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SqueakyChu

SqueakyChu

Joined March 2018

BookCrosser | Little Free Library steward | Librarything member | DC United fan ... ¡Vamos!
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Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit
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SqueakyChu
Fear | Dirk Kurbjuweit
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This is turning out to be a VERY CREEPY book! 😳 A murder starts the book, but it really is the story of a man whose neighbor insists he and his wife are sexually abusing their own children when they‘re not!!

PaperbackPirate Creepy cover too! 😬 1w
SqueakyChu The writing in this book is terrific. It‘s by a German author, and my book is a copy that was translated into English. 1w
12 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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SqueakyChu
Elon Musk | Walter Isaacson
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I don‘t like Musk, but I‘m in awe of Walter Isaacson, his biographer, after having read another of his books, “Steve Jobs”, a few years ago. This book is indeed very interesting.

SqueakyChu I never finished this book. Looking at Musk‘s face in the cover and knowing about who he is simply creeped me out!! 1w
11 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SqueakyChu
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What a great book this is! I found it in the new book section of my local public library. This is not only a collection of fabulous family recipes by the author, but also tell of his family‘s stories about immigrating from Lebanon to America—specifically Toledo, Ohio—where one of the author‘s relatives was a neighbor and friend to the family of Jameel Farrar (later Jamie Farr, aka Maxwell Klinger of M*A*S*H).

8 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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I‘m reading this during a break from reading Pat Conroy‘s book “My Losing Season”. Conroy‘s obsession with basketball is not my own. My passion is soccer so I‘m having a terrific time reading Mia Hamm‘s book about my favorite sport. 🥰

8 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
My Losing Season | Pat Conroy
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I‘m finally getting to this book…the only one of Pat Conroy‘s books (except for The Boo which is impossible to get) that I‘ve never read. It‘s so…final. 😢

10 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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My at-large councilmember (Montgomery County, Maryland). He writes so well. I‘m really enjoying this book so far about mentorship by Black men to Black boys.

Susanita Hi neighbor! 👋🏻 I‘m in Howard County. 4mo
SqueakyChu @Susanita Hi, neighbor! 4mo
7 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SqueakyChu
Yesteryear | Stephen G. Eoannou
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I‘m not sure how I‘ll do with this book because it‘s not a genre I favor, but I‘m giving it a try as it‘s a book given to me for an early review by #sfwp.com. Books I‘ve read in the past from this indie press have pretty much always been terrific.

8 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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Oooh! Nice! I just won this book from the #LittleFreeLibrary website and from the publisher, Simon & Schuster. I plan to read this book, register it on #BookCrossing and then share it with others. It‘s a light, enjoyable read so far.

13 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Original) | Harriet Beecher Stowe
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Ibram X. Kendi‘s book, Stamped From the Beginning, had a few pages talking about this novel which had been first published during the Civil War. I skipped the discussion of this book until I could read it for myself—-which I am doing now.

11 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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I‘m reading this book *very* slowly to take in as much information as I can. I‘m being blown away by the vast amount of research and organization that went into writing this book. It would be a profound understatement to say I‘m disappointed in what I was taught about American history as a student. I‘m having a rude awakening into what this country is all about now because I can clearly see what this country has always been about.

Aimeesue The way Kendi lays it all out is amazing. Eye-opening book, for sure 1y
SqueakyChu @Aimeesue I keep being shocked by what I‘m reading. For sure, this is not the American History I learned in grade school as a kid! 1y
Aimeesue I follow a historian on FB who said this recently:”History is the way we tell the story about the past - not the past itself. It‘s the interpretation that history writers spell out on the page and it has their own perspectives mixed in.” That makes so much sense to me now! (edited) 1y
See All 8 Comments
SqueakyChu @Aimeesue Who is the historian? I follow Heather Cox Richardson because I like the way she relates current news to what happened in the past. I never was fully aware of how closely our current events are actually tied to events of history. 1y
Aimeesue HCR is great! This person is Homeschool Historian 1y
SqueakyChu @Aimeesue I‘ll have to look this person up. Thanks! I never liked to learn in school because I could never memorize names and dates, but history is suddenly arousing a new interest in me because of current events. 1y
LatrelWhite Excellent I loved it… wait $5.00😆 14mo
SqueakyChu @LatrelWhite Yep! I paid $5 for it at my local Friends of the Library used book store. It had just come in, and I grabbed it! 14mo
19 likes1 stack add8 comments
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SqueakyChu
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I borrowed this book from my library (at least I can in my state!) to see what the fuss is about this book and to learn why it is often known for being “the most #banned book”. I can see how individual parents or teachers would be uncomfortable about some of its contents. However the essential “baring the soul” of the author was necessary to connect with people who have these same questions in order to reach out to them and those who love them.

TheIntrovertedDodoBird I've been meaning to read this one. I'll definitely boost it up my TRP now! 💜🖤🩶🤍🏳️‍⚧️ x 1y
18 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SqueakyChu
My Life: Growing Up Asian in America | CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)
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I found this book at my public library. It appealed to me because I am trying to learn more about the immigrant experience. In this book immigrants from various Asian countries, share their experiences in drawings, poems and prose. Some of their experiences are very painful. Others remind me of situations of my own (non-Asian) family. I think this book is important to let others feel what it is really like to be an Asian immigrant to America.

8 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Carrion Comfort | Dan Simmons
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I started this horror novel based on the blurb by Stephen King on this book‘s cover. Once I got hooked into the story (right away!), it no longer bothered me that this novel is 767 pages long. I hope to finish it one day—sooner rather than later!

SqueakyChu I‘m still reading this book and being intrigued by it! 1y
13 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SqueakyChu
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I just started reading this book which discusses racism and “casteism”. It is beautifully written and makes so much sense, but it is deeply sad.

SqueakyChu Fantastic book with ideas that keep brewing in my brain. I can‘t say enough good things about this book! 1y
23 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SqueakyChu
Spare | Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex
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I was finally able to borrow this book from my public library. I‘m not in favor of royalty or monarchies, but I‘m finding Harry‘s story very appealing.

13 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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I just started this book which I received from a fellow BookCrosser. This book had me in tears by the second chapter so that means it‘s a keeper (except that I‘ll release it through #BookCrossing when it‘s completed).

TEArificbooks Have you read A Man Called Ove ? It is my favorite of his so far. 1y
SqueakyChu @TEArificbooks I have read A Man Called Ove. I liked it very much. 1y
TEArificbooks Have you seen the new American version movie with Tom Hanks? It is on Netflix now. Oh, it made me cry. @SqueakyChu 1y
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SqueakyChu @TEArificbooks Not yet, but I would like to. 1y
rwmg If you really want to open the floodgates, I recommend the tagged book by the same author. 1y
SqueakyChu @rwmg Thanks for the recommendation. 1y
SqueakyChu I actually ended up bailing on this book on page 100 because I did not like the way it was written like a fairy tale. 1y
21 likes1 stack add7 comments
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SqueakyChu
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Such a fun author to read! All the books by this #Japanese author are totally #weird. My favorite of his novels was “The Ark Sakura”. This novel I won from a book release challenge by fellow #BookCrosser GoryDetails. Thank you. In the novel so far, a private investigator has been hired to find a woman‘s husband who mysteriously & suddenly disappeared while standing near a manhole cover in the middle of the summer. Not much to go on, eh? 😃

9 likes2 stack adds
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SqueakyChu
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I‘m revisiting the aftermath of the tragic death of Freddie Gray at the hands of police in Baltimore in this book by the now Governor of Maryland who is himself black and a Baltimore resident. As a former resident of Baltimore, I want less tragedy and more hope and racial progress for my old hometown.

10 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Shubeik Lubeik | Deena Mohamed
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Such an interesting book! This #graphicnovel is about if wishes were a real thing. *returning to this new library book to find out what happens*

8 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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This is turning out to be a great book! I requested it from the #EarlyReviewer program on #LibraryThing. I was interested in reading more about Benjamin Banneker as I am familiar with him because I live near where his historical home was. The book is written by his descendant who is a white woman. Its discussion of #race in a historical context as well as in current times is fascinating. This is a beautifully written and well researched book.

8 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Happy for You: A Novel | Claire Stanford
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I‘m not sure if I like this book or not. It‘s the story of a #multiracial (#Jewish/#Japanese) young woman, living with her boyfriend, who took a job as a researcher on #happiness at the world‘s third-most-popular internet company. I‘m not sure where this book is headed. Maybe once I figure that out, I might like it more.

Cinfhen Sounds like a memoir!! 2y
SqueakyChu @Cinfhen I was wondering if the author put her own story into this novel. 2y
9 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SqueakyChu
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This is a book I requested from the #LibraryThing #EarlyReviewer program. It‘s the story of the author‘s return to #Nigeria to learn why & how his uncle Emmanuel, for whom he was named, disappeared during the #NigerianCivilWar in the late 1960s. I remember hearing about #Biafra in the news when I was younger, but never knew much about that country. I‘m learning surprising things now...such as that country only lasted for less than three years!

8 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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I did it! I got hold of Marie Kondo‘s new book to see if anything‘s changed in her tidying outlook. Some of her ideas work for me; others not so much! 😄

10 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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The cover of this book made me pick it up to browse. It sounded interesting so I started reading it yesterday. It‘s the story of a nine-year-old girl who needed jaw surgery for cancer. This sounds pretty awful, but the beginning of the book is surprisingly upbeat and nice to read. The book itself was written by that child survivor of Ewing‘s Sarcoma. I like books that promote hope and have those who actually survive a catastrophe.

10 likes2 stack adds
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SqueakyChu
Leaving Tangier | Tahar Ben Jelloun
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I just started this novel tonight for a challenge on #LibraryThing to read a novel by an author who was born in a North African country. The author of this book was born in #Morocco, and, as far as I‘ve read, our protagonist is still in Morocco trying to figure out how to get to Europe. Back to my book see what happens...! 😃

12 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Art Treasures of Japan | Yukio Yashiro
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The title of this book is really Bugaku Treasures from the Kasuga Shrine. I don‘t know the author, but the contents were provided by the Kasuga Shrine in Nara, Japan. It was a book I serendipitously found in my #LittleFreeLibrary. I am reading it now with fascination as I‘ve been following my older son‘s trip to Japan in which he visited several shrines (but not this one). This is an oversized softcover with gorgeous photos!

SqueakyChu By the way, how do you list a book that‘s not on the Litsy master list? I picked the closest title. I hope that‘s okay. 2y
bnp Here is a link I found on LT: https://www.litsy.com/web/addbook 2y
bnp Also, this came up when I searched: https://isbnsearch.org/ 2y
SqueakyChu @bnp Thank you. I‘ll save that link for future use. 2y
SqueakyChu @bnp This book had no ISBN. 2y
5 likes1 stack add5 comments
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SqueakyChu
Kusamakura | Natsume Soseki
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I‘ve just started this book and hope I like it. Generally I really like #Japanese fiction. Now my older son is visiting Tokyo, and I‘m sitting at home drinking hot tea in a cup he brought me from a previous visit to #Japan. I‘m just trying to get into the mood to enjoy this book! 😊

TEArificbooks I don‘t know if they visit the towns you are looking for but Last year I read and enjoyed 2y
SqueakyChu @TEArificbooks They both sound great. I am adding them to my wishlist on #LibraryThing. Thx for the recommendations! Because my son had traveled to Hiroshima this trip, I also just read (edited) 2y
SqueakyChu I *am* enjoying this book. It won‘t take me long to finish it. 2y
19 likes1 stack add4 comments
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SqueakyChu
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I just started this book, but I‘m not sure if I like it very much. The beginning is kind of slow. I‘ve read books by Anne Tyler before, and I like that her books are set in #Baltimore, the city in which I grew up. I‘ll keep reading and see if it the action picks up.

vivastory This is the only Anne Tyler I have read. I really liked it, but I wasn't a fan of the abrupt ending. 2y
SqueakyChu @vivastory I decided to bail. It‘s not bad, but I‘m just not interested in finishing this story. It doesn‘t really interest me that much, and I have another friend who is eager to read it. (edited) 2y
8 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SqueakyChu
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This is an #EarlyReviewer book from #LibraryThing which I am currently reading. After having been given a diagnosis of Alzheimer‘s Disease, Sky Yardley writes with humor how he is dealing with his situation while his wife Jane Dwinell gives helpful advice for any family member living with or caring for a person afflicted with this progressive memory loss and eventually fatal condition.

15 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Karnak Cafe | Naguib Mahfouz
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I found this book on my bookshelf and chose it to read for the #LibraryThing challenge to read a book by an author born in #NorthAfrica. I‘d read and enjoyed books by this author before, but many years ago. I find this book intriguing. It‘s background is political, referring many times back to the #Egyptian Revolution in 1952. I had to look this up in order to give this read better context. I‘m glad I did.

TEArificbooks FYI I changed my name from mdm139 to TEArificbooks. I am still here. And let me know if there is a zoom meeting 2y
SqueakyChu @TEArificbooks Oh, no! How am I going to remember your new name?! Check out the BC meetings forum before January 21 (the Saturday that the Zoom is scheduled). You‘ll need to get the Zoom link pmed to you from whoever the host will be. (edited) 2y
5 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SqueakyChu
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I am totally blown away by this book in which the author, a culinary historian and a Jew, talks about the intersection of Black and Jewish cultures. Just fascinating!

SqueakyChu I can‘t wait to try some of the recipes at the end of this book, although this is not a cookbook per se. (edited) 2y
13 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SqueakyChu
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This is so true. It‘s often hard to get away from all the information that‘s thrown our way day after day. It‘s overwhelming!!

TEArificbooks Yes there is. That is why those “screen free” days are so popular but so hard to do. They like the concept but we are so used to that peace and quiet makes us uncomfortable after a few hours (like we are missing out on something important). 2y
SqueakyChu @mdm139 During pandemic, I had to learn how to tune out the news. Under the previous administration, I would read the news online and have actual panic attacks. I started only reading the headlines each morning. I‘m working really hard in trying to keep my anxiety level down. I like this book! I thought it would just be about meditation (which I don‘t like to do!), but it gives practical advice for how to calm oneself. I‘m impressed. 😊 (edited) 2y
6 likes2 comments
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SqueakyChu
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Someone left this book in my #LittleFreeLibrary. With all the chaos of the holiday season surrounding me, this actually seemed as if it would be a good read so I did start reading it today!

TEArificbooks Happy Hanukkah 2y
SqueakyChu @mdm139 Thank you so much! Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🎅 🎄 2y
10 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SqueakyChu
The Immortal Bartfuss | Aharon Apelfeld
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In the beginning of reading this book by a noted Israeli author, I thought I wouldn‘t like this story because of the disagreeable main character. He‘s sort of growing on me, though. Maybe because of his grouchiness! 😄

13 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Solito: A Memoir | Javier Zamora
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Recommended by my husband‘s niece, this #memoir is by a man from #ElSalvador who as a nine-year-old child was sent alone to be smuggled into the United States by a “coyote”. Every #immigrant has his or her own story about their struggles. This one is especially upsetting to me because the story is too familiar. My heart breaks at the thought of such a young child traveling with strangers through unknown territory to an uncertain future.

Cinfhen This was excellent!!! 2y
13 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SqueakyChu
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Critical thinking is just as important for adults as for kids so we need to focus on developing this skill in others we teach as early as possible.

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SqueakyChu
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Think you‘re not racist? Think again!

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SqueakyChu
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I know I‘m also trying to read three other books at this time, but I grabbed this book at my local library because I find this author‘s writing about #antiracism so clear, compelling, and necessary to read. I‘m guessing that, of all four books, I‘ll probably finish this one first.

14 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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A most amazing book that brought me to tears. I probably could not have read it when it was first published—in 2018. This book features tweets by former US president Trump on the left pages, followed on the right pages with striking photos of former president Obama by the author, White House photographer Pete Sousa. It provides a stark contrast between the two men, not without snark (or call it shade) from Sousa. Just beautiful in so many ways.

12 likes2 stack adds
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SqueakyChu
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I admit that I‘m a #pawpaw fanatic so I took this book out of the library with the idea of browsing through it. Nope! I‘m going to read every word of it. It is fascinating! Yes, I do have my own fruiting pawpaw tree. 😃

SamAnne I covet a paw paw 2y
Aimeesue I had my first taste of paw paw this year! My daughter works at a State park and there are a couple in the park, so she brought a couple home to try. How fortunate to have a tree - I hear they're hard to grow from seed! 2y
SqueakyChu @Aimeesue My tree took two years to germinate and eight years after that to produce fruit! We‘ve had lots of fun with it. (edited) 2y
SqueakyChu I bailed because this was a library book which I need to return. I liked this book very much, though. 2y
15 likes4 stack adds5 comments
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SqueakyChu
Hunger | Knut Hamsun
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This is so cool! My local county public library let me do an interlibrary loan to get this book because they did not have a copy of this book not an ebook. The book arrived…and is a hardcover copyright 1920 and published June, 1924. It is 98 years old! I‘m handling it very gently as I don‘t want it to fall apart while I‘m reading it. This book was a book club selection from my husband‘s great niece‘s online Better than the Movie Book Club. :)

Aimeesue Gorgeous! 2y
SamAnne Oh wow! 2y
11 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SqueakyChu
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I‘m so happy to be reading this book by Pat Conroy, one of my favorite authors. He really was not afraid to put things in his book that were in his mind - even if they would arouse a major reaction.

4 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
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I was so excited to receive this book as a donation for my #LittleFreeLibrary. It was one of the books highest on my wishlist because I was and still am a big fan of Pat Conroy‘s works. Most of his writing, including his novels, was based on his life experiences. This book highlights the author‘s rocky relationship with his dad over the years. As always, Conroy‘s writing is a pleasure to read.

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SqueakyChu
The Agnostic | Curt Finch
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I am so thrilled to be reading this book. This is the third self-published book by this author, a retired pastor and the owner of Emerald Isle Books and Toys in Emerald Isle, #NorthCarolina. Yes, I‘m sitting near the ocean to maximize my pleasure and make this my beach read. All of the books by this author are so sensitive. They touch my heart. I just started this book, but I have no doubt I‘ll like it as much as I did his other two.

9 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Annihilation | Jeff VanderMeer
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Yikes!! This is such a #creepy book that I can‘t put it down. I have to know what happens (…as only now I note that this story is Part 1 of a trilogy)!

SqueakyChu Finished it. Whoa!!! 😳 2y
20 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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SqueakyChu
Annihilation | Jeff VanderMeer
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I needed some books to read for a week at the beach. This book was one I picked because it was small and looked interesting. I just started it today.

SqueakyChu Not only is this story interesting, but the psychological interactions between the characters are fascinating as well. 👍 2y
18 likes1 comment
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SqueakyChu
One Generation After | Elie Wiesel
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This small paperback called out to me from a neighborhood #LittleFreeLibrary. Author Elie Wiesel, one of my heroes, recalls in different ways the mysteries of the #Holocaust...which can never be explained.

13 likes1 stack add
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SqueakyChu
Cockpit | Jerzy Kosinski
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What a strange, but fascinating book! Published over 50 years ago, it‘s the story, basically in vignettes, of the weird misadventures of Tarden, a sort of secret agent who escapes from Poland, lives in the United States, but travels the world over. It‘s different! 😃

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SqueakyChu
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In this book, the author takes a hard look at racism against Mexicans in the United States both in the past and in the present. What she tells is both eye-opening and deeply sad.

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SqueakyChu
Sailor Moon 1 | Naoko Takeuchi
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I have so much affection for this book. It was my daughter‘s first #manga ever. She‘s no longer interested in manga so I‘ve given away her collection of books except for this one which I‘m saving (and actually reading now). I tried to get my nine-year-old grandson to read it, but he prefers to stick to Dragon Ball Z. 😂

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