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SaintUrsula

SaintUrsula

Joined October 2016

review
SaintUrsula
Red Clocks: A Novel | Leni Zumas
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Pickpick

Lots to unpack here about women‘s roles in society. I really loved this, and found it funny that it had an intersection with my interest in polar exploration- that was unexpected!

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SaintUrsula
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And now relaxing post-run with something different, which happens to make a comparison just now to running. Also, yes those are my pajamas and yes it is 6:30 pm.

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A little pre-run time in the backyard with the dog and a book.

3 likes1 stack add
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SaintUrsula
The Wildings | Nilanjana Roy
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Neferkitty? Really? I mean, I know I‘m reading a book from the point of view of cats, but oh dear.

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SaintUrsula
An American Marriage | Tayari Jones
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Talking about childhood freedoms being curtailed when children were going missing and being murdered in Atlanta. I have recently listened to the podcast Atlanta Monster about that very topic - anyone else listened to it?

RaimeyGallant No, but I'm intrigued. 6y
SaintUrsula @RaimeyGallant I recommend it if you‘re into that sort of thing! 6y
5 likes2 comments
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SaintUrsula
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My lunchtime read. #fridayreads

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SaintUrsula
The Music Shop | Rachel Joyce
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Bailedbailed

After about 10 pages, I wanted to kick every single character who had been introduced. I put the book down for a couple of days. Picked it back up, read some more, and I still feel the same way.

MayJasper 😂😂😂 good for you ❣ 6y
6 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
An American Marriage | Tayari Jones
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On page 8 and in love already.

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SaintUrsula
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"I used to love this season."

#firstlines

13 likes1 stack add
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SaintUrsula
March: Book Three | Andrew Aydin, John Lewis
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"Until the killing of black mothers' sons is as important as the killing of white mothers' sons -- we must keep on."

1964...and 2017.

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SaintUrsula
Tent of Miracles | Jorge Amado, Ilan Stavans, Barbara Shelby Merello
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"In the neighborhood of Pelourinho in the heart of Bahia, the whole world teaches and learns."

#firstlines

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SaintUrsula
March: Book Two | Andrew Aydin, John Lewis
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Pickpick

Even better than the first one. 🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌 5 freedom rides out of 5.

Ekkross Excellent scoring system! 7y
SaintUrsula @Ekkross Thanks! I try to tailor them to the book. ☺️ 7y
10 likes2 comments
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SaintUrsula
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"I may have seen her before and never noticed."

#firstlines

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SaintUrsula
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Panpan

I was not enamored with this book. The first section, told by Roddy, was reasonably entertaining, but I was thoroughly bored after that. The main character was inscrutable, the style of storytelling distancing, and I am left baffled by this being called a thriller. There was nothing thrilling about it. 🥃🥃 2 glasses of scotch out of 5.

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SaintUrsula
Masquerade in Venice | Velda Johnston
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This came home with me from the thrift store. For 10 cents, I couldn't resist. It looks TERRIBLE!

DreesReads I feel like I can smell it. Old acidic paper, a touch of damp... 7y
SaintUrsula @AudreyMorris that's it! 😁 And the quote on the jacket would have convinced me anyway (to follow)... 7y
SaintUrsula "It is easy to see why the Venice police thought I might be responsible for that death in the Belzonis crumbling but proud old house. First of all, I was a stranger, an American spinster of almost twenty-four, who had arrived alone in a country where no wellborn woman travels without the protection of a husband or servants. What was even more damning, I had left my native New England under the sort of circumstances often referred to as a cloud." 7y
See All 6 Comments
Christy2318 I love those old gothic covers. 7y
DreesReads Spinster of 24 lol! What year does it take place? My grandmother went to visit her grandmother (and lots of other people/places) in Italy in 1934. She was an engaged 24 year old spinster. Her uncle was her chaperone! 7y
SaintUrsula @AudreyMorris looks like the 1880s. Scandalous! 7y
8 likes6 comments
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SaintUrsula
Human Acts | Han Kang
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Usually I don't get any books in the mail at all because I don't buy any, but today I got another one, a review copy from LibraryThing.

#bookmail #lter

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SaintUrsula
Spring Snow | Yukio Mishima
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And today the other three in the series arrived at the same time (though in three separate packages). Every year I try to tackle something long and/or with multiple volumes off the 1001 books list. This is it for 2017.

#bookmail #1001books

7 likes1 stack add
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SaintUrsula
March: Book Two | Andrew Aydin, John Lewis
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No further comment needed.

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SaintUrsula
Runaway Horses | Yukio Mishima
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First of the tetralogy delivered ... of course not the first of the tetralogy. 🙄😁 Also a bookmark to color!

#bookmail

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SaintUrsula
March: Book Two | Andrew Aydin, John Lewis
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"Brother John -- good to see you."

#firstlines

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SaintUrsula
The Graduate | Charles Webb
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Mehso-so

My recommendation? Watch the movie. The book is interesting in the sense that so much of what was iconic in the movie is actually there, but the movie makes Benjamin less of a creep and leaves out a couple of draggy parts.
🎓🎓🎓 3 out of 5 mortarboards.

#1001books

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SaintUrsula
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"My name be Ice Cream Fifteen Star."

#firstlines

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SaintUrsula
The Graduate | Charles Webb
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"Benjamin Braddock graduated from a small Eastern college on a day in June."

#firstlines #1001books

8little_paws Very cool photo 7y
12 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
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Pickpick

This becomes my first completed book of 2017 (of course I started it before the new year), and first to go into my bullet journal layout. Quotes will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, I'll just say: read this.

charl08 It's taken me a while to work out that's a bookshelf. Oops. Nice idea! Look forward to seeing the shelf full up. 7y
14 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
Zero K | Don DeLillo
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Pickpick

I liked this so much more than I expected to. One hit, one miss with DeLillo previously. It's about avoiding death cryogenically, but of course a book about death is really a book about life. Gorgeous writing, a little esoteric. ⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️ 4 out of 5 empty coffins.

Ole Great! I will keep it on my AtoZ 2017 reading list ..😁What's this about empty coffins? 7y
charl08 Yikes, what a bookmark... 7y
SaintUrsula @Ole The coffins are empty because their would-be occupants were cryogenically frozen. 7y
SaintUrsula @charl08 it's from the Cappella Sansevero in Naples. It is one of the "macchine anatomiche" built in the 1700s. 7y
10 likes4 comments
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SaintUrsula
Dear Mr. M: A Novel | Herman Koch
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Mehso-so

I will say right away that I was disappointed with this book. I enjoyed his first two, but while this one had a number of bright spots, overall it was too long and meandering. I don't regret reading it because of those bright spots, but it promised so much more! 💣💣💣 3 out of 5 ticking time bombs.

Tanzy13 🐶 7y
10 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SaintUrsula
Waiting | Ha Jin
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"Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu."

#firstlines

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Reading at the dentist's office today. More festive than I felt.

12 likes1 stack add
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Starting some nonfiction. Usually I listen to books like this, but it's the Kindle for this one.

Joybishoptx I have this one. I want to wait for the right mood. 7y
SaintUrsula @Joybishoptx What's the right mood for a book like that? 7y
Joybishoptx Probably when I go back to work. It's not really a vacation read. 7y
SaintUrsula @Joybishoptx Ah I see, that makes sense. 7y
9 likes4 comments
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SaintUrsula
Walk Through Walls: A Memoir | Marina Abramovic
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Pickpick

Marina Abramovic is a fascinating woman. Also maybe more than a little crazy. I'm not saying that because of any of her performance pieces, but more because she thinks she communicated telepathically with Aboriginal people in Australia and believes in all kinds of weird crystal stuff. if you think she's a dangerous satanist you should probably avoid the book but otherwise you might find the look into the beginnings of performance art interesting.

SaintUrsula 🔪🔪🔪🔪 4 knives out of 5. 7y
9 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SaintUrsula
This Real Night | Rebecca West
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"There was therefore a very simple reason why we had no flowers in our garden: we had no money to pay for them. But the poor hate to admit that they are slaves to their poverty, and invent mystical explanations for their lack of freedom. So we said to ourselves that it was a queer thing, flowers would not grow in our garden."

MrBook Nice quote! 7y
SaintUrsula @MrBook thanks! I could pull out so many from this book, both profound and funny. 7y
9 likes2 comments
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SaintUrsula
Zero K | Don DeLillo
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"Everybody wants to own the end of the world."

#firstlines

ReadingOver50 That picture...so creepy! 7y
SaintUrsula @ReadingOver50 ? The bookmark shows one of the "macchine anatomiche" (anatomical machines) at the Cappella San Severo in Naples. They are from the 18th century and super cool in person. Also maybe appealing to a wider taste, the chapel houses the Cristo Velato (Veiled Christ) marble statue, which is amazing. 7y
11 likes2 comments
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SaintUrsula
March: Book One | John Robert Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
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Pickpick

I admit to not knowing much about John Lewis. This is a good first step toward rectifying that. Well done to target its intended YA audience. I enjoyed the art style, looking forward to reading the next one. ✊✊✊✊ 4 out of 5 raised fists.

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SaintUrsula
This Real Night | Rebecca West
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"The day was so delightful that I wished one could live slowly as one can play music slowly."

#firstlines

Branwen I absolutely adore Rebecca West! Hope you love thisone!:-) 7y
SaintUrsula @Branwen I've never read anything by her before, but so far I like this one a lot! 7y
Branwen @SaintUrsula How exciting! :-) If you like this one I would recommend The Return of the Soldier by her also! :-) 7y
SaintUrsula @Branwen I will be getting to that one as well as The Thinking Reed because they are both on the 1001 books list! 7y
10 likes4 comments
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SaintUrsula
Blaming | Elizabeth Taylor
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Pickpick

British couple Amy & Nick are on vacation. Nick dies suddenly. An American shipboard acquaintance, Martha, decides to assist Amy in the aftermath. Martha is a bit odd; Amy is cold. Their relationship makes for fascinating reading. ⛴️⛴️⛴️⛴️ 4 out of 5 cruise ships

charl08 Not had much luck with Elizabeth Taylor. Should probably try again. 7y
SaintUrsula @charl08 I've never read anything else by her, and in fact didn't know a thing about her. So a pleasant little surprise. 7y
7 likes2 comments
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SaintUrsula
After Hannibal | Barry Unsworth
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This seems to be the thing of the moment. I'll finish a few more before the year is out, of course.

#myyearinbooks

MrBook 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Awesome job! 7y
11 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
The Graduate | Charles Webb
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Library day! I haven't finished March Book 1 yet, but it won't take long.

9 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
March: Book One | John Robert Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
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"Can you swim?"

#firstlines

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SaintUrsula
A to Z | Sandra Boynton
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Almost there with my #LitsyAtoZ challenge list. Subject to change, of course. Also, unfortunately I've already read The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

charl08 Good luck... 7y
SaintUrsula @charl08 thanks! I'm probably going to need it! 7y
See All 6 Comments
SaintUrsula @BookishMarginalia it was surprisingly fun to do, even for someone who's not much of a planner! ☺️ 7y
MrBook Nice list! 7y
SaintUrsula @MrBook Hoping for the best, I have a hard time staying on track for a whole year. 7y
15 likes6 comments
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SaintUrsula
Blaming | Elizabeth Taylor
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"Istanbul was cool."

#firstlines

8little_paws This is a cool picture! 7y
SaintUrsula @8little_paws thanks! It was actually our sunrise here this morning. 😀 7y
charl08 Love that. Very clever. 7y
SaintUrsula @charl08 I'm having fun with the photos. 7y
5 likes4 comments
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SaintUrsula
Dear Mr. M: A Novel | Herman Koch
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"Fun reading makes me think of someone who slaps his knees in mirth as he turns the pages."

charl08 Buy a ticket for a roller coaster? Ha. Adding this one. 7y
SaintUrsula I'm about halfway through and enjoying it. It's a little slower than his others, I think, but they are at kind of a breakneck speed so it's not a bad thing. 7y
10 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SaintUrsula
The Sense of an Ending | Julian Barnes
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Pickpick

Late in life, a man looks back on young adulthood, that time when we think we know everything. But what if later you discover that you didn't, not at all? Can you pull up your memories? Can you see them in a different light? And how will you feel about yourself in the process? 🤔🤔🤔🤔 4.5 out of 5 thinking emojis.

10 likes3 stack adds
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SaintUrsula
Dear Mr. M: A Novel | Herman Koch
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"Dear Mr. M,
I'd like to start by telling you that I'm doing better now."

#firstlines
#knittingandreading

SaintUrsula Does it feel like I'm always starting something? It does to me. I guess the books lately have been on the short side. 7y
10 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
City of Thieves: A Novel | David Benioff
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Pickpick

This just drew me in and totally enveloped me. The siege of Leningrad, two teenage boys thrown together, and a life-or-death mission for a dozen eggs. Beautifully constructed and written.

🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻 5 Russian bears out of 5.

11 likes1 stack add
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SaintUrsula
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"To someone like myself, whose literary activities have been confined since 1920 mainly to legal briefs and Inquiry-writing, the hardest thing about the task at hand- viz., the explanation of a day in 1937 when I changed my mind- is getting into it."

#firstlines

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SaintUrsula
The Sense of an Ending | Julian Barnes
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"What was the point of having a situation worthy of fiction if the protagonist didn't behave as he would have done in a book?"

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SaintUrsula
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Mehso-so

In his introduction, TS Eliot said that "only sensibilities trained on poetry" could wholly appreciate this book. Well, I don't like poetry.

I can appreciate the book's existence, and I think it would be interesting to have it as a text in a course, but I found it overwrought.

?️?️?️ 3 natural disasters out of 5.

SaintUrsula That said, everyone can recognize Robin, the woman who is so self-involved that she blithely goes from situation to situation without noticing the destruction in her wake. (And obviously it can be a man, too, it was just a woman in this book.) 7y
4 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
Se questo un uomo | Primo Levi
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I meant to do yesterday's #seasonsreadings2016 prompt but things have been a little crazy around here so I'm a day late. These are books I have #notinenglish. I got rid of more when we moved from Italy.

SaintUrsula I haven't read the Pavese or Pirandello yet, but the Levi was the first "real" book I read in Italian. 7y
8 likes1 comment
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SaintUrsula
The Sense of an Ending | Julian Barnes
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"I remember, in no particular order:"

#firstlines

katedensen Love love love this one. 7y
SaintUrsula @katedfisher I finished it last night. I have some ambiguous feelings, but I think I'm supposed to. 7y
6 likes2 comments
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SaintUrsula
City of Thieves: A Novel | David Benioff
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Really enjoying this book!