my #classic for #MandMChallenge2020 @BarbaraTheBibliophage and also I FINALLY read a book in the right month for #AuthorAMonth2020! 😅 @Soubhiville 4y
Mishu94 Unfortunately I watched the movie first and I didn‘t read the book! It was amazing!!!! 4y
Mishu94 Have you read murder on the Nile? 4y
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sprainedbrain @Mishu94 I‘m planning to watch the movie very soon! I‘ve heard it‘s great but wanted to read the book first because I‘m a weirdo like that. 🤣 I have not read Murder on the Nile... is it great? I absolutely loved And Then There Were None. 🥰 4y
mom2bugnbee Dan Stevens is AMAZING in this version. Absolutely amazing. 4y
AlaMich This one is a classic too! 4y
Mishu94 @sprainedbrain I watched the movie before so can‘t read the book now, since I know what‘s going to happen 😂 4y
Mishu94 @sprainedbrain it‘s reallllyyy good! I loved it! 4y
vivastory The movie is fantastic. I really need to read a Christie soon, it's been awhile. I loved ABC Murders & Endless Night. If you're looking for more 4y
90 likes3 stack adds9 comments
review
sprainedbrain
The Princess Diarist | Carrie Fisher
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Pickpick

I loved Carrie Fisher, and it‘s a treat to listen to her read her own books. She was hilarious, and this book was a captivating look at the filming of Star Wars, her brief affair with Harrison Ford, and being Leia for the years and years after—her voices for some of the people she met at various ComicCons had me 🤣. The reading of her actual SW diaries by her daughter Billie Lourd were a fascinating and surprisingly deep interlude.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reggie I did not know she had a daughter until this past week when I binge watched American Horror Story: Cult. Billie‘s in there as this usurping woman in an all female triangle whose brother is this scary cult leader. It was so good. 4y
sprainedbrain @Reggie I‘m at least 3 seasons behind on AHS. I need to catch up! 4y
91 likes2 stack adds3 comments
review
sprainedbrain
When Breath Becomes Air | Paul Kalanithi
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Pickpick

I‘ve put this one off for so long, mainly because I knew it would be sad. And it was... I sobbed my way through the last hour of the audiobook. But in addition to being scary and sad, it‘s also very inspiring and hopeful. Kalanithi was clearly a talented man and apparently a good person. The epilogue by the doctor‘s wife was perfect.

I‘m glad that needing a #ChronicIllness book for #MandMChallenge2020 meant that I finally listened.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

mom2bugnbee This book was amazing. I rarely give 5 stars, & did to this. It has stayed with me. 4y
Kalalalatja The audio was so good 👌 4y
Cathythoughts A memorable book ❤️ 4y
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Santie This book has made all medical novels I‘ve read after it seem subpar because I expect Kalanithi‘s elegance. I always have to remind myself that he was an English major before becoming a doctor. One other thing is that I picked this book out and read the summary and liked it so I bought it without any prior recommendation, which normally backfires but with this one worked out perfectly. I give this book a solid 10/10 4y
sprainedbrain @SantieWantie You nailed it there... his love of English and literature in general elevated this book—amazing prose. I don‘t read a lot of medical novels but I‘ve told my daughter (who does) that she needs to read this one. 4y
Santie @sprainedbrain Absolutely a must read! I‘ve recommended it to all my doctor friends. 4y
97 likes5 stack adds6 comments
review
sprainedbrain
Watchers | Dean R. Koontz
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Pickpick

For the first half or so, I thought this might be a 5-star audiobook. This is a fun listen: exciting, original and engrossing; the writing is good, and the monster is terrifying. It‘s pretty dated, with far too much time spent on distemper.

Do you know that thing that happens when some male authors try to write female characters well and they end up being perhaps unintentionally sexist and eyeroll-inducing? This book has that thing.😬

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

valeriegeary 🤦🏼‍♀️ Oh man. Or should I say.... Oh men. 4y
Chrissyreadit I love Dean Koontz, he‘s been writing a long time! I read this years ago. Back in the day when we were expected to excuse men instead of hold them accountable 🤣 4y
sprainedbrain @Chrissyreadit this is only my second Koontz, believe it or not, but I have enjoyed them both! I do excuse it, mainly because it‘s as old as it is, like I excuse some of my man Stephen King‘s older stuff. 😂 (edited) 4y
70 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
sprainedbrain
The Listener | Robert R. McCammon
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Pickpick

Holy hell, what a book.

I listened to it all today because it‘s just that good... very, very dark and disturbing mystery/thriller (not horror, imo) set in the Depression era. Extremely well written with some of the nastiest villains I‘ve read in a long time, but an incredible protagonist in Curtis Mayhew.

TW for a horrible animal scene at the beginning and a brutal attempted lynching later on. It‘s DARK, but ultimately uplifting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

78 likes4 stack adds1 comment
review
erzascarletbookgasm
Her Fearful Symmetry | Audrey Niffenegger
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Panpan

I dived into this without knowing what to expect. Turns out a disappointment. Firstly I didn‘t like the writing style. I have no sympathy for the characters, save for one. The 20-year-old twins talk and act like teenagers, while one character is a real creep. I didn‘t find the story chilling or spooky and how it unravelled..need to suspend disbelief. Seems like a marmite book.. I‘m not in the love camp.

#mandmchallenge2020 #twins

LiteraryinPA I agree with you. This was a weird one but not in a good way. 4y
MsMelissa Yup. I hated this one, too. 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I thought this would be my #twins choice as well. But on the spur of the moment, I picked a debut book instead. I‘m not sorry now. Thanks for the review! 4y
Lcsmcat This one disappointed me too. You didn‘t get the willing suspension of disbelief that Time Traveler‘s Wife had. 4y
73 likes4 comments
review
sprainedbrain
Silence for the Dead | Simone St. James
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Pickpick

This audiobook artwork is just bad. 😖 But the audiobook itself was very good! I love Simone St. James and this one did not disappoint. Perfectly creepy and atmospheric with a great heroine and a nice little romance.

It was also my #BookSpin! @TheAromaofBooks

Now I‘m going to drink some wine because omg it‘s hard to deal with my country right now. 😬

The book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book art: ⭐️⭐️
52 US Senators: ZERO FREAKING STARS

vivastory I basically tweeted Tina Fey giving the bird to my senator 4y
sprainedbrain @vivastory both if mine can fuck allllll the way off. 4y
vivastory Pack the Court! There has to be consequences for this hypocrisy 4y
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Owlizabeth ⬆️⬆️⬆️ YES THIS 4y
Leftcoastzen My senator that voted for her is not going to be re-elected! Mark ( Kelly ) my words .The senator I sometimes like voted 👎 4y
sprainedbrain @Leftcoastzen I guess at least you had one... both of ours in Iowa are all about putting their corrupt, ridiculous party above the will of the American people. 4y
Leftcoastzen I‘m hoping many of the senators who voted yes ,it‘s their last vote cuz they are getting voted OUT. 4y
sprainedbrain @Leftcoastzen Same! They need to lose control of everything so the grownups can start trying to fix this mess. 4y
Chelsea.Poole lol I wasn't expecting the review for the senators but SPOT ON. 4y
Clare-Dragonfly @Leftcoastzen Heck YES!!! 🙌🏻 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress! 4y
Sace Can I just say how much bad cover art turns me off? I wonder how many good books I have missed out on because of it? As for the senators...they have failed us all for the approval of a few. It's not the unruly mob the founding fathers needed to save us from... 4y
sprainedbrain @Sace same for me... the actual book and the kindle version have a really nice cover, so I‘m not sure who thought this was a good cover for the audio. 😬 (edited) 4y
CoffeeK8 Agree with all your points 4y
79 likes1 stack add15 comments
review
sprainedbrain
Joyland | Stephen King
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Pickpick

Another nearly perfect Stephen King.

Our middle-aged narrator, Devin, remembers the year he was 21, working at a seaside amusement park with an unsolved murder and a possibly haunted funhouse, befriending the locals (including a kid who shines!) and figuring out his life.

I loved the nostalgia, the mystery, the spookiness, and, as is usually the case with King‘s books, the fantastic characters. Literally, all the feels. 🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Jeannineth An underrated King novel for sure. 4y
Leftcoastzen I really enjoyed this one! 4y
KimM Loved this one! 4y
paper.reveries Great review! 4y
81 likes4 stack adds5 comments
review
erzascarletbookgasm
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Pickpick

Overall, a stellar anthology of stories that kept me turning the pages. Some are rather average, a few I did not get it or care, and then there are the brilliant ones. Skilfully blurring the lines between reality and imagination, Tremblay‘s ‘horrors‘ aren‘t actually scary stories but are ominous, unnerving, and horrifying in the every day and mundane, with ambiguous conclusions. Shout out to his ⬇️

#screamathon2020
#mandmchallenge2020 #mashup

erzascarletbookgasm approaches in writing- narrative/interview transcript, photo-frame narrative, story within story, weird usage of space in a page, and choose-your-own-adventure kind. Notes From The Dog Walkers is fabulous. 4y
alisiakae Great review! 🙌🏽 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I neeeed to start reading him! 4y
69 likes3 comments
review
sprainedbrain
Her Fearful Symmetry | Audrey Niffenegger
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Pickpick

My 2nd book from this author, and I don‘t get why her books seem so polarizing, but it feels like readers love them or hate them. I‘m still in the love camp.🖤

Delightfully weird, genuinely affecting, beautifully written ghost story with a very gothic feel—but not what you expect from a ghost story. I did figure out what was going to happen a few minutes before the twist, but that didn‘t stop the goosebumps. LOVE!

#screamathon book 1!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

vivastory I need to read this one. I've heard great things about it 4y
MsMelissa I‘m in the hate camp 😂 I finished this one, but bailed on Time Traveller‘s Wife. 4y
sprainedbrain @Book_Fiend_Melissa I LOVE Time Traveler‘s Wife! Just watched the movie tonight (finally, for the first time) with @HOTPock3tt 😍😍😍 4y
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MsMelissa I tried reading it back when it first came out. Don‘t know why I disliked it so much. I might feel different if I tried reading it today. 4y
sprainedbrain @Book_Fiend_Melissa I get it though! I‘ve disliked lots of books that others loved. Thank goodness we have so much variety available. ❤️ 4y
HOTPock3tt @sprainedbrain and the time travelers wife movie was just as amazing as the book!!! 😍♥️🤗🎉 I‘m obviously in the love camp and definitely going to check out more from this author! 4y
ChasingOm I‘ve got this one in my stack for October! 4y
LeahBergen I really enjoyed this one! 4y
alisiakae I‘m in the love camp, but have only read The Time Traveler‘s Wife. 4y
82 likes3 stack adds10 comments