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#offmyshelf
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Ruthiella
Little Bee | Chris Cleave
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Mehso-so

#OffMyShelf “New Author”

Little Bee flees violence and murder in Nigeria only to encounter prejudice and indifference in England. She seeks out a British couple and their horrific original chance meeting and its repercussions are revealed.

I appreciated the message in this book, which calls for compassion towards asylum seekers, but I didn‘t get on with the style. It felt too heavy and obvious. Glad to have experienced this author however.

wanderinglynn You are rocking it! Another bingo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3d
Ruthiella @wanderinglynn This one was only 266 pages, a breeze compared to the previous one! 😅 2d
54 likes2 comments
review
Ruthiella
Das achte Leben (Fr Brilka) | Nino Haratischwili
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Mehso-so

#OffMyShelf “Award Winning”
#ChunksterChallenge2025
#AllergictoChunksters

Longlisted for the 2020 International Booker, it also won two German awards per the back flap.

It took me two months to read this 1275 page monster. It‘s a multigenerational saga about a Georgian family from 1900 to 2007. Very melodramatic - I didn‘t particularly like it but appreciated the mental workout of reading in German. I read it w/ a friend & complained to her. 😂

Graywacke I read it in English and i can relate. She depends on well known historical happenings for shock value. But they don‘t have a lock of shock if we all already know about it. That weakens it a bit. 4d
Ruthiella @Graywacke It would have been a stronger book for my taste if it had been edited down. That said, it sold well and many readers loved its emotion and expansiveness. (edited) 4d
Readerann 👏 4d
See All 15 Comments
BarbaraBB I had a hard fine finishing it in English so kudos for you to read it in German! I didn‘t knew you speak/read German! 4d
Ruthiella @BarbaraBB Yes, I don‘t think it was the translation that made it a chore at times to read. 4d
sarahbarnes Congrats! 🎉 4d
Ruthiella @sarahbarnes Thanks. 😊 4d
Amiable But you get the Colossal Chunkster credit! That makes it all worth it ! Right? 😳😀 4d
Ruthiella @Amiable Absolutely! 😂 4d
wanderinglynn Who-hoo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎉 3d
julieclair I‘m impressed you finished it in only two months! 👏 3d
Ruthiella @julieclair It felt like longer! 😂 3d
Reggie Wow, congrats on this! And shoutouts to all those friends who listen to us complain! lol 1d
Ruthiella @Reggie Absolutely! 👏👏👏 I‘m so grateful to have friends like that! 1d
55 likes15 comments
review
Ruthiella
Three Act Tragedy (Poirot) | Agatha Christie
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Pickpick

I‘m back on track with #OffMyShelf “Favorite Author” after a slew of library books paused my efforts.

This was very entertaining and one of her cleverer plots: three deaths, connected by method but the motive is obscure. The puzzle intrigues Poirot and brings him out of retirement. Mr. Satterthwaith, a reoccurring character from some non-Poirot short stories takes on the role of Hastings somewhat in aiding Poirot.

wanderinglynn Yay! You are rocking it. Plus, I love the Poirot stories. 🙌🏻 4w
Ruthiella @wanderinglynn Slowly but surely! 4w
54 likes2 comments
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Ruthiella
Marking Time | Elizabeth Jane Howard
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My #Roll100 picks for April are pretty sweet. I already read Jazz back in February, so only have two “musts”.

Marking Time will work for #SeriesLove2025, as it‘s the second in the Cazalet Chronicles.

I own a physical copy of Little Bee and will make it work for #OffMyShelf

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 1mo
58 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Ruthiella
Three Act Tragedy (Poirot) | Agatha Christie
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#WhereAreYouMonday

I spontaneously decided to jaunt to Cornwall, England. This is a Christie title that I‘ve seen adapted, but never actually read. This will also help me get back on track with #OffMyShelf because I own a physical copy. 🤞

Lesliereadsalot St. Ives is one of my favorite places that I‘ve been to. And Cornwall itself is incomparable. Hope the book makes you feel like you‘re there! 1mo
Ruthiella Well, the beautiful scenery from the adaptation is in my mind! I did google a bit and it is a beautiful coastline, for sure! 1mo
59 likes2 comments
review
CoffeeNBooks
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Pickpick

Ben rents a room from Winnie, who is elderly and a recent widow. Ben suspects that Winnie didn't really want him there, that she only agreed because her family thinks she needs someone there to watch out for her & help around the house. So Ben plans to stay out of her way, but then Covid lockdowns start. He and Winnie are forced to spend most of their time together, and a friendship ensues as they start to see life from each other's perspective.

75 likes6 stack adds1 comment
review
CoffeeNBooks
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Pickpick

Amy Tan's illustrations are beautiful, and her notes about her observations of the birds that visit her yard are so interesting! She also includes some information that she's learned from expert birders. Unfortunately not all of her observations are happy, and it makes me sad to think of birds getting ill and being in distress, but I guess that's part of nature, too.

kspenmoll Happy Litsyversary!!!!! 1mo
CoffeeNBooks @kspenmoll Thanks! I'm so glad I found this wonderful community! 1mo
59 likes3 comments
review
Ruthiella
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Pickpick

#OffMyShelf. “Poetry”

This was a collection of some of Marquis‘ writings (including poems) from his newspaper columns between 1916 and 1922 featuring Archy, a cockroach who is the reincarnation of a free verse poet. Less frequent but nonetheless memorable are entries from the alley cat Mehitabel (toujours gai!).

Way more entertaining than I expected and also a fantastic time machine back to a time when newspapers were ubiquitous.

Bookwomble Glad you enjoyed it 😊 2mo
swynn I love archy & mehitabel! So cool that they're still being discovered! 2mo
Ruthiella @Bookwomble I do wish the Penguin edition I read had some of the original illustrations, but it was still charming without them. 😊 2mo
See All 6 Comments
Ruthiella @swynn Yes! They are apparently, of all the characters and writing created by Marquis, the ones to have this kind of longevity in the wider culture. 2mo
wanderinglynn Awesome! 🎉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 It‘s so fantastic when you enjoy a book that you‘ve also gotten off your TBR shelf. 2mo
Ruthiella @wanderinglynn Such a great feeling! 😃 2mo
62 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Ruthiella
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#weekendreads

📕Still reading the tagged for the poetry prompt for #OffMyShelf

📗Encyclopedia Brown is this month‘s #EBBR

📘Not at Home is for #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

📙Das Achte Leben I pulled down on a whim. It‘s gonna take me a few months to finish but it‘ll work for #ChunksterChallenge2025 and #AllergictoChunksters

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Liz_M
The Price of Salt, or Carol | Patricia Highsmith
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Not a bad month, two bingos, even! A couple of books for #192025, #Nepal book for #FoodandLit, a couple of books #OffMyShelf, a couple of books for #LGBTQIA2025 Bingo/#TBRTarot, and a #1001Books,. Didn't manage one for #FictionalTraveler, as my book for Ireland was actually set in Copenhagen, oops.