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claudiuo

claudiuo

Joined August 2019

Cats, books and coffee, not necessarily in this order
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Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
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At the Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman
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A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain
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Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
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Station Eleven: A novel by Emily St. John Mandel
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The Queen's Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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My March #BookSpinBingo card, thank you @TheAromaOfBooks!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3w
19 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
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@AllDebooks Thanks for making me read an interesting book. Finally got to finish my first #Naturalitsy read, I really enjoyed it, learned a lot not only about eels but also marine research, Rachel Carson, Swedish society and more. Very interesting idea to alternate chapters about eels with writer's personal life. A pick!

@TheAromaOfBooks Finally ready now with my March #BingoSpin list.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3w
20 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
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@TheAromaOfBooks @PuddleJumper

Finished reading:
- the tagged book (not the first time reading it, I love Douglas Adams): #Roll100 #1 pick for January and #7 in #BookChain;
- A Comedian Walks Into A Funeral Home done: my February #DoubleSpin.

These 2 reads helped me get a #BookSpinBingo for this month, I think it is the earliest I was able to do this.

PuddleJumper ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 1mo
20 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir
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Confusing and hard to follow in some parts but still a great read. I have to admit, I started it once and it didn't really draw me in but gave it one more chance and ended up liking it a lot. A pick!

@TheAromaOfBooks This was my #BookChain read for 5th prompt.

claudiuo @TheAromaOfBooks Talking about #BookChain... After reading this book I was stumped as far as prompt 6: title with half as many letters as this book. I thought I will be stuck here for a while. Serendipity at its best: The book I was reading to celebrate Black History Month was Passing... I realized it has a 7 letter title just now ๐Ÿ˜ป 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Nice!!! I am stuck there myself. I definitely already have some ideas for improving prompts for next year ๐Ÿ˜‚ 1mo
PuddleJumper I'm stuck on 6 too ๐Ÿ˜‚ 1mo
claudiuo @PuddleJumper ๐Ÿ˜‚ 1mo
19 likes4 comments
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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My #BookSpinBingo February card is ready. Thank you, @TheAromaOfBooks!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2mo
23 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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My February list

@TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2mo
20 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Novelist as a Vocation | Haruki Murakami
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Just finished it and I enjoyed it a lot: a very cool view into the mind of a great writer about writing novels, publishing, readers, literary awards, and more. A pick.

This read also helped me get a #BookSpinBingo for this month.

@TheAromaOfBooks I was trying hard to find a book with a title starting with N for my #BookChain challenge, only when I finished it I realized this was it ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

TheAromaofBooks Yay bingo!!!! I'm stuck in my BookChain because I finished a book over 400 pages and have to read a book that's even longer for my next link!! I have one in my February pile, but it's going to be a hot minute before I get to it lol 2mo
claudiuo @TheAromaofBooks Oh, I have to watch for that one... I rarely read something over 400, if I do that just before this prompt, I'd be toasted... I was going to take the prompts one at a time, but it seems I need some planning ๐Ÿ˜ƒ 2mo
16 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Lapvona: A Novel | Ottessa Moshfegh

Last couple weeks I finished both spins and a roll100 pick:
- Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson (#Roll100 pick#2): a great start of a new series for me;
- The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay (Jan #BookSpin): another good entry in the Forward series;
- Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh (Jan #DoubleSpin): so-so pick: good writing but with a lot of scenes not quite necessary in the context of the book, IMO.

@TheAromaOfBooks @PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper Great job! 2mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2mo
13 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
With the Fire on High | Elizabeth Acevedo
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A great read that helped me finish #PromptMaze Q4. Yay!

@TheAromaOfBooks BTW, I think I missed the post about the new Q1 maze, can you please send it to me? I love them mazes ๐Ÿ˜

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Sadly, I have not created a new maze for this year!! Instead, I've been doing the #BookChain challenge I created on StoryGraph - https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/05a07226-a7e1-4cc7-9874-b3aca53... - I may try to do another PromptMaze later this year, though!!! 2mo
claudiuo That sounds great! I was worried I missed the Q1 maze but I like StoryGraph challenges, I joined like 9 or 10 of them, I'll join yours too. Thanks for letting me know! 2mo
claudiuo @TheAromaofBooks Love the #BookChain challenge prompts. Third one gave me some trouble, a bit too specific but I have so many books on my TBR that I found a book that will work. Thanks again for mentioning it! 2mo
TheAromaofBooks I'm glad you like it!! It has a similar vibe to the prompt maze. I'm curious to see how long it takes me to complete the chain!! 2mo
17 likes4 comments
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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My January #BookSpinBingo card

Thank you, @TheAromaOfBooks!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3mo
18 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
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After reading Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds a while back, I was sure this book will be great and indeed it didn't disappoint. A pick! My December #DoubleSpin

Also, got to finish Our secret, Siri Aang by Cristina Kessler, another great read that was both my Sept #DoubleSpin and May #DoubleSpin. Another pick!

@TheAromaOfBooks - with these I finished all my spins for '22 and got a bingo - didn't think it was possible ๐Ÿ˜ Thank you so so much!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Fabulous progress!!! 3mo
claudiuo @TheAromaofBooks I really owe it to you. The spins and mostly bingo push me every month to read more. Thank you!! 3mo
18 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Pictures of Hollis Woods | Patricia Reilly Giff
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Loved this book, I thought it will have a sad ending but by contrary it was so full of hope, love and happiness, perfect read for Christmas. A pick!

It also helped me to finally finish #PromptMaze Q3 (covers pictured)... only 3 months too late ๐Ÿ˜ƒ @TheAromaOfBooks

Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a happy one. Happy Holidays to all!

TheAromaofBooks Literally have been stuck in the Q3 maze since I posted it ๐Ÿ˜‚ I've read 46 books and still haven't found my way out!!! 3mo
claudiuo @TheAromaofBooks I was stuck at F5 for a while, kept reading books without a place name, color, number or person name in the title but this one did it and sent me straight to K5 ๐Ÿ˜ƒ 3mo
15 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
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I am making progress through my โ€œdebtโ€œ spins and roll picks. Since my last post, I finished:
- the tagged book: a great read, looking forward to more Longmire: this was my November #BookSpin and my December #Roll20 pick #3;
- a shorter read that I enjoyed quite a lot: The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman: my December #Roll20 pick #4;
- Catherynne M. Valente's novella Comfort Me with Apples: my December #BookSpin.

@PuddleJumper @TheAromaOfBooks

sherrisilvera Loooove Longmire 3mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3mo
PuddleJumper Brilliant! 3mo
12 likes1 stack add3 comments
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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My December board is ready. Quite a few unfinished Spins and Roll picks, I'll try to focus on those this month. Thank you so much @TheAromaOfBooks!

@PuddleJumper

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 4mo
20 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
A Pale View of Hills | Kazuo Ishiguro
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@PuddleJumper I didn't think I'll finish reading A Pale View of Hills this month so I added it to the December list and it just happened to be my #RollDecember no.1 pick. But I really liked it so I finished it earlier than I thought. Yay! ๐Ÿ˜

Otherwise, not a very โ€œproductiveโ€œ month: no #BookSpinBingo, no #BookSpin, none of the #Roll100 November picks. Luckily I finished my #DoubleSpin: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

@TheAromaOfBooks

PuddleJumper November was a very slow month for me too. Hopefully we can read some more December 4mo
TheAromaofBooks Good luck!!! 4mo
15 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
VALIS | Philip K. Dick

This is very painful for me to admit but have to be truthful: I love Philip K. Dick, he is one of my favorite authors but this book was too much for me. As much as I tried, I couldn't get it all. There are tons of great ideas that I liked but I found out lots of it went over my head and I just couldn't focus. I felt it is better to stop reading half way through than to just skim and finish it without doing it justice. Still a pick, even if DNF!

claudiuo @PuddleJumper This was my #100 picked up so many times, in April, August, October, also my November substitution.
(edited) 4mo
claudiuo @TheAromaOfBooks my June #BookSpin, sadly my first DNF spin. 4mo
TheAromaofBooks I have only read Man in the High Castle, and my husband actually really likes the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I keep meaning to check out more of his writing, but I may give this one a pass ๐Ÿ˜‚ 4mo
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claudiuo @TheAromaofBooks Do Androids Dream... is one of the books I would take with me on the island ๐Ÿ˜ Thanks for mentioning Man in the High Castle, it is on my TBR shelf for so long, it is time to get to it. (edited) 4mo
TheAromaofBooks I had mixed feelings about Castle. There isn't a lot of action, so it's more of a thoughtful kind of book. I don't know whether or not this was Dick's point, but I took away from it how the winners always write history, and those winners also write the alternate history - they tell us what WOULD have happened if they hadn't won (and it would have been BAD). But the question is... how much would really be different if the losers had won? โฌ‡ 4mo
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) So I enjoyed the thinking aspect of the book, but the story itself didn't do much for me haha 4mo
PuddleJumper That's a shame! 4mo
Bookwomble The Man in the High Castle is one of my favourite PKDs. There's lots of ideas about reality and unreality, intrinsic and extrinsic value. Famously, when he got to a decision point in his writing of this book, he used the I Ching oracle as a prompt, which explains it's unconventional structure. I do like VALIS, but it is a difficult book. There's a fair bit of autobiography in it, so knowing something of PKDs life and associates can help ๐Ÿ™‚ 4mo
claudiuo @Bookwomble Thank for noting The Man in the High Castle as well, I really need to get to it. As for Valis, I knew it has some autobiographical stuff, it is one reason I wanted to read it. And I liked it a lot, I saved quite a few quotes. I stopped reading it cause I felt I am not understanding everything he says and I don't like skipping parts especially from a book I like. It is more like ISCILI (I stopped cause I liked it ๐Ÿ˜), not plain DNF. 4mo
20 likes1 stack add9 comments
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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My November card is ready. Thank you @TheAromaOfBooks!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looks fabulous!!! 5mo
10 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
The End of Eternity | Isaac Asimov
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Yay, finished another great book by Isaac Asimov, my September #BookSpin also gives me #BookSpinBingo for this month. Still not helping me progress in the Prompt Maze Q3 because it was first published in 1955 but helps me with Prompt Maze Q4 so not all is lost ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

I can now finally get done my list for November, @TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 5mo
17 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
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A very rare month for me, to finish both Spin books: yay! Another great book by one of my favorite authors, my #DoubleSpin: a pick!

It didn't help me advance in the #PromptMaze Q3 (I am stuck for weeks now in a cell that wants a book Published in the 1980s, 1990s or between 2000-2010, all my recent reads were older or newer than that ๐Ÿ˜) but it helped me in the Q4 maze.

Thanks again @TheAromaOfBooks for all these fun ways you help me read more!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! I also got stuck in that cell! It feels like an option for a 30-year span of books shouldn't have been that hard to hit, but it was! ๐Ÿ˜‚ 5mo
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claudiuo
The Shadow of the Wind | Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This was my October #BookSpin and I loved it! A new favorite for me, both the book and the author. Not sure why I waited for so long to read it, it had to be good with such a rec from Stephen King: โ€œOne gorgeous read.โ€ The story and characters were great, writing was awesome and there is so much love of books from the very first chapter that it had to be a great read! A pick!

@TheAromaOfBooks

@PuddleJumper Also a #Roll100 pick from back in March

claudiuo I saved so many quotes from this book but one in particular caught my eye: โ€œIt's up to you how you waste your time and money. I'm staying here to read: life's too short.โ€ ๐Ÿ˜ƒ 6mo
PuddleJumper Awesome! 6mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 6mo
See All 6 Comments
SamAnne This is my #doublespin. Just started today. Very intrigued! 5mo
Librariana I've read this in English but purchased the Spanish edition and need to give that a go! 5mo
claudiuo @Librariana The writing is so beautiful in English, I bet it is so much more in original. 5mo
27 likes1 stack add6 comments
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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Thanks again @TheAromaOfBooks for hosting this challenge every month!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Looks fantastic!!! 6mo
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claudiuo
Untitled | Unknown
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@TheAromaOfBooks Late as always, here is my #BookSpin list for October. Thank you for doing this every month! ๐Ÿ˜ป

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 6mo
12 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Electric Forest | Tanith Lee
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I loved Tanith Lee's writing when I read an anthology of her stories a few months ago and I was looking forward to read this book and it didn't disappoint. A pick!

@TheAromaOfBooks I am happily reporting that this was my July #BookSpin and it also gave me a #BookSpinBingo for this month. Not to mention it advanced me one more step in the Q3 #PromptMaze. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Love it when a book makes you feel bonus accomplished!! 6mo
23 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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My #BookSpinBingo card for September. Thank you so much @TheAromaOfBooks for doing this every month, it really helps me read more!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Looks fantastic!! And I'm so glad this is inspiring you to get through the TBR!! โค 7mo
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claudiuo
Pet | Akwaeke Emezi
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Pickpick

Another great read to get my second #BookSpinBingo for August. A very dark read but with a great message and characters diversity (main character is a Black transgender girl and her best friend has three parents) which I found really awesome. A definite pick for me!

@TheAromaOfBooks I had high hopes this will advance me in the Q3 #PromptMaze but it didn't, because the cell I'm stuck on now wants a person or place name and Pet is neither ๐Ÿ˜

TheAromaofBooks Great progress nonetheless!! ๐Ÿ˜ 7mo
20 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
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Pickpick

An alternate timeline in which a meteor strike brings up the need to colonize the Moon or Mars that starts with developing space flight in the 1950s. An excellent read, full of love of flight, both airplanes and rockets. Really enjoyed!

To make things better this was both my August #BookSpin and my July #Roll100 pick. And it helped me advance in the Q3 #PromptMaze (no arrows, just covers in the image). Yay! ๐Ÿ˜

@TheAromaOfBooks @PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper Yay! 7mo
TheAromaofBooks Love a book that forwards multiple challenges!!! 7mo
25 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
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Great read and even greater listen. The audiobook was awesome, but I am happy I also had the hardcover handy to see the photos that illustrate some of these stories. A pick!

This being the first book finished this month, here is my #BookSpinBingo card as well. I formatted it so the #Roll100 and #BookSpin picks labels are in color, to jump at me and make me read them to cut down my โ€œdebtโ€œ.

@TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 8mo
PuddleJumper Ooo that's great! 8mo
19 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Untitled | Unknown
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Very late with my August #bookspin list @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 8mo
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claudiuo
Haunting of Tram Car 015 | P Djeli Clark
Pickpick

Last few days I finished reading:
- the tagged book, an excellent read, #0.3 in the Dead Djinn Universe. I really enjoyed it, I can barely wait to get the first in the series, A Master of Djinn; and
- Isis by Douglas Clegg, my way back April #BookSpin. @TheAromaOfBooks
Both picks!

Best thing is these 2 reads got my a #BookSpinBingo for July!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!!! 8mo
24 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
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Finished the second book in Narnia series; I've read it before, also watched the movie but still enjoyed it a lot.

@TheAromaOfBooks This is my July #DoubleSpin but also the last read in #PromptMaze v2 (love it: over 30 books read for this maze): here are the last few reads in the maze, since last time I posted it.

#PromptMaze Q3, here I come ๐Ÿ˜

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! I'm really enjoying wandering through it ๐Ÿ˜‚ 8mo
17 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Fireheart Tiger | Aliette de Bodard
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A Litsy inspired fantasy read (don't recall who suggested it but thank you!) that I really enjoyed. Just yesterday BookRiot published an article titled โ€œ10 Sapphic Dark Fantasy Booksโ€œ and Fireheart Tiger is in that list: https://bookriot.com/sapphic-dark-fantasy-books/

A very nice coincidence is that my first read for July also matched the first Q3 #PromptMaze: Two-Word Title; thanks again @TheAromaOfBooks!

Also, here is my July #BookSpinBingo.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looks great!!! 9mo
15 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Untitled | Unknown
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One update to rule them all...
- I just finished Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood and I really liked it. I always liked Danny Trejo but had no idea he has such an amazing life story. This read got me a #BookSpinBingo.
- I failed [again] to read my #BookSpin choice for June but I put together the list for July, hope I'll do better.
- A quick update with all the books read for #PromptMaze Q2 since my last update.

@TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Looking great!! 9mo
17 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Pickpick

It was time for another great Discworld read, and this book was it. As always loved Sir Terry Pratchett's comments dressed in humor, this time on the subject of Gods and religion. A pick!

@PuddleJumper This was my #Roll100 #2 pick for both April and May - yay, one read, two picks ๐Ÿ˜

What best to get a taste of this book than by some quotes.

โ€œGods don't like people not doing much work. People who aren't busy all the time might start to think.โ€œ โฌ‡

claudiuo โ€œThe Ephebians believed that every man should have the vote (provided that he wasn't poor, foreign, nor disqualified by reason of being mad, frivolous, or a woman).โ€œ

โ€œHumans! They lived in a world where the grass continued to be green and the sun rose every day and flowers regularly turned into fruit, and what impressed them? Weeping statues. And wine made out of water!โ€œ โฌ‡
9mo
claudiuo โ€œThe figures looked more or less human. And they were engaged in religion. You could tell by the knives (it's not murder if you do it for a god).โ€œ

โ€œAround the Godde there forms a Shelle of prayers and Ceremonies and Buildings and Priestes and Authority, until at Last the Godde Dies. Ande this maye notte be noticed.โ€œ โฌ‡
9mo
claudiuo โ€œAll libraries, everywhere, are connected by the bookworm holes in space created by the strong space-time distortions found around any large collections of books.โ€œ

โ€œAnything was possible last night. That was the trouble with last nights. They were always followed by this mornings.โ€œ
9mo
PuddleJumper Yay! That's great! 9mo
19 likes4 comments
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claudiuo
The Song of Susannah | Stephen King
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Another great story in the Dark Tower series, this time as the title shows main character being Susannah, or better said Susannah/Odetta/Mia. A pick!

@TheAromaOfBooks This gets me to C2 in the #PromptMaze v2 which has one of the prompts โ€œFinish a series - Go to J5โ€œ that is the end, Was not planning but now I'm tempted to read last Dark Tower book and exit this awesome maze, just to get ready for v3 ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

And here is my #BookSpingBingo card too.

TheAromaofBooks Haha it's tempting when you see that finish line ahead! ๐Ÿ˜‚ I started a new round of the Q1 maze in March as well and haven't found my way out of either of them haha 10mo
18 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Come Tumbling Down | Seanan McGuire
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This is the 5th book in the Wayward Children series and I loved it, maybe even more than some previous ones. Another (mostly) Jack and (some) Jill adventure in the Moors, this time with a lot more development of this strange world.

It was my 3rd #Roll100 pick for May and one more step in #PromptMaze v2 which is really great: I keep adding titles and not finding the exit (here is a not so clear map of my progress).

@TheAromaOfBooks
@PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper That looks complicated! Is that the maze? 10mo
claudiuo @PuddleJumper Yes, it is. I mean, I placed each cover in the corresponding cell in the maze and the arrows try to show the order of reads. I think @TheAromaOfBooks' original post was here https://www.litsy.com/web/book/553765/A-Long-and-Winding-Road and pointed to this doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XzUxq7VU8jZt4TzOB-cQIOLgYr9NG5CZ--xoKsdr... (edited) 10mo
TheAromaofBooks haha I LOVE your maze progress! I have read 29 books and still haven't found my way out! ๐Ÿ˜‚ It's almost time to put together the Q3 maze!!! I'm going to post something soon asking if any of you who have been playing with it have suggestions for prompts, so be thinking!!! 10mo
16 likes3 comments
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claudiuo
Untitled | Unknown
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My June #BookSpin list, a bit last moment, I was hoping I will finish one more book but it didn't happen.

@TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 10mo
16 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Sharp Objects: A Novel | Gillian Flynn
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My May #BookSpin landed on โ€œA book on my actual TBR shelvesโ€œ and I chose a book I wanted to read for a while, A Perfect Blank by Rye Duran, a SciFi dystopian YA novel in verse. I would've liked more attention paid to the trans personality of the main character but even so, I enjoyed it. A pick!

Since the above is not in the Litsy database, I tagged instead Sharp Objects: finished a few days ago it got me a #BookSpinBingo.๐Ÿ˜‰

@TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay bingo!!! 10mo
21 likes1 comment
review
claudiuo
Pickpick

A great start of another urban fantasy series by the awesome Seanan McGuire. Looking forward to next in the series. A pick!

@PuddleJumper: This is a March #Roll100 pick for me, a bit late but happy to clear one more of my long list of unread picks.
@TheAromaOfBooks: #15 read in the #PromptMaze v2 list (F2).

PuddleJumper Whoop whoop! 10mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 10mo
20 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Untitled | Unknown
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My May #BookSpinBingo card, showing a lot of โ€œdebtโ€œ from previous months, quite a few unread #Roll100 picks and BookSpins. Hope to do better this month.

PuddleJumper I've got a few I didn't read ๐Ÿ˜… Gotta take it at your own pace. No fun when it becomes an obligation 11mo
claudiuo @PuddleJumper You are so right, not fun if forced to do it. In my case though, I want to push myself because a) I am a slow reader and I know I can do better and b) I keep getting distracted by shiny books I find at little free libraries and all the really great books I want to read get pushed lower and lower in the TBR stacks. Roll100 and BookSpin are awesome and both you and @TheAromaOfBooks are helping me a lot. Thank you! 11mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looks great!! I left extra free spaces on my bingo board this month for โ€œcatch upโ€œ book as well. I'm excited about all of them but keep reading other things!! ๐Ÿ˜‚ 11mo
13 likes3 comments
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claudiuo
The Wolf Wilder | Katherine Rundell
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Beautiful book, so happy I found it in a little free library. The writing is great, a bit rough in parts for a children's book, also a little implausible in parts but for a children's book, that's ok. Apparently there is a version with some beautiful illustrations, I may have to find it. Definitely not my last read by Katherine Rundell.

And with this read I finally got a bingo and I can now get ready the #BookSpin list for May.

@TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! This one sounds delightful - I'm stacking it!! 11mo
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review
claudiuo
Pickpick

I simply loved this book. It was beautiful, not sure how else to say it. I would like to say more but don't want to spoil it so I will just say that the way a monk and a robot try to help each other understand the world, themselves and their purpose is really really beautiful and inspiring.
It instantly became a favorite of mine that I will not just have to own but it will be one I will gift every time I can.

Nute This author is very talented. Her books are pretty much on auto buy for me.๐Ÿ™‚ 10mo
claudiuo Totally agree. Looking forward to read second books in both The Long Way... and this one. 10mo
24 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Recursion | Blake Crouch
Pickpick

Not making a lot of progress with my #BookSpins so I chose to read a #Roll100 pick instead (almost a pick, the #1 pick was 49 but I already read that in January and this was no 48). And I loved it.

The premise is confusing and in some parts quite unclear IMO, but this is what a great SciFi book is for me: start with an idea more or less explained and use it to explore characters' actions and inner lives and the impact on the society. A pick!

PuddleJumper That's great! 11mo
Nute I have purchased all of his books and haven‘t read any of them yet. I think that I am worried that they might not live up to the hype.๐Ÿฅด 10mo
21 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
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My #BookSpin list for April.

@TheAromaOfBooks: Hope I am not too late as it is April already ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! No worries, I don't post the new numbers until the 2nd. And besides, it's never too late to BookSpin!!! 12mo
14 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
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To wrap up my reads for this month, instead of showing by #BookSpinBingo card (I got a bingo, but that's about it) I decided to show my #PromptMaze progress: not a very beautiful rendering but hopefully good enough.

I am going twice through the Q1 version (top 2 rows) because I got stuck at some point and decided to try another way, now I have to follow both ๐Ÿ˜

As always, big thanks to you @TheAromaOfBooks for coming up with this great idea!

TheAromaofBooks Nice!!! I don't know why, but I am totally into the #PromptMaze ๐Ÿ˜‚ And I finally read a book with yellow letters on the cover today to get myself unstuck!! 12mo
claudiuo @TheAromaofBooks Yeah, me too ๐Ÿ˜ I used to be torn between choosing next read for bingo or bookspin, now first choice goes to satisfy the next maze cell. 12mo
20 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Stone Sky | N K Jemisin
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Took a little bit to post my #BookSpinBingo card because through some sheer luck both #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin were books I started a while back, with only a few chapters left each and wanted to get them done and marked. It's probably the only time ever when I will finish both in a month ๐Ÿ˜ Stone Sky - great conclusion to The Broken Earth trilogy (#Roll100 February pick) and The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Both picks!
@TheAromaOfBooks @PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper You're doing great! 13mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 13mo
13 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
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And here is my #BookSpin list for March.

As always, thank you so much, @TheAromaOfBooks!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 13mo
15 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Piranesi | Susanna Clarke
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Pickpick

With 2 more books finished late this month, I finally got a #BookSpinBingo:
- Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson: a beautiful novel-in-poems, about a 11 year-old boy trying to make sense of life through poetry;
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: a great book about a man living in a House which is a labyrinth full of rooms, with an ocean trapped in the basement and a lot of life-like statues. Loved her writing!

Both picks!

@TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! Fantastic month!!! 13mo
23 likes1 comment
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claudiuo
Pickpick

After reading a few months ago The Strange Library, I bought Kafka on the Shore
but decided to try some short stories first. I've seen his work characterized as surrealism and magical realism and some of the stories are in that realm (and reminded me of a great Romanian writer that I love, Mircea Eliade) but others are different; all have in common a great sensibility and beautiful writing. Add to this his love of jazz and I'm sold. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
A pick!

claudiuo @TheAromaOfBooks Interestingly enough, this book is making me go back to the start of the maze (and since this is my second pass through the maze it is also the 3rd time here - so cool!):
A2: A Spindle Splintered -> D3: Batman: Overdrive -> E2: Transmission -> F2: First Person Singular... and back to A2 ๐Ÿ˜
Thank you so much for coming up with such a great idea!

(edited) 13mo
TheAromaofBooks I'm so glad you're enjoying the maze!! I set it up so that each space had 3 spaces that could send you there... so there are three different prompts that tell you to go to D3, three different prompts that can send you to E2, etc. But somehow I have ended up at H3 three times ๐Ÿ˜‚ I've been to 14 different squares but not a single on in C or D! I'm so intrigued about where I go in my own maze LOL 13mo
16 likes2 comments
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claudiuo
Hero of Ages | Brandon Sanderson

Just finished what I thought was last in the Mistborn series, but it turns out it was only book 3 of 7 (not counting a short story and a novella). As everything Brandon Sanderson I've read, this book was great: a lot of action, magic, unexpected twists and turns, great characters (both good and bad) and quite a lot of emotional moments. Loved it!

@PuddleJumper - my #Roll100 February #2 pick!

PuddleJumper Brilliant! 13mo
Nute One of my favorite reading experiences is one of his smaller non-series books. 10mo
claudiuo Can you please let me know which one? I just bought the first book on the Stormlight Archive series and can't convince myself to start it. Over 1200 pages. For a slow reader like me that is a very long book. I love his writing and of rather read a shorter not part of a series book. 10mo
20 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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claudiuo
A Spindle Splintered | Alix E. Harrow
Pickpick

First book in a new series, Fractured Fables, by Alix E. Harrow and I really liked it (like everything I've read by her until now). A retelling (more like a re-imagining I would say) of The Sleeping Beauty, complete with multi-universe and a real princess. Also a critique to the way princesses are presented in fairy tales, and especially in this one. A pick!

@TheAromaOfBooks This is my first read in the newly restarted #PromptMaze.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 14mo
20 likes1 comment