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KatieB

KatieB

Joined November 2016

review
KatieB
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Pickpick

Such a fascinating book. I purchased this book on a whim just because the premise sounded interesting and it did not disappoint. It‘s the sort of book that makes you look differently at so many ways society functions. A 5⭐️ read for me and one I plan to keep and dip back into again. My 6th #14booksin14weeks read

14 likes1 stack add
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KatieB
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Pickpick

For a while there I thought this was going to be a 5⭐️ book. The writing was beautiful and the plot was really interesting. However, by the end, the magical realism took over and was just too much for me. Probably more of a reader issue than a book issue but 3⭐️ none-the-less. My 5th #14booksin14weeks read.

charl08 Gorgeous cover. I'm tempted! 8mo
15 likes1 stack add1 comment
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KatieB
Black Butterflies | Priscilla Morris
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Pickpick

This was excellent, just as everyone said it would be. Very impressive for a debut novel and I loved the author note at the end that described the people in her family who had lived these events. I can remember watching Sarajevo being bombed on the evening news but it‘s so easy to forget the human side of war and this really brought that home. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and my 4th #14booksin14weeks book

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KatieB
Sing Her Down | Ivy Pochoda
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I definitely didn‘t need more books but after a stressful week, browsing my local bookstores was just the balm I needed! #bookhaul

12 likes1 stack add
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KatieB
Fragrant Harbour | John Lanchester
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Panpan

My third #14booksin14weeks read and this was a slog to get through. It‘s been on my TBR for years after I read and really enjoyed Capital by the same author. I found it s difficult to keep the characters straight in my mind and ultimately just never wanted to pick it up. On to hopefully better things to end this slump.

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KatieB
Homesick | Jennifer Croft
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Pickpick

A soft pick for me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. After my last pan, this was a welcome improvement. I thought the writing was good but the chapters were short (1-4 pages) which, although it made for a fast read, meant that it was difficult to really stay immersed in the story. My second #14books14weeks book

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KatieB
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Panpan

Meh. I think this is going to be a ⭐️⭐️ read for me. This struck me as a Ronald Dahl book for adults with caricatures of characters and dry humour. Whilst I loved that as a kid, it isn‘t for me as an adult. And the dog as a central character was the last straw.

This is only my first #14booksin14weeks book so I need to get moving! I just haven‘t wanted to pick this up and feel a bit slumpy but now on to better things.

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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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My #bookspinbingo list for June. Some #14booksin14weeks2023 books, some professional development books, and some books that I have been in the middle of forever!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 10mo
8 likes1 comment
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KatieB
The Covenant of Water | Abraham Verghese
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It‘s going to be a great summer- here is my #14books14weeks2023 stack! These are all books from my own shelves that I was so excited by when I first bought and I don‘t want them to hang around and for that excitement to wear off. My summer of reading will probably start with Lessons in Chemistry but I need to finish the tag booked first. I‘m excited to spend another day in Verghese‘s world but sad it‘s going to be the last day.

Tamra What a terrific stack! Black Butterflies has been my favorite read this year. 10mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Lessons in Chemistry is awesome 🧡 10mo
KatieB Thanks @Tamra and @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ! Makes me even more excited about my stack! 💛 10mo
TheHeartlandBookFairy Awesome stack, Thanks for joining us! Happy summer, happy reading 😎📚 10mo
20 likes4 comments
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KatieB
Evening Class | Maeve Binchy
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My reading has been way down for the past couple of weeks - partly because I‘m halfway through Fairytale by Stephen King and not enjoying it but can‘t seem to give up. However, it‘s going to be a quiet weekend recovering from dental surgery last week and I just saw it‘s #novelnovember #readathon! I‘m going to start a new and comforting read and aim for 24 hours of reading over the next week. Might be a tall order!

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KatieB
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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I‘m inspired by #nonfictionnovember and ever trying to hit that #bookspinbingo (although this probably isn‘t going to be the month!). Here‘s my virtual pile of possibilities

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 1y
10 likes1 comment
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KatieB
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Panpan

Meh. This was a 3* read that became a 2* read when I hit a stream of consciousness 2/3 of the way into the book that I was not invested enough to deal with. It is only 140 pages long but it was a slog. This was the first book from the Jubilee Reads selection and has put me off trying another one for a while.

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KatieB
Young Mungo | Douglas Stuart
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Pickpick

Phenomenal. Bleak. Heartbreaking. Haunting. And with almost every trigger warning you can think of. But absolutely phenomenal. Just like Shuggie Bain was. Douglas Stuart is a master of writing stories and characters that you become invested in and I think he might be my new favourite author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️…obviously.

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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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Haven‘t achieved a #bookspinbingo yet but I can‘t stop trying! Making the list at the beginning of the month (and picking my first book on the morning of the 2nd) might be the best part!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
5 likes1 comment
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KatieB
Jubilee | Margaret Walker
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The Big Jubillee Read was announced today - 70 books, 10 for each decade of the Queen‘s reign, from around the commonwealth. It looks like a great list. I‘ve read 12 but have picked out some others that I‘ve been meaning to read. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Ynpj933DJ2YG5nsMS6fn8k/a-literary-cel...

jenniferw88 Read 8, another 11 were already on the tbr, but added another 25 to it! 😂😱😂 2y
BookwormM Thanks for the link 2y
13 likes2 comments
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KatieB
The Paper Palace: A Novel | Miranda Cowley Heller
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Pickpick

I think this book has been getting mixed reviews and the Reese‘s Book Club endorsement is usually a bad sign for me but I really enjoyed this. I loved the setting, felt invested in the characters, and looked forward to picking up the book when I wasn‘t reading it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #bookspin #womensprize

Cathythoughts Nice review! I‘m looking forward to reading this one 👍❤️ 2y
18 likes1 stack add1 comment
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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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My #bookspin list for April. It is heavy on the Women‘s Prize Longlist as I‘m still, naively, trying to read them all. Maybe this is the month for a bingo?!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 2y
12 likes1 comment
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KatieB
The Sentence | Louise Erdrich
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Mehso-so

This was just ok for me. Thought the characters were moderately interesting and the writing was alright. Not much that propelled me along but I got through it. Will need to pick up the pace if I‘m going to get through the #womens prize longlist

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KatieB
Popisho: A Novel | Leone Ross
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Panpan

Nope. It looks like I‘m going to be in the minority on Litsy but this wasn‘t for me. Im not sure I even understood half of it! #womensprize

squirrelbrain I‘m just about to start this (called This One Sky Day in the UK). I‘m not sure that I‘m going to like it…. 2y
KatieB Fingers crossed that you have a better reading experience than me @squirrelbrain! 2y
16 likes2 comments
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KatieB
Sorrow and Bliss | Meg Mason
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Pickpick

On day 2 of #marvellousmarch I finished the tagged book. Wow. The writing was humorous without downplaying the heft of the situations and so insightful. This was a book I had not heard of until the Women‘s Prize longlist was announced and it was a 5 star read for me. Fantastic!

Cathythoughts Nice review 👍🏻 I agree ❤️ 2y
TrishB Loved this too 👍🏻 2y
squirrelbrain I loved this one too. In fact, it‘s my favourite so far of the Women‘s Prize longlist. 2y
22 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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KatieB
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Panpan

Good first day of #marvellousmarch. I finished the tag book which I wanted to enjoy much more than I did and I‘m 200 pages into Sorrow and Bliss which I‘m enjoying so much more than I expected! #bookspin

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KatieB
Sorrow and Bliss | Meg Mason
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It‘s 5:30am and I can‘t sleep so it‘s time to start the #marvellousmarch readathon! I‘m going to get going with this one from the Women‘s Prize longlist. I‘ve judged it to be a ‘fluffy‘ read from the cover but maybe I‘ll be surprised. And if not, then maybe that‘s what I need at 5:30am on a rainy Saturday!

TrishB It‘s not fluffy, though there are some funny moments. 2y
squirrelbrain It‘s not a ‘fluffy‘ book, but I loved it. 2y
Cathythoughts I thought it would be kind of fluffy too …..but it‘s not , and it‘s very good 👍❤️ 2y
22 likes3 comments
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KatieB
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I‘m in between jobs next week and I‘m going to go for it. Would 7 books be too ambitious?! I‘d be really happy with 5 but I‘m also in the middle of a couple so I‘ve got a head start! I want to get the tagged book finished at a minimum - I‘m finding it a slog and it‘s slowing me down. #marvellousmarch

Andrew65 Great to have you with us, good luck 😊👍 2y
14 likes1 comment
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KatieB
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Mehso-so

This is one of those books that is hard to rate - I don‘t really enjoy the story and actually found it a bit of a slog to get through but I can appreciate that this is a talented author and the writing was excellent. I wanted to give it a ‘pan‘ but that wouldn‘t do the author‘s talent justice, so it gets a reserved so-so or ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #doublespin

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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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February was a bad reading month but I‘m going to just accept it and move on. At the end of this week, I leave the harrowing job I have been in for 10 years and then have a 2 week staycation before starting a whole new chapter in my life. Whilst there are many things I *should* do during that vacation, I‘m going to trying to give myself permission to do what I *want* to do instead. This is the list! #bookspinbingo

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! Here's to new beginnings!!! 2y
9 likes1 comment
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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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I read 8 books last month but just missed a bingo. Let‘s try again this month! #bookspinbingo

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KatieB
Bodies of Light | Jennifer Down
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Pickpick

Wow. Just wow. I have no idea who recommended this book to me but…wow. After following the hard life of Maggie from childhood to middle age, I feel like I know this woman and am already missing her. I keep wanting to tell other people about her story as if it‘s real. Warning: this is a bleak read (it reminded me of Shuggie Bain) with many trigger warnings. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me and I‘ve already bought another of Jennifer Down‘s books. #doublespin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
belkel63 I just finished this. Cried for Maggie. What a novel . 5 stars. 2y
16 likes2 comments
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KatieB
The Last Mrs. Parrish | Liv Constantine
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Panpan

This was a miss from me but I recognize that my own reaction played a big part. The first half describes infidelity in a supposedly ‘perfect‘ marriage which seemed unbelievable and I was ready to DNF. However, there was a twist in the middle which I didn‘t see coming (impressive) and that kept me reading to the end. The plot was actually quite clever but not completely believable. Just not for me.⭐️⭐️ #bookspin

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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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I‘m ready for a great reading year! #bookspin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
11 likes1 comment
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KatieB
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Starting my last book of 2021. I want 2022 to be the year that I make more progress on my garden. We moved into a house 18 months ago and this is the first time I‘ve had a garden (or at least been responsible for one). I‘ve done a bit since then but it‘s time to tackle some bigger projects. I am inspired but very intimidated. I guess I just need to ‘dig in‘! 😂

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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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I‘m ready for #bookspinbingo ! So excited about so many of these books but the Doerr arrived this morning so I think I‘m going to jump in early

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
10 likes1 comment
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KatieB
A Town Called Solace | Mary Lawson
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Panpan

A book with a child narrator had a low chance of being a pick from me anyway so maybe this isn‘t a fair review. But the cliched lonely librarian and successful/nasty ex-wife meant this was definitely a pan. I‘m surprised that this was on the #bookerlonglist. I‘m not having much luck with those books so far this year but I‘ll persist!

Tamra I‘m not big on child narrators either, but I ended up liking it. I had to roll my eyes at the romance bit and ignore it because that‘s not my thing either. 😜 I don‘t know why those tropes are so popular. Nonetheless I‘m on a Lawson backlist roll! 3y
SamAnne I can‘t do child narrators as a rule. 3y
KatieB @tamra I know others have liked this too so I think it‘s almost certainly just my personal preferences. @samanne I‘m glad I‘m not alone. I wonder what it is that makes that so unlikeable? 3y
11 likes3 comments
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KatieB
No One Is Talking about This | Patricia Lockwood
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Bailedbailed

I only gave this 35 pages before bailing, which is very unlike me, but there are just so many other books I want to read. I don‘t mind unusual formats but there‘s got to be some sort of plot or character interest! Moving on… #bookerlonglist

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KatieB
Light Perpetual: A Novel | Francis Spufford
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Mehso-so

I wanted to love this. I thought the premise was clever and loved the idea of following characters through their whole lives. However…I really struggled to keep all the characters and their stories straight. This might just be my issue but I suspect we just didn‘t get enough time with each character to make them memorable. I‘d definitely be interested in picking up this author‘s other book however. #doublespin

ClairesReads Totally agree- so much potential but was just meh 3y
9 likes1 comment
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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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No bingo in July but I‘m going to keep at it. This month will be a combo of some hangovers from last month, the booker long list, and the book tube nonfiction finalists. So many great books, so little time! #bookspinbingo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3y
9 likes1 comment
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KatieB
Shuggie Bain | Douglas Stuart
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For those in Canada… Shuggie Bain is an Amazon kindle daily deal. I thought this book was excellent - a 5⭐️ read for me

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KatieB
Sweetland | Michael Crummey
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Panpan

My #bookspin book for July. At the he halfway point I was ready to DNF this but a plot twist had me reconsider. The second half was certainly better than the first but still such a disappointing read overall. I had read The Innocents by this author and still think about that book all the time so maybe my expectations were just too high. ⭐️⭐️

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KatieB
Shuggie Bain | Douglas Stuart
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Pickpick

This idea of this book intimidated me. Maybe it was the unusual title or the fact that it won the Booker prize. This was such a surprise. So accessible, so engaging, and so well written. Shuggie seemed reals and is a character that I will be thinking about for a while. 5*

Cathythoughts Nice review! ❤️ 3y
22 likes1 stack add1 comment
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KatieB
Sweetland | Michael Crummey
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My #bookspin book for July! It‘s 7am on the first day of my vacation so I am going to get in the hot tub with my kindle. Luxury! My workout can wait!

8 likes1 comment
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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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July involves a road trip to Lake Louise so I‘m using this as a reason to focus on kindle books this month. I‘m so bad at buying kindle daily deals and then never looking at my kindle. There are some great books here! #bookspin #bookspinbingo

TheAromaofBooks I've been working on actually organizing my Kindle books with the aid of a home library app. I'm hopeful that it will help me READ those books instead of just adding to them!! 3y
12 likes1 comment
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KatieB
A Girl Is a Body of Water | Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
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I‘m struggling to get into this book but this paragraph stopped me in my tracks. Isn‘t this the truth?

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KatieB
The Wednesdays | Julie Bourbeau
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1. England, in the suburbs of London
2. Vancouver, Canada
3. A twin sister
4. The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit. My Dad got the book free with a magazine and I read it so many times!

@Eggs #wondrouswednesday

Eggs Thanks for playing 📚👏🏻💕 3y
21 likes1 comment
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KatieB
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It‘s going to be a good month! #bookspinbingo

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KatieB
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I wasn‘t going to do #bookspinbingo this month because I am in the middle of a dozen or so different books but then realized this might be exactly what I need to get some of them finished! And my best chance at a bingo! I hope no one minds the cheating 😉

squirrelbrain It‘s definitely not cheating! I‘m in the middle of 6 books that are all on my April bingo board! 3y
TheAromaofBooks I'm here for it!! I like to think of it as “being prepared“ 😂 3y
12 likes2 comments
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KatieB
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I‘m currently in the middle of so many books so obviously I‘m going to start another one! I‘ve heard great things about this one and it‘s due back to the library in 5 days. I‘m thankful it‘s short!

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KatieB
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An impulse purchase after seeing the Women‘s prize long list. I hadn‘t heard of this at all but it‘s a fantastic book so far. It covers lots of difficult themes and in a month when I‘ve been focussed on how stressful my life is, it makes me realize that my worries are all trivial compared to the lives some women lead. This is why I read.

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KatieB
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“In spite of this discovery...” 😂😂

Suet624 That‘s hysterical. 3y
11 likes1 comment
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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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My February #bookspinbingo! I have 4 days off work so I‘m going to dig in. I‘m thinking this could be the month for my first bingo. Wish me luck!

Read-y_Picker Good luck!! Where are you starting? 3y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Looks great!! 3y
KatieB @Read-y_Picker my #LMPBC books are my priority this weekend so I can get them off to poor @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego (sorry again Danielle!). Otherwise I have heard great things about Homeland Elegies so that might be next 3y
Read-y_Picker @KatieB Sounds like my weekend! I finally cracked open @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego's package and I've got to send it off to @TheKidUpstairs stat! The last one took almost a month to arrive, even though I kept calling them on it. Oooh I just realized this must be yours! I'm really looking forward to it, actually! 3y
15 likes4 comments
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KatieB
Spin (Spin, #1) | Catherine McKenzie
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My #bookspinbingo for February! I didn‘t get a bingo or read my book spin book last month but it motivated me to have one of the best reading months for a long time. So I‘m at it again!

Singout 1, 17 and 18 are excellent! I had a serious fantasy when doing my English undergrad in the 80s about doing deeper studies into Timothy Findley. 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3y
11 likes2 comments
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KatieB
My Dark Vanessa | Kate Elizabeth Russell
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Pickpick

I have no idea how to rate this book. I felt so disturbed reading it and that made me dread picking it up. But I‘m amazed by the strength of emotion that this book evoked in me. That would normally make it a 5* read although I would struggle to recommend it. I can‘t wait to see what else this author does but I hope she picks a different subject matter next time