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callielafleur

callielafleur

Joined September 2016

The boundary between the real world and the imaginary one has grown obscure. -Haruki Murakami
review
callielafleur
The Red Tent | Anita Diamant
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Pickpick

This was good, though I didn't connect with it as much as some people have. I found the writing to be good, albeit a little sterile, and I had a had time getting emotionally invested in the story. The narration of the audiobook felt very 90s- the narrator had a good, kind of generic voice that I don't feel like embodied the character very well. All in all though, I'm glad I finally got to this one!

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callielafleur
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Mehso-so

I thought this was totally fine. Way more religious than I was expecting going in, which wasn't a bad thing, just surprising. The audio was pretty good and went by quickly. I'm looking forward to reading what comes next from Kelsey McKinney.

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callielafleur
Horrid | Katrina Leno
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Panpan

Meh, parts of this were creepy, but I found the end to be really disappointing.

42 likes1 stack add
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callielafleur
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Pickpick

I have now read all of the Women's Prize shortlisted books for this year, and this one was as excellent as the rest. TW for substance abuse.

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callielafleur
Pumpkinheads | Rainbow Rowell
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Pickpick

Super cute, fun autumnal vibes. A good little palate cleanser to wrap up the #readathon .

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callielafleur
Homegoing: A novel | Yaa Gyasi
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Pickpick

5⭐ Incredibly moving, wonderfully written. Devastating and important.

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callielafleur
Homegoing: A novel | Yaa Gyasi
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Waiting for my breakfast and reading this wonderful book. #readathon #reversereadathon #deweysreadathon

Riveted_Reader_Melissa It‘s so good! 3y
62 likes1 comment
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callielafleur
Malibu Rising | Taylor Jenkins Reid
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My first book for Dewey's Reverse #readathon is Malibu Rising on audiobook while I fold laundry!

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callielafleur
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Pickpick

Flew through this. Note that I am out of blue tabs- because those were what I was using to remind myself of things I had forgotten! It's a quick read, and I skimmed many parts. 3.5⭐

Graciouswarriorprincess One of my favorite grammar books! 4y
64 likes1 stack add1 comment
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callielafleur
Illuminae | Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
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Pickpick

This was so rad. 600 pages in less than 48 hours good. Can't wait to read the next one.

Gissy It is addictive☺️I read the whole trilogy in a weekend. 4y
61 likes1 comment
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callielafleur
The Dud Avocado | Elaine Dundy
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I started this last week and I've barely read 5 pages. Might have to put it down for now and move on to something else, maybe come back to it another time.

cathysaid So...title is self-fulfilling? 4y
TEArificbooks I did not finish this book either 4y
59 likes3 comments
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callielafleur
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Mehso-so

Filler stories, extras, not a part of the overall plot. A little unnecessary. If volume 1 was an Oscar winning movie, this was a made for basic cable TV movie. It was fine, but I expect so much more at this point.

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callielafleur
The Wicker King | K. Ancrum
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Pickpick

This book put me through it. I don't know if it portrayed this disorder accurately (not going to say what is going on because spoilers), but it did something well. An intense, co-dependent friendship/relationship between two high school boys turns dark (literally the pages get darker as the story goes on) as one of them begins experiencing more and more intense hallucinations. 5 stars.

IamIamIam ooooOOOOOooooo 👀 4y
58 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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callielafleur
Dig | A. S. King
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Pickpick

This book floored me, made me feel uncomfortable, made me look at myself differently, made me laugh and cry and highlight. My only complaint was the character of Marla didn't have much depth, and it was glaring when all of the other characters were so rich in difference and change. She was just the worst, beginning to end. This is only a small complaint, and otherwise I loved it. 4.5 stars!

56 likes1 stack add
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callielafleur
Birthday Girl | Haruki Murakami
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Mehso-so

This is the first Murakami that I just feel flummoxed by. I feel like the end was supposed to be this big “duh duh DUH“ reveal moment, but I was only confused. Some Murakami stories have this effect on my, but in those cases I'm usually distracted enough by the gorgeous setting and atmosphere that I'm happy to be on the journey. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here.

Read for the #readingrush “read the first book you touch“ prompt.

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callielafleur
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Pickpick

omgggggg I loved this so much. So pure, so lovely. I need volume 2 in my life asap. 5 stars.

Read for the #readingrush in the “read a book completely outside your house“ prompt!

53 likes2 stack adds
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callielafleur
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Mehso-so

Read for the #readingrush prompt “read a book in a genre you've always wanted to read more of“, in this case, self-help. Sadly, this is not the genre for me, or at least this book wasn't. It's a little cringey, and is a big fan of therapy homework, which is not my jam. If you love comic books and are looking for a self-help journey, maybe give this a try.

callielafleur @monalyisha I have actually read that one, and it was gorgeous. Cried through half of it, at least. 4y
56 likes2 comments
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callielafleur
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Litsy fam, I have like, 7 books from this week that I haven't posted reviews for yet. Should post each one individually, or do a group post of all of them?

(Pic is of my niece, who is so cute)

Megabooks I love to read reviews! And she is cute! 4y
Well-ReadNeck Individually, if u have time. That way others looking at a specific book can see your review. Can‘t wait!!! 4y
kspenmoll She is too cute! Take your time to review. 4y
Leftcoastzen So cute! 4y
TheNeverendingTBR Individually, I like reading separate reviews and seeing the book covers! 🤓 4y
56 likes5 comments
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callielafleur
The Troop | Nick Cutter
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Pickpick

I will have the heebie-jeebies forever from this book. Very Stephen King... but possibly better???

TW for graphic animal abuse. Very not joking.

Bklover Thanks for the trigger warning!😳☹️ 4y
BookDragonNotWorm I really liked this one - all the creeps and chills! 4y
Reggie The poor monkey and tortoise!!!!😱 4y
callielafleur Forgot to add that I read this for the #readingrush for the "title starts with the" prompt! 4y
57 likes1 stack add4 comments
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callielafleur
Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata
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Pickpick

A delightful story about a woman in Japan who is very literal, doesn't feel or express emotions the way those around her do, and who doesn't feel the need or the urge to do what is expected of her- she doesn't yearn for a family, or a career, or anything like that, until she takes a job at a convenience store. There, the rules and expectations are very clear, and she is happy. I listened to this on audio and it was very short, but very good. 4.5⭐

callielafleur I read this for the #readingrush in the "takes place on a different continent from you" category. 4y
Ncostell I just listened to this last week on audio and enjoyed it too. Listening to the narrator‘s pronunciation of characters‘ names and Japanese phrases added to the experience that I would have missed by reading a physical copy. 4y
callielafleur @Ncostell I totally agree, one of my favorite aspects of audiobooks is not stressing over pronunciation 4y
80 likes1 stack add3 comments
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callielafleur
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Pickpick

I'm a little meh on this one. Parts of it were crazy and wonderful, other parts were weird and kind of off-putting, and other parts were just confusing. I think one of the reasons why the movie works so much better for me is the character of Roy Baty, who is lovely and tortured in the movie but is barely in the book at all.

Read for the #ReadingRush, read a book that inspired a movie you've already seen.

67 likes1 stack add
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callielafleur
Scythe | Neal Shusterman
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Pickpick

Read for the #ReadingRush2020 for the birthstone challenge (it is very garnet appropriate with the multiple shades of red on the cover!). This was occasionally problematic but overall excellent, and I'm excited to see where the series goes from here. 4.5⭐

Bookish_Viking Excellent trilogy! 4y
59 likes1 stack add1 comment
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callielafleur
Readathon: Occasional List : Geleentheidslys | Gauteng (South Africa). Education Media Service
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Day 1 of the #ReadingRush and I'm starting by reading Scythe for the birthstone challenge. There's definitely red on the cover for garnet!

Here is my potential stack for this week. For every page I read, I'm donating to CORE Response, an organization that brings relief when disaster strikes... for example, right now they are bringing covid-19 testing to communities that have been heavily impacted. ❤️

Tanisha_A I remember reading Birthday girl, it was pretty fun! Enchanting 4y
Tanisha_A And that's so awesome, the cause you are contributing to. ❤️ 4y
55 likes2 comments
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callielafleur
Glass Hotel | Emily St John Mandel
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Pickpick

I love her writing, and I loved this book. I think this format of interconnected short stories really hurts home for me- another one of my favorites is told this way (Visit From the Goon Squad)- I just love how you get this wide view of everything that's happening, and I love following all of the different characters. Her sentences are so gorgeous, this is going to stick with me for a long time. 5⭐

92 likes2 stack adds
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callielafleur
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Pickpick

Listened to this fascinating true crime audiobook about a young English woman, Lucie Blackman, who goes missing while working as a companion in Japan. Her family tries to work with the local police to find out what happened to her, and the insight into the cultural differences surrounding the justice system are fascinating to read about. I was totally unaware of this story before reading the book, and was totally engrossed beginning to end. 4⭐

eanderson Sounds interesting! 4y
61 likes1 stack add1 comment
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callielafleur
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Pickpick

This was fine, not my favorite by Ann Rule, but creepy enough that my coworker startled the hell out of me while I was listening to it! I gave this 3⭐.

Mistermandolin I admire the research that goes into her writing. Highly readable as well. 4y
56 likes1 comment
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callielafleur
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This is so upsetting. Who would do this??

Blaire How awful! 4y
Eggs ☹️😳 4y
Kappadeemom Just wrong! 4y
See All 32 Comments
SamanthaMarie Ugh :( 4y
julesG Idiots! 4y
Elizabeth2 So sad. 🙁 4y
MinnieTimperley Awful 💔 4y
Sarahreadstoomuch Oh no!!! That‘s awful. 4y
Sace People really suck. 4y
TEArificbooks Unfortunately this does happen especially on holidays. It happens more on Halloween. 4y
Leftcoastzen That‘s awful! 4y
BookmarkTavern People are awful. I‘m so sorry. 💔 4y
Becksbayda So awful 😩 4y
BookDragonNotWorm Shameful and sickening. 😡 4y
Jas16 😱 4y
lahousewyfe That's horrible! 😭 4y
Literary_Siren Good Goddess what is wrong with people?? 😡 4y
ladym30 How stupid are some people? That was a rotten thing to do. 4y
Avanders 😡🤬😡 4y
Tamra 😢 4y
sprainedbrain Oh my god. 🤬🤬🤬 4y
Palimpsest That is horrible! 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Someone sorry 🤬🤬🤬 4y
kezzlou85 Oh how awful 4y
MicheleinPhilly People are gross. 4y
LibrarianRyan Uggghhhh. there was a period a few years ago where people were setting them on fire. It went across the county. 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick 🤬 little 🤬🤬. I'd love to 🤬 those little 🤬 across the whole 🤬 town. (It's like Mad-Libs. Feel free to fill in your own colorful language) 4y
Bookzombie This is awful. People suck. 4y
47 likes32 comments
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callielafleur
A Million Junes | Emily Henry
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My reading for June! My two favorites are on the left, though Every Heart a Doorway could conceivably go there as well. Overall a pretty great reading month, lots of variety, and I'm surprised that I got to ten books- when I went to put this post together, I thought it would be half that!

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callielafleur
Bunny: A Novel | Mona Awad
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Pickpick

This was weird, and delightful, and off-putting, and gross, and sickly-sweet, and I have no idea how much of it was actually happening and how much was made up or hallucinated by an unreliable narrator. Ironically I kept wondering if it was only a pretentious grad school type piece, or was it a really good and crazy Alice in Wonderland type adventure?

Booknerd222 I just got this the other day and I really want to read it! 4y
callielafleur @Booknerd222 it was truly a unique experience! Definitely not for everyone 😂 4y
BarbaraBB I hope you both will join the discussion @Cinfhen and I are hosting about this book on 30 August. It will be part of a #Back2School weekend which we'd love you to join! @Booknerd222 4y
Cinfhen Yes, please join us!!! SO MUCH to talk about 🤯 4y
72 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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callielafleur
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#summerfun question for anyone who can help- one of the boxes says to read Litsy Award winners, is there a place to get that list? I checked the hashtag, but was unsuccessful. Thanks in advance!
@4thhouseontheleft @StayCurious

CBee @LibrarianRyan can you help? 😁 4y
vlwelser I also need help with this one. Please. 4y
Laughterhp I‘m interested in the answer here too. 4y
See All 8 Comments
LibrarianRyan @CBee of course I can. I‘m on my lunch break but when I get back in the office I will post a list of the last 3 years winners. @vlwelser @Laughterhp (edited) 4y
vlwelser Yay! Thank you @LibrarianRyan !! 4y
CBee @LibrarianRyan to the rescue!! 😁 4y
StayCurious Yay! Littens helping Littens! 4y
44 likes8 comments
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callielafleur
My Lovely Wife | Samantha Downing
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Mehso-so

This was boring and at times unbelievable to a point that I was just shaking my head. I don't love thrillers, and I found this fairly predictable. The end was the best part, and it bumped it up to a 3 stars for me. I'd recommend it if you love thrillers, because the concept is kind of interesting, but there's no reason to like, run out and buy a copy.

magyklyXdelish Same! I saw so many people saying “oh it‘s like if dexter meets me and mrs Smith” and I‘m like no.. it‘s dexter meets this is 40. It‘s so so so boring until the end. 4y
readordierachel Yeah, I bailed on this one. Curious about the ending but not enough to hang with the boredom. 4y
60 likes2 comments
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callielafleur
Every Heart a Doorway | Seanan McGuire
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Pickpick

Home recovering from surgery, this was the perfect read for keeping my mind occupied. I loved this so much, I need the next one asap! 5/5 stars.

mcipher Here‘s to a speedy recovery! I loved this one too. Someday I‘ll finish the series 4y
MaureenMc Best wishes for a speedy! 4y
britt_brooke Hope you‘re doing well! 💚 4y
61 likes1 stack add3 comments
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callielafleur
My Lovely Wife | Samantha Downing
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My name is pretty unusual, I was not expecting to see it in this context, and certainly not with my morning cup of coffee...

"Nothing ever happened in Woodview. Certainly nothing like the murder of a nice woman named Callie..."

?

wanderinglynn Well that‘s not how you want to see your name! 😳😂 4y
49 likes1 comment
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callielafleur
Akata Witch | Nnedi Okorafor
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Pickpick

I wish I could give this book ten stars. I wish it came with a soundtrack to listen to while reading it. It has everything I loved- magic, a crew coming together, a really amazing main character, beautiful writing. If any of this interests you, pick this one up!!

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callielafleur
The Immortalists | Chloe Benjamin
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Mehso-so

Listened to this on audio, it was fine, but not revolutionary. Certain sections were better than others. The audio quality was high and the narrator was good. 3⭐

Suet624 That was my rating too. 4y
58 likes1 comment
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callielafleur
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Went on a bit of a shopping spree on book depository. I have more coming in from a couple indies that I love too... I'm very excited for all of these!!

Side note for people doing swaps- stick a Post-It in your books saying who sent them to you and what swap it was for! I've had so many instances of wanting to shout people out (like whoever here got me hooked on Death Note), but by the time I read them, I can't remember who sent them!

TheDaysGoBy Such a good idea! I‘ll have to do that going forward 4y
78 likes1 comment
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callielafleur
Beach House | R. L. Stine
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From last year. There's so much here that I miss- getting my nails done, going to the beach, reading this book...

#beachselfie #summerfun @4thhouseontheleft

Cathythoughts Loved this book , loved Stoner too. One more to go ... 🤞🏻 (edited) 4y
callielafleur @Cathythoughts I've been holding off because I don't want to be done with his works 4y
alisiakae hmm...haven't read any of his yet! 4y
StayCurious Perfect pic for this challenge! 4y
64 likes4 comments
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callielafleur
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Organized my "read but keeping" shelves today, and alphabetized by author. Took forever, but I'm pretty happy with the result! Now I need to tackle my TBR, which will be a bit more intensive... ?

Leftcoastzen Looks great! 4y
Nute I‘m inspired!☺️ 4y
72 likes2 comments
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callielafleur
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Pickpick

I adored this, and highly recommend the audio. This story is going to stick with me for a long time. I loved Bri (Bree? Hard to know spellings when you're listening to the audio), her family (especially her mom Jay), and her friends. I'm really sad it's over!

ElizaMarie In my head it‘s Bri because it‘s Brianna? Maybe I don‘t know. I totally have the same problem when listening :) 4y
callielafleur @ElizaMarie I've seen Brianna and Breeanna spellings before, which is why I wasn't sure. I'm never sure of names in books- either spellings in audiobooks or pronunciations in physical books! 😂 4y
68 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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callielafleur
Between the World and Me | Ta-Nehisi Coates
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Pickpick

The writing was gorgeous, and the message profound and powerful. I agree with Toni Morrison, who blurbed the cover; This is required reading.

Scochrane26 This is an amazing book. I listened to it—Coates narrates it-& it was powerful & eye-opening for me. 4y
callielafleur @Scochrane26 I bet the audiobook is incredible. 4y
Scochrane26 @callielafleur It is. I read the physical book for We Were Eight Years in Power, & it‘s amazing, too. 4y
LatrelWhite Yes! His books are deeply powerful! 4y
79 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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callielafleur
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Started this this morning. It's so great. Highly recommend the audio.

mcctrish It‘s a GREAT audio 4y
britt_brooke Bahni Turpin is my favorite narrator! 4y
60 likes1 stack add2 comments
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callielafleur
Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes | Karin Slaughter
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Mehso-so

This was an additional short story tacked on the end of Pretty Girls, and is a prequel to that book. I can't see reading it without having read Pretty Girls first, but having read Pretty Girls, I found it completely unnecessary. It wasn't bad, just kind of meh.

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callielafleur
Memory Police | Yoko Ogawa
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Pickpick

Like I mentioned before, this reminded me so much of The Giver, plus George Orwell and Haruki Murakami. Very strange, very lovely, quiet and unsettling. This leaves you without a lot of explanations, if you need a lot of answers you will be left wanting. But it's so rewarding if you can enjoy the story and get swept up in the events that transpire.

tournevis Yoko Ogawa is a world treasure and I love her work so much! 4y
Reviewsbylola This sounds interesting and the cover is striking! 4y
71 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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callielafleur
Pretty Girls (Library) | Karin Slaughter
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Pickpick

But Callie, how can you be done at only 88%? Apparently there's also a short at the end of this audiobook of Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, which is actually a prequel. I wonder if this was true in the physical copy?

This was really good, slowly unfolding and surprising me here and there. The main character can be frustratingly thick on occasion, but not to the extent that I grew too frustrated as things slowly occurred to her.

Reecaspieces She is an amazing writer! 4y
54 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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callielafleur
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I can't remember where I saw this, but here is a great list of bookstores that can benefit from support right now. Just put in an order at Frugal Bookstore in Boston! If you posted this today, I am sorry for not crediting you! I need to be better about screencapping the OP.

ETA: please comment below with more! It's not my list originally so I can't update it the image, but would love to see more names listed. Thank you!!

RowReads1 Add Marcus Books in Oakland. https://mobile.twitter.com/marcusbooks 4y
callielafleur @RowReads1 thank you for the link! 4y
CocoReads And here in the Bend, we have The Brain Lair. It‘s geared towards kristin da but the owner will special order anything. I can‘t remember the website offhand though. I‘ll try to look it up later. (edited) 4y
Karkar I am pretty sure Wild Fig closed last year. ☹️ 4y
52 likes4 comments
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callielafleur
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My first Litsy challenge in a long time! Very excited!

See the organizers' feeds for more information, and sign up by clicking the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvL4BpgRoKr7LKvLH1iqFk481gLb6hnV2E5UHy...

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callielafleur
Memory Police | Yoko Ogawa
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Started The Memory Police this morning, and more than anything, it feels like a prequel to my favorite book of all time, The Giver.

49 likes1 stack add
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callielafleur
May Day | F. Scott Fitzgerald
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My reading for May! Not a huge number of books, but some real chunkers on this list- Mistborn was almost 700 pages, Middlegame was almost 500, Shell Seekers was over 500. All were extremely excellent... except Jane Eyre, because I am apparently uncultured swine. Hated the audiobook, was so glad when it was over. Funny enough, I finished my audio and regular read today, so I'll get to start June fresh!

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I love it when it works out that way, a nice clean slate! 4y
Scochrane26 I don‘t like Jane Eyre either. 4y
58 likes2 comments
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callielafleur
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Pickpick

This was so good! My only complaint is that towards the end there is a bit of bouncing around in time that was not really indicated clearly in audio. Maybe there are visual clues in the actual book that make this more obvious? I thought I had fast-forwarded inadvertantly through a really important part. But overall, I loved it. 4.25/5 stars.

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callielafleur
The Shell Seekers | Rosamunde Pilcher
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Pickpick

This was lovely, even though the end felt a little too tidy for me. I had secretly been worried that it was going to put me in a reading slump, but thankfully I couldn't put it down. Totally understand why it's my mom's favorite!

rubyslippersreads Such a great comfort book. 4y
MaGoose This is on my TBR list as a reread. First read it eons ago. 4y
59 likes1 stack add2 comments