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IamIamIam

IamIamIam

Joined January 2017

🛑🛋📚🤘💜💙 #Bookspin #mountTBR
blurb
IamIamIam
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Milking one last sick day while I kick this bout of bronchitis! I love J. Ryan Stradal & this book is proving to have the same heart as his other two! He's become a fast favorite of mine!!!

britt_brooke This is cute! Hope you‘re feeling better soon! 11mo
IamIamIam @britt_brooke Thanks so much! I just realized all his books are intertwined! I'm psyched that the library is having a discussion group next week so I need to make sure I'm prepared! 🤣 11mo
27 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
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Panpan

There was so little to like about this book for me.... I read it for next year's book club and will definitely need to dig deep for something to make the author feel good. The characters were all so unlikable and not in a good way.

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IamIamIam
The Glass Castle: A Memoir | Jeannette Walls
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This book is infuriating me... I can't believe the negligence of these people and absolute narcissism!!! These parents are the strangest people & I struggle to think that nobody reported them!!!
**Edit - I jumped the gun... lol

KCofKaysville @IamIamIam That's what I thought when I read it! 12mo
23 likes1 comment
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IamIamIam
Counting the Cost | Jill Duggar
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Pickpick

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but Jill presents an extremely respectful and honest exposé of her family life, struggles with honesty from her father, situations that arose due to reports being leaked about her sexual abuse and the challenges they faced when they stood their ground. She does not mention her siblings by name when she recounts discussions and shows an incredible amount of growth. I respect that..⬇️⬇️⬇️

IamIamIam She and her husband could still find validity in their faith as they pulled away from the super conservative Gothard teachings. I'm not a religious person but I definitely respect that Jill and Derick have made it their own. Clearly, this book wouldn't appeal to all audiences but I've watched this family since Discovery Health. Kudos to Jill for presenting a concise account of her life without dragging anyone through mud unnecessarily. 13mo
23 likes1 stack add1 comment
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IamIamIam
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Getting this started today at work... really hoping things don't get too messy here!!! 😭😭😭

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IamIamIam
Childhood's End | Arthur Charles Clarke
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Omigosh, the only thing I really love about old school sci fi is when things become true!! This is just spot on from 1953!!!

Eggs Incredible 🙌🏻 13mo
27 likes1 comment
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IamIamIam
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One day I'll realize that not all books at library book sales are hidden gems... lol, this is amusing enough but a little too Southern and hokey for me. Dogwood County is mentioned at least every other page and all I can think of is Dogpatch USA. Not to mention those pesky Garrett boys... I don't know... maybe if you're used to people in small rural towns talking like this it would be more enjoyable?

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IamIamIam
Security: A Novel | Gina Wohlsdorf
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Pickpick

An interesting story about what goes wrong in the most secure high end hotel in the world. An interesting narrator follows the path of destruction via security cameras. Far more spicy than I expected, but not off putting. I really enjoyed this one!!!

ImperfectCJ This is one that's really stuck with me. I have a generational interpretation that I haven't seen anyone else share...the Millennials are in danger because of the irresponsible actions of the Baby Boomers and saved because of unnoticed/forgotten GenX behind the scenes. The killers themselves are outside the generational framework in this interpretation, like a natural disaster. The ages fit decently, but it likely wasn't intentional. 14mo
IamIamIam @ImperfectCJ That's a really interesting interpretation! 14mo
ImperfectCJ @IamIamIam Got to use my English major for something! :-) 14mo
See All 6 Comments
IamIamIam @ImperfectCJ 🤣🤣🤣 I love the way that works out!!! My book club just met with Namrata Patel and I was getting all analytical about parallels in the story! I felt like I was using a muscle I forgot I had!!! Lol, that book was really good, a bit out of my wheelhouse but quite relatable! 14mo
ImperfectCJ @IamIamIam Thanks for the rec! Stacked! 14mo
IamIamIam @ImperfectCJ You're quite welcome!! I loved that book way more than I expected I would! I hope you like it!! 14mo
28 likes6 comments
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IamIamIam
Security: A Novel | Gina Wohlsdorf
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So this book has bits where you're getting 3 concurrent viewpoints, as if you're watching security cameras. I'm really impressed and think it's a super cool device!! Unreliable characters make it that much better!!

LiteraryinPA Whoa, how unusual! 14mo
21 likes1 stack add1 comment
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IamIamIam
Childhoods End | Arthur C. Clarke
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I suppose this still holds true... even more accurate if you've got a customer service job!!!!

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IamIamIam
Rules of the Road | C B Jones
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WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK?!?! Lol, I am only 18% in and I'm so creeped out! It's got such a great Twilight Zone vibe with a little extra violence... I am enjoying this so much more than I expected!!!!

AmyG Ha, thanks for the heads up! Nope. 🤣 (I hate book anxiety) 1y
IamIamIam @AmyG LOL, I prefer book anxiety to my regular real world anxiety any day!!! 1y
21 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

Wow, this was brutal all around!!! Looking at my 11 year old daughter, I can't think of anything but what this poor girl missed out on. I thought I had a narcissistic mother but clearly she was small time!

37 likes1 stack add
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IamIamIam
Hide and Seeker | Daka Hermon
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Pickpick

What a wonderfully creepy book! When a bunch of kids break the rules playing Hide & Seek, they're brought one by one into Nowhere, where the Seeker is collecting children to break out of its universe. Themes of teamwork, believing in yourself, trusting others and facing your fears makes this relatable for any age group!!
#middlegrade

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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

Omigosh, this book took over and did not let me go!!! Not my usual but it's got magical realism, a cold case & romance, not to mention a complicated mother-daughter relationship! The Moons have been independent women with special gifts for generations. Lizzy moves away from the farm to pursue life in NYC but returns after her grandmother passes. Did someone order several cans of worms and childhood trauma? Coming right up! 😍

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IamIamIam
The Book Barn | Niantic, CT (Bookstore)
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Excellent haul at The Book Barn a few days ago!! It's one of our favorite places to travel to but I didn't have any print copies to sell back! 😵‍💫 #Bookspin hasn't been going as well as I'd like! Haha

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IamIamIam
Mine | Delilah S Dawson
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Pickpick

Oooh, this was deliciously creepy!!! Lily & her family are forced to move to Florida. Their home is full of junk from the last owner who died there. Lily has a flair for the dramatic & her parents get angry when she talks about the ghost that's been giving her nightmares. I really loved this! The resolution wasn't terrible either, which is a bonus!

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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

Another fun middle grade horror story! A boy with the ability to speak with ghosts gets a visit from Claire's mother. Claire's father has a TV show about banishing spirits that have been haunting people. They find that he's gone missing from a notoriously haunted town. Overall, a well told story with a good creep factor for MG readers!

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IamIamIam
Vacancy | K. R. Alexander
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Pickpick

Jasmine has been dreaming of an abandoned hotel that has all of its inhabitants disappear 33 years prior. She and her classmates go to spend a night on a dare & all is not as it seems. Cute for a middle grade horror and as a 12 year old, I would have read the cover off of it!!!

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IamIamIam
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Mehso-so

Finished up this daunting read for book club with the author. Alice & Ruby are running away to NYC and from men that are bad for them. Alice ends up being murdered and Ruby finds her body. Not a lot happens other than that. Bublitz has great storytelling abilities but I feel like she couldn't get out of her own way on this one.

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IamIamIam
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I'm reading this for book club and we're meeting with the author, who lives locally. There is so much going on, the story is totally disjointed, every person who pops up is referred to by both a first and last name, and then this. I'm really struggling to finish this but I'm so confused and bogged down by superfluous information. More than that, I don't know how to turn that into constructive criticism for the author!!! 😫

AmyG Oy. 😬 1y
quietlycuriouskate Oh my, you really are in a tricky position there. 1y
IamIamIam @quietlycuriouskate I think maybe I'll address all the names saying it was confusing but I think that's really where I need to stop! I'm really curious to see how the rest of the group will react! 1y
IamIamIam @AmyG That's my face every time I pick up my Kindle!!! 🤣 1y
MrsMalaprop Oh that‘s tough 😬 1y
24 likes5 comments
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IamIamIam
House of Leaves | Mark Z Danielewski
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This book is SOOO divisive!!! Either you totally hate it or you're obsessed and can't stop thinking about it... I'm quickly becoming the latter!! I love the sketchy lore being developed, I love that Johnny is so unreliable, I love that I'm questioning what I'm even reading!

RaeLovesToRead OMG I hate this book 🤣🤣🙈🙈 Sorry 🤭 Glad you're enjoying it 1y
IamIamIam @RaeLovesToRead Haha, I totally understand!!! 1y
34 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

I know Minka Kelly from her stint as Dove on the show Titans but I have the utmost respect for her, no matter she she finds herself! Growing up with a stripper mom, being bounced around from house to house, being financially insecure and witnessing domestic abuse to becoming a nurse and subsequently an actress! What a roller coaster of a life and she's come out on the other side!!!

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IamIamIam
Remarkably Bright Creatures | Shelby Van Pelt
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book even if every person in it aggravated me to no end! A mystery wrapped up in grief, these complex characters find their way to resolution via a Great Pacific Octopus named Marcellus.

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IamIamIam
Ghostland | Duncan Ralston
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Guess this is a little new for the database... a horror "choose your own adventure" based on Duncan Ralston's Ghostland haunted amusement park!!! I'm so excited for this one!!!

19 likes1 stack add
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IamIamIam
Baby Teeth | Zoje Stage
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Pickpick

I read this as an ARC years ago & still enjoyed it. Having older kids, I know young kids can think and say weird shit. Viscious, homicidal kids are a whole other story! I didn't love the narrator on this one and the parents are a bunch of horndogs, but overall a nice creep factor!!

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IamIamIam
Landline | Rainbow Rowell
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Pickpick

Georgie & her husband Neil have a tense, busy parent type of relationship but when Neil takes their daughters to his parents for Christmas, Georgie stays home to work. Things go downhill until she finds an old phone that contacts Neil in the past. A little too long for me, asI thought it dragged and got repetitive at times, but a great what if type story. If you tried to change the past, could you or is destiny already set?

rachelk I just bought this from a used bookstore because I liked her book ‘Eleanor & Park‘ so much. 1y
IamIamIam @rachelk I loved that book too! This was really good!! I felt like I knew these characters really well. She's got a knack for fleshing out people who feel so real! 1y
30 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
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Mehso-so

This feels raw and unfinished. The purple prose was so difficult to wade through. The characters were so flat amidst all these really complicated cultural references. I had to look up something on almost every page for at least half of the book. I'd read this if it was 3 times as long, less pretension, better character development and more description of the Japanese yokai that are casually referenced.

AshleyHoss820 I had to double-check if I wrote this because it was my thoughts exactly! 😂 I really, *really* wanted to like this because the premise was awesome. It just fell a little flat for me. But I agree, more fleshing out and this would‘ve been a 5-star read. ☺️ 1y
IamIamIam @AshleyHoss820 Maybe we need to take the helm & do a "fanfic" rewrite! ?? I use the term loosely because I'm not really a fan but... could it be a mercy rewrite? That tiny novella took me almost a month to read!!! 1y
AshleyHoss820 @IamIamIam 😂I‘d probably end up making it worse. 😂 I feel that frustration! I wanted to love this so much! 1y
22 likes3 comments
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IamIamIam
Landline | Rainbow Rowell
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Started this while I'm working through some mindless stuff. I don't think I've connected to characters more in my adult life than these folks. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

34 likes1 stack add
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IamIamIam
Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics | Dolly Parton, Robert K Oermann
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This is the second most adorable audiobook I've ever listened to!! Betty White still has the top spot. I don't listen to country music but who doesn't love Dolly?! The audio has basically curated interviews with Dolly along with snippets of the songs she's talking about. That's super helpful because I really only know 3 or 4 songs.... 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

vivastory I only know a couple too, but I always turn up the radio when Jolene comes on 1y
IamIamIam @vivastory Can't pass up Jolene!!! Honestly, I may start dabbling in her music a bit more. 😁 1y
LaraReads Awww! Love her! 🤠😍 1y
IamIamIam @LaraReads She's so cute! 1y
33 likes1 stack add4 comments
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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

I have no words... I read this book in A DAY AND A HALF!!!!! I don't think I've read anything that fast, maybe since Harry Potter. What an amazing story about families, secrets, the restaurant business, the legacies we build and the lives that are both lived and trapped in those legacies. I love Stradal's style and this was all I could ask for and more!!! ❤️

AmyG Oooo stacked! 1y
IamIamIam @AmyG I fell in love with his first book and have yet to start the 2nd but definitely check out 1y
AmyG Ahhhhhh…..I knew this author aounded familiar! I think I have that book somewhere. 1y
41 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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IamIamIam
Apartment 713 | Kevin Sylvester
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Pickpick

This book was adorable! It felt familiar. Kind of like a Dan Gutman, Mr. Lemoncello, Westing Game mash up by what a fun story! Jake and his mom move to an apartment owned by his relatives but find that the building has more to offer than he thinks when he stumbles back in time to look for help to save the building from being demolished. Great narration by the author, which can go either way. Finished this today at work!

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IamIamIam
Apartment 713 | Kevin Sylvester
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Having a super bad anxiety day today so I decided to go for a fun middle grade listen! It's distracting me but not working on the anxiety too much...

This too shall pass, I suppose! 🤞🦄

Chrissyreadit hope it has passed! anxiety stinks! 1y
IamIamIam @Chrissyreadit Thanks so much! Today's a little better. 😁❤️ 1y
26 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
The Memory Police | Yōko Ogawa
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Mehso-so

An interesting concept... Things on the island disappear and all memories of the objects disappear too. There is a gene that prevents people from forgetting and The Memory Police are tasked with rounding them up as enemies. Really odd because the scare tactics are power of suggestion. Lots of layers here but it's super sloooow, which I struggle with when reading Japanese writing. This book is really cerebral.

36 likes1 stack add
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IamIamIam
Finding Me: A Memoir | Viola Davis
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Pickpick

What a gut-wrenching memoir from Viola Davis, who was born into crippling poverty, lived in the most deplorable homes, watched the most horrific abuse, was abused herself, but clawed her way to success! This hit me in the most unexpected places but she's such an inspiration! Plus, I love her portrayal of Amanda Waller so much. 😁

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IamIamIam
Other Birds: A Novel | Sarah Addison Allen
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Pickpick

Another book I wasn't expecting to love!! A motley cast of characters are collected in the Dellawisp Condos on Mallow Island, all sort of broken with their own sad stories. A tragedy brings everyone together and some truths to light about our past, what we desperately cling to and how that can affect our futures. There were more tears than I counted on but a solid & whimsical magical realism read.

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IamIamIam
Meredith, Alone | Claire Alexander
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Pickpick

This is a case of me totally judging a book by its cover. I expected to just take one for the team for book club but I ended up loving this story and relating to Meredith, her sister Fiona and their mean spirited mother who raised her girls with the tools she was given. After a serious trauma, Meredith becomes a recluse & decides to find her way back to health. This book addressed a lot of sore subjects for me & laid bare a lot of my own trauma.

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IamIamIam
The Haunting of Hill House | Shirley Jackson
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Pickpick

I love everything about this book. Listening to it was such a different experience, too. I related so much to Eleanor's emptiness and feeling displaced, especially being familiar with Jackson's stories about motherhood and the loss of self that comes with it. This is one of those books you can grow with and see different perspectives at different stages of life. ❤️👻

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IamIamIam
Dead Silence | S.A. Barnes
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Pickpick

A small craft encounters a luxury space cruise ship that disappeared 20 years ago. Upon closer inspection, it seems that the passengers died horrifically violent deaths. Can the crew of the LINA find out what happened considering their team leader Claire's sketchy past as the sole survivor of a colony wiped out by disease? A great story from start to finish! Extremely tense and atmospheric!

26 likes1 stack add
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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

I will admit, I knew about Mr. Show but I didn't watch it when it was on. It's on my radar now, though! I was really interested in the writing process & how Odenkirk doesn't shy away from taking risks. 😁

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IamIamIam
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Bob Odenkirk is describing the beginning of his relationship with David Cross. My dad, a retired NYPD sergeant, liked to talk about the time he arrested David Cross for urinating in public. 🤣🤣

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IamIamIam
Demon Copperhead: A Novel | Barbara Kingsolver
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Pickpick

I'm glad I got bamboozled into this by my coworker! It reminded me a lot of Hillbilly Elegy. We meet Damon who really can't get a leg up in life and then succumbs to the opioid dragon of the early 2000s. I'm not intimately familiar with David Copperfield but maybe that will make its way into my Libby list. Far more hopeful than I expected halfway through.

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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

What a lovely soul Leslie Jordan had. I loved, more than anything, that his family embraced his homosexuality from day one and never asked him to be anything else. His storytelling is so rich and detailed that I felt like I was in the room with the folks he was talking about. ❤️❤️❤️

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IamIamIam
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I did not expect to listen to Leslie Jordan talk about how moved he was by one of my favorite books in the universe!!! I haven't met anyone else who's read this but it's so wonderful to hear Leslie speaking so animatedly about these characters who feel like family to me!!! 😍😍😍😍

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IamIamIam
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This is so wonderful and heartbreaking!!! A light snuffed too soon... Leslie Jordan was just the most incredibly adorable man. 💔

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IamIamIam
Gallows Hill | Darcy Coates
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Pickpick

Darcy Coates tells the BEST ghost stories! Margot inherits her family's home after her parents death but she was sent away when she was young. What mysteries live inside her new house and will she be able to make it through a night on Gallows Hill?

IamIamIam And this is my #bookspin for April! @TheAromaofBooks 😁 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
29 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
Bay Shore Library | Bay Shore, NY (Library)
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Not only did we get to hang out with my cousins last night, who we never see, but I also went to a book signing at the same brewery! Lol, this was written by a local professor or archeology who had been studying plant archeology and noticed the connection between witchcraft accusations and herbal remedies!

5feet.of.fury Neat! 2y
Palimpsest That looks like something I‘d like to read. 2y
32 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
Spare | Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex
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Pickpick

An interesting perspective into what the British royal family is like. I was struck by how little Harry seemed to know about his family members and had such strange relationships with them, seemingly being quite far removed from them. He only found out that his father loved music so much after Megan started discussions with him about it. It appears that much of Kate and Meg's issues came from breach of protocol and the differences between...

IamIamIam Not only American behaviors and mannerisms but how differently the royals are to interact. I wouldn't have made it through the print but enjoyed Harry's reading of the book. 2y
30 likes1 comment
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IamIamIam
Spare | Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex
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There are 3 sides to every story, but I find this perspective quite interesting I was impressed with his army career and how he and William are financially beholden to their father. He doles out allowances! Lots of competition, lots of slander by the press.

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IamIamIam
The It Girl | Ruth Ware
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Pickpick

This bordered on so-so for me. I felt it was super long and repetitive and I disliked Hannah for being so wishy-washy. A great whodunit by Ware but not the best. 17 hours of hearing the same paragraphs repeated was really not my cup of tea.

ShyBookOwl Lol I loved this one BUT I listened to it while I was pregnant, and I felt like it did a really good job at depicting pregnancy, which definitely made me feel seen 😅 I wonder if I'd feel differently at a different stage of life 🤷🏽‍♀️ 2y
IamIamIam @ShyBookOwl I could definitely see that!! 2y
36 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
The Doorkeepers | Graham Masterton
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Mehso-so

Great concept but a little too much London slang for me and some scenes were a bit too long winded. I feel like it could have had fewer tangents and had the story move along a little better. Josh's sister's body was found 10 months after she went missing and it turns out she was living in an alternate reality London? Josh and his girlfriend have an adventure traveling through various Londons for information.

26 likes1 stack add