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currentlyreadinginCO

currentlyreadinginCO

Joined January 2023

adventurer, attorney, creative ... usually reading and listening to ✨all of the books ✨ 🧿 💜 Goodreads.com/xtinalea 2024 Challenge: 76/100 books
review
currentlyreadinginCO
The Butcher of the Forest | Premee Mohamed
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Pickpick

this is exactly my type of eldritch nightmarescape, but I wished for more of this story. the ending could have been the start of a second half!

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Panpan

There's a hard theme through this book of men needing to hear something from a male counselor that their wife has been telling them for years and the presumption that marriages should not end no matter what is going on.

I don't regret reading this for the sole, simple reason that it's helpful to remember that there are actually people who think like this. Full review www.goodreads.com/xtinalea

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currentlyreadinginCO
Horror Movie | Paul Tremblay
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Mehso-so

Storytelling style and audiobook performances are amazing but man what is this story

49 likes1 stack add
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currentlyreadinginCO
Drakula | Bram Stoker
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My creepy cover for this very timely read with the #hashtagbrigade !

40 likes1 stack add
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Doing some reading to prepare for teaching my bernese mountain dog how to pull a cart for competitions and parades 😂. He's a good dog and I think that he will love it but whew this is a lot of information 🫣. Any draft dog parents out there?!

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm So cool! Sounds like a fun hobby. Good luck with the training! ❤️ 2mo
currentlyreadinginCO Oh, thank you!! He was born for it ☺️ @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm 2mo
48 likes2 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
The Reformatory | Tananarive Due
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Pickpick

I am surprised about how much that I liked this book because this is a dark subject for this long of a novel; however, the writing is engaging and I felt the author's love for the subject and ended up racing through it. Also there's a spooky element that both illustrates the violence of the novel and adds a lighter, unreal element that makes the whole thing a bit more palatable.

61 likes2 stack adds
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Panpan

Whew the review describing this at 2013 tumblrcore is on the nose. The entire memoir reads as extremely young, and I really don't understand what the point of this was except to write a book. I was with AMT on her criticisms of men, but she's reading out sentences from her hospitalization records in order to dispute them and I mean damn, I feel like she's going to regret writing this when she gains a broader education about the underlying issues.

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Mehso-so

Definitely an interesting storytelling style but idk, too much flesh for me

BarbaraBB Literally I guess, remembering the book 😱 2mo
perfectsinner That was my first ever Murakami 🧡 2mo
currentlyreadinginCO Mine as well! Not sure where to go from here, any recs? @perfectsinner 2mo
currentlyreadinginCO 😂😂 and also metaphorically now that I think about it @BarbaraBB 2mo
perfectsinner @currentlyreadinginCO Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood are my personal favs 1mo
58 likes1 stack add5 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
The Hotel: A Novel | Elizabeth Bowen
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Mehso-so

A pretty read with the #hashtagbrigade but not my favorite novel. It felt like a play with strange vignettes of an odd vacation.

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currentlyreadinginCO
Medusa of the Roses | Navid Sinaki
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Pickpick

This is a moving story with dark undertones and a world of difficult decisions. It is a quick read and the prose is so nice that at times it reads like poetry.

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

I loved this book. I learned so much about the growth of the two main AI firms, DeepMind & OpenAI, and the philosophy and financing behind their operations. It was really interesting to me to put all of the headlines about AI over the last few years into context, and to flesh out my understanding of this complicated topic. And the author Parmy Olson is amazing. Highly recommend.

51 likes3 stack adds
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

You had me at "feminist psychological horror," and "graphic feminine revenge horror." I am apprehensive w the horror genre that a book may not actually be that scary and not worth my time, etc., but I was actually suffering through some of these pages, like our girl Monika Kim needs HELP. It's also beautifully written and I killed it in one sitting -- but primarily , just a wonderful horror story, so well done.

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currentlyreadinginCO
The Love Remedy | Elizabeth Everett
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Bailedbailed

I always feel bad about dnfing an arc but when you're at 40% and feel no connection to the plot or characters it's like, eh, there are too many good books to read to dwell on this one.

53 likes1 comment
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currentlyreadinginCO
Ruth | Elizabeth Gaskell
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Pickpick

Got behind but finally finished this after the #hashtagbrigade and I must say, I loved this book. It's from 1863 & is the first mainstream novel w a "fallen woman" heroine so you know this thing is devastating, BUT I got the point and always think it's cool when someone from the mid-nineteenth century writes a female character that goes against the grain.

BarkingMadRead I‘m so glad you liked it!! 2mo
currentlyreadinginCO Getting caught up on The Hotel shortly! 🧐 @BarkingMadRead 2mo
BarkingMadRead The Hotel is a much easier read! 2mo
53 likes3 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Although I didn't love The Only One Left, I bought this at the airport because I was hoping that it would be entertaining for a ten-hour flight. I crushed it ?. I like this one way better - the creepy vibes are impeccable and it got a few "oh damn I didn't see that coming" moments out of me.

5feet.of.fury I liked this one better too. I enjoyed Last One Left for what it was but the twist seemed… silly. 2mo
currentlyreadinginCO completely agree 😂😂 @5feet.of.fury 2mo
57 likes2 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Showing off my Goldsboro edition of The Warm Hands of Ghosts because it's as beautiful as the story inside 😍😍

ShelleyBooksie Gorgeous 3mo
Avanders Ooohhh {grabby hands} 3mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 😍 3mo
AnnCrystal 📚🤩👍💝. 3mo
Sinnett_Blue Gorgeous book 📕 ♥️! 3mo
49 likes5 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
Assassin of Reality: A Novel | Marina & Sergey Dyachenko
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Pickpick

I really love these dark, beautiful books, but I suppose that it doesn't matter as it doesn't look like we will be getting the rest of the series....

BookBr Nooooo really? 😭 3mo
currentlyreadinginCO I'm not sure! Apparently the third book was supposed to be published in Russian this year and later translated, but one of the authors unfortunately died and now it's on hold indefinitely @BookBr 3mo
BookBr @currentlyreadinginCO that‘s so sad, I had no idea! 2mo
50 likes3 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

It's been such a pleasure to listen to Salman Rushdie perform his beautiful prose the last few mornings on my walks. I particularly enjoyed the fictional interview with The A. -- I cackled, and loved the manipulation of language. I watched Mr. Rushdie's interview on The Daily Show about this book and I just love him and appreciate the way that he discusses this vicious attack, the fatwa, The Satanic Verses, and his fascinating life.

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currentlyreadinginCO
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I've been rearranging the front room while listening to the tagged book all day and I'm pretty pleased with it (ignore the bernese mountain dog tail/butt... he's always in the way 🙄)

TheBookHippie How lovely!!!! 3mo
Leftcoastzen Looks beautiful! 3mo
dabbe Love that bushy butt, too! 🖤🐾🖤 3mo
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Aimeesue Aww, Berners- such great doggos. 🤎 3mo
AnnCrystal 📚🤩👍💕🐕💝. 3mo
currentlyreadinginCO @Aimeesue he's the best, if slightly too big 💖 3mo
currentlyreadinginCO @TheBookHippie @Leftcoastzen thank you!! my Saturday was worth it then 😂 3mo
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currentlyreadinginCO
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All of my #botm books are unpacked & on the same bookcase! I've read 67 but still have 25 or so 🧐... I'll get around to them eventually. I found some of my favorite books through botm and will probably continue w it despite the forever backlog

Ruthiella Beautiful! 😍 3mo
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 3mo
TheSpineView I have that same forever backlog! 📚📚📚 3mo
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AnnCrystal 🤩📚😍👍. 3mo
ShelleyBooksie Beautiful display! 3mo
kspenmoll Looks lovely with your plants! 3mo
Kitta Stunning! 3mo
currentlyreadinginCO @TheSpineView we will defeat it eventually!! 🗡️🗡️ 3mo
LiteraryinPA Such a pretty setup! 3mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So pretty 😍 3mo
62 likes12 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
The Kiss Curse: A Novel | Erin Sterling
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Pickpick

Out of order I finished these cozy, adorable stories. They each follow a Penhallow bro in their respective romances.The Wedding Witch was my favorite (Bowen is the best Penhallow, no question) but they were all cute, they stand alone but tie together in satisfying ways, and I am sad that there are only 3 bros. (Perhaps a cousin, eh..?)

Also I just learned that the author studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn, which rules.

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currentlyreadinginCO
Vita Nostra: A Novel | Sergey and Marina Dyachenko
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Pickpick

This is a beautiful, dark story of magical realism and internal struggle. I loved it. Sad that the third hasn't been translated yet.

BekaReid love the cover! 3mo
58 likes1 stack add1 comment
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currentlyreadinginCO
Is This Anything? | Jerry Seinfeld
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Mehso-so

Finished this w my husband last night. We liked, but didn't love, this collection of comedy spanning Jerry's career. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Ellen Atlanta explores the intersection of the beauty industry and technology in this beautiful book, but also dissects girlhood and tells a story that we all know even if we have not yet seen it in print. She encourages us to share this book in the closing chapter to expand this conversation, and so this is my attempt to do so. I absolutely loved it. I listened through a nail appt and a lash fill, so points were taken 😂😂

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currentlyreadinginCO
The Ex Hex: A Novel | Erin Sterling
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Pickpick

This was fun but I read these out of order (they can each stand alone) and what I loved most about this story was the mentions of the characters in The Wedding Witch, who are vastly superior to these 😂😂

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Forever chugging through my #botmbacklog and I greatly enjoyed this one. B/w Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson has taught me much about America. I agree with the criticism that this one is a bit light on the research and I felt the rawness of post-2016 election night throughout, but a timely, well-written project that compares America's caste system to that of India and the Third Reich is worth consideration.

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currentlyreadinginCO
Hamnet | Maggie O'Farrell
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Pickpick

Maggie O'Farrell is a brilliant writer; I'm struck by how clever she is. I prefer her later novel The Marriage Portrait, but this is another example of her fascinating style of historical fiction in which she takes a limited record about an obscure historical figure and gives breadth and depth to their short life (here, Hamnet Shakespeare, rather than Lucrezia de Medici). This one is about loss, and it is poignant.

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

This book is set in 16th century Spain and it reads like an El Greco painting. I wasn't sure what to expect from this adult standalone by Leigh Bardugo, but her beautiful writing and creative storytelling had me hooked.

AlaMich I have this on my shelf and am very much looking forward to it! 3mo
currentlyreadinginCO I hope that you love it as much as I did! @AlaMich 3mo
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currentlyreadinginCO
The Mystery Writer | Sulari Gentill
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Mehso-so

I was intrigued by the premise and curious about the outcome throughout, but parts really stretched credibility

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currentlyreadinginCO
Ruth | Elizabeth Gaskell
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Mine came! Excited to get to know Ruth with the #hashtagbrigade

BarkingMadRead Ohhhhh look at that cover! 😍 4mo
44 likes1 comment
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currentlyreadinginCO
The Night Guest | Hildur Knutsdottir
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Mehso-so

This novella has been out for a few years, but I just got an ARC of the audio and WOW that was a weird flight with this as the audio 😂😂

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currentlyreadinginCO
The End of Love | Tamara Tenenbaum
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Pickpick

Another day, another work flight, another book titled The End of Love pubbed in 2024. This one was by far my preference ✌🏼

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Panpan

I was with the author on many of her observations about gender. I was going to give this 3-4 stars for being kind of interesting but limited in scope and unfounded in conclusion, but holy "Masterbation Generation/s" chapter. The fetishization of trans people. The weird thing about her friend's son. The ... correlation between those concepts? I can't.

willaful 😳 5mo
48 likes1 stack add1 comment
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Don't read this on an airplane when you're getting married in 2 wks I CRIED five stars no notes

Jjaxn95 How did you get an advanced copy? 5mo
currentlyreadinginCO NetGalley! @Jjaxn95 ☺️ 5mo
68 likes2 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Our Princess Floralinda is locked in a tower waiting for a prince to save her -- but what if princes are, in fact, useless??

I went so long w/o a 5 star and now I'm overwhelmed with them - I guess that reading new-to-me books by my favorite authors was the solution 😂. I wondered where this was going for a minute, but I was not salty about it bc of how much I love Tamsyn Muir's writing; however, the ending of this story is perfect. Just perfect.

BookBelle84 I absolutely loved this and wish Muir would write more like this! 5mo
currentlyreadinginCO I think I'm in love w Tamsyn? It's complicated 😂 @BookBelle84 5mo
57 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

The mc is great, and the relationship between her, her mother, and Falada is ... unique, interesting, extremely well-done. Slowly discovering that your mother is a sorceress and that's why you're so afraid of her is quite the premise. YET. Most of this book is supporting characters chitchatting and I never had a good handle on the setting because the haunting tableaus of T Kingfisher's other books weren't present here. So idk. Kind of recommend.

Kitta Which T. Kingfisher would you recommend I start with? I‘m interested in reading their work! 5mo
currentlyreadinginCO Nettle & Bone is my fav - fairytale retelling based off of Princess & the Pea in which the author reimagines what type of prince would prefer a wife so frail 🧐 @Kitta ... but I also really enjoyed What Moves the Dead & its sequel! 5mo
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Haunting and beautiful historical fiction about Thomas Gainsborough's daughters 🔥🔥. The author writes young girls well and ages them naturally, giving their development a role in revealing this story's secrets. Gainsborough's paintings are referenced through the girls' memories of sitting for them and seeing them in their homes. I loved the writing, and gasped at the twists - also worth reading the bit about the art inspiring the plot at the end

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currentlyreadinginCO
Starling House | Alix Harrow
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Pickpick

I cried my eyes out tbh, but in that happy "why is a book even this good" kind of way

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currentlyreadinginCO
Starling House | Alix Harrow
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this book is sooo beautiful 😍😍

Susanita I just checked this out from the library today. 5mo
currentlyreadinginCO I am really enjoying it! @Susanita 5mo
53 likes2 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
Starling House | Alix Harrow
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I love when I am sitting down to read a book and I've read everything on the "Also by ... " list ? (and loved every word)

lil1inblue So satisfying! 🙂 5mo
53 likes1 comment
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currentlyreadinginCO
The Vaster Wilds | Lauren Groff
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Pickpick

I'm not sure what to say about this, except - LG is one of the greatest living writers. I was having a great morning but now I'm just standing here in my kitchen watering my plants and contemplating my own mortality idk

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Quick and practical, this was a great listen for early morning walks. I would compare this favorably to Hidden Potential by Adam Grant, which I got bored with when I realized how targeted towards the majority it is. I'd rather think remarkable ;)

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

I have the unfortunate job of relaying the news that this short story collection is extraordinary and Em may be at the vertices of "beautiful" and "brilliant" on a graph of those categories. This is highly unfair, but also means that I can love her unconditionally because why would I even bother being toxically envious? We are different species.

And yet. What struck me about all of these stories was just the relatability of her experience.

TieDyeDude Interesting! For #tuesdaytunes, we did the worst songs in the world, and “Blurred Lines“ was mentioned. I think I saw the video once and she hasn't been on my radar at all since. It sounds like she is doing a lot, though, to combat sexism and promote female empowerment. 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO I like that take because I didn't realize that she was in the Blurred Lines video until I read this 😂 @TieDyeDude . Apparently that was kind of a big deal, haha. I follow her on Instagram and I've watched her build her businesses and talk about things that I care about for a bit now, but I read it bc Jen Silverman loved it & I'm glad that I did. 6mo
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Absolutely loved this, as I loved There's Going to be Trouble. Jen Silverman gets me.

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

A great book and absolutely delightful reading experience - Katy Hessel starts from the top and tells the stories of the women who did and did not make the survey texts. It brought me back and inspired me to keep learning.

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currentlyreadinginCO
Wide Sargasso Sea | Jean Rhys
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Mehso-so

Finished this #pemberlittens read a bit late 😌😌. The concept of this book is extremely compelling but I found it confusing and slow 😴

dabbe Perhaps too much internal dialogue and not enough action. 💚 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO ehhh I think that I was in the wrong mood for it, as well.. not the most focus lately 😵‍💫 @dabbe 6mo
dabbe @currentlyreadinginCO I hear ya. I think the heat's getting to me. I just haven't felt like reading that much lately. 😞 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO Isn't it the worst @dabbe ... maybe a light romance will get me back into the swing of things 6mo
58 likes4 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this better than the first, and I'm looking forward to the third 😌

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currentlyreadinginCO
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About to read both The End of Loves for a bookclub this June and I'm pretty stoked 😌

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

You definitely get five stars for changing and enlarging my perspective so much that I am no longer the same person.

I L O V E D this.

Once upon a time, I low-key also got a political science degree (even though I'm always shouting about art history) and so actually I've learned a bit about cognitive biases in an academic setting -- and yet, Amanda Montell should have been the one to teach me everything, because now I actually understand ??

SaraBeagle Have you read her other book? Also very good. 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO I am a huge fan! I also just put wordslut on hold, I need all 3 @SaraBeagle 6mo
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currentlyreadinginCO
House of Leaves | Mark Z Danielewski
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Panpan

I loved the concept but did not enjoy this and dreaded reading it 😂. Would've dnfed but it was for book club 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

SamAnne This has been on my TBR for awhile but am hesitant! 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO ya know some people love it but I just can't even bring myself to tell you that it's worth a shot @SamAnne 😂 6mo
TieDyeDude This took me the better part of a year to finish, but I enjoyed the journey. I can't believe you read it so quickly! 😅 Since it took so long, at some point, I stopped worrying about the details of the story and just soaked in the atmosphere and style and narrative broad strokes. I'm glad I read it, but I definitely use lots of disclaimers when I recommend it. (edited) 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO Hmmm actually that comment gave me a different perspective - I pounded this for my monthly book club and that is perhaps not the most effective way to enjoy it 😂 @TieDyeDude 6mo
53 likes5 comments