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chapter_fifty2017

chapter_fifty2017

Joined December 2016

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Demon Copperhead: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver
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chapter_fifty2017
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Pickpick

I don't often reread books 🤔😒 terrible I know, but l had to for my bookclub so l decided to reread this after 30 years ago and it was brilliant again !! I think l have changed a lot over the years yet the haunting themes of family, place, birth, death resonate as deeply as it did the first time. Books are magic and truly this one is! there is magical realism ; terror ; dreams die, characters fall but you stay with them., forever it seems.

7 likes1 stack add
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Pickpick

Over Xmas l watched enthralled once again LOTR trilogy. After l was loathe to leave that world so decided to read this title as its been sitting on my shelf forever. My return was immediately imursive and compelling. What a cracking adventure this was full of heroic depressed semi gods, elves , orcs and slithering not just smelly but evil dragons. It was epic and sad.

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chapter_fifty2017
Why We Are Here | Briohny Doyle
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Your father dies then unexpectedly your true love dies , your a writer the grief is overwhelming and then the pandemic hits. You are very much alone and walk the dog for miles and observe the ocean . Thoughts, memories rise up there are friends and relationships
To navigate , l really loved this book , what happens not much what is revealed is astonishing

50shadesofGandalf I found you! Now I can stalk all your books 👀 3mo
chapter_fifty2017 I can't wait to see your first post ; l think l will put on my notifications so l wont miss out 😂😂 3mo
chapter_fifty2017 Also love the name 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛💖 3mo
3 likes3 comments
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Pickpick

This book was written a long time ago and l find the premise of art and love intriguing. This book was long winded in places but the focus on the art and collections of woman artists in Australia at the turn of th century was interesting. Anne's focus was all over the place and l think it ended up wanting to be a different book all together. A lot of art history here.

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Hydra | Adriane Howell
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Really enjoyed this book by a debut author, its about a life that decontructs from inside out. Her mother dies" her marriage ends then she loses her job . She buys a house by the sea and is hunted . Although it untangles at the end there is a lot to keep thinking about.

CarolynM I must have missed something with this one, I really didn‘t like it. 11mo
chapter_fifty2017 I understand , she wasn't the most likeable of characters 🤔 10mo
8 likes2 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
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Pickpick

Although l read this a few weeks ago, this book stays with you. Like a loss of hope it dwells around you. This heartbreaking memoir about a couple that decide once the husband is diagnosed with a debilitating dementia to fly to Switzerland and end his life painlessly with Dignitas. Amy Bloom writes sorrow with great understanding its the story of a couple living while transversely dealing with the fates that come calling.
yet tells it as it is

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chapter_fifty2017
My Phantoms | Gwendoline Riley
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Mother, daughter ?? Family communication? No matter how much we try to understand or reach out or confront the truth. Sadly it just doesn't happen, some people are too unreliable , unbelievable, not just for a moment but for your entire life. This book does resonate with me and the games families play.
Great writing .

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chapter_fifty2017
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Pickpick

Enlightening that even as a psychologist we are all still prey to our own delusions , illusions and regressive behaviours. This a good read as Lori Gottlieb was a script writer for some pretty awesome shows like ER !! All the more intriguing when the floor falls out from under her metaphorically she seeks out another healer to guide her along her journey to her own inner wisdom whilst also treating clients along the way
Sleepers awake 😳

14 likes1 stack add
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chapter_fifty2017
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Pickpick

My Russian fix continues and is also exemplified with the great HBO Chenobyl series . Voices from Chernobyl another well put together oral history incredible, moving and as humans, you gotta wonder at our propensity for courage, deceit and delusion .

18 likes1 stack add
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Pickpick

This book is amazing and full of revelations about Russia then and now. I was very unaware of what was happening in Russia around the fall of communism , and this oral history isn't for the fainthearted. It's an eye opener , it's shocking and it happened , still happens around the world whilst it portrays the breakdown of one political system it reflects the shadow side of capitalism , and the many problems that comes with it today.

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Reading this was like a dream journey , it was like being in a dream a magical.land wher bad things happened but you were detached .
Admitting I read it awhile ago but it stays with me and I intend to savour the whole series and think on its philosophy.

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chapter_fifty2017
French Exit: A Novel | Patrick DeWitt
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What a great read it says so much about today's world.
I lapped it up , quite a page turner . There is sadness but a lot of dark humour as well with a touch of magical realism .it leaves you thinking about the ending a lot .

19 likes1 stack add
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Spiderlight | Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Pickpick

Spiderlight was a great read and even though character's seem unlikable you like them then like them a lot , it builds to quite an intense momentum .
It has every swords giant spiders & magic mayhem.
Highly recommended.

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The Red Parts: A Memoir | Maggie Nelson
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I have wanted to read this book for a long time as l really admire Maggie Nelson .lts a different read for me a type of shocking true crime story wrapped up in a cold case that involves a family history as it happened then and now, as the murder goes to trial many years later .lts heartbreaking too as it highlights violence against women in society how it is portrayed
How it affects victims their relatives how its still so relevent now .

27 likes1 stack add
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chapter_fifty2017
Asymmetry | Lisa Halliday
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I read this awhile ago but it still stays with me so am going to try and review some of the books that are queuing 😩 anyway this book is a page turner even though you keep asking yourself why ?? The writing is simply that good! also it packs a punch as there is a simultaneous story running through it but you kinda dont get it till the end .lts modern its clever and you need to read it .

26 likes5 stack adds
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Last year l attended the same book fair and was very pleased with the haul l purchased and pretty sure l may have read only one of them but too bad l really enjoyed my couple of hours rummaging around tables squashed in by other mesmorized but polite bodies !
I have so many reviews to add am trying to get to them .Yes but not the ones from last years book fair 😩

Zelma Nice haul! 👏 6y
22 likes1 comment
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed returning to this world . Looking forward to the next adventure as the foreshadowing of what may come in this text fills one with anticipation. I really loved the characters & loved to hate the evil ones . Its a real adventure that hijacks you along for the ride , you just keep reading. After reading this prequel, i think this series will be equal to if not better than the first . The triumphant "His dark materials " ??????

25 likes1 stack add
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Pickpick

Loved this book. Wanted to read it because of adaption by Peter Jackson . Its a middle grade / junior book that does not shy away from killing off characters , whilst the building of significant suspense, with approaching lurking terrors that proclaim demise and destruction that then turn into amazing twists !! Read the book then see the film ! Its a series so i am going to keep reading xx highly recommend to all 👍🥂

SpeculativeFemale Love those books! I keep wondering, though, if the movie series is successful, will he go on and make the Fever Crumb prequel series, too? 🤔 6y
chapter_fifty2017 Thankyou! I wonder too there eas a short trailer going round that looked IMPRESSIVE. I want to start some kevin Hearn books .😉 6y
21 likes1 stack add2 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
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Pickpick

Your a novelist you are writing a book about someone with a brain tumor , your mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer's she forgets you. Your best friend discovers she has an aggresive brain cancer , she cannot communicate with you anymore. Georgia loves words, this is her world she is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour this is her last book , and is written so beautifully poignantly , Her mother dies 3 days after Georgia.

chapter_fifty2017 Thankyou so much to all you littens , am so behind with my reviews but am spurred on now , must be more diciplined for 2018 happy new year to all🌠🎶😙 6y
Libby1 Happy New Year to you! ⭐️ 6y
batsy Happy New Year! 6y
21 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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The End We Start From | Megan Hunter
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Just for some light relief i read this also whilst drowning in The Flood !! The world is drowning not written from a science perpective with little detail except from a woman that gives birth at the end of the world she experiences , forced migration ,hunger and powerlessness . Its beautifully written and easy to read a lot happens to the earth her world transforms only to continue like a miracle. Unlike The Flood where there were no miracles .

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Flood | Stephen Baxter
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Pickpick

I finished this quite sometime ago. Yet it is still haunts me a bit not that it was not without its flaws, but the predictive climate change conditions that were occuring seem very acurate today. Especially at the time the hurricanes were blowing. So i kept putting off this review , its worth reading, its depressing but hope in that in the real world we will wake up in time. Although the time now for the earth is getting crucial.

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The Scarab Path | Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Pickpick

It took me a while to begin this book but begin it i did as it followed a beloved characters search for meaning and the quest to find your own tribe . I love the characters still , the wars , the betrayals & especially the twists. I just love spending time in this crazy fantasy can't recommend it enough such a good story.
Merlin my wicked familiar thought so too 😾😻

Centique Merlin is an excellent name! 7y
CoffeeCatsBooks 😻😻😻 7y
SharonGoforth Hi Merlin! 😻😻 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Sometimes merlins name flickers between that and smaug , depends on behaviour 🤔😀🤤 7y
37 likes4 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
The Country Girls | Edna O'Brien
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Went mad at a local book fair ! It was all for a good cause people , nothing to do with my " i just gotta have it " compulsion I loved " country girls , so i got that in big beautiful collection with other stories also met someone who said that he had met edna , he was a jolly irishman, it was great and i wanna go back tomorrow ? but will hav to hav some self control .
But it was soo good !! ???

Cathythoughts Sounds great 👍 a great day out. Even though I'm on kindle I still love to go bookshops and java a look around. This jolly Irishman sounds interesting 😉 7y
chapter_fifty2017 It was a great day out and i hav a kindle too they are great for reading huge tombs and the convenience !!! Well that was an interesting Irishman story but thats where it ended so many people you had to move it or lose it !!! 7y
Cathythoughts @chapter_fifty2017 I haven't read Country Girls. Must give it a try 😉 7y
Laalaleighh I spy a Claire North 🙌🏼 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Thats right ! Have you read it ?? I know she has cred as a good author , thats why i grabbed it . Can you believe that pile of beloved books is still waiting for me to do something with it 😭 7y
34 likes5 comments
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Pilgrimage | Annie Leibovitz
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Sometimes i have too many books on the go at once so then i come crashing to a full stop . Its all my fault
Netgalley , the library, not too mention the tbr on my shelves at home that rack up to err you dont want to know 😲😓 🤤 the horror
Anyway i have found this book to be a port in a storm the cover invites you to dive in. I have , am reading, studying haunting images of objects that belong to famous artists & inspirational world activists

23 likes1 stack add
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Cake and good comfort read go together
Luv Pat Conroys work . He loved books dont know if he loved cake but I do . Dont judge my baking skills too harshly am only a beginner xxx

Blueberry This is on my tbr list. I saw Pat Conroy speaking about writing this book on TV. I like his South of Broad best I think. 7y
chapter_fifty2017 I would love to have seen him speaking , i have heard interviews, he seemed to have come through so much of his own family pain but the first one i read of his was Prince of Tides its impression on me was so deeply resonant that i cant forget it although i did love South of Broad too and actually want to read the Great Santini sometime soon , i really felt a loss when he died😔thanks for that blueberry Good name 😁 7y
Aleida Pat Conroy and food go together like, well, me and a Pat Conroy book! Just love him. And the cake looks divine. (edited) 7y
See All 8 Comments
chapter_fifty2017 Thanks so much , Pat Conroy is one of the greats 👍 and the cake was only so-so , err it looked better than it tasted 🤤 but will try again !😉 7y
Debiw781 Love Pat Conroy books ❤️ 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Me too forevermore 💓 7y
SharonGoforth That cake looks pretty darned good to me 🎂 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Err lets just say it looked better than tasted, wasnt bad but anout half of it fed the worms 😔 7y
19 likes8 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
Ties | Domenico Starnone
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Pickpick

I think this book has many layers about what we want how we want others to see us , how we lie to ourselves , how to live with what we do to others.
What we do while young we cannot undo. Its a small book that packs in a lifetime of events for a family of four but dont forget the cat its name is the subtext to this family drama. Intrigued?? You wont regret picking up this well paced , clever and excellently translated novel.

Cathythoughts Yes I liked this one. Something very real about it all. There was talk that he is Elena Ferrante's husband 7y
chapter_fifty2017 That wouldnt surprise me as there is so much cloak and dagger around her whole identity with her books now even more innuendo with hubbie 😞 7y
Cathythoughts I loved Ferrante's Neoplolitan series. Brilliant writing , & one can only imagine how much was lost in translation. An incredible insight into life in Naples & relationships. 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Terrible confession hav yet to read the Neapolitan series but i have read a few of her stand alones she is brilliant gets right under your skin , recently i nabbed a great second hand edition "my brilliant friend " so must read my sisters loved it too they keep telling me to read it !!? Cant wait to see wat you think of fever dream!? 7y
15 likes4 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
Borne: A Novel | Jeff VanderMeer
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Pickpick

"There is a ferocious bear in the air !' And many creatures as well !! A magician that plays deadly games and then there is Borne but wat is he or it ? Good or evil ?
Two big bads , that fight for domination over a ruined planet but that is all beside Rachel's story, her story is supreme as the world's survival depends on it!
Loved this book , its a Rollercoaster ride that u cant put down , it wil make u laugh & cry it will change your life ???

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I just got this one! So excited about it!! 7y
chapter_fifty2017 This book really blew me away so will be looking forward to your thoughts, hope you like it too 🙄 7y
16 likes1 stack add2 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
Salute the Dark | Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Pickpick

I have journeyed so long now with all these diverse kinden for many moons. I have thoroughly enjoyed it
Its been 4 great books so far in this series , i knew some would not survive but really think he did a bit of george rr martin killing off some real beloved characters but can i bare to leave it all here , i am so used to visiting most nights and if i dont return i will definately feel vaguely homesick for my remaining kinden , so to be cont

TobeyTheScavengerMonk I haven't read book 5 yet. If you get there before me, let me know what you think! 7y
chapter_fifty2017 After reading book 4 , i can understand its almost a natural pause /pitstop and its tempting because of huge tbr but like i said am hooked but i will go on and definitely let you know, but really it will be good who are we kidding 😩😉! 7y
9 likes2 comments
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Pickpick

Finally finished "the blood !!"yeah hav to say i really loved it but found it a bit of a slog maybe too much politics, it took awhile too build but i still really care about the characters and i felt the ending paid off so well now am going to start the 4th installment
Salute the Dark ! Great title am keen to start just want to be part of the mantis family i suppose .
Great series!hughly reccomended xxxx

TobeyTheScavengerMonk This one felt like it was setting up all the pieces for Volume 4. 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Yes now that you have said it, it makes perfect sense ! 7y
7 likes2 comments
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Fever Dream | Samanta Schweblin
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"You give me fever !!!"
I started reading it late into the night and couldnt put it down till the wee small hours. I finshed it on waking after dreaming scary stuff ,this book lifts the veil on the real world revealing the true horror of the world, the pain and the the very fine line we walk when we disregard our environment.
This book speaks to your unconcious , you may never know its meaning but you have been warned .

9 likes1 stack add
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First Love | Gwendoline Riley
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This is a book about a failing relationship that never ends , you know the type the dialogue, its that good!! , its like overhearing or being present inside someones home and experiencing your toes curling wilst feelings of pathos and
Inevitability wash over you leaving no doubt this will , like in real life keep happening !!!

3 likes1 stack add
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Dragonfly Falling | Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Only 100 pages to go yes although pacing still an is stii an issue luv the characters and lots of twists

Finished and loved the ending , so refreshing to feel at once satisfied yet also looking forward to the journeys of all these great characters, in a way its like the fellowship in Lord of the rings , that doest fall apart. Will just have to keep reading the series and loving it .

TobeyTheScavengerMonk I love the characters in this series so much! 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Just picked up the next one from the library , it looked a lot thinner untilni opened it omg tiny writing!! 7y
5 likes2 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
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Pickpick

I wonder who the character is on the cover ??
I really enjoyed this book but i think i really like "children of time" more . He does do great characters though , and magical , pretty good world building , am having a little holiday away from reality at the moment by beginning this series , i will see how i go with the second but i would put this up ther with david eddings and george rr martin not to mention terry brooks !! Its good real good .

TobeyTheScavengerMonk I've read the first 4 and, other than the pacing being a little wonky, they are all excellent. 7y
chapter_fifty2017 Thanks for that , you are right about the pacing , i just couldnt put my finger on it . I highly recommend you read " Children of time " if u haven't already it was practically perfect. 7y
3 likes2 comments
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chapter_fifty2017
Barkskins: A Novel | Annie Proulx
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I loved this book it was just so easy to read , a page turner
With a prose style that can be so shocking one minute but can also leave you with feeling bereft for "the humanity"
As this is a book about humans and history versus environment and that sums up a very sad story indeed.
Its a tomb of a book but dont let it put you off from start to finish you will be gobsmacked!!!

Ps .. was shocked this book didnt make the baileys short list !!

4 likes2 stack adds
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I always enjoy dave eggers style and stories about when
In a rut ; Run !!! And experience other with all its wonders and pit falls , its not his best one but i think it worth a read .