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JackOBotts

JackOBotts

Joined August 2016

“If you think reading is boring, you‘re doing it wrong.”
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JackOBotts
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Happy Birthday, @wanderinglynn 🥳

Thank you for hosting a #49bdaygiveaway ~ I just finished my first J. Ryan Stradal (& loved it) ~ the tagged book has been on my TBR for some time.

Happiest of happy days to you! 🥰

wanderinglynn Thanks for entering! 🥳 1w
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved seeing this family saga unfold. A tale of strong women - perhaps a tad stubborn - following their paths.

Reggie Omg I loved this books so much. The grace shown to Diana by that guy she was trying to rob. Then we she had come up with her own beer after many tries he says, oh yeah it was fine 3 tries ago. lol but seriously I shed a lot of tears on this one. 1w
JackOBotts @Reggie - this was just a delight to read. Women with grit! 💪🏼 1w
31 likes2 comments
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JackOBotts
Normal People | Sally Rooney
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⭐️⭐️⭐️

My January #doublespin ~ I need to sit with this for a bit…so many things about Marianne & Connell‘s relationship just gets me in the gut.

Reggie 😭😭😭😭😭this book. Do you think they stayed together or he went to New York without her? (edited) 2w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2w
JackOBotts @Reggie - ugh…I think he went. But I think they stayed connected…they‘re tethered to one another. And yet they struggle to understand each other. I don‘t think that changed. She should have gone with him…leave that family in her wake. 2w
29 likes3 comments
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have fond memories of reading her books growing up…my bestie and I traded our copies of “Just as Long as We‘re Together” (inscribing our initials and the necessary “B.F.F.E.” on the inside cover). Blume understood and wrote about tweens/teens in the way that made us (me) seen and understood.

Bergstein‘s exploration of Blume‘s career, life, and impact on young readers was a great way to kick off my 2025 reading.

January #bookspin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2w
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JackOBotts
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Sneaking in one last title for 2024…another recommended by my 10 year old King-loving son.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy New Year, friends!

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JackOBotts

The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted.

AmyG Great and beyond truthful quote. 3w
JackOBotts @AmyG ~ yes! So often I forget to note these poignant quotes. 3w
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JackOBotts
Cut Loose! (The Chance to Fly #2) | Stacy Davidowitz, Ali Stroker
Pickpick

Good middle grade read. Fun for lovers of musical theater about a young girl, who uses a wheelchair, and her pursuit of a life on stage.

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JackOBotts
Happy New Year! | Greg Roza
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2025 #Bookspin & #Doublespin is just around the corner…I can‘t even begin to wrap my mind around this. Let‘s do it! 🙌🏼🥳💜 Here‘s my list for January!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 3w
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JackOBotts
The Third Gilmore Girl | Kelly Bishop
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My #bookspin pick for December…ack! I finished the challenge! 🙌🏼🥳

So looking forward to Year 5 of this challenge! Thank you, @TheAromaofBooks 🥰

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Fantastic year!!! 3w
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JackOBotts
The Celebrants | Steven Rowley
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for my December #Roll100 pick.

After the unexpected loss of their friend, five young adults make a pact to give one another “living funerals”. Over the course of 20ish years, the friends come together at various life stages to uphold their promise to one another.

This was moving, emotional, and struck a chord. Beautiful.

PuddleJumper 🎄🎄 4w
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JackOBotts
The Eyes of the Dragon | Stephen King
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🐉🐉🐉🐉
4 dragons for this read, which my 10 year old highly recommended to me (his first King novel). Also my December #doublespin pick.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1mo
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JackOBotts

Seeking book recommendations for my 10 y.o. son. He‘s in 4th grade and dipping toes into horror…he‘s been allowed to watch some scary movies (The Omen, The Conjuring, The Shining, It (1990 miniseries), Signs, The Sixth Sense).

He‘s wanted to read Stephen King, so for his birthday he got The Eyes of the Dragon & The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. He‘s devouring these books…

Any recommendations for where to steer him next? Thanks, Litsy! 💜🩷

JackOBotts No nightmares from the reads/movies. He‘s also reading some of my Fear Street books from childhood, but not as fast as the King novels. I will add that we‘re trying to avoid excessive language, sex, gore in the books at the moment (good luck with King!), but he also understands the balance. #raisingreaders 🥰 (edited) 2mo
Lauredhel Is he too old for Goosebumps? I feel like ten isn't quite too old yet? 2mo
Lauredhel More YA but a mix: Anna Dressed in Blood, Wilder Girls,Miss Peregrine series, Shirley Jackson, Dread Nation, Hold Me Closer Necromancer series (humour /horror), Through the Woods, Kaaron Warren, Holly Black, Mira Grant, some T Kingfisher, Monstrumologist, Claire Legrand, NK Jemisin, None Shall Sleep 2mo
See All 7 Comments
thegirlwiththelibrarybag I‘ve not read them myself but I do get asked for the Five Nights At Freddy‘s books reasonably often at the library (we shelve them in teen) 2mo
PathfinderNicole I have a 7th grade horror fan myself and he LOVES the Five Night‘s at Freddy‘s books! There are full length novels and oodles of short story collections. There are also a couple based off the kids horror game Hello Neighbor. Try Mary Downing Hahn or Betty Wright for older kid friendly horror too 2mo
Billypar I read this as an adult a few years ago, but it's one I wished I read as a kid because it's so, so creepy and original. Not at all like adult horror if he's reading King, but I don't think it feels too young either. 2mo
JackOBotts @Lauredhel @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @PathfinderNicole @Billypar ~ thank you for all these recs! 🙌🏼 Time for me to do some reading - I mean, research -of my own! Gotta catch up with his King titles first…or simultaneously! 📚📚 2mo
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JackOBotts
Starling House | Alix Harrow
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⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enjoyed visiting the Starling House and meeting some of the good folks of Eden.

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JackOBotts
Meant to Be | Emily Giffin
Mehso-so

Meh…while I finished, this wasn‘t a read I‘d highly recommend. I wasn‘t invested in the characters or the storyline; however, I did manage to finish. Happy to move this along to a new home.

⭐️⭐️

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JackOBotts
The Unhoneymooners | Christina Lauren
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⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fun, quick read…makes me want to get on a plane to Hawaii on this chilly November morning!

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JackOBotts
December | Robyn Brode
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As 2024 starts to transition to 2025, I‘m thankful for another fun year of #bookspin with @TheAromaofBooks ~ thank you for hosting! 💜🙌🏼

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2025 is going to be the fifth year of BookSpin!! 😲 2mo
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a delightful and cozy read. I enjoyed the dual timelines and seeing Val work her way through the riddles as she becomes part of the Primrose Hill community. Take me to the Book Garden, please!

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JackOBotts
Love and Other Words | Christina Lauren
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⭐️⭐️⭐️

A quick read ~ out of my traditional “comfort zone”

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JackOBotts
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⭐️⭐️⭐️ While it feels a bit too obvious, I did find it helpful and was thinking about the “combinations” I work with (including myself)

If you think you‘re surrounded by idiots, then perhaps you are the idiot…you can‘t expect everyone to be/act like you, so it‘s beneficial to seek to understand those surrounding you.

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JackOBotts
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⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was fun…and I learned that my nephew and his mom are reading the series, too. Should I continue?

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JackOBotts
Pickpick

Finished The Answer is No today for my November #bookspin (Kindle). Just a delight. Backman has a delightful knack for absurdity, humor, and humanity. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! I got this one as a free Kindle book this month but haven't read it yet. 2mo
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JackOBotts
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Currently reading this #kindlepick for my November #bookspin 👍🏼

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JackOBotts
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Thanks to #roll100 & my November #doublespin I am delighted to move this 2018 #both off my #tbr shelf. This was enjoyable, and I liked seeing Hazel unravel the mystery. 3.5 ⭐️

TheAromaofBooks I quite like this cover!! 2mo
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JackOBotts
Circe | Madeline Miller
Bailedbailed

Made it to page 137…just not into it…time to get the book back to its owner.

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JackOBotts
The Wrong Number | R.L. Stine
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⭐️⭐️⭐️
And now it‘s my son‘s turn to read this.

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JackOBotts
Pickpick

Good pick for spooky season. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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JackOBotts
Novemberschokolade: Roman | Ulrike Sosnitza
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November #bookspin list ~ we‘re in the homestretch for 2024…how is this happening?!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! I can't believe how fast this year has gone!!! 3mo
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JackOBotts
Hidden Pictures: A Novel | Jason Rekulak
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a quick and gripping read - perfect for Halloween season! Fun Fact: this author is from my town in Central Jersey, so some of the local nods (RU-Rah-Rah) and allusions to the Middlesex Greenway were fun lil‘ Easter Eggs of sorts.

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JackOBotts
We Sold Our Souls | Grady Hendrix
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Metal and gore 🤘🏼🎸
Filing in the #mysoncanreadthiswhenhesolder category, definitely up his alley

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JackOBotts
The Hitchhiker | R. L. Stine
Pickpick

3.5 ⭐️ ~ fun and quick ~ R.L. Stine has the formula down. I will let the kid read this one. The innuendo should just soar over his head. Hopefully this will reinforce the “don‘t hitchhike, don‘t pick up hitchhikers” mantra I‘ll say on repeat in the years to come! 🤞🏼🤣

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JackOBotts
The Hitchhiker | R. L. Stine
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Next up on the #canmykidreadthisyet list…this guy…my son‘s just finished Stine‘s The Cheater and enjoyed it. He‘s not yet 10, so I guess this is good parenting. He‘s dying to read Stephen King, but this will have to do…for a little while longer. We‘ve got some “good for kids” King coming his way for his 10th.

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JackOBotts
We Sold Our Souls | Grady Hendrix

For years, Dr. Murchison had taught her to breathe in the flower, and blow out the candle. Now she breathed in Slayer and blew out Black Sabbath.

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JackOBotts
Mehso-so

My October #Roll100 & #DoubleSpin ~ there is a lot in these vignettes about murder and violence in Essex County (Massachusetts) densely packed, but “just okay” for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3mo
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JackOBotts

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

September #Roll100 & October #bookspin - a powerful read that follows Cora on her fight for freedom. Setbacks and challenges don‘t begin to describe the atrocities. Moving.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3mo
PuddleJumper Wahoo! 3mo
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JackOBotts
The Measure | Nikki Erlick
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My September #doublespin and Book Club pick for October. Felt good to read a book that I wanted to keep coming back to. I think our group‘s discussion will be a good one.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3mo
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JackOBotts
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September was a slooooooow reading month for me…hoping my October #bookspin helps me get back in the swing.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4mo
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JackOBotts
The Cheater | R.L. Stine
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Fun throwback c/o my parents‘ basement… #treasure looking forward to diving into others in the box. 📦

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JackOBotts
Carmen | Prosper Merimee
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Mehso-so

Okay novella…admittedly I‘m unfamiliar with the opera. But I am happy to me moving through the Art of the Novella series, thanks to #bookspin (this is my September pick).

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4mo
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JackOBotts
The Book of Cold Cases | Simone St. James
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⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy to have finally returned to Simone St. James. This book blends together some of my favorites: true crime and ghosts…

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JackOBotts
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My September #bookspin list looks very similar to that of prior months…but that‘s okay! Plenty of opportunities to tackle #mountTBR while still having room for “mood reading”. How is it September?! And, in a very un-New Jersey twist, my kids head back to school this week…in August! What is happening?! 🤣

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 5mo
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was pulled in quickly and enjoyed seeing the timelines play out.

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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Parenting someone recently diagnosed, this book is a helpful tool for perspective. Both Penn and Kim are candid about their experiences and the impact of ADHD on their lives & relationship. (August #doublespin)

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 5mo
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JackOBotts
The Seven Year Slip | Ashley Poston
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enjoyed reading this during a weekend getaway.

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JackOBotts
Daphne: A Novel | Justine Picardie
Bailedbailed

My #Roll100 for August and I‘m not feeling it…so why continue?! Move it out into the world for someone else! #thankyouNext

dabbe #hailthebail! 🖤🐾🖤 5mo
JackOBotts @dabbe yes! I said to my husband, “I don‘t think I‘m going to keep reading this.” Then said to myself, “Walk away now! What are you waiting for?!” Need to embrace the bail! 🙌🏼 5mo
dabbe @JackOBotts I have no idea why I gave you a paw print! I should have emojied 🤩🤩🤩! 😂 5mo
31 likes3 comments
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JackOBotts
The Nose | Nikolay Gogol
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Mehso-so

“So-So” because there is probably so, so much I don‘t quite understand…amusing though and with the author‘s self-awareness at the end I know that a trip to Wikipedia may be in order.

My #bookspin for August (A Melville House read). 🙌🏼

27 likes4 comments
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoy how Davis embraces the two timelines together.

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JackOBotts
The It Girl | Ruth Ware
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⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not my favorite Ruth Ware read, but it kept moving and kept me guessing till the end.

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JackOBotts
August and Everything After | Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
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August #bookspin - August?!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 6mo
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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JackOBotts
Pickpick

Another amusing installment ~ enjoying the friendship our leading ladies have. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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