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#ToB25longlist
review
BarbaraBB
Help Wanted | Adelle Waldman
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Pickpick

Great subject, great setting. The people of Movement (the ones who offload and unpack boxes) in a big store will get a new manager. Anyone has a say before Corporate decides and we learn a lot about the team members before they have their interview.
It took a bit too long to pickup pace but once it did it was a good read. Thanks for the recommendation Helen! #ToB25longlist

squirrelbrain Glad you liked it! 📦 11h
59 likes3 stack adds1 comment
review
BarbaraBB
Poor Deer: A Novel | Claire Oshetsky
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Pickpick

Such a lovely read. After her best friend dies, little Margaret turns inwards and creates her own reality. She is a wonderful unreliable narrator, surrounded by people who have a big impact on who she becomes.

Years later she writes the story of het life, trying to stay close to the truth.
A worthy #ToB25Longlist read!

ImperfectCJ I liked this one, too. "Lovely" is a good word to describe it. It's one of those books where the writing itself is a vibe...I felt immersed in it. 1mo
LeahBergen Great review! 1mo
Hooked_on_books This one was a bit weird, but it worked for me. And there are things about it that suggest it shouldn‘t have. I love when that happens. 1mo
See All 14 Comments
Bookwormjillk I think I‘ll read this one next. I could use something lovely. 1mo
RowReads1 I just got this one. It‘s your fault 😉. 1mo
ChaoticMissAdventures I really enjoyed this too. Like @Hooked_on_books I kept thinking this shouldn't work for me, but it totally did. I am sad it isn't on the short list. 1mo
Suet624 If I hadn‘t stacked it already you‘d have convinced me. 1mo
sarahbarnes I‘m so glad you liked it! Like @ChaoticMissAdventures I‘m disappointed this one isn‘t on the short list. 1mo
Cathythoughts Yes such a worthy read. I loved this one. 4w
squirrelbrain I‘m glad you loved it too! And, yes, it should have been on the shortlist. 4w
Lesliereadsalot Ordering from my library right now. 4w
BarbaraBB @Lesliereadsalot I was thinking the same of your most recent read. We seem to be liking the same kind of books! 4w
Lesliereadsalot I have 9 library books sitting here, but I‘m still picking up Poor Deer tomorrow! (edited) 4w
78 likes6 stack adds14 comments
review
BarbaraBB
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Mehso-so

The speculative tale of Yewon, a young woman adrift, and of the relationship between the Koreas. At first it is rather realistic, with Yewon wondering about her life while driving a North Korean woman to her long lost brother in prison and while worrying about her mom, who keeps and daily washes the bones of family members. Yewon doesn‘t eat and dreams of an invisible hotel. And are the Koreas heading for peace or war?Very weird. #ToB25Longlist

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks #ReadTheWorld2025 Book 6 #Korea 🇰🇷 (edited) 1mo
squirrelbrain I‘m not really drawn to this one 🤷‍♀️ 1mo
GatheringBooks Speculative fiction is a hit or miss for me too. 1mo
73 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
BarbaraBB
Weather Underwater | Kaisa Saarinen
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#WeeklyForecast 06/25

I am reading Oroppa, which is a Dutch book that has gained much praise and I had to find out what‘s it about. Next will be the tagged, gifted to me by @TrishB during #Gladstones24 which seems so long ago already! The Invisible Hotel is another #ToB25Longlist book that did appeal to me when I purchased it but @sarahbarnes review has made me temper my expectations!

squirrelbrain I got The Invisible Hotel on Audible but I really don‘t fancy it now. 🤷‍♀️ 1mo
sarahbarnes Oh I‘ll be interested to hear your thoughts on it. It‘s possible it was just the mood I was in when I read it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 1mo
TrishB A long time indeed! 1mo
65 likes3 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Bury Your Gays | Chuck Tingle
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Pickpick

Horror meets Hollywood is this #ToB25Longlist book and it was fun reading it. Towards the end it spun a bit out of control and I lost track of what was happening but over all I am always happy to read this kind of books thanks to the #ToB! And I‘ll have nightmares of that worm 😱😱

See @squirrelbrain we‘re in sync again 💕

📷 The flu 🤒

Librarybelle Hope you feel better soon! 1mo
Bookwormjillk Oh no! Feel better soon! 1mo
squirrelbrain Oh no, not the flu - hope you feel better soon. 😞 Yes, we‘re in sync - I‘m glad! 🤪 I thought it got a bit drawn-out towards the end too. 1mo
See All 12 Comments
youneverarrived Hope you feel better soon 🩷 1mo
CarolynM Hope you‘re up and about again soon💐 1mo
Cathythoughts Lovely picture. Feel better soon. 1mo
LeahBergen Oh no, the flu! I hope you‘re on the mend soon. ❤️ 1mo
julesG Feel better soon! 1mo
BarbaraBB @Librarybelle @Bookwormjillk @squirrelbrain @youneverarrived @Carolynmary @Cathythoughts @LeahBergen @julesG There‘s no escaping it these days, everyone is floored! Where you live as well? 1mo
julesG It is going round. I read something about 5.000 new cases this week in North Rhine-Westphalia, not sure what the figures for my city are though. I'm wearing FFP2 masks on public transport and in public spaces inside. That's the positive thing Covid brought, I'm no longer stared at when wearing a mask. 1mo
BarbaraBB @julesG That‘s true. And smart to wear one. We should do as the Japanese do: wear one when you‘re ill or coughing to protect others. 1mo
kwmg40 Wishing you a speedy recovery! 1mo
82 likes12 comments
blurb
ImperfectCJ
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#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

I have read some great books this week, but The History of Sound is the clear winner. Is it the best of the month? Quite possibly.

BarbaraBB Four of them #ToB25Longlist reads! 1mo
Read4life Fantastic!! 💙📚💙 1mo
ImperfectCJ @BarbaraBB Yes! I have been pretty pleased with the selections this year (although some that were on the longlist I think should have made the shortlist). I'm still conflicted about James being on the shortlist. It's an incredible book, but I feel like it's been lauded so much elsewhere, other books should have been given a chance on the shortlist without needing to be compared with James. 1mo
BarbaraBB I agree. So many longlisted books I‘d like to have made the shortlist and indeed, James has got so much praise already in 2024 1mo
40 likes4 comments
review
Readerann
Wandering Stars | Tommy Orange
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Pickpick

I agree with others that maybe this wasn‘t quite as good as There There, but I still loved it. As far as character development and just plain beautiful writing on a tough subject, few can rival Tommy Orange for me.
#ToB25longlist

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BarbaraBB
Wounded: A Novel | Percival Everett
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#WeeklyForecast 05/25

On this lazy Sunday I started The Family Experiment, John Marrs‘s most recent book. Next will be one from another author whose backlist I am making my way through. I came upon this cheap edition of this Percival Everett so had no choice but to buy it.
Bury Your Gays is another one from the #ToB25Longlist which is excellent this year.

TrishB Enjoy 😁 1mo
squirrelbrain I hope you like Bury Your Gays! 🤞 Well, I hope you like all of them - you know what I mean! 🤪 1mo
Cathythoughts Lazy Sunday 🥰 1mo
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BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I‘m especially interested in it because of your review! 1mo
BarbaraBB @TrishB Thanks 😊 1mo
Suet624 Everett…the gift that keeps on giving. There are so many of his I have yet to read. 1mo
sarahbarnes Another Everett! I haven‘t even heard of this one. 1mo
76 likes7 comments
blurb
ImperfectCJ
Playground | Richard Powers
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I have read some great books this week, so it was tough to choose, but the tagged edged out Poor Deer and Martyr! by just a little (even with how grouchy the ending still has me feeling).

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

BarbaraBB That #ToB25Longlist has given us so many good books!! (edited) 2mo
Read4life Having to choose between good books is a great problem to have 😉 1mo
46 likes2 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Playground | Richard Powers
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Pickpick

I loved this book right up until the end. It‘s probably me but I don‘t get the ending.. I am left with so many questions, it‘s such a thought provoking story.
I loved the friendship between Todd and Rafi, I loved Evelyn‘s diving, her love for the ocean and her marriage, I loved Makatea, its inhabitants, I loved Powers‘ style and love for nature. But I feel like I have to start it again to really get it. All the stars nevertheless! #ToB25Longlist

ImperfectCJ Thank you for tagging me on your review! I still can't quite get over that ending, but the feelings I got with the rest of it are still hanging on and coloring my daily life, too, which really says something for Powers's writing. 2mo
BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ I think it will stick with me for some time to come. There‘s so much going on in the book and in my head now! 2mo
squirrelbrain Yes, I didn‘t really ‘get‘ the ending either. 🤷‍♀️ 2mo
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sarahbarnes I‘ve been waffling on whether I want to read this one. Good to know you liked it (except for the ending)! 2mo
Suet624 Hmmm… guess I need to find this one. You‘ve got me curious. 2mo
Hooked_on_books I had a pretty similar response. I really liked the storylines but not really together as a whole. 2mo
BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @Suet624 It‘s soo good. I didn‘t get the ending, or at least have to give it some more thought, but it‘s still the best book I read this year (which doesn‘t say that much, I admit!) 2mo
BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I did like them together as well but I didn‘t get the time thing: that Rafi lived on the island as well as died in Illinois? @squirrelbrain @ImperfectCJ 2mo
ImperfectCJ @BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain I read it as the whole thing was written by Todd's AI as a kind of happy ending for him to listen to as his Lewy Body Dementia progressed. It's similar to "it was all a dream," which feels like a cop-out. 2mo
GatheringBooks I‘ve only read tagged book which I found to be quite interesting - love how much you have traveled - and we‘re only in February! ✈️ 1mo
BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Sometimes I am so fed up with American fiction 🤷🏻‍♀️ and I enjoyed Overstory but this one is way better! 1mo
GatheringBooks @BarbaraBB i hear what you‘re saying - fiction from US, Canada, UK - hence the reading challenge. I am aching for stories from elsewhere and everywhere else. Btw, powell‘s made a list of 25 books to read before you die - world edition. I was hoping to get to them this year (and the next), hopefully. 💕 https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/cca42756-6a6c-49de-93ab-cf4f3f7... 1mo
BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Thanks. That‘s a cool list. I read most of them when reading Boxall‘s #1001books to read before you die 1mo
84 likes3 stack adds14 comments