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#MonthlyNonfiction
review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

Published in 1980, only four years after Belenko's escape from Russia (and well before the fall of the Berlin Wall), this book was quite fascinating. Belenko actually had more or less the ideal situation in Russia as the MiG-25 pilots were highly valued and treated well (by Soviet standards). Reading about his slow recognition of the cognitive dissonance between what he was being taught about his country vs the west and what he could actually ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) observe with his own eyes was intriguing. Thoroughly enjoyable and a reminder of what life in the Soviet was actually like.

#MonthlyNonfiction - April (358) @julieclair
#GottaCatchEmAll - Recommended by a friend @PuddleJumper
#Read2025 - 28/100 TBR books @DieAReader
#ISpyBingo - Airplane
#BookSpinBingo
1w
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 1w
TieDyeDude I used to read a lot about the Cold War, though admittedly most of my reading had a Western bias. This sounds like it would be a really interesting book! 1w
TheAromaofBooks @TieDyeDude - It's a really quick read (under 300pgs), which is nice but also means that sometimes I wished I could get more details. When I was checking to see what happened to Belenko after 1980, I was surprised to find that he just passed away two years ago! 6d
54 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
Rich Mullins | James Bryan Smith
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Pickpick

Rich Mullins was a Christian musician in the 80s/90s, who died in a car accident in 1997. This book, written by a good friend of his a few years later, is an odd sort of biography. It doesn't really outline his life or career, but rather looks at key aspects of Rich's faith and beliefs through his lyrics and writing. I grew up on Rich's music and it definitely has shaped the way I view God and His love; Rich's lyrics still can hit me sideways ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) sometimes. I've read this book before, but it had been several years. Taking time to read it during an especially busy and stressful time in my life was so beneficial. Smith does a great job of not portraying Rich as some kind of hero or saint. This book encourages readers not to follow Rich and his teachings, but rather Jesus and His, with Rich's lyrics as a tool that sometimes illuminate some aspect of them.

This is a niche kind of ⬇
3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) book that won't appeal to everyone, but for me it's an incredibly grounding and encouraging read.

#MonthlyNonfiction (March) @julieclair
#GottaCatchEmAll - Band/Musical Group @PuddleJumper
#Read2025 - 24/100 Books off my TBR @DieAReader
#BookSpinBingo
3w
Desha I have always loved Rich Mullins…he‘s one of my favorite Christian artists! 3w
See All 9 Comments
BarbaraJean I had never heard of this book and now I want to track it down! An approach to Rich‘s life through his faith and his writing—pointing to Jesus above all—sounds like such a Rich Mullins approach. Rich Mullins‘ music was so meaningful for me in high school and college (still is) and I was devastated when he died. That year I had a campus radio show with a friend and the week Rich Mullins died, we just played his music for the full hour. 💔 3w
DieAReader 💖💖💖 3w
TheAromaofBooks @Desha - His music has always meant so much to me!! 3w
TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - I definitely recommend picking this one up if you enjoy Rich's music. I was a teen when he passed, and it devastated our whole family. My parents and I got to see him in concert shortly before that, when he was traveling with Mitch McVicker. 3w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I just found the audiobook on Hoopla! 3w
julieclair Great review. I‘m not familiar with Rich Mullins‘ music, but will definitely listen now! 3w
61 likes2 stack adds9 comments
blurb
DebinHawaii
March | Geraldine Brooks
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Here‘s my March recap. It was a great reading month & I finished 23 books! (Including 5 audiobooks, 19 fiction, 4 NF, many genres, several children‘s & classics)

I read for #SundayBuddyRead #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #AuthorAMonth #ChildrensClassicRead2025 #SheSaid #RiseUpReads #JaneAustenThenAndNow #BookedInTime #FoodAndLit #Roll100 #ThematicCozies #FictionalTraveler #MonthlyNonFiction #SeriesLove2025 & #AuldLangSpine #SeriesLove2025 ⬇️

DebinHawaii …My favorites of the month were The Frozen River, Nettle and Bone, Kills Well With Others, Not That Bad, All Systems Read & Pride and Prejudice (reread for the zillionth time) & The Great Gatsby (hadn‘t read since high school) was a surprise winner. Lots of series books too—including both the 1940 & 1976 versions of our monthly Nancy Drew title. (edited) 2mo
Librarybelle Great job! 2mo
TheSpineView Well done! 2mo
See All 8 Comments
Ruthiella Awesome job! 👍 2mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Fantastic month!! 2mo
julieclair Amazing month! 2mo
Chrissyreadit wow! 2mo
Catsandbooks 👏🏼❤️ 2mo
61 likes8 comments
blurb
DebinHawaii
Aprilly | Jane Abbott
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Okay, I think this is mostly my April TBR. I‘m still considering a couple other readalongs/challenges but haven‘t made up my mind yet.🤷🏻‍♀️

Currently I‘m reading with #SundayBuddyRead #SheSaid #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #LiteraryCrew #AuthorAMonth #ChildrensClassicRead2025 #RiseUpReads #Roll100 #FictionalTraveler #ThematicCozies #MonthlyNonFiction #JaneAustenThenAndNow #LSFBC #NaturalLitsy & 2 from my #AuldLangSpine list & a few more.

TheBookHippie ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ 2mo
TheSpineView Lookin' good! 2mo
Catsandbooks 👍🏼✊🏼🔥💖 2mo
See All 6 Comments
Librarybelle Nice!! 2mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2mo
julieclair Nice variety! 2mo
56 likes6 comments
review
DebinHawaii
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Pickpick

#Read2026

I‘ve been meandering through this book & reading the chapters that correspond with that month from September to March. I appreciate May‘s gentle writing style on the transformative power of rest and retreat during challenging times & these are certainly challenging times! I know I needed & still need time to heal & like the parallels she draws between the natural world during winter & her (& our own) experiences of healing. Beautiful.

Sparklemn This book was life changing for me. We can always look forward to our spring. (edited) 2mo
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 2mo
julieclair Great review. 2mo
57 likes4 comments
review
DebinHawaii
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Pickpick

#Read2025 #MonthlyNonFiction

Pulled it out at the last minute & finished this one for #RiseUpReads Torn between So-So & Pick, I‘m going with a pick because while I grew up in Northern California & Oregon & was taught the history of the states, so much of it was white-washed & little was taught about women & the roles they played. This book isn‘t perfect—it slogs (I skimmed some chapters) & the focus is mostly on the white experience but there ⬇️

DebinHawaii … is some good information in here & I liked learning more about subjects & themes that intersect with historical fiction I‘ve read.
2mo
Catsandbooks Great review! ❤️🔥✊🏼 2mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 2mo
julieclair This sounds like a book I would like. Stacked. 2mo
51 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
DebinHawaii
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My April #Roll100 picks:

#24 Any stories or essays: Every Drop is a Man‘s Nightmare (also my #FictionalTraveler April #Island pick)

#36 Any Non-Fiction: Challenger (Also for April‘s #MonthlyNonFiction)

#16 Any Library Book: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

I‘m excited about all three of these!

PuddleJumper Looks good! 2mo
Hooked_on_books These are all terrific books! You‘re in for a treat! 2mo
julieclair I like the way you structured your #Roll100 list… “any”. 2mo
DebinHawaii @julieclair I did some of it last year & did the whole thing that way this year. It really works well for my mood reading! 😉 2mo
42 likes4 comments
blurb
julieclair
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My #MonthlyNonfiction choice for April has been on my TBR forever!

What will everyone else be reading?

peanutnine I've got some poetry books set aside as well as this essay collection on deck 2mo
TheBookgeekFrau 🤷🏻‍♀️ Waiting to see what grabs my attention 😂 2mo
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mhillis Good Girls Revolt is great 🙌 I‘m thinking about reading 2mo
willaful I just stacked A Jane Austen Education so I think I'll go with that. Great cover. 2mo
TheAromaofBooks I decided that I should just rummage through my crates of nonfiction books and read the first 300 that I found 😂 I ended up with 2mo
Sarahreadstoomuch Honestly not sure yet, but liked the one I read this month 2mo
Lauredhel I've just today finished some weird, pretentious environmental poetry protesting the building of a road bypass in my town... wondering if I can make that count 2mo
MonicaLoves2Read Free by Amanda Knox 2mo
julieclair @Rissreadswithcats Oh wow… that one sounds intense. Can‘t wait to hear what you think! 2mo
julieclair @peanutnine Thunder Song sounds like a book my son would like to read. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. 👍 2mo
julieclair @TheBookgeekFrau Love it! 😀 2mo
julieclair @mhillis That one sounds fascinating, and also very scary. 😱 Glad you liked Good Girls Revolt. I have no idea why it‘s taken me so long to read it. 🤪 2mo
julieclair @TheAromaofBooks Oohhh, I bet my husband would like that one! 2mo
julieclair @willaful I agree about the cover! And the premise of the book sounds really interesting. 2mo
julieclair @Sarahreadstoomuch That one sounds so interesting. Stacked. 2mo
julieclair @Lauredhel Yikes! I just read the blurb about that book and even that doesn‘t make sense to me. 🤪 I‘d say you can definitely count it! 😂 2mo
julieclair @MonicaLoves2Read I bet that one will be fascinating! 2mo
TheAromaofBooks It's definitely a book that MY husband added to our library, so it comes husband-recommended 😂 2mo
julieclair @TheAromaofBooks Recommendations from other husbands are always valued much more highly. 😂😂 2mo
35 likes20 comments
review
Rissreadswithcats
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Pickpick

I love stories about the Berlin Wall and this was another fascinating addition. 29 people escaped from East to West Berlin in 1962 and it was documented and funded by the American news broadcaster NBC. ‘The tunnel‘ won 3 Emmy awards.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#Monthlynonfiction @julieclair

Bookwomble Playful expression! 😻 2mo
sarahbarnes Adorable! 2mo
Leftcoastzen Awww!😻 2mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 2mo
Darklunarose ❤️😻❤️ 2mo
43 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
DebinHawaii
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February Recap: Finished 15 books & started/made progress with 3 more. Completed books for #SundayBuddyRead #ChildrensClassicRead2025 #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #AuthorAMonth #SheSaid #AuldLangSpine #JaneAustenThenAndNow #FictionalTraveler #YhematicCozies #FoodAndLit #Nepal & SeriesLove2025 & #MonthlyNonFiction #Roll100

Favorites were The Feather Thief, Margo‘s Got Money Troubles, Sense and Second Degree Murder, From Dust to Stardust

Librarybelle Yay!! 3mo
Ruthiella Great reading month! 3mo
kspenmoll Great month!!!! 3mo
See All 6 Comments
Gissy Amazing 📚🎉📚🎉📚🎉👏👏👏 3mo
Catsandbooks 👏🏼🎉💖 3mo
TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fantastic month!! 3mo
55 likes6 comments