Stephanie *Eff your feelings*'s bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 12 Apr 2025 06:53:26 -0700 60 Stephanie *Eff your feelings*'s bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Stand 228202 1141 Stephen King 0451169530 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5
This had to have been in 1981 or so, because that’s the year MTV debuted, back then they played music videos on Music Television and probably had about ten or so they kept playing over and over. Well, I’m on the pull out couch in the family room with MTV playing (it made me feel better to see the guys from Journey), and reading The Stand, half listening to MTV when this (very 80's)video I hadn't seen before comes on.



This was very surreal. I was feverish and the words I was reading like “The walkin� dude� and “Trashcan Man� were coming out of the TV machine. It was very strange……as strange as The Alarms hair. Did you notice the painting of the flower he did looks just like the hair. Amazing…�.I kind of like the painting.

I loved the book and it has been one my favorites list ever since. I always wanted to re-read it, but it was so darn long, and there are so many books out there to read. Thirty years later they release the audio version and I was excited, not only to revisit the book but to hear it on audio,(yay) and I was not disappointed. The Stand still remains on my favorites list. But since it had been so long since I first read it, I forgot most of it. It was like a whole new book.

The government develops a biological weapon, a super flu (project Blue) , nick named Captain Tripps, that is inadvertently released and kills 99% of the human population along with most of the dogs and horses. The cats survive (they always do). Here I have to ask the question, why would a government develop such a weapon when It kills most everybody…�.even the guys on your side, and you?

The people who survive start to have crazy dreams. One is about a very old African American women, Mother Abigail, in Nebraska who calls on the people to come see her and then to travel to Boulder Colorado. The other is a nightmare about a mysterious fella named Randell Flagg, aka The Walkin� Dude or the Dark Man who draws them to Los Vegas. Randell is not just bad; he is pure evil, while Mother Abigail is the instrument of God. The survivors pick their side, and there is a good old fashion show down between good and evil. What could go wrong?

King develops strong, memorable characters in this book. He also writes horrifyingly memorable scenes like a trip through the Lincoln Tunnel in New York, dark and stuffed to the brim with rotting corpses. That is not one of the things I forgot.

A few minor things bugged me in this version. Stephen went back later on and added pages to the book that were cut by the publishers, which I am happy with. But, in an attempt to update the book, he moved the time period up from 1980 to 1990. This made a few things awkward, such as a scene about the shootings at Kent State University. The reasons for the shooting were changed from being about war protest to protesting the detainment they were under because of the flu. This worked in the original version because it was closer in time period of the shootings at KSU. Being set in the 90’s it made no sense.

Also, King was in love with the word “pillion�, it means to ride behind the driver of a motorcycle. He used it as much as he could. He also described people’s knee joints popping when squatting, or getting up from a squat, many times. One time would have been just fine.

Love the book. Now I’m off to buy hand sanitizer.
]]>
4.32 1978 The Stand
author: Stephen King
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: favorites, post-apocalyptic, 2012, read-count-2
review:
The first time I read The Stand I was home sick from school with some illness, the German measles I think. Maybe not a good time to be reading a book about a super flu, but I was young and not so bright.

This had to have been in 1981 or so, because that’s the year MTV debuted, back then they played music videos on Music Television and probably had about ten or so they kept playing over and over. Well, I’m on the pull out couch in the family room with MTV playing (it made me feel better to see the guys from Journey), and reading The Stand, half listening to MTV when this (very 80's)video I hadn't seen before comes on.



This was very surreal. I was feverish and the words I was reading like “The walkin� dude� and “Trashcan Man� were coming out of the TV machine. It was very strange……as strange as The Alarms hair. Did you notice the painting of the flower he did looks just like the hair. Amazing…�.I kind of like the painting.

I loved the book and it has been one my favorites list ever since. I always wanted to re-read it, but it was so darn long, and there are so many books out there to read. Thirty years later they release the audio version and I was excited, not only to revisit the book but to hear it on audio,(yay) and I was not disappointed. The Stand still remains on my favorites list. But since it had been so long since I first read it, I forgot most of it. It was like a whole new book.

The government develops a biological weapon, a super flu (project Blue) , nick named Captain Tripps, that is inadvertently released and kills 99% of the human population along with most of the dogs and horses. The cats survive (they always do). Here I have to ask the question, why would a government develop such a weapon when It kills most everybody…�.even the guys on your side, and you?

The people who survive start to have crazy dreams. One is about a very old African American women, Mother Abigail, in Nebraska who calls on the people to come see her and then to travel to Boulder Colorado. The other is a nightmare about a mysterious fella named Randell Flagg, aka The Walkin� Dude or the Dark Man who draws them to Los Vegas. Randell is not just bad; he is pure evil, while Mother Abigail is the instrument of God. The survivors pick their side, and there is a good old fashion show down between good and evil. What could go wrong?

King develops strong, memorable characters in this book. He also writes horrifyingly memorable scenes like a trip through the Lincoln Tunnel in New York, dark and stuffed to the brim with rotting corpses. That is not one of the things I forgot.

A few minor things bugged me in this version. Stephen went back later on and added pages to the book that were cut by the publishers, which I am happy with. But, in an attempt to update the book, he moved the time period up from 1980 to 1990. This made a few things awkward, such as a scene about the shootings at Kent State University. The reasons for the shooting were changed from being about war protest to protesting the detainment they were under because of the flu. This worked in the original version because it was closer in time period of the shootings at KSU. Being set in the 90’s it made no sense.

Also, King was in love with the word “pillion�, it means to ride behind the driver of a motorcycle. He used it as much as he could. He also described people’s knee joints popping when squatting, or getting up from a squat, many times. One time would have been just fine.

Love the book. Now I’m off to buy hand sanitizer.

]]>
Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]>
56 Hugh Howey Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir]]> 12844430
Narrated by the author.]]>
9 Jenny Lawson 1611760852 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.95 2012 Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir
author: Jenny Lawson
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories]]> 38217066 25 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 2377936261 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.89 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Great Grisby: Two Thousand Years of Literary, Royal, Philosophical, and Artistic Dog Lovers and Their Exceptional Animals]]> 20869855
While gradually unveiling her eight-year love affair with her French bulldog, Grisby, Mikita Brottman ruminates on the singular bond between dogs and humans. Why do prevailing attitudes warn us against loving our pet “too much�? Is her relationship with Grisby nourishing or dysfunctional, commonplace or unique? Challenging the assumption that there’s something repressed and neurotic about those deeply connected to a dog, she turns her keen eye on the many ways in which dog is the mirror of man.

The Great Grisby is organized into twenty-six alphabetically arranged chapters, each devoted to a particular human-canine union drawn from history, art, philosophy, or literature. Here is Picasso’s dachshund Lump; Freud’s chow Yofi; Bill Sikes’s mutt Bull’s Eye in Oliver Twist; and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s spaniel Flush, whose biography was penned by Virginia Woolf. There are royal dogs, like Prince Albert’s greyhound Eos, and dogs cherished by authors, like Thomas Hardy’s fox terrier, Wessex. Brottman’s own beloved Grisby serves as an envoy for sniffing out these remarkable companions.

Quirky and delightful, and peppered with incisive personal reflections and black-and-white sketches portraying a different dog and its owner drawn by the enormously talented Davina “Psamophis� Falcão, The Great Grisby reveals how much dogs have to teach us about empathy, happiness, love—and what it means to be human.]]>
272 Mikita Brottman 0062304631 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.19 2014 The Great Grisby: Two Thousand Years of Literary, Royal, Philosophical, and Artistic Dog Lovers and Their Exceptional Animals
author: Mikita Brottman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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Zazen 11563601
Reactions to the attacks are polarized. Police activity intensifies. Della’s revolutionary parents welcome the upheaval but are trapped within their own insular beliefs. Her activist restaurant co-workers, who would rather change their identities than the world around them, resume a shallow rebellion of hair-dye, sex parties, and self-absorption. As those bombs keep inching closer, thudding deep and real between the sounds of katydids fluttering in the still of the city night, and the destruction begins to excite her. What begins as terror threats called in to greasy bro-bars across the block boils over into a desperate plot, intoxicating and captivating Della and leaving her little chance for escape.

Zazen unfolds as a search for clarity soured by irresolution and catastrophe, yet made vital by the thin, wild veins of imagination run through each escalating moment, tensing and relaxing, unfurling and ensnaring. Vanessa Veselka renders Della and her world with beautiful, freighting, and phantasmagorically intelligent accuracy, crafting from their shattered constitutions a perversely perfect mirror for our own selves and state.]]>
274 Vanessa Veselka 1935869140 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.47 2011 Zazen
author: Vanessa Veselka
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

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Djibouti 9300681






Ěý



“Elmore Leonard is our greatest crime novelist…the best in the business.”Ěý—Washington Post







Ěý



44 novels and still going strong! The incomparable Elmore Leonard—“The reigning King Daddy of crime writers� (Seattle Times)—is back with Djibouti, a gripping, twisting, playful, and always surprising tale of modern-day piracy. Djibouti sparkles with the trademark Leonard style, wit, and crackling dialogue that have made novels like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and The Hot Kid crime fiction classics. This time Elmore’s taking us to the Horn of Africa for an unforgettable confrontation with con men, crooked diplomats, documentary filmmakers, and pirates…and it’s going to be a wild ride!]]>
279 Elmore Leonard 0062015346 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.55 2010 Djibouti
author: Elmore Leonard
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's]]> 6072954 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“As sweet and funny and sad and true and heartfelt a memoir as one could find.� —from the foreword by Augusten Burroughs

Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.� It was not until he was forty that he was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way he saw himself—and the world. A born storyteller, Robison has written a moving, darkly funny memoir about a life that has taken him from developing exploding guitars for KISS to building a family of his own. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien yet always deeply human.]]>
306 John Elder Robison 0307405729 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.10 2007 Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's
author: John Elder Robison
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[206 Bones (Temperance Brennan, #12)]]> 5957702 The #1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the Fox television hit, Bones, returns with a spectacular new Tempe Brennan novel.

There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. 206 Bones opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...

Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy -- and the case. Someone made an incriminating phone call. Within hours, the one man with information about the call was dead. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third.

Seamlessly weaving between Tempe's present-tense terror as she's held captive and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs conveys the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds. Reichs is writing at the top of her game.]]>
308 Kathy Reichs 0743294394 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.94 2009 206 Bones (Temperance Brennan, #12)
author: Kathy Reichs
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Gilgamesh: A New English Version]]> 138371 In the ancient city of Uruk, the tyrannical King Gilgamesh tramples citizens "like a wild bull". The gods send an untamed man named Enkidu to control the ruthless king, but after fighting, Enkidu and Gilgamesh become great friends and embark on a series of adventures. They kill fearsome creatures before Enkidu succumbs to disease, leaving Gilgamesh despondent and alone. Eventually, Gilgamesh moves forward, and his quest becomes a soul-searching journey of self-discovery.

Mitchell's treatment of this extraordinary work is the finest yet, surpassing previous versions in its preservation of the wisdom and beauty of the original.

©2004 Stephen Mitchell (P)2004 Recorded Books LLC]]>
290 Anonymous Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.87 -1200 Gilgamesh: A New English Version
author: Anonymous
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.87
book published: -1200
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/16
shelves: to-read
review:

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Paris 18730321 The Song of Roland; a humble family that embodies the ideals of the French Revolution; a pair of brothers from the slums behind Montmartre, one of whom works on the Eiffel Tower as the other joins the underworld near the Moulin Rouge; and merchants who lose everything during the reign of Louis XV, rise again in the age of Napoleon, and help establish Paris as the great center of art and culture that it is today. With Rutherfurd’s unrivaled blend of impeccable research and narrative verve, this bold novel brings the sights, scents, and tastes of the City of Light to brilliant life.]]> 809 Edward Rutherfurd 0345530764 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.07 2013 Paris
author: Edward Rutherfurd
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)]]> 8130423 In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth - a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.]]> 361 Rick Riordan Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 3 sci-fi, ya 4.44 2008 The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2010/08/05
date added: 2023/10/16
shelves: sci-fi, ya
review:

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<![CDATA[The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm]]> 21981650
From "The Frog King" to "The Golden Key," wondrous worlds unfold--heroes and heroines are rewarded, weaker animals triumph over the strong, and simple bumpkins prove themselves not so simple after all. Esteemed fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes offers accessible translations that retain the spare description and engaging storytelling style of the originals. Indeed, this is what makes the tales from the 1812 and 1815 editions unique--they reflect diverse voices, rooted in oral traditions, that are absent from the Grimms' later, more embellished collections of tales. Zipes's introduction gives important historical context, and the book includes the Grimms' prefaces and notes.

A delight to read, "The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" presents these peerless stories to a whole new generation of readers."]]>
568 Jacob Grimm 0691160597 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 abandoned 4.23 1812 The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
author: Jacob Grimm
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1812
rating: 0
read at: 2017/12/14
date added: 2023/08/24
shelves: abandoned
review:

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Brown Dog 17707989 New York Times best-selling author Jim Harrison is one of America’s most beloved writers, and of all his creations, Brown Dog, a bawdy, reckless, down-on-his-luck Michigan Indian, has earned cult status with readers in the more than two decades since his first appearance. For the first time, Brown Dog gathers all the Brown Dog novellas, including one never-published one, into one volume—the ideal introduction (or reintroduction) to Harrison’s irresistible Everyman.

In these novellas, BD rescues the preserved body of an Indian from Lake Superior’s cold waters; overindulges in food, drink, and women while just scraping by in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; wanders Los Angeles in search of an ersatz Native activist who stole his bearskin; adopts two Native children; and flees the authorities, then returns across the Canadian border aboard an Indian rock band’s tour bus. The collection culminates with He Dog, never before published, which finds BD marginally employed and still looking for love (or sometimes just a few beers and a roll in the hay), as he goes on a road trip from Michigan to Montana and back, arriving home to the prospect of family stability and, perhaps, a chance at redemption.

Brown Dog underscores Harrison’s place as one of America’s most irrepressible writers, and one of the finest practitioners of the novella form.]]>
525 Jim Harrison 0802120113 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4
The 'Dog' part of B.D.'s name is supposedly because it's his spirit animal being a dog, but I think he lives up to it in other ways.

This book is a series of novellas about B.D., part white and part Chippewa, who lives in the U.P. of Michigan(I hear it's lovely.) He is a man who has mastered the art of living one day at a time on as little money as possible. Subsistence living (I'll pass).

He survives by living in shacks in the woods and doing odd jobs, like shoveling snow (The U.P. has a lot of that I reckon) hunting and fishing and growing some veggies. He was orphaned when young, raised by his white grandfather and later lives with his Chippewa uncle to take care of him in his old age.

Sounds a bit dull doesn't it?

Well B.D. finds ways to entertain himself. He takes long walks in the woods. I mean long, ten miles at the least everyday. Drinking heavily and having sex with as many women that will have him.....any women will do. Skinny, fat, mean, nice, lesbian, literally any women. He is attracted to all of them. His hard on never fails at the sight or touch of a women. Never.

It's kind of impressive.

At one point he was in the process of passing a kidney stone the size of a small marble, for fuck sake, and when nurse merely brushes his hand and he gets a full on erection from that. All the while he's in severe pain.

I don't have boy parts, but I find this a bit far fetched.

But get this. The next morning after he passes this huge stone he does bump uglies with a fellow sex addict. Of course, as you do. Um...apparently at...ahem..that special moment, it hurts like crazy just after you pass a kidney stone.

Huh...who could have seen that coming? No pun intended.

I did enjoy these novellas. Brown Dog is a ridiculous man, with a good heart. Worth a read.



]]>
4.15 2013 Brown Dog
author: Jim Harrison
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2014/06/20
date added: 2023/07/30
shelves: 2014, lots-of-drinking, sex-addict
review:
Brown Dog, or B.D., is a simple man of simple needs and simple pleasures. These are in no particular order, sex, alcohol, cooking, sex, nature, sex, menial work, alcohol, fishing, sex, alcohol....etc.

The 'Dog' part of B.D.'s name is supposedly because it's his spirit animal being a dog, but I think he lives up to it in other ways.

This book is a series of novellas about B.D., part white and part Chippewa, who lives in the U.P. of Michigan(I hear it's lovely.) He is a man who has mastered the art of living one day at a time on as little money as possible. Subsistence living (I'll pass).

He survives by living in shacks in the woods and doing odd jobs, like shoveling snow (The U.P. has a lot of that I reckon) hunting and fishing and growing some veggies. He was orphaned when young, raised by his white grandfather and later lives with his Chippewa uncle to take care of him in his old age.

Sounds a bit dull doesn't it?

Well B.D. finds ways to entertain himself. He takes long walks in the woods. I mean long, ten miles at the least everyday. Drinking heavily and having sex with as many women that will have him.....any women will do. Skinny, fat, mean, nice, lesbian, literally any women. He is attracted to all of them. His hard on never fails at the sight or touch of a women. Never.

It's kind of impressive.

At one point he was in the process of passing a kidney stone the size of a small marble, for fuck sake, and when nurse merely brushes his hand and he gets a full on erection from that. All the while he's in severe pain.

I don't have boy parts, but I find this a bit far fetched.

But get this. The next morning after he passes this huge stone he does bump uglies with a fellow sex addict. Of course, as you do. Um...apparently at...ahem..that special moment, it hurts like crazy just after you pass a kidney stone.

Huh...who could have seen that coming? No pun intended.

I did enjoy these novellas. Brown Dog is a ridiculous man, with a good heart. Worth a read.




]]>
Savages (Savages #2) 8008928
When they refuse to back down, the cartel escalates its threat, kidnapping Ophelia, the boys' playmate and confidante. O's abduction sets off a dizzying array of ingenious negotiations and gripping plot twists that will captivate readers eager to learn the costs of freedom and the price of one amazing high.]]>
302 Don Winslow 1439183368 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.84 2010 Savages (Savages #2)
author: Don Winslow
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit]]> 248954 179 Brenda Ueland 1555972608 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.13 2012 If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit
author: Brenda Ueland
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/24
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Autopilot: The Art & Science of Doing Nothing]]> 18053732
At every turn we’re pushed to do more, faster and more efficiently: that drumbeat resounds throughout our wage-slave society. Multitasking is not only a virtue, it’s a necessity. Books such as Getting Things Done, The One Minute Manager, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People regularly top the bestseller lists, and have spawned a considerable industry.

But Andrew Smart argues that slackers may have the last laugh. The latest neuroscience shows that the “culture of effectiveness� is not only ineffective, it can be harmful to your well-being. He makes a compelling case � backed by science � that filling life with activity at work and at home actually hurts your brain.

A survivor of corporate-mandated “Six Sigma� training to improve efficiency, Smart has channeled a self-described “loathing� of the time-management industry into a witty, informative and wide-ranging book that draws on the most recent research into brain power. Use it to explain to bosses, family, and friends why you need to relax � right now."

--OR Books]]>
148 Andrew Smart 1939293103 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.40 2013 Autopilot: The Art & Science of Doing Nothing
author: Andrew Smart
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/21
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle]]> 35967101 A brilliantly original high concept murder mystery from a fantastic new talent: Gosford Park meets Inception, by way of Agatha Christie and Black Mirror.

'Somebody's going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won't appear to be a murder and so the murderer won't be caught. Rectify that injustice and I'll show you the way out.'

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden � one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party � can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...

Also titled as The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.]]>
505 Stuart Turton Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.87 2018 The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
author: Stuart Turton
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/21
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Testimony of Light: An Extraordinary Message of Life After Death]]> 19022670 For the millions who have enjoyed Proof of Heaven,Ěý Heaven is Real, To Heaven and Back, and Getting to Heaven, Testimony of LightĚý is about life after death—and the amazing story of a friendship that endured beyond the veil—published for the first time in the United States.Frances Banks died, as she had lived, fully aware of what she was experiencing and where she hoped to go. She was an Anglican nun for 25 years and for much of that time, the principal of the Teachers' Training College in Grahamstown, South Africa.Ěý She was the author of many psychological book. Her last book was Frontiers of Revelation, an account of research into psychic and mystical phenomena.Her friend Helen Greaves was by her side as she finally lapsed into unconsciousness. Then, one evening some three weeks after Frances's death, Helen sensed her presence. This extraordinary encounter marked the beginning of contact between them from both sides of the veil—between life as we know it and life on "the other side."Testimony of Light is based on these communications that Helen received telepathically from Frances. The writings have been authenticated by those who knew them both and who were familiar with their individual writing styles. Moving and inspiring, this classic book is a testament to the enduring power of their friendship, and offers an important message to us all—that the death of the body is but a gentle passing to a much freer and fuller life.]]> 193 Helen Greaves 1101133112 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 currently-reading 4.54 1969 Testimony of Light: An Extraordinary Message of Life After Death
author: Helen Greaves
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.54
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre]]> 52454426
But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing—and too earth-shattering in its implications—to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it.

Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.

Yet it is also far more than that.

Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it—and like none you’ve ever read before.]]>
286 Max Brooks 1984826786 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.87 2020 Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre
author: Max Brooks
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>
<![CDATA[The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)]]> 38447
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.]]>
311 Margaret Atwood 038549081X Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5
These are dark times�..

â€I just don’t like her.â€� â€I heard she has a lot of emails.â€� â€But I really love Bernie! If I can’t have Bernie, I’m not voting for HERâ€� I’m going to vote my conscience!â€�

Elections matter. This draconian decision overturning Roe endangers every woman of child baring age, and it’s just the beginning. This decision is not about life, it’s about controlling women. As racist as this country is, it’s much more misogynistic. Don’t believe me? Barack Obama.

By not voting for Hillary Clinton, whatever your reasoning, you (each of you) put lives of these women in danger. You are responsible for their deaths. It’s that straight forward.

But, I understand you were misled.

This does not have to stand! You have all the power and can redeem yourselves! You HAVE to vote Democratic up and down the ballot in the midterms this fall, and in every election going forward. Just two more Democratic senators is all that is needed to kill the filibuster and codify Roe into federal law.

The first thing that must be done in 2023, after the Democrats control the house and the senate (because, this time you listened to me) � is to expand the court. Also, impeach those idiots that were put in by a criminal president.

Pregnancy is dangerous. Women die from pregnancy. This is a healthcare issue.

Vote. Vote blue. Every time.

You know better, now do better.


05/03/22

Well, well, well�.

A heartfelt â€fuck youâ€� to everyone who said I was over reacting in November 2016.

Expand the court!

Kill the filibuster!

VOTE BLUE!



09/01/21

RE: Texas (AKA Gilead)

Told you so…so many times. I could go on, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Rich, white, women will ALWAYS be able to get abortions BTW. It’s about women’s bodily sovereignty and about the men who are salivating at the thought of controlling us. Now let’s air lift EVERYTHING with a vagina out of Texas.

I don’t see a difference between Republicans and the Taliban; Do you?

#KillTheFilibuster #ExpandTheCourt


02/13/21
Today 43 Republicans, traitors to their country, worried about losing their jobs decided against growing a pair. Portman in Ohio who isn't running for re-election is the portrait of cowardice. He could have voted guilty, but he didn't. Moscow Mitch voted 'not guilty' then immediately turned around to make a speech about how guilty Donald is for inciting the insurrection! You can't have it both ways, Mitch! Why did he vote 'not guilty?'
Because of process... one can't hold a trial for a president for his crimes after he's out of office for crimes he committed while in office (yet, a president can't be held responsible for his crimes whilst in office)... But, between January 6th and the 20th, Mitch shut down the senate and refused to call the senate back to hold the trail, when according to him, would have been the appropriate time to hold the trial. All of which is entirely bullshit. Donald was impeached while he was still in office so it was entirely appropriate (required, actually) to put him on trial after he left office. My head hurts.

Someone please stuff lettuce in Mitch's mouth and turn him on his shell.

01/06/21

Sadly, it’s time for an update.

In this book, Gilead took control of the United States government via a violent coup in which they kill all the members of congress at the capitol. Then martial law was enacted.

Carry on.
5/22/19

Looking back on my original review, it reads as quaint compared to the draconian state laws recently being passed, my state of Ohio being one of them. Make no mistake, this not about â€lifeâ€� it’s about controlling women. If you can’t decide what happens to your own body you do not have freedom. This is about bodily autonomy.

Women have the RIGHT to legal and safe abortions with no qualifications. The fact that the narrative has gone to â€in cases of rape and incestâ€� is troubling. Rape...incest...life of the mother....horrible birth defects....you’re young, single and not ready....you have five kids and can’t afford more, it doesn’t matter!

This is a medical procedure and pregnancy is a risky condition, it can cause death. Every woman has the right to decide whether or not they want to take that risk. Period.

Men don’t have anything that compares to this. No law is forcing them have vasectomies, or even denying them their bonner pills.

7/7/17 I'm just going to leave this here.... fuck Paul Ryan.... but not literally, ew.



03/31/17. So, this Russia thing.... Am I right?

2/5/17.....just another giant step towards making this book a , like they always dreamed of.

Original review written in 2o12:

WARNING: This review is being written after I worked a 13 hour day, with another one on the horizon tomorrow, and a glass of wine and while watching the Rachel Maddow show. Current events have put this book on the forefront of my mind, and damn it I got to get this out.

I have never written a review on The Handmaid's Tale because I love the book, and it is so hard to write about a book you love.

Ehh, what the hell.

OfFred was a normal everyday woman with a career, a name, a life like all women have come to expect and take for granted in this age. When the Religious Right came into power, they began to put into practice their insane beliefs which strip women of their identity, their rights, their body, their very name. Women are to be called Of(whatever asshat they belong to), instead of, say Beatrix. Reproduction is an issue because all the toxins in the environment have rendered many women infertile. But if you are fertile, woe to you, you get to be a baby factory against your will, get promised to some jerk you don’t love or even like because someone deemed him important enough to breed. Oh, come on!

This book was written in 1986, FYI. I thought it was scary and sort of possible when I first read it, but farfetched. This could NEVER happen in the United States of America. Never would it be allowed to happen here, we are too educated.


ł§´Ç…â¶Ä¦â¶Ä�


I turn on the news (in twothousandandfrikntwelve) and certain religious factions on the right are trying to defund Planned Parenthood, because they perform abortions which is only 3% of what they do (with NO federal $ going towards them). Mostly PP provides healthcare to women who wouldn't get it otherwise……�..icky poor women.

Now it’s birth control? Seriously? Birth control??????? Did I wake up in 1950? Am I stuck in a Atwood novel? 98% of Catholic women (technically I’m one of them) use/used birth control. Even they are asking WTF?

I’m not sure what these people are trying to do. There are more women than men and we vote……unless that’s the next right on the chopping block.

------------------------------------------------------------

There have several updates to this review that I have removed to make room for the next. what follows is the most recent one.

------------------------------------------------------------
It’s been nearly a week since the unimaginable happened and I had to let the shock wear off before I could put a coherent, non-rage filled update on this review. Not that I don’t have rage, I have plenty to spare, but I think it’s now at a level that is manageable enough for me not to just type out a string of obscenities. That being said�

Update 11/14/16: An unqualified, racist, xenophobic, sexist, pathological liar, psychopathic reality star was elected to be the 45th president of the United States and the leader of the free world.

FUCK!

The United States has officially shat the bed. Few foresaw it, but in hindsight, it was coming down the road for a very long time. The voted for Hillary Clinton on whole (popular vote) by over 2,000,000 votes and counting (millions are still out in California, for example), yet Donald Trump is our president elect (gag) due to an antiquated electoral college system (which I could explain, but I’m not because Google can do that better than I can.) Now, I’m all for ditching the electoral college, unless the electors decide to do what it was intended to do under this circumstance; to save us from ourselves. See, our founding fathers knew that we would fall for some con artist, demagogue at some point in the future, so they wisely created the electoral college, a group of actual human beings trusted upon to stop such a calamity. I implore the folks of current electoral college recognize this election as a collective loss of sanity of less than a quarter of the population of this nation, and on December 19th put their votes towards the popular vote winner, Hillary Clinton. I realize that this is unlikely, but one can dream.

How did this happen? There are many factors involved. Lots of opportunity for pointing fingers and fighting amongst ourselves, which I will admit to being a party toâ€�..guilty. But, in my opinion, what it boils down to is these four things: Division, misinformation, apathy and fear of the â€otherâ€�.

Division: We are all in our own comfortable bubbles, digesting the information we are most comfortable with. For example, I never believed there was this much hate it this country because I didn't want to look at it; I knew it was there of course, but not at the level that it appears to be. Everyone wants to live where they feel they belong. Amongst those that are like minded and reaffirm your very rightness. Liberals don’t want to live in Indiana (or Ohio�.sigh) any more than a conservative want’s to live in Washington state. We even do this in our social media as well (guilty again). This is what messed us up with the electoral college.

Misinformation: I am not going to tell you who’s right or wrong here, I’ll let speak for itself.

Apathy: Half…HALF� the country didn’t vote. You guys suck.

Fear of the other: This country harbors more racism than I can comprehend. The white people in this country seemed a little angry about the black man in the white house and the white men were staunchly determined not to have a woman (white or not) follow him. I don’t mean all white men, just too many of them (chill.) “The advantage for Trump among men is larger than the 7-point advantage Romney had in 2012 and much different than in 2008, when men preferred Obama over McCain by a single point.�-. But then there are the white women, 53% went for Trump�..oh my sisters, I have no words.

Which brings me to the reason why this update is relevant to this review and to this book (for those who tell me that my opinion is unwarranted....again.) Is the United States a more racist country, or a more sexist country? America has spoken, at least the ones who cared to speak, and the answer is “a goodly amount of both�, but in this election sexism won and women lost.]]>
4.15 1985 The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2017/09/13
date added: 2022/06/24
shelves: lit, favorites, 2014, read-count-2, re-read, 2017
review:
06/24/22

These are dark times�..

â€I just don’t like her.â€� â€I heard she has a lot of emails.â€� â€But I really love Bernie! If I can’t have Bernie, I’m not voting for HERâ€� I’m going to vote my conscience!â€�

Elections matter. This draconian decision overturning Roe endangers every woman of child baring age, and it’s just the beginning. This decision is not about life, it’s about controlling women. As racist as this country is, it’s much more misogynistic. Don’t believe me? Barack Obama.

By not voting for Hillary Clinton, whatever your reasoning, you (each of you) put lives of these women in danger. You are responsible for their deaths. It’s that straight forward.

But, I understand you were misled.

This does not have to stand! You have all the power and can redeem yourselves! You HAVE to vote Democratic up and down the ballot in the midterms this fall, and in every election going forward. Just two more Democratic senators is all that is needed to kill the filibuster and codify Roe into federal law.

The first thing that must be done in 2023, after the Democrats control the house and the senate (because, this time you listened to me) � is to expand the court. Also, impeach those idiots that were put in by a criminal president.

Pregnancy is dangerous. Women die from pregnancy. This is a healthcare issue.

Vote. Vote blue. Every time.

You know better, now do better.


05/03/22

Well, well, well�.

A heartfelt â€fuck youâ€� to everyone who said I was over reacting in November 2016.

Expand the court!

Kill the filibuster!

VOTE BLUE!



09/01/21

RE: Texas (AKA Gilead)

Told you so…so many times. I could go on, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Rich, white, women will ALWAYS be able to get abortions BTW. It’s about women’s bodily sovereignty and about the men who are salivating at the thought of controlling us. Now let’s air lift EVERYTHING with a vagina out of Texas.

I don’t see a difference between Republicans and the Taliban; Do you?

#KillTheFilibuster #ExpandTheCourt


02/13/21
Today 43 Republicans, traitors to their country, worried about losing their jobs decided against growing a pair. Portman in Ohio who isn't running for re-election is the portrait of cowardice. He could have voted guilty, but he didn't. Moscow Mitch voted 'not guilty' then immediately turned around to make a speech about how guilty Donald is for inciting the insurrection! You can't have it both ways, Mitch! Why did he vote 'not guilty?'
Because of process... one can't hold a trial for a president for his crimes after he's out of office for crimes he committed while in office (yet, a president can't be held responsible for his crimes whilst in office)... But, between January 6th and the 20th, Mitch shut down the senate and refused to call the senate back to hold the trail, when according to him, would have been the appropriate time to hold the trial. All of which is entirely bullshit. Donald was impeached while he was still in office so it was entirely appropriate (required, actually) to put him on trial after he left office. My head hurts.

Someone please stuff lettuce in Mitch's mouth and turn him on his shell.

01/06/21

Sadly, it’s time for an update.

In this book, Gilead took control of the United States government via a violent coup in which they kill all the members of congress at the capitol. Then martial law was enacted.

Carry on.
5/22/19

Looking back on my original review, it reads as quaint compared to the draconian state laws recently being passed, my state of Ohio being one of them. Make no mistake, this not about â€lifeâ€� it’s about controlling women. If you can’t decide what happens to your own body you do not have freedom. This is about bodily autonomy.

Women have the RIGHT to legal and safe abortions with no qualifications. The fact that the narrative has gone to â€in cases of rape and incestâ€� is troubling. Rape...incest...life of the mother....horrible birth defects....you’re young, single and not ready....you have five kids and can’t afford more, it doesn’t matter!

This is a medical procedure and pregnancy is a risky condition, it can cause death. Every woman has the right to decide whether or not they want to take that risk. Period.

Men don’t have anything that compares to this. No law is forcing them have vasectomies, or even denying them their bonner pills.

7/7/17 I'm just going to leave this here.... fuck Paul Ryan.... but not literally, ew.



03/31/17. So, this Russia thing.... Am I right?

2/5/17.....just another giant step towards making this book a , like they always dreamed of.

Original review written in 2o12:

WARNING: This review is being written after I worked a 13 hour day, with another one on the horizon tomorrow, and a glass of wine and while watching the Rachel Maddow show. Current events have put this book on the forefront of my mind, and damn it I got to get this out.

I have never written a review on The Handmaid's Tale because I love the book, and it is so hard to write about a book you love.

Ehh, what the hell.

OfFred was a normal everyday woman with a career, a name, a life like all women have come to expect and take for granted in this age. When the Religious Right came into power, they began to put into practice their insane beliefs which strip women of their identity, their rights, their body, their very name. Women are to be called Of(whatever asshat they belong to), instead of, say Beatrix. Reproduction is an issue because all the toxins in the environment have rendered many women infertile. But if you are fertile, woe to you, you get to be a baby factory against your will, get promised to some jerk you don’t love or even like because someone deemed him important enough to breed. Oh, come on!

This book was written in 1986, FYI. I thought it was scary and sort of possible when I first read it, but farfetched. This could NEVER happen in the United States of America. Never would it be allowed to happen here, we are too educated.


ł§´Ç…â¶Ä¦â¶Ä�


I turn on the news (in twothousandandfrikntwelve) and certain religious factions on the right are trying to defund Planned Parenthood, because they perform abortions which is only 3% of what they do (with NO federal $ going towards them). Mostly PP provides healthcare to women who wouldn't get it otherwise……�..icky poor women.

Now it’s birth control? Seriously? Birth control??????? Did I wake up in 1950? Am I stuck in a Atwood novel? 98% of Catholic women (technically I’m one of them) use/used birth control. Even they are asking WTF?

I’m not sure what these people are trying to do. There are more women than men and we vote……unless that’s the next right on the chopping block.

------------------------------------------------------------

There have several updates to this review that I have removed to make room for the next. what follows is the most recent one.

------------------------------------------------------------
It’s been nearly a week since the unimaginable happened and I had to let the shock wear off before I could put a coherent, non-rage filled update on this review. Not that I don’t have rage, I have plenty to spare, but I think it’s now at a level that is manageable enough for me not to just type out a string of obscenities. That being said�

Update 11/14/16: An unqualified, racist, xenophobic, sexist, pathological liar, psychopathic reality star was elected to be the 45th president of the United States and the leader of the free world.

FUCK!

The United States has officially shat the bed. Few foresaw it, but in hindsight, it was coming down the road for a very long time. The voted for Hillary Clinton on whole (popular vote) by over 2,000,000 votes and counting (millions are still out in California, for example), yet Donald Trump is our president elect (gag) due to an antiquated electoral college system (which I could explain, but I’m not because Google can do that better than I can.) Now, I’m all for ditching the electoral college, unless the electors decide to do what it was intended to do under this circumstance; to save us from ourselves. See, our founding fathers knew that we would fall for some con artist, demagogue at some point in the future, so they wisely created the electoral college, a group of actual human beings trusted upon to stop such a calamity. I implore the folks of current electoral college recognize this election as a collective loss of sanity of less than a quarter of the population of this nation, and on December 19th put their votes towards the popular vote winner, Hillary Clinton. I realize that this is unlikely, but one can dream.

How did this happen? There are many factors involved. Lots of opportunity for pointing fingers and fighting amongst ourselves, which I will admit to being a party toâ€�..guilty. But, in my opinion, what it boils down to is these four things: Division, misinformation, apathy and fear of the â€otherâ€�.

Division: We are all in our own comfortable bubbles, digesting the information we are most comfortable with. For example, I never believed there was this much hate it this country because I didn't want to look at it; I knew it was there of course, but not at the level that it appears to be. Everyone wants to live where they feel they belong. Amongst those that are like minded and reaffirm your very rightness. Liberals don’t want to live in Indiana (or Ohio�.sigh) any more than a conservative want’s to live in Washington state. We even do this in our social media as well (guilty again). This is what messed us up with the electoral college.

Misinformation: I am not going to tell you who’s right or wrong here, I’ll let speak for itself.

Apathy: Half…HALF� the country didn’t vote. You guys suck.

Fear of the other: This country harbors more racism than I can comprehend. The white people in this country seemed a little angry about the black man in the white house and the white men were staunchly determined not to have a woman (white or not) follow him. I don’t mean all white men, just too many of them (chill.) “The advantage for Trump among men is larger than the 7-point advantage Romney had in 2012 and much different than in 2008, when men preferred Obama over McCain by a single point.�-. But then there are the white women, 53% went for Trump�..oh my sisters, I have no words.

Which brings me to the reason why this update is relevant to this review and to this book (for those who tell me that my opinion is unwarranted....again.) Is the United States a more racist country, or a more sexist country? America has spoken, at least the ones who cared to speak, and the answer is “a goodly amount of both�, but in this election sexism won and women lost.
]]>
The Eyes of the Dragon 655707
The passage through the castle is dim, sensed by few and walked by only one. Flagg knows the way well. In four hundred years, he has walked it many times, in many guises, but now the passage serves its true purpose. Through the spyhole it conceals, the court magician observes King Roland--old, weak, yet still a king. Roland's time is nearly over, though, and young Prince Peter, tall and handsome, the measure of a king in all ways, stands to inherit the realm.

Yet a tiny mouse is enough to bring him down, a mouse that chances upon a grain of Dragon Sand behind Peter's shelves and dies crying tears of fire and belching gray smoke. A mouse that dies as King Roland does. Flagg saw it all and smiled, for now Prince Thomas, a young boy easily swayed to Flagg's own purposes, would rule the kingdom. But Thomas has a secret that has turned his days into nightmares and his nights into prayed-for oblivion. The last bastion of hope lies at the top of the Needle, the royal prison where Peter plans a daring escape...]]>
326 Stephen King 067081458X Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4 2014, fantasy 3.91 1984 The Eyes of the Dragon
author: Stephen King
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at: 2014/06/12
date added: 2022/03/18
shelves: 2014, fantasy
review:

]]>
The War of Art 1319 168 Steven Pressfield 0446691437 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 non-fiction, 2016 3.95 2002 The War of Art
author: Steven Pressfield
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2016/10/10
date added: 2021/04/08
shelves: non-fiction, 2016
review:

]]>
The Sun Also Rises 3876 The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta) is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.]]> 189 Ernest Hemingway Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 1
My glass was empty. The waiter walked up to my table. “More absinthe miss?� He asked. “No, I better not. *burp*� I put my hand over my glass “I read somewhere that it can cause hallucinations and nightmares. Just some ice water please.� I said. He put an empty glass in front of me, tipped his picture of water over my glass until it was full, at that time he stopped pouring.

A man I did not know walked up to my table and said to the waiter “No one in Key West is to stop drinking alcohol while they are conscious, you know the rules Manuel! Don’t make me repeat myself; did you hear me? Don’t make me repeat myself, it’s annoying.� Manuel rolled his eyes.

“I’ll drink to that.� I said and held up my glass of ice water to the stranger, then put it to my lips and drank. It was cold. I set it back down on the table. “I just finished a book where everyone repeated themselves……drove me to drink!�

“Sorry Mr. Hemingway� said Manuel “she said she wanted ice water, so that’s what I gave her�. A cat ran by, it was fast. “Meow� it said. It was orange. “But you know the rules Manuel, you know the rules.� Repeated Mr. Hemingway “I know the rules Mr. Hemingway, how could I not? You tend to repeat yourself constantly, it must be all the absinthe�..� muttered Manuel.

“What did you say Manuel?� Asked Mr. Hemingway “Nothing� said Manuel. “Bring the lady some Champagne right away!� said Mr. Hemingway. Manuel walked away towards the kitchen.

“Who are you?� I asked the man I did not know. “Hemingway, you wouldn't happen to be related to the writer would you? His book The Sun Also Rises was the book I was just referring to; I don’t remember ever being quite so bored. On the bright side, I think it did wonders for my blood pressure.� I said.

Dressed in worn khaki shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with one too many colors, he stood there at my table and squinted at me, sweat rolling down the sides of his red face and into his gray beard. It was hot. He set his drink down on the table, hard, and pulled out a chair and sat down. “May I sit?� he asked as he put his dirty bare feet up on the table and tipped the chair back. “Sure, you’re already in the chair. Besides I don’t think it will be long before you fall on your ass.� I said, I drank some water, it was cold. “Language! I’m Ernest Hemingway the guy who wrote that boring book� he put his feet on the ground and the chair dropped down with a bang. He put his right hand out to shake mine. I stared at it for a while then took it.

“Stephanie. Hey, I don’t want to come across as insensitive but aren't you dead?� I asked “Really? I don’t feel dead�.at least I don’t think I am.� Said the not dead Ernest “Damn! Absinthe lives up to it's reputation." I said and smacked the left side of my head with my left hand. My head was hard.

“Manuel!! Where’s that champagne?" I shouted in a panic. “So� Ernest picked up his drink and drank the whole thing in one gulp. “I am one of the greatest American writers, if not the greatest, everybody says so. And you�..� he paused and pointed his finger at me using the same hand that still held the glass, the melting ice clinked “you didn't like the Sun Also Rises?� he asked and set his glass down.

“I know, I heard the same thing, that you were one of the greatest American writers, so imagine my surprise when I didn't love it like the rest of the human race. In fact, I really didn't like it AT ALL! Please don’t hurt me.�

Manuel walked back to the table caring the bottle of Champagne and two glasses. He sat the glasses in front of us and went about the task of opening the bottle. “Thank god your back Manuel, I think I’m hallucinating. I hope champagne helps things normalize.� I said, the bottle said “pop.� “It won’t help because you are not hallucinating.� He said and poured the Champagne, he turned and walked off. I picked up the glass and drank. It was bubbly and cold.

“What else didn't you like about my book?� Asked Ernest “I’m really not comfortable telling you to your face, but, alright� I said “I found all the characters to be aimless, unlikable, drunkards that didn't have any idea what to with their lives but travel about the world constantly drunk�.which doesn't sound all that bad on the surface, but it was not interesting.� I said “They were excruciatingly boring that I couldn't care enough about them to remember who was who.� I said “It felt like it would never end, but when it did end the only thing that I liked about it was the fact that it was finally over. No big payoff to make the boring book worth my time.� I sighed and finished off my Champagne, I poured myself and Ernest another glass.

“Wow. Sorry you hated it. I suppose you can’t please everyone.� He said. “I’ll buy you dinner to repay you for putting you through that.�

“That’s not necessary, but I could eat. I must bathe first.� I said. “Well sure, it is hot after all.� He said “Yes, I must bathe you understand? One cannot dine without bathing first, as you know, so you will have to wait until I bathe.�

“I must bathe. I must bathe. I. must. Bathe.� I said.

“Now you’re just making fun of me.� he said.

“Yup……I will make you suffer the way you made me suffer.� I smiled.

“Great. I’m looking forward to it.� Said not dead Ernest. We swayed to our feet, Ernest took my arm, we steadied ourselves and stumbled off into the sunset.

Also reviewed on ]]>
3.81 1926 The Sun Also Rises
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1926
rating: 1
read at: 2013/02/07
date added: 2021/02/17
shelves: 2013, classics, lots-of-drinking, yawn
review:
I was sitting on the patio of a bar in Key West Florida. It was August, it was hot. The bar was on the beach where there was lots of sand and water. In the water I saw dolphins and waves. The dolphins jumped and the waves waved.

My glass was empty. The waiter walked up to my table. “More absinthe miss?� He asked. “No, I better not. *burp*� I put my hand over my glass “I read somewhere that it can cause hallucinations and nightmares. Just some ice water please.� I said. He put an empty glass in front of me, tipped his picture of water over my glass until it was full, at that time he stopped pouring.

A man I did not know walked up to my table and said to the waiter “No one in Key West is to stop drinking alcohol while they are conscious, you know the rules Manuel! Don’t make me repeat myself; did you hear me? Don’t make me repeat myself, it’s annoying.� Manuel rolled his eyes.

“I’ll drink to that.� I said and held up my glass of ice water to the stranger, then put it to my lips and drank. It was cold. I set it back down on the table. “I just finished a book where everyone repeated themselves……drove me to drink!�

“Sorry Mr. Hemingway� said Manuel “she said she wanted ice water, so that’s what I gave her�. A cat ran by, it was fast. “Meow� it said. It was orange. “But you know the rules Manuel, you know the rules.� Repeated Mr. Hemingway “I know the rules Mr. Hemingway, how could I not? You tend to repeat yourself constantly, it must be all the absinthe�..� muttered Manuel.

“What did you say Manuel?� Asked Mr. Hemingway “Nothing� said Manuel. “Bring the lady some Champagne right away!� said Mr. Hemingway. Manuel walked away towards the kitchen.

“Who are you?� I asked the man I did not know. “Hemingway, you wouldn't happen to be related to the writer would you? His book The Sun Also Rises was the book I was just referring to; I don’t remember ever being quite so bored. On the bright side, I think it did wonders for my blood pressure.� I said.

Dressed in worn khaki shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with one too many colors, he stood there at my table and squinted at me, sweat rolling down the sides of his red face and into his gray beard. It was hot. He set his drink down on the table, hard, and pulled out a chair and sat down. “May I sit?� he asked as he put his dirty bare feet up on the table and tipped the chair back. “Sure, you’re already in the chair. Besides I don’t think it will be long before you fall on your ass.� I said, I drank some water, it was cold. “Language! I’m Ernest Hemingway the guy who wrote that boring book� he put his feet on the ground and the chair dropped down with a bang. He put his right hand out to shake mine. I stared at it for a while then took it.

“Stephanie. Hey, I don’t want to come across as insensitive but aren't you dead?� I asked “Really? I don’t feel dead�.at least I don’t think I am.� Said the not dead Ernest “Damn! Absinthe lives up to it's reputation." I said and smacked the left side of my head with my left hand. My head was hard.

“Manuel!! Where’s that champagne?" I shouted in a panic. “So� Ernest picked up his drink and drank the whole thing in one gulp. “I am one of the greatest American writers, if not the greatest, everybody says so. And you�..� he paused and pointed his finger at me using the same hand that still held the glass, the melting ice clinked “you didn't like the Sun Also Rises?� he asked and set his glass down.

“I know, I heard the same thing, that you were one of the greatest American writers, so imagine my surprise when I didn't love it like the rest of the human race. In fact, I really didn't like it AT ALL! Please don’t hurt me.�

Manuel walked back to the table caring the bottle of Champagne and two glasses. He sat the glasses in front of us and went about the task of opening the bottle. “Thank god your back Manuel, I think I’m hallucinating. I hope champagne helps things normalize.� I said, the bottle said “pop.� “It won’t help because you are not hallucinating.� He said and poured the Champagne, he turned and walked off. I picked up the glass and drank. It was bubbly and cold.

“What else didn't you like about my book?� Asked Ernest “I’m really not comfortable telling you to your face, but, alright� I said “I found all the characters to be aimless, unlikable, drunkards that didn't have any idea what to with their lives but travel about the world constantly drunk�.which doesn't sound all that bad on the surface, but it was not interesting.� I said “They were excruciatingly boring that I couldn't care enough about them to remember who was who.� I said “It felt like it would never end, but when it did end the only thing that I liked about it was the fact that it was finally over. No big payoff to make the boring book worth my time.� I sighed and finished off my Champagne, I poured myself and Ernest another glass.

“Wow. Sorry you hated it. I suppose you can’t please everyone.� He said. “I’ll buy you dinner to repay you for putting you through that.�

“That’s not necessary, but I could eat. I must bathe first.� I said. “Well sure, it is hot after all.� He said “Yes, I must bathe you understand? One cannot dine without bathing first, as you know, so you will have to wait until I bathe.�

“I must bathe. I must bathe. I. must. Bathe.� I said.

“Now you’re just making fun of me.� he said.

“Yup……I will make you suffer the way you made me suffer.� I smiled.

“Great. I’m looking forward to it.� Said not dead Ernest. We swayed to our feet, Ernest took my arm, we steadied ourselves and stumbled off into the sunset.

Also reviewed on
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<![CDATA[Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad (Austin Kleon)]]> 40591677
In his previous books Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work! , both New York Times bestsellers, Austin Kleon gave readers the keys to unlock their creativity and showed them how to become known. Now he offers his most inspiring work yet, with ten simple rules for how to stay creative, focused, and true to yourself—for life.

The creative life is not a linear journey to a finish line, it’s a loop—so find a daily routine, because today is the only day that matters. Disconnect from the world to connect with yourself—sometimes you just have to switch into airplane mode. Keep Going celebrates getting outdoors and taking a walk (as director Ingmar Bergman told his daughter, ”The demons hate fresh air�). Pay attention, and especially pay attention to what you pay attention to. Worry less about getting things done, and more about the worth of what you’re doing. Instead of focusing on making your mark, work to leave things better than you found them.

Keep Going and its timeless, practical, and ethical principles are for anyone trying to sustain a meaningful and productive life.
Ěý]]>
224 Austin Kleon 1523506644 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.26 2019 Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad (Austin Kleon)
author: Austin Kleon
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Future Is Yours 53435898 Two best friends create a computer that can predict the future. But what they can’t predict is how it will tear their friendship—and society—apart.

If you had the chance to look one year into the future, would you?

For Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry, the answer is unequivocally yes. And they’re betting everything that you’ll say yes, too. Welcome to The Future: a computer that connects to the internet one year from now, so you can see who you’ll be dating, where you’ll be working, even whether or not you’ll be alive in the year to come. By forming a startup to deliver this revolutionary technology to the world, Ben and Adhi have made their wildest, most impossible dream a reality. Once Silicon Valley outsiders, they’re now its hottest commodity.

The device can predict everything perfectly—from stock market spikes and sports scores to political scandals and corporate takeovers—allowing them to chase down success and fame while staying one step ahead of the competition. But the future their device foretells is not the bright one they imagined.

Ambition. Greed. Jealousy. And, perhaps, an apocalypse. The question is . . . can they stop it?

Told through emails, texts, transcripts, and blog posts, this bleeding-edge tech thriller chronicles the costs of innovation and asks how far you’d go to protect the ones you love—even from themselves.]]>
352 Dan Frey 0593158210 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.76 2021 The Future Is Yours
author: Dan Frey
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/05
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Queen's Gambit 55849740 An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.

When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings, albeit fleetingly: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But she can never quite overcome her urge to self-destruct. For Beth, there's more at stake than merely winning and losing.]]>
258 Walter Tevis 1474600859 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.29 1983 The Queen's Gambit
author: Walter Tevis
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/05
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Truths We Hold: An American Journey]]> 40861864 From one of America's most inspiring political leaders, a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice; her parents--an esteemed economist from Jamaica and an admired cancer researcher from India--met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley. Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and when she became a prosecutor out of law school, a deputy district attorney, she quickly established herself as one of the most innovative change agents in American law enforcement. She progressed rapidly to become the elected District Attorney for San Francisco, and then the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California as a whole. Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, she took on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis, winning a historic settlement for California's working families. Her hallmarks were applying a holistic, data-driven approach to many of California's thorniest issues, always eschewing stale "tough on crime" rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither "tough" nor "soft" but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make us better as a community, and supporting those truths with all our might. That has been the pole star that guided Harris to a transformational career as the top law enforcement official in California, and it is guiding her now as a transformational United States Senator, grappling with an array of complex issues that affect her state, our country, and the world, from health care and the new economy to immigration, national security, the opioid crisis, and accelerating inequality.

By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in The Truths We Hold a master class in problem-solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times. Through the arc of her own life, on into the great work of our day, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values. In a book rich in many home truths, not least is that a relatively small number of people work very hard to convince a great many of us that we have less in common than we actually do, but it falls to us to look past them and get on with the good work of living our common truth. When we do, our shared effort will continue to sustain us and this great nation, now and in the years to come.]]>
336 Kamala Harris Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.05 2019 The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
author: Kamala Harris
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself]]> 42587210 An intimate look at the love that built the Biden family and the delicate balancing act of the woman at its center

"How did you get this number?" Those were the first words Jill Biden spoke to U.S. senator Joe Biden when he called her out of the blue to ask her on a date.

Growing up, Jill had wanted two things: a marriage like her parents'--strong, loving, and full of laughter--and a career. An early heartbreak had left her uncertain about love, until she met Joe. But as they grew closer, Jill faced difficult questions: How would politics shape her family and professional life? And was she ready to become a mother to Joe's two young sons?

She soon found herself falling in love with her three "boys," learning to balance life as a mother, wife, educator, and political spouse. Through the challenges of public scrutiny, complicated family dynamics, and personal losses, she grew alongside her family, and she extended the family circle at every turn: with her students, military families, friends and staff at the White House, and more.

This is the story of how Jill built a family--and a life--of her own. From the pranks she played to keep everyone laughing to the traditions she formed that would carry them through tragedy, hers is the spirited journey of a woman embracing many roles.

Where the Light Enters is a candid, heartwarming glimpse into the creation of a beloved American family, and the life of a woman at its center.]]>
210 Jill Biden 1250182328 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.23 2019 Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself
author: Jill Biden
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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They're Made Out of Meat 11753829 � "Meat. They're made out of meat."
� "Meat?"
� "There's no doubt about it. We picked several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all the way through. They're completely meat..."


They're Made Out of Meat is a short story from Terry Bisson regarding a pair of extraterrestrials baffled by the idea of thinking, talking meat that appears to live in this far-away corner of the universe. Utterly dumbfounded, they ponder over the finding and debate whether some situations are best left alone.]]>
4 Terry Bisson Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.06 1991 They're Made Out of Meat
author: Terry Bisson
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Private Lives of Trees 7781430 98 Alejandro Zambra 1934824240 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.83 2007 The Private Lives of Trees
author: Alejandro Zambra
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion, #1)]]> 95617 520 Francine Rivers Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.57 1993 A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion, #1)
author: Francine Rivers
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing]]> 22318578 Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo's clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list).

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house "spark joy" (and which don't), this international best seller featuring Tokyo's newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home - and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

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213 Marie KondĹŤ 1607747308 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 3 2016, why
Forgive me.

Terrible. Ridiculous. Repetitive.

If you took the words, tidy, tided, and tidying, out of this book you would be left with a pamphlet. I have this thing called misophonia and I made the crucial error of listening to this book on audio. Repetitive stuff can really get under my skin and there were a few instances when listening to this book that I had to stop myself from throwing my phone out of my moving vehicle. “Say tidy one more time! Do it!� Crunch.

This isn’t the type of book I would normally pick up and I think I did because of something a friend mentioned. I’ve been thinking of go through all my stuff and simplifying. So much crap accumulates around a house over the years and it starts to make one feel a little anxious. I thought that maybe this book might have some helpful tips to get it done.

Nope.

This is the book broken down once all the â€tidyâ€� words have been removed.

1. The whole damn house must be done in one go. (Hahahaha)
2. You have to touch each item you own and ask yourself if it brings you joy. (Riiiight)
3. If the item does not bring you joy, thank the item for it’s service (I’m not kidding) and discard it.
4. Don’t ball up your socks or tie your hose together (who does that?) because it hurts their feelings (I’m still not kidding), your supposed to put them together and roll them up like sushi and stand them in shoe boxes.
5. Fold all your clothing, no hangers of any kind EVER! Because it’s very important to touch everything you own as often as possible�.but I have to touch my clothes to hang them, right?
6. Store things vertically. This means, don’t lay your shirts down flat in the drawer, but file them (I guess) like you would files in a file drawer�.?.....
7. Women, always choose pretty clothing to wear even while lounging around the house or going bed. (Um, no)

Seriously, how much time does this woman have? There was more ridiculousness I’m sure, but I think I blocked it out, or I missed things whilst yelling â€no no no noâ€� to block out the â€tidiesâ€�. As a experiment, I started going through my stuff. I didn’t ask the stuff any questions. I worked diligently, though I took breaks here and there, and after two days of sorting, purging, loading up the car and running the stuff to be donated, I got troughâ€�.drum roll pleaseâ€�.. One. Closet.

Don’t bother with this book unless you love the words, tidy, tidied, and tidying and you need a good laugh.]]>
3.88 2010 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
author: Marie KondĹŤ
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2016/03/07
date added: 2021/01/29
shelves: 2016, why
review:
Edit: Apparently thntn is very upset and thinks it’s racist of this white woman not to like this book (I like Kondo as a person just fine) because the author isn’t white. Well, that’s bullshit, obviously. If thntn doesn’t like a book by an author that is of a different race than her’s... I guess that makes thntn a racist herself. It appears that I have to make a correction. I’m told that Ms. Kondo never said to get rid of hangers. I apologize. It must have been the word â€tidyâ€� echoing in my brain on a loud enough level that I missed it.

Forgive me.

Terrible. Ridiculous. Repetitive.

If you took the words, tidy, tided, and tidying, out of this book you would be left with a pamphlet. I have this thing called misophonia and I made the crucial error of listening to this book on audio. Repetitive stuff can really get under my skin and there were a few instances when listening to this book that I had to stop myself from throwing my phone out of my moving vehicle. “Say tidy one more time! Do it!� Crunch.

This isn’t the type of book I would normally pick up and I think I did because of something a friend mentioned. I’ve been thinking of go through all my stuff and simplifying. So much crap accumulates around a house over the years and it starts to make one feel a little anxious. I thought that maybe this book might have some helpful tips to get it done.

Nope.

This is the book broken down once all the â€tidyâ€� words have been removed.

1. The whole damn house must be done in one go. (Hahahaha)
2. You have to touch each item you own and ask yourself if it brings you joy. (Riiiight)
3. If the item does not bring you joy, thank the item for it’s service (I’m not kidding) and discard it.
4. Don’t ball up your socks or tie your hose together (who does that?) because it hurts their feelings (I’m still not kidding), your supposed to put them together and roll them up like sushi and stand them in shoe boxes.
5. Fold all your clothing, no hangers of any kind EVER! Because it’s very important to touch everything you own as often as possible�.but I have to touch my clothes to hang them, right?
6. Store things vertically. This means, don’t lay your shirts down flat in the drawer, but file them (I guess) like you would files in a file drawer�.?.....
7. Women, always choose pretty clothing to wear even while lounging around the house or going bed. (Um, no)

Seriously, how much time does this woman have? There was more ridiculousness I’m sure, but I think I blocked it out, or I missed things whilst yelling â€no no no noâ€� to block out the â€tidiesâ€�. As a experiment, I started going through my stuff. I didn’t ask the stuff any questions. I worked diligently, though I took breaks here and there, and after two days of sorting, purging, loading up the car and running the stuff to be donated, I got troughâ€�.drum roll pleaseâ€�.. One. Closet.

Don’t bother with this book unless you love the words, tidy, tidied, and tidying and you need a good laugh.
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<![CDATA[Trail of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #5)]]> 12166282
For the first time in Spellman history, Isabel Spellman might be the most normal member of her family. Mom has taken on an outrageous assortment of extracurricular activities. Dad has a secret. Her brother and sister are at war, but neither will reveal the source of the conflict. While domestic disturbances abound, there is one source of sanity in the Spellman Demetrius Merriweather, employee of the month for eighteen months straight.

Things aren’t any simpler on the business side of Spellman Investigations. First, Rae is hired to follow a girl, only to fake the surveillance reports. Then a socialite has Isabel tail her husband, despite a conspicuous lack of suspicion. A man in a sweater vest hires the Spellmans to follow his sister, who turns out to be the socialite. Izzy won’t stop hunting for the answers—even when they threaten to shatter both the business and the family.

Readers are sure to love the next novel in a “series that keeps getting better and better� ( Publishers Weekly , starred review).]]>
384 Lisa Lutz 1451608128 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.02 2012 Trail of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #5)
author: Lisa Lutz
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Spellmans Strike Again (The Spellmans, #4)]]> 6571967
First among her priorities as head of Spellman Investigations is to dig up some dirt on the competition, slippery ex-cop Rick Harkey - a task she may enjoy a little too much. Next, faced with a baffling missing-persons case at the home of an aging millionaire, Izzy hires an actor friend, Len, to infiltrate the mansion as an undercover butler - a role he may enjoy a little much.

Meanwhile, Izzy is being blackmailed by her mother (photographic evidence of Prom Night 1994) to commit to regular blind dates with promising professionals - an arrangement that doesn't thrill Connor, an Irish bartender on the brink of becoming Ex-boyfriend #12.

At Spellman headquarters, it's business as unusual. Doorknobs and light fixtures are disappearing every day, Mom's been spotted crying in the pantry, and a series of increasingly demanding Spellman Rules (Rule #27: No Speaking Today) can't quite hold the family together. Izzy also has to decipher weekly "phone calls from the edge" from her octogenarian lawyer, Morty, as well as Detective Henry Stone's mysterious interest in rekindling their relationsh ... well, whatever it was.

Just when it looks like things can't go more haywire, little sister Rae's internship researching pro bono legal cases leads the youngest Spellman to launch a grassroots campaign that could spring an innocent man from jail - or land Rae in it.]]>
388 Lisa Lutz 1416593403 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.20 2010 The Spellmans Strike Again (The Spellmans, #4)
author: Lisa Lutz
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Revenge of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #3)]]> 3545387 Private investigator Isabel Spellman is back on the case and back on the couch -- in court-ordered therapy after getting a little too close to her previous subject.

As the book opens, Izzy is on hiatus from Spellman Inc. But when her boss, Milo, simultaneously cuts her bartending hours and introduces her to a "friend" looking for a private eye, Izzy reluctantly finds herself with a new client. She assures herself that the case -- a suspicious husband who wants his wife tailed -- will be short and sweet, and will involve nothing more than the most boring of PI rituals: surveillance. But with each passing hour, Izzy finds herself with more questions than hard evidence.

Meanwhile, Spellmania continues. Izzy's brother, David, the family's most upright member, has adopted an uncharacteristically unkempt appearance and attitude toward work, life, and Izzy. And their wayward youngest sister, Rae, a historic academic underachiever, aces the PSATs and subsequently offends her study partner and object of obsession, Detective Henry Stone, to the point of excommunication. The only unsurprising behavior comes from her parents, whose visits to Milo's bar amount to thinly veiled surveillance and artful attempts (read: blackmail) at getting Izzy to return to the Spellman Inc. fold.

As the case of the wayward wife continues to vex her, Izzy's personal life -- and mental health -- seem to be disintegrating. Facing a housing crisis, she can't sleep, she can't remember where she parked her car, and, despite her shrinks' persistence, she can't seem to break through in her appointments. She certainly can't explain why she forgets dates with her lawyer's grandson, or fails to interpret the come-ons issued in an Irish brogue by Milo's new bartender. Nor can she explain exactly how she feels about Detective Henry Stone and his plans to move in with his new Assistant DA girlfriend...

Filled with the signature side-splitting Spellman antics, Revenge of the Spellmans is an ingenious, hilarious, and disarmingly tender installment in the Spellman series.

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375 Lisa Lutz 1416593381 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.13 2009 Revenge of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #3)
author: Lisa Lutz
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Curse of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #2)]]> 1590979 THEY'RE BAAAAACK.

Their first caper, The Spellman Files, was a New York Times bestseller and earned comparisons to the books of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich. Now the Spellmans, a highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators, return in a sidesplittingly funny story of suspicion, surveillance, and surprise.

When Izzy Spellman, PI, is arrested for the fourth time in three months, she writes it off as a job hazard. She's been (obsessively) keeping surveillance on a suspicious next door neighbor (suspect's name: John Brown), convinced he's up to no good -- even if her parents (the management at Spellman Investigations) are not.

When the (displeased) management refuses to bail Izzy out, it is Morty, Izzy's octogenarian lawyer, who comes to her rescue. But before he can build a defense, he has to know the facts. Over weak coffee and diner sandwiches, Izzy unveils the whole truth and nothing but the truth -- as only she, a thirty-year-old licensed professional, can.

When not compiling Suspicious Behavior Reports on all her family members, staking out her neighbor, or trying to keep her sister, Rae, from stalking her "best friend," Inspector Henry Stone, Izzy has been busy attempting to apprehend the copycat vandal whose attacks on Mrs. Chandler's holiday lawn tableaux perfectly and eerily match a series of crimes from 1991­-92, when Izzy and her best friend, Petra, happened to be at their most rebellious and delinquent. As Curse of the Spellmans unfolds, it's clear that Morty may be on retainer, but Izzy is still very much on the case...er, cases -- her own and that of every other Spellman family member.

(Re)meet the Spellmans, a family in which eavesdropping is a mandatory skill, locks are meant to be picked, past missteps are never forgotten, and blackmail is the preferred form of negotiation -- all in the name of unconditional love.

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409 Lisa Lutz 1416532412 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.04 2008 Curse of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #2)
author: Lisa Lutz
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Spellman Files (The Spellmans, #1)]]> 129117
Part Nancy Drew, part Dirty Harry, Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. Duties include: completing assignments from the bosses, aka Mom and Dad (preferably without scrutiny); appeasing her chronically perfect lawyer brother (often under duress); setting an example for her fourteen-year-old sister, Rae (who's become addicted to "recreational surveillance"); and tracking down her uncle (who randomly disappears on benders dubbed "Lost Weekends").

But when Izzy's parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Izzy's new boyfriend), Izzy snaps and decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there's a hitch: she must take one last job before they'll let her go -- a fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person case. She accepts, only to experience a disappearance far closer to home, which becomes the most important case of her life.]]>
6 Lisa Lutz 0743571355 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.88 2007 The Spellman Files (The Spellmans, #1)
author: Lisa Lutz
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine]]> 43232971 OB/GYN, writer for The New York Times, USA Today, and Self, and host of the show Jensplaining, Dr. Jen Gunter now delivers the definitive book on vaginal health, answering the questions you've always had but were afraid to ask--or couldn't find the right answers to. She has been called Twitter's resident gynecologist, the Internet's OB/GYN, and one of the fiercest advocates for women's health...and she's here to give you the straight talk on the topics she knows best.

Does eating sugar cause yeast infections? Does pubic hair have a function?
Should you have a vulvovaginal care regimen?
Will your vagina shrivel up if you go without sex?
What's the truth about the HPV vaccine?

So many important questions, so much convincing, confusing, contradictory misinformation! In this age of click bait, pseudoscience, and celebrity-endorsed products, it's easy to be overwhelmed--whether it's websites, advice from well-meaning friends, uneducated partners, and even healthcare providers. So how do you separate facts from fiction? OB-GYN Jen Gunter, an expert on women's health--and the internet's most popular go-to doc--comes to the rescue with a book that debunks the myths and educates and empowers women. From reproductive health to the impact of antibiotics and probiotics, and the latest trends, including vaginal steaming, vaginal marijuana products, and jade eggs, Gunter takes us on a factual, fun-filled journey. Discover the truth about:

- The vaginal microbiome
- Genital hygiene, lubricants, and hormone myths and fallacies
- How diet impacts vaginal health
- Stem cells and the vagina
- Cosmetic vaginal surgery
- What changes to expect during pregnancy, after childbirth, and through menopause
- How medicine fails women by dismissing symptoms
Plus:
- Thongs vs. lace: the best underwear for vaginal health
- How to select a tampon
- The full glory of the clitoris and the myth of the G Spot

... And so much more. Whether you're a twenty-six-year-old worried that her labia are "uncool" or a sixty-six-year-old dealing with painful sex, this comprehensive guide is sure to become a lifelong trusted resource.]]>
420 Jen Gunter 0806539313 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.36 2019 The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine
author: Jen Gunter
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Hot Crossed Buns - A Beginner's Guide To Spanking]]> 21294060 102 Tasha Lee Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5
Remember way, way back at the beginning of this pandemic when everyone went batshit crazy and bought all the toilet paper and bread, and then everyone bought all the yeast to make the bread they couldn’t buy? Good times. Well, at the time I went on the internet looking for books on baking some baked goods and I came across this book Hot Crossed Buns! â€Yum, that sounds delicious!â€�

Okay, that isn’t true, but I did get this book as result of the pandemic. We are all familiar with Zoom, for better or for worse, Right? I join this weekly Zoom chat of politically like minded people who are fans of and some are regular callers to the Stephanie Miller Show... yes that’s my name.... no it’s not me. It has been a life saver in this insane time.

One of the participants is Yoni (rhymes with macaroni) who I’ve been friends with on various social platforms for a while but hadn’t had a lot of interaction with, he messages me. You all know the chat, well, Yoni sends me one of those private messages and we get chatting. He gets a little pervey, which is to be expected, because he is well known, out and proud perv.

Yoni: google Consensual Adult Spanking. After you calm down email me and tell me what you think.

Me: Calm down? Okay..... something, something, something...

DO NOT GOOGLE CONSENSUAL ADULT SPANKING. JUST DON’T DO IT!

Okay, it wasn’t that bad. There were some very informative blogs butt (heheh, see what I did there?) there are things that I saw that can’t unsee for the rest of my days. Don’t make the same mistake I did, buy this book instead. It’s a short, easy, informative read that tells you everything you might like to know about spanking without burning your retinas.

After I calm down by applying ice to eyes I email Yoni,

OUCH

He emailed me back complaining that I didn’t give him enough feedback. I fedback. He sent me a digital copy of Hot Crossed Buns: A Beginners Guide to Spanking written by his wife Tasha Lee, in exchange for a honest review (he doesn’t know about that last part.) Apparently he didn’t think to do that in the first place instead of sending me flailing and swimming through the infested waters of the Google swamp!

This is not a subject I would have looked into on my own so I never would have found this book on my own. Tasha does a great job! She really knows stuff (and that stuff is paddles and floggers, etc.) It’s very open and honest.

“Q: What’s spanking like?

A: Between two consenting adults, spanking is fun. It’s like a warm breeze on a cool evening. It’s like jumping into a swimming pool. It’s like a stimulating massage. I could go on and on, but the truth is, it’s not very easy to put into words. Try describing good sex to a virgin who’s never even been kissed. You’ll use adjectives; you might share the biological particulars; but, in truth, it can be very different for each person in each situation. It can even be extremely different for two people in the exact same situation at the exact same time.�

“Q: What do I do if someone finds out I’m interested in spanking and thinks I’m a weirdo?

A: Interestingly enough, it’s rare that people will openly voice their disapproval. I’ve actually never encountered it and, as is obvious from my writing this book, I’m not exactly hiding. At the same time, I’ve gotten some odd looks on occasion. People tend to take their cues from you. If you treat the subject as no big deal, generally people will treat it the same way, even if they aren’t particularly interested. That’s not to say there aren’t people out there who may find it morally reprehensible. However, that is their problem, not yours. If you come across it, do your best to simply ignore these people. If you suspect someone close to you has these views, how you handle that will be up to you. I would mostly speak of other things and not invite them to come play, or see your collection of floggers, should you choose to acquire a collection.�

In conclusion, please buy this book. I’m serious. This pandemic will not last forever and I’m worried that if the sales don’t increase sufficiently from the writing of this review I may meet the business end of one of those implements pictured in the book. I don’t deserve it. I’ve been a very good reviewer......]]>
4.30 2010 Hot Crossed Buns - A Beginner's Guide To Spanking
author: Tasha Lee
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/11
date added: 2021/01/10
shelves: 2021, how-to, non-fiction, i-did-not-know-that, spanking, bdsm
review:
Oh the things one does when one gets bored after nearly 300 days in unemployed isolation.

Remember way, way back at the beginning of this pandemic when everyone went batshit crazy and bought all the toilet paper and bread, and then everyone bought all the yeast to make the bread they couldn’t buy? Good times. Well, at the time I went on the internet looking for books on baking some baked goods and I came across this book Hot Crossed Buns! â€Yum, that sounds delicious!â€�

Okay, that isn’t true, but I did get this book as result of the pandemic. We are all familiar with Zoom, for better or for worse, Right? I join this weekly Zoom chat of politically like minded people who are fans of and some are regular callers to the Stephanie Miller Show... yes that’s my name.... no it’s not me. It has been a life saver in this insane time.

One of the participants is Yoni (rhymes with macaroni) who I’ve been friends with on various social platforms for a while but hadn’t had a lot of interaction with, he messages me. You all know the chat, well, Yoni sends me one of those private messages and we get chatting. He gets a little pervey, which is to be expected, because he is well known, out and proud perv.

Yoni: google Consensual Adult Spanking. After you calm down email me and tell me what you think.

Me: Calm down? Okay..... something, something, something...

DO NOT GOOGLE CONSENSUAL ADULT SPANKING. JUST DON’T DO IT!

Okay, it wasn’t that bad. There were some very informative blogs butt (heheh, see what I did there?) there are things that I saw that can’t unsee for the rest of my days. Don’t make the same mistake I did, buy this book instead. It’s a short, easy, informative read that tells you everything you might like to know about spanking without burning your retinas.

After I calm down by applying ice to eyes I email Yoni,

OUCH

He emailed me back complaining that I didn’t give him enough feedback. I fedback. He sent me a digital copy of Hot Crossed Buns: A Beginners Guide to Spanking written by his wife Tasha Lee, in exchange for a honest review (he doesn’t know about that last part.) Apparently he didn’t think to do that in the first place instead of sending me flailing and swimming through the infested waters of the Google swamp!

This is not a subject I would have looked into on my own so I never would have found this book on my own. Tasha does a great job! She really knows stuff (and that stuff is paddles and floggers, etc.) It’s very open and honest.

“Q: What’s spanking like?

A: Between two consenting adults, spanking is fun. It’s like a warm breeze on a cool evening. It’s like jumping into a swimming pool. It’s like a stimulating massage. I could go on and on, but the truth is, it’s not very easy to put into words. Try describing good sex to a virgin who’s never even been kissed. You’ll use adjectives; you might share the biological particulars; but, in truth, it can be very different for each person in each situation. It can even be extremely different for two people in the exact same situation at the exact same time.�

“Q: What do I do if someone finds out I’m interested in spanking and thinks I’m a weirdo?

A: Interestingly enough, it’s rare that people will openly voice their disapproval. I’ve actually never encountered it and, as is obvious from my writing this book, I’m not exactly hiding. At the same time, I’ve gotten some odd looks on occasion. People tend to take their cues from you. If you treat the subject as no big deal, generally people will treat it the same way, even if they aren’t particularly interested. That’s not to say there aren’t people out there who may find it morally reprehensible. However, that is their problem, not yours. If you come across it, do your best to simply ignore these people. If you suspect someone close to you has these views, how you handle that will be up to you. I would mostly speak of other things and not invite them to come play, or see your collection of floggers, should you choose to acquire a collection.�

In conclusion, please buy this book. I’m serious. This pandemic will not last forever and I’m worried that if the sales don’t increase sufficiently from the writing of this review I may meet the business end of one of those implements pictured in the book. I don’t deserve it. I’ve been a very good reviewer......
]]>
<![CDATA[37 Seconds: Dying Revealed Heaven's Help--A Mother's Journey]]> 24336407
After reading what Stephanie discovered in her search to make sense of what happened to her, you will never look at life, death, and the afterlife the same way again.]]>
208 Stephanie Arnold 0062402188 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.80 2015 37 Seconds: Dying Revealed Heaven's Help--A Mother's Journey
author: Stephanie Arnold
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot]]> 32313744
For years, Melissa Cynova has been sitting down with friends and neighbors who are curious about the tarot. She's heard all the questions and misconceptions that can confuse newcomers (and sometimes more experienced readers, too). Kitchen Table Tarot was written as a guide for anyone looking for no-nonsense lessons with a warm, friendly, and knowledgeable teacher.

Join Melissa as she shares straightforward guidance on decks, spreads, card meanings, and symbols. Filled with real-life examples and personal explanations of what it's like to read the cards, this book tells it like it is and provides the information you need to read with confidence.



"If you're looking for an intuitive overview of how tarot might work for you and a pragmatic guide to learning the cards' core meanings, this book is the one. It's a warm, fast read with plenty of swearing, and I wish it could be bundled with every one of my tarot decks...It's that good. Buy one for you and one for your best friend, and go through it together. A+"—Maggie Stiefvater, #1 New York Times bestselling author and creator of The Raven's Prophecy Tarot

"Cynova's debut book struts forward to lead the pack with its authentic voice, candid and nimble teaching approach, and ability to pare down the principles and experience of reading tarot to its essentials...Exemplary. Eminent. Authoritative. A veritable gem." —Benebell Wen, author of Holistic Tarot

"A punch-in-the-gut teaching guide to the tarot...illustrating how much the tarot encourages each of us to find our own unique language and meanings when we begin this journey."—Terry Iacuzzo, author of Small Mediums at Large

"Melissa Cynova has written one of the most accessible, relatable tarot books ever. Pull up a chair, pop a cold one, and get ready for some straight-talking tarot lessons that will have you slinging the cards like a tarot badass in no time at all!"—Theresa Reed, author of The Tarot Coloring Book

"I've read many books about tarot readings, but this one is my favorite book so far."—Library Noire

"This book is a major asset to anyone curious about tarot...Reading Kitchen Table Tarot genuinely feels like sitting down with her and getting a whole workshop series delivered one-on-one."—Amber Unmasked

"Kitchen Table Tarot is for the beginner who wants to dip their toes in the tarot world for fun and personal study."—Spiral Nature

Winner of a 2018 IPPY Award for Best First Book]]>
180 Melissa Cynova 073875160X Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 4.26 2017 Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot
author: Melissa Cynova
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/31
date added: 2021/01/01
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others]]> 42442419 0 Cheryl A. Bachelder 1974922499 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4 2019, non-fiction
A few days ago when I worked at P1, I was in the office to watch a video from the new CEO. My first thought was â€Finally! Not an old white man.â€� Second was that she knows what she’s talking about. I then noticed a book on my managers desk (this is unusual because she is not a reader), â€hey.....a bookâ€�. I’m easily distracted by books as I’m sure you, my people, understand. â€The new CEO wrote a book?â€� Okay, I like her.

In the video Cheryl explained that she wasn’t new to Pier 1, she had served on the board of directors since 2012. A good thing, because when I think of Pier 1, I don’t think of Popeye’s or KFC. That’s like apples and, well, fried chicken.

I’m excited and curious about where this is going to go and I hope she does for Peir 1 what she did for popeye’s. We definitely need the help. While the store I work in does well, we have a loyal customer base, our stock prices need a boost!

Her management style is what I consider the proper way to treat the people that work for you. Previous CEOs have slowly but surely taken more and more away from the employees over the years..... Cheryl, will you give us back our holiday bucks? I would really appreciate it....thanks.

The book is well written and her philosophy, to serve those on the front lines, should be common place.

I’m looking forward to working with you Cheryl.
]]>
4.25 2015 Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others
author: Cheryl A. Bachelder
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/16
date added: 2020/12/26
shelves: 2019, non-fiction
review:
I’m not in management anymore, nor do I believe I every will be. I am my own business and the only person I have to lead is myself, but I picked up this book because Cheryl Bachelder is the new CEO of my long time, (13 years?) part time gig at Pier 1 Imports.

A few days ago when I worked at P1, I was in the office to watch a video from the new CEO. My first thought was â€Finally! Not an old white man.â€� Second was that she knows what she’s talking about. I then noticed a book on my managers desk (this is unusual because she is not a reader), â€hey.....a bookâ€�. I’m easily distracted by books as I’m sure you, my people, understand. â€The new CEO wrote a book?â€� Okay, I like her.

In the video Cheryl explained that she wasn’t new to Pier 1, she had served on the board of directors since 2012. A good thing, because when I think of Pier 1, I don’t think of Popeye’s or KFC. That’s like apples and, well, fried chicken.

I’m excited and curious about where this is going to go and I hope she does for Peir 1 what she did for popeye’s. We definitely need the help. While the store I work in does well, we have a loyal customer base, our stock prices need a boost!

Her management style is what I consider the proper way to treat the people that work for you. Previous CEOs have slowly but surely taken more and more away from the employees over the years..... Cheryl, will you give us back our holiday bucks? I would really appreciate it....thanks.

The book is well written and her philosophy, to serve those on the front lines, should be common place.

I’m looking forward to working with you Cheryl.

]]>
Slasher Girls & Monster Boys 24611587 389 April Genevieve Tucholke 0803741731 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.79 2015 Slasher Girls & Monster Boys
author: April Genevieve Tucholke
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Diary of a Death Doula: 25 Lessons the Dying Teach Us about the Afterlife]]> 48573464 224 Debra Diamond 1789041856 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 currently-reading 3.93 Diary of a Death Doula: 25 Lessons the Dying Teach Us about the Afterlife
author: Debra Diamond
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/14
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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A Land More Kind Than Home 12408149 A Land More Kind Than Home is a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town

For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grown-ups. Adventurous and precocious, Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump. Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can't help sneaking a look at something he's not supposed to � an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess's. It's a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he's not prepared. While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil � but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.

Told by three resonant and evocative characters � Jess; Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife and moral conscience; and Clem Barefield, a sheriff with his own painful past � A Land More Kind Than Home is a haunting tale of courage in the face of cruelty and the power of love to overcome the darkness that lives in us all. These are masterful portrayals, written with assurance and truth, and they show us the extraordinary promise of this remarkable.]]>
309 Wiley Cash Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.86 2012 A Land More Kind Than Home
author: Wiley Cash
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/24
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore]]> 18274273 The book that inspired the Academy Award–winning short film, from New York Times bestselling author and beloved visionary William Joyce. Includes audio!

Morris Lessmore loved words.
He loved stories.
He loved books.
But every story has its upsets.


Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.
But the power of story will save the day.

Stunningly brought to life by William Joyce, one of the preeminent creators in children’s literature, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a modern masterpiece, showing that in today’s world of traditional books, eBooks, and apps, it’s story that we truly celebrate—and this story, no matter how you tell it, begs to be read—and listened to—again and again.]]>
56 William Joyce Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 interactive-book Joe Bluhm designed it. That's right, my friends are mega talented!]]> 4.62 2011 The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
author: William Joyce
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/27
shelves: interactive-book
review:
Hey all! This is not only an interactive book, it's the #1 "app" on the Igadgets. And my friend Joe Bluhm designed it. That's right, my friends are mega talented!
]]>
Crossings 44596827 384 Alex Landragin 1760557250 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.88 2020 Crossings
author: Alex Landragin
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics]]> 36613747 Could psychedelic drugs change our worldview? One of America's most admired writers takes us on a mind-altering journey to the frontiers of human consciousness

When LSD was first discovered in the 1940s, it seemed to researchers, scientists and doctors as if the world might be on the cusp of psychological revolution. It promised to shed light on the deep mysteries of consciousness, as well as offer relief to addicts and the mentally ill. But in the 1960s, with the vicious backlash against the counter-culture, all further research was banned. In recent years, however, work has quietly begun again on the amazing potential of LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Could these drugs in fact improve the lives of many people? Diving deep into this extraordinary world and putting himself forward as a guinea-pig, Michael Pollan has written a remarkable history of psychedelics and a compelling portrait of the new generation of scientists fascinated by the implications of these drugs. How to Change Your Mind is a report from what could very well be the future of human consciousness.]]>
480 Michael Pollan 0241294223 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.25 2018 How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics
author: Michael Pollan
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/02
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed]]> 37570546 From a psychotherapist, and national advice columnist comes a thought-provoking new book that takes us behind the scenes of a therapist's world -- where her patients are looking for answers (and so is she).

One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.

As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients' lives -- a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys -- she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.

With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.]]>
415 Lori Gottlieb 1328662055 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2019 4.36 2019 Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
author: Lori Gottlieb
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/09/02
shelves: 2019
review:

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<![CDATA[The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale, #2)]]> 42975172 The Handmaid's Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her--freedom, prison or death.

With The Testaments, the wait is over.

Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than fifteen years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades.

"Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in." --Margaret Atwood

An alternate cover edition of ISBN 978-0385543781 can be found here.]]>
422 Margaret Atwood Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.16 2019 The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale, #2)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/02
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power]]> 554986 A journalist's penetrating look at the untold story of christian fundamentalism's most elite organization, a self-described invisible network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful.

They are the Family—fundamentalism's avant-garde, waging spiritual war in the halls of American power and around the globe. They consider themselves the new chosen—congressmen, generals, and foreign dictators who meet in confidential cells, to pray and plan for a "leadership led by God," to be won not by force but through "quiet diplomacy." Their base is a leafy estate overlooking the Potomac in Arlington, Virginia, and Jeff Sharlet is the only journalist to have reported from inside its walls.

The Family is about the other half of American fundamentalist power—not its angry masses, but its sophisticated elites. Sharlet follows the story back to Abraham Vereide, an immigrant preacher who in 1935 organized a small group of businessmen sympathetic to European fascism, fusing the far right with his own polite but authoritarian faith. From that core, Vereide built an international network of fundamentalists who spoke the language of establishment power, a "family" that thrives to this day. In public, they host Prayer Breakfasts; in private, they preach a gospel of "biblical capitalism," military might, and American empire. Citing Hitler, Lenin, and Mao as leadership models, the Family's current leader, Doug Coe, declares, "We work with power where we can, build new power where we can't."

Sharlet's discoveries dramatically challenge conventional wisdom about American fundamentalism, revealing its crucial role in the unraveling of the New Deal, the waging of the cold war, and the no-holds-barred economics of globalization. The question Sharlet believes we must ask is not "What do fundamentalists want?" but "What have they already done?"

Part history, part investigative journalism, The Family is a compelling account of how fundamentalism came to be interwoven with American power, a story that stretches from the religious revivals that have shaken this nation from its beginning to fundamentalism's new frontiers. No other book about the right has exposed the Family or revealed its far-reaching impact on democracy, and no future reckoning of American fundamentalism will be able to ignore it.]]>
454 Jeff Sharlet 0060559799 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.77 2008 The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
author: Jeff Sharlet
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[F**k It: Be at Peace with Life, Just as It Is]]> 36321883 Is there a gap between how you’d like things to be and how they are?

Most likely there is, and it hurts. It may be a small gap or a freaking enormous ravine, but that gap is, in fact, probably the primary cause of pain and unhappiness for most people. Whatever it is that is stressing you out right now or causing you pain is right there in that gap, and stopping your life from being how you would like it to be.

What if you said �F**k It� to the idea of how your life should be and found peace with your life just as it is? That’s going to shake things up and take the edge o your pain and discomfort way more than any pill could.

John C. Parkin, the maestro of saying â€F**k Itâ€�, realized as he worked with people on his retreats that we can close that gap not by striving to be dfferent, changing the world or even learning how to peaceful â€� but by saying â€F**k Itâ€� and making our peace with life, just as it is.

Being at peace with life doesn’t necessarily mean being peaceful, and it certainly isn’t being passive; it means embracing life in all its colours.

This is a radical message that can create radical shifts in your perception of life, just as it is. ]]>
240 John C. Parkin 1401955711 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.37 F**k It: Be at Peace with Life, Just as It Is
author: John C. Parkin
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.37
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<![CDATA[What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures]]> 6516450
In the past decade, Malcolm Gladwell has written three books that have radically changed how we understand our world and ourselves: The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers. Now, in What the Dog Saw, he brings together, for the first time, the best of his writing from The New Yorker over the same period.

Here you'll find the bittersweet tale of the inventor of the birth control pill, and the dazzling creations of pasta sauce pioneer Howard Moscowitz. Gladwell sits with Ron Popeil, the king of the American kitchen, as he sells rotisserie ovens, and divines the secrets of Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer" who can calm savage animals with the touch of his hand. He explores intelligence tests and ethnic profiling and why it was that employers in Silicon Valley once tripped over themselves to hire the same college graduate.]]>
444 Malcolm Gladwell 0316078573 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.85 2009 What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures
author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/07/15
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World]]> 40090596
"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before". (Neil Gaiman)

Drawn from Gaiman's trove of published speeches, poems and creative manifestos, 'ART MATTERS' is an embodiment of this remarkable multimedia artist's vision - an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives.

'ART MATTERS' brings together four of Gaiman's most beloved writings on creativity and artistry:

�1�
"CREDO", his remarkably concise and relevant manifesto on free expression, first delivered in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings

�2�
"MAKE GOOD ART", his famous 2012 commencement address delivered at the Philadelphia University of the Arts

�3�
"MAKING A CHAIR", a poem about the joys of creating something, even when the words won't come

�4�
"ON LIBRARIES", an impassioned argument for libraries that illuminates their importance to our future and celebrates how they foster readers and daydreamers.

'ART MATTERS' is a stirring testament to the freedom of ideas that inspire us to make art in the face of adversity and dares us to choose to be bold.




RUNNING TIME � 49mins.

©2018 Neil Gaiman (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers]]>
95 Neil Gaiman 1472260090 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.26 2018 Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/06/22
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Make Good Art 16240792 make good art.

The book Make Good Art, designed by renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd, contains the full text of Gaiman’s inspiring speech.]]>
80 Neil Gaiman 0062266764 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.28 2013 Make Good Art
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/06/22
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<![CDATA[The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too)]]> 33566873 Better Than Before and The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you do at home, at work, and in life.

During her multibook investigation into understanding human nature, Gretchen Rubin realized that by asking the seemingly dry question "How do I respond to expectations?" we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively.

More than 600,000 people have taken her online quiz, and managers, doctors, teachers, spouses, and parents already use the framework to help people make significant, lasting change.

The Four Tendencies hold practical answers if you've ever thought...

· People can rely on me, but I can't rely on myself.
· How can I help someone to follow good advice?
· People say I ask too many questions.
· How do I work with someone who refuses to do what I ask or who keeps telling me what to do?

With sharp insight, compelling research, and hilarious examples, The Four Tendencies will help you get happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. It's far easier to succeed when you know what works for you.]]>
7 Gretchen Rubin 0525496289 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 currently-reading 3.81 2017 The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too)
author: Gretchen Rubin
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/05/23
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)]]> 119322
Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.]]>
399 Philip Pullman 0679879242 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.02 1995 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)
author: Philip Pullman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/05/19
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Recursion 42046112 Memory makes reality.

That's what NYC cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It's why she's dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds, but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

At once a relentless pageturner and an intricate science-fiction puzzlebox about time, identity, and memory, Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious, mind-boggling, irresistible work to date.]]>
326 Blake Crouch 1524759783 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.15 2019 Recursion
author: Blake Crouch
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/22
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<![CDATA[The Mueller Report: Presented with Related Materials by The Washington Post]]> 44161076 The Washington Post, and the most complete and authoritative available.

Read the findings of the Special Counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, complete with accompanying analysis by the Post reporters who’ve covered the story from the beginning.

This edition from The Washington Post/Scribner contains:

—The long-awaited Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election

�An introduction by The Washington Post titled “A President, a Prosecutor, and the Protection of American Democracy�

�A timeline of the major events of the Special Counsel’s investigation from May 2017, when Robert Mueller was appointed, to the report's delivery

�A guide to individuals involved, including in the Special Counsel’s Office, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Trump Campaign, the White House, the Trump legal defense team, and the Russians

�Key documents in the Special Counsel’s investigation, including filings pertaining to General Michael T. Flynn, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Roger Stone, and the Russian internet operation in St. Petersburg. Each document is introduced and explained by Washington Post reporters.

One of the most urgent and important investigations ever conducted, the Mueller inquiry focuses on Donald Trump, his presidential campaign, and Russian interference in the 2016 election, and draws on the testimony of dozens of witnesses and the work of some of the country’s most seasoned prosecutors.

The special counsel’s investigation looms as a turning point in American history. The Mueller Report is essential reading for all citizens concerned about the fate of the presidency and the future of our democracy.]]>
728 The Washington Post 1982129735 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 currently-reading 4.20 2019 The Mueller Report: Presented with Related Materials by The Washington Post
author: The Washington Post
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/22
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[The Monarch of the Glen (American Gods, #1.1)]]> 18245822
He was not sure what he had been looking for. He only knew that he had not found it.

Shadow Moon has been away from America for nearly two years. His nights are broken with dangerous dreams. Sometimes he almost believes he doesn't care if he ever returns home.

In the Highlands of Scotland, where the sky is pale white and it feels as remote as any place can possibly be, the beautiful and the wealthy gather at a grand old house in the glen. And when the strange local doctor offers him work at the party, Shadow is intrigued. He knows there is no good reason for him to be there. So what do they want with him?]]>
128 Neil Gaiman Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.78 2006 The Monarch of the Glen (American Gods, #1.1)
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/16
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<![CDATA[Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)]]> 902715
Northmen have spilled over the border of Angland and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country. Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back and win undying glory. There is only one problem � he commands the worst-armed, worst-trained, worst-led army in the world.

And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is leading a party of bold adventurers on a perilous mission through the ruins of the past. The most hated woman in the South, the most feared man in the North, and the most selfish boy in the Union make a strange alliance, but a deadly one. They might even stand a chance of saving mankind from the Eaters. If they didn't hate each other quite so much.

Ancient secrets will be uncovered. Bloody battles will be won and lost. Bitter enemies will be forgiven � but not before they are hanged.]]>
441 Joe Abercrombie 0575077883 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.35 2007 Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/03
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<![CDATA[Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future]]> 40180047 Washington Post as “the most interesting mayor you’ve never heard of,� Pete Buttigieg, the thirty-seven-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has now emerged as one of the nation’s most visionary politicians. With soaring prose that celebrates a resurgent American Midwest, Shortest Way Home narrates the heroic transformation of a “dying city� (Newsweek) into nothing less than a shining model of urban reinvention.

Interweaving two narratives—that of a young man coming of age and a town regaining its economic vitality—Buttigieg recounts growing up in a Rust Belt city, amid decayed factory buildings and the steady soundtrack of rumbling freight trains passing through on their long journey to Chicagoland. Inspired by John F. Kennedy’s legacy, Buttigieg first left northern Indiana for red-bricked Harvard and then studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, before joining McKinsey, where he trained as a consultant—becoming, of all things, an expert in grocery pricing. Then, Buttigieg defied the expectations that came with his pedigree, choosing to return home to Indiana and responding to the ultimate challenge of how to revive a once-great industrial city and help steer its future in the twenty-first century.

Elected at twenty-nine as the nation’s youngest mayor, Pete Buttigieg immediately recognized that “great cities, and even great nations, are built through attention to the everyday.� As Shortest Way Home recalls, the challenges were daunting—whether confronting gun violence, renaming a street in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., or attracting tech companies to a city that had appealed more to junk bond scavengers than serious investors. None of this is underscored more than Buttigieg’s audacious campaign to reclaim 1,000 houses, many of them abandoned, in 1,000 days and then, even as a sitting mayor, deploying to serve in Afghanistan as a Navy officer. Yet the most personal challenge still awaited Buttigieg, who came out in a South Bend Tribune editorial, just before being reelected with 78 percent of the vote, and then finding Chasten Glezman, a middle-school teacher, who would become his partner for life.

While Washington reels with scandal, Shortest Way Home, with its graceful, often humorous, language, challenges our perception of the typical American politician. In chronicling two once-unthinkable stories—that of an Afghanistan veteran who came out and found love and acceptance, all while in office, and that of a revitalized Rust Belt city no longer regarded as “flyover country”—Buttigieg provides a new vision for America’s shortest way home.]]>
352 Pete Buttigieg 1631494368 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.19 2019 Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
author: Pete Buttigieg
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/03/24
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Where the Crawdads Sing 43837634 Length: 12 hours 13 minutes

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl� haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world–until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.]]>
13 Delia Owens Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4 2019, fiction 4.04 2018 Where the Crawdads Sing
author: Delia Owens
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/02/28
shelves: 2019, fiction
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<![CDATA[The Summer that Melted Everything]]> 26114523 Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984:
the year a heatwave scorched the small town of Breathed, Ohio.
The year he became friends with the devil.


When local prosecutor Autopsy Bliss publishes an invitation to the devil to come to the country town of Breathed, Ohio, nobody quite expected that he would turn up. They especially didn't expect him to turn up a tattered and bruised thirteen-year-old boy.


Fielding, the son of Autopsy, finds the boy outside the courthouse and brings him home, and he is welcomed into the Bliss family. The Blisses believe the boy, who calls himself Sal, is a runaway from a nearby farm town. Then, as a series of strange incidents implicate Sal � and riled by the feverish heatwave baking the town from the inside out � there are some around town who start to believe that maybe Sal is exactly who he claims to be.


But whether he's a traumatised child or the devil incarnate, Sal is certainly one strange fruit: he talks in riddles, his uncanny knowledge and understanding reaches far outside the realm of a normal child � and ultimately his eerily affecting stories of Heaven, Hell, and earth will mesmerise and enflame the entire town.


Devastatingly beautiful, The Summer That Melted Everything is a captivating story about community, redemption, and the dark places where evil really lies.

]]>
320 Tiffany McDaniel 1250078067 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4 2018, ohio, fiction 3.97 2016 The Summer that Melted Everything
author: Tiffany McDaniel
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/23
date added: 2019/02/23
shelves: 2018, ohio, fiction
review:

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<![CDATA[Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones]]> 40121378 Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving—every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.

Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

Learn how to:
-ĚýMake time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
-ĚýOvercome a lack of motivation and willpower;
- Design your environment to make success easier;
- Get back on track when you fall off course;
...and much more.

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.]]>
319 James Clear Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.34 2018 Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
author: James Clear
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/02/21
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump]]> 41939872
In The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, Andrew G. McCabe offers a dramatic and candid account of his career, and an impassioned defense of the FBI's agents, and of the institution's integrity and independence in protecting America and upholding our Constitution.

McCabe started as a street agent in the FBI's New York field office, serving under director Louis Freeh. He became an expert in two kinds of investigations that are critical to American national security: Russian organized crime—which is inextricably linked to the Russian state—and terrorism. Under Director Robert Mueller, McCabe led the investigations of major attacks on American soil, including the Boston Marathon bombing, a plot to bomb the New York subways, and several narrowly averted bombings of aircraft. And under James Comey, McCabe was deeply involved in the controversial investigations of the Benghazi attack, the Clinton Foundation's activities, and Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.

The Threat recounts in compelling detail the time between Donald Trump's November 2016 election and McCabe's firing, set against a page-turning narrative spanning two decades when the FBI's mission shifted to a new goal: preventing terrorist attacks on Americans. But as McCabe shows, right now the greatest threat to the United States comes from within, as President Trump and his administration ignore the law, attack democratic institutions, degrade human rights, and undermine the U.S. Constitution that protects every citizen.

Important, revealing, and powerfully argued, The Threat tells the true story of what the FBI is, how it works, and why it will endure as an institution of integrity that protects America.]]>
282 Andrew G. McCabe 1250207592 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.17 2019 The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump
author: Andrew G. McCabe
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/02/21
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Someone Like Me 37975580
Liz Kendall wouldn't hurt a fly. She's a gentle woman devoted to bringing up her kids in the right way, no matter how hard times get.

But there's another side to Liz - one which is dark and malicious. A version of her who will do anything to get her way, no matter how extreme or violent.

And when this other side of her takes control, the consequences are devastating.

The only way Liz can save herself and her family is if she can find out where this new alter-ego has come from, and how she can stop it.]]>
512 M.R. Carey 035650946X Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.61 2018 Someone Like Me
author: M.R. Carey
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/02/19
shelves: to-read
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The Princess Bride 21787
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.]]>
429 William Goldman 0345418263 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2019, fiction 4.27 1973 The Princess Bride
author: William Goldman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1973
rating: 5
read at: 2019/02/16
date added: 2019/02/16
shelves: 2019, fiction
review:

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The Last Days of August 43450715
A month later, August’s husband, Kevin, connected with Jon Ronson to tell the story of how Twitter bullying killed his wife. What neither Kevin nor Ronson realized was that Ronson would soon hear rumors and secrets hinting at a very different story - something mysterious and unexpected and terrible.

In The Last Days of August, Ronson unravels the never-before-told story of what caused this beloved 23-year-old actress� untimely death.]]>
4 Jon Ronson Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 3 2019, true-crime 3.61 2019 The Last Days of August
author: Jon Ronson
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/01/16
date added: 2019/02/16
shelves: 2019, true-crime
review:

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<![CDATA[An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream]]> 38743535
In the spirit of a young Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father comes a candid and compelling memoir about race and poverty in America. In many ways, there was no reason Julian Castro would have been expected to be a success. Born to unmarried parents in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of a struggling city, his prospects of escaping his circumstance seemed bleak.

But he and his twin brother Joaquin had something going for them: their mother. A former political activist, she provided the launch pad for what would become an astonishing ascent. Julian and Joaquin would go on to attend Stanford and Harvard before entering politics at the ripe age of 26. Soon after, Joaquin become a state representative and Julian was elected mayor of San Antonio, a city he helped revitalize and transform into one of the country's leading economies.

His success in Texas propelled him onto the national stage, where he was the keynote speaker at the 2012 DNC -- the same spot President Obama held three conventions prior -- and then to Washington D.C. where he served as the Obama Administration's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

After being shortlisted as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton, he became a 2020 Presidential candidate. Julian Castro's story not only affirms the American dream, but also resonates with millions, who in an age of political cynicism and hardening hearts are searching for a new hero. No matter one's politics, this book is the transcendent story of a resilient family and the unlikely journey of an emerging national icon.]]>
288 Julian Castro 0316252166 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.89 2018 An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream
author: Julian Castro
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: to-read
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The Cleaner (John Milton, #1) 19425704 Meet John Milton

He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder.

Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. But now, after ten years, he's had enough - there's blood on his hands and he wants out. Trouble is, this job is not one you can just walk away from.
Ěý
He goes on the run, seeking atonement for his sins by helping the people he meets along the way. But his past cannot be easily forgotten and before long it is Milton who is hunted, and not the hunter.

The Cleaner

A career of state-sanctioned murder has taken its toll. Milton is troubled by nightmares, a long line of ghosts who torment his dreams. He resolves to make his next job his last and, then, perhaps, he can start to make amends for everything that he has done.

Sharon Warriner is a single mother in the East End of London, suicidal with fear that she's lost her young son to a life in the gangs. After Milton saves her life, he promises to help. But the gang, and the charismatic rapper who leads it, is not about to cooperate with him.

As London burns through summer riots, Milton finds himself in unfamiliar territory, dealing with an unfamiliar foe. And when his employer sends another agent after him, the odds against him are stacked even higher.]]>
313 Mark Dawson Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.71 2013 The Cleaner (John Milton, #1)
author: Mark Dawson
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others]]> 22632365
When Bachelder was named CEO of Popeyes in the fall of 2007, guest visits had been declining for years, restaurant sales and profit trends were negative, and the company stock price had dropped from $34 in 2002 to $13. The brand was stagnant, and relations between the company and its franchise owners were strained.

By 2014, average restaurant sales were up 25 percent, and profits were up 40 percent. Popeyes' market share had grown from 14 percent to 21 percent, and the stock price was over $40. The franchisees were so pleased with the turnaround that they began reinvesting in the brand, rapidly remodeling restaurants, and building new units around the world.

The difference maker, Bachelder says, was a conscious decision to lead in a new way. She and her team created a workplace where people were treated with respect and dignity yet challenged to perform at the highest level. Silos and self were set aside in favor of collaboration and team play. And the results were measured with rigor and discipline. Servant leadership is sometimes derided as soft or ineffective, but this book shows that it's actually challenging and tough minded—a daring path. Bachelder takes you firsthand through the transformation of Popeyes and shows how a leader at any level can become a Dare-to-Serve leader.]]>
192 Cheryl A. Bachelder 1626562350 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.93 2015 Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others
author: Cheryl A. Bachelder
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Adult ADHD: How to Succeed as a Hunter in a Farmer's World]]> 30635228
� Provides organizational strategies, tips to maintain focus, and tools to set goals, build a business plan, and discover the right project to keep you motivated

� Shares ADHD success stories from Fortune 500 CEOs, inventors, small business owners, and the author’s own experience in launching new businesses

� Explains the positive side of ADHD behavior in the context of creating a business, working within an existing company, and raising children with ADHD

Most people do not “grow out� of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For many, their ADHD traits have led to difficulties in school, relationships, and work. But for our hunter-gatherer ancestors these characteristics were necessary for survival. Hunters must be easily distractible, constantly scanning their environment, and unafraid of taking risks. When humanity experienced the agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago, a vastly different type of personality--the methodical “Farmer�--became dominant. Most of our modern world is tailored to this Farmer personality, from 9-to-5 jobs to the structure of public schools, leaving ADHD Hunters feeling like unsuccessful outcasts. However, the Hunter skill set offers many opportunities for success in today’s Farmer society--if you learn how to embrace your ADHD traits instead of fighting against them.

In this step-by-step guide, Thom Hartmann explains the positive side of Hunter behavior. He reveals how Hunters make excellent entrepreneurs, sharing ADHD success stories from Fortune 500 CEOs, inventors, small business owners, and his own hands-on experience in launching new businesses. Drawing on solid scientific and psychological principles, he provides easy-to-follow organizational strategies, tips to maintain focus and create a distraction-free workspace, and tools to set goals, build a business plan, and discover the right business project to keep you motivated. Hartmann shares valuable advice for both the Hunter entrepreneur and the Hunter within an existing company and for curtailing the aggressive side of the Hunter personality in group situations or manager positions.

Revealing the many ADHD opportunities hidden within the challenges of work, relationships, and day-to-day life, Hartmann also includes tips on navigating family relationships and parenting--for most Hunter parents are also raising Hunter children.]]>
175 Thom Hartmann Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.06 Adult ADHD: How to Succeed as a Hunter in a Farmer's World
author: Thom Hartmann
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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Caring For Betta Fish 2152876 78 Marcus Song 1411693655 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2019, pet, non-fiction
I set him up with pretty sweet accommodations, which this book helped me figure out. It’s a quick and informative read if you are interested in rescuing a betta from a pet store.

Barry is a very happy little fish, even with the occasional cat staring him down.]]>
4.08 2006 Caring For Betta Fish
author: Marcus Song
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/12
date added: 2019/01/12
shelves: 2019, pet, non-fiction
review:
I recieved a gift card for Petco for Christmas so I got a betta and all that goes with it. I named him Barry for the alliteration and for President Obama’s nickname. He’s a cute little guy, a half moon tail and he’s (fittingly) red, white, and blue.

I set him up with pretty sweet accommodations, which this book helped me figure out. It’s a quick and informative read if you are interested in rescuing a betta from a pet store.

Barry is a very happy little fish, even with the occasional cat staring him down.
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Us Against You (Beartown, #2) 36373463
Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.

As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.
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448 Fredrik Backman 1501160796 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2019, favorites, fiction 4.34 2017 Us Against You (Beartown, #2)
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/10
date added: 2019/01/10
shelves: 2019, favorites, fiction
review:

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Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]>
393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.22 2018 Circe
author: Madeline Miller
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

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We Were the Lucky Ones 30267929
As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.]]>
403 Georgia Hunter 0399563083 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.39 2017 We Were the Lucky Ones
author: Georgia Hunter
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

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2018 on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ 37851639 2018 on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ should make an interesting and varied catalogue of books to inspire other readers in 2019.

For those of you who don't like to add titles you haven't actually 'read', you can place 2018 on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ on an 'exclusive' shelf. Exclusive shelves don't have to be listed under 'to read', 'currently reading' or 'read'. To create one, go to 'edit bookshelves' on your 'My Books' page, create a shelf name such as 'review-of-the year' and tick the 'exclusive' box. Your previous and future 'reviews of the year' can be collected together on this dedicated shelf.

Concept created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir.
Description: Fionnuala Lirsdottir
Cover image: Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit, c.1900, Paul Cézanne]]>
Various Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4 4.15 2018 2018 on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ
author: Various
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2019/01/01
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)]]> 32075671 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062498533 can be found here.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.]]>
454 Angie Thomas 0062498533 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2018, fiction 4.46 2017 The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)
author: Angie Thomas
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/12/31
date added: 2018/12/31
shelves: 2018, fiction
review:

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Educated 35133922
Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.]]>
352 Tara Westover 0399590501 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2018, memoirs, non-fiction 4.46 2018 Educated
author: Tara Westover
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/11/27
date added: 2018/12/29
shelves: 2018, memoirs, non-fiction
review:

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Grant 34237826
Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had been dismal, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War, he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in the Civil War, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the Battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee after a series of unbelievably bloody battles in Virginia. Along the way Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. His military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff. All the while Grant himself remained more or less above reproach. But, more importantly, he never failed to seek freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him 'the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race." After his presidency, he was again brought low by a trusted colleague, this time a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, but he resuscitated his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.

With his famous lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as "nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero." His probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of America's finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary.]]>
1074 Ron Chernow 159420487X Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4 2018 4.46 2017 Grant
author: Ron Chernow
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/12/29
date added: 2018/12/29
shelves: 2018
review:

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Becoming 38746485
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.]]>
426 Michelle Obama 1524763136 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2018, memoirs 4.42 2018 Becoming
author: Michelle Obama
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/12/29
date added: 2018/12/29
shelves: 2018, memoirs
review:

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<![CDATA[Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America]]> 41573383 " Spirited, thorough, and thunderously foreboding. "Ěý-- Kirkus Reviews

For the first time, the full, explosive record of the how a US president compromised American foreign policy in exchange for financial gain and covert election assistance.

Looking back at this moment, historians will ask if Americans knew they were living through the first case of criminal conspiracy between an American presidential candidate turned commander in chief and a geopolitical enemy. The answer might it was hard to see the whole picture. The stories coming in from across the globe have often seemed clandestine meetings in foreign capitals, secret recordings in a Moscow hotel, Kremlin agents infiltrating the Trump inner circle...

Seth Abramson has tracked every one of these far-flung reports, and now in, Proof of Collusion , he finally gives us a record of the unthinkable--a president compromising American foreign policy in exchange for financial gain and covert election assistance. The attorney, professor, and former criminal investigator has used his exacting legal mind and forensic acumen to compile, organize, and analyze every piece of the Trump-Russia story. His conclusion is the case for collusion is staring us in the face. Drawing from American and European news outlets, he takes readers through the Trump-Russia scandal chronologically, putting the developments in context and showing how they connect. His extraordinary march through all the public evidence

-How Trump worked for thirty years to expand his real estate empire into Russia even as he was rescued from bankruptcy by Putin's oligarchs, Kremlin agents, and the Russian mafia.

-How Russian intelligence gathered compromising material on him over multiple trips.

-How Trump recruited Russian allies and business partners while running for president.

-How he surrounded himself with advisers who engaged in clandestine negotiations with Russia.

-How Trump aides and family members held secret meetings with foreign agents and lied about them.

By pulling every last thread of this complicated story together, Abramson argues that--even in the absence of a report from Special Counsel Mueller or a thorough Congressional investigation--the public record already confirms a quid pro quo between Trump and the Kremlin. The most extraordinary part of the case for collusion is that so much of it unfolded in plain sight.]]>
448 Seth Abramson 1982116080 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.17 2018 Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America
author: Seth Abramson
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/16
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Book of Deadly Animals 11821556 The Book of Deadly Animals. Award-winning writer Gordon Grice takes readers on a tour of the animal kingdom--from grizzly bears to great white sharks, big cats to crocodiles. Every page overflows with astonishing facts about Earth's great predators and unforgettable stories of their encounters with humans, all delivered in Grice's signature dark comic style. Illustrated with awe-inspiring photographs of beasts and bugs, this wondrous work will horrify, delight, and amaze.]]> 416 Gordon Grice 0143120743 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.82 2010 The Book of Deadly Animals
author: Gordon Grice
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Power of When: Discover Your Chronotype--and the Best Time to Eat Lunch, Ask for a Raise, Have Sex, Write a Novel, Take Your Meds, and More]]> 28449255 Learn the best time to do everything—from drink your coffee to have sex or go for a run—according to your body's chronotype.

Most advice centers on what to do, or how to do it, and ignores the when of success. But exciting new research proves there is a right time to do just about everything, based on our biology and hormones. As Dr. Michael Breus proves in THE POWER OF WHEN, working with your body's inner clock for maximum health, happiness, and productivity is easy, exciting, and fun. THE POWER OF WHEN presents a groundbreaking new program for getting back in sync with your natural rhythm by making minor changes to your daily routine. After you've taken Dr. Breus's comprehensive Bio-Time Quiz to figure out your chronotype (are you a Bear, Lion, Dolphin or Wolf?), you'll find out the best time to do over 50 different activities. Featuring a foreword by Mehmet C. Oz, MD, and packed with fascinating facts, fun personality quizzes, and easy-to-follow guidelines, THE POWER OF WHEN is the ultimate "lifehack" to help you achieve your goals.]]>
384 Michael Breus 0316391263 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 2 2018, non-fiction
If you are a lion, do everything early in the day. If you are a bear, do everything in the middle of the day. If you are a wolf, do everything in the evening or at night. If you are a dolphin (insomniac), forget it you’re effed.

There. You don’t have to read the book.

Aside from the scientific part of this book, that basically your internal clock is set by genetics and is something you really can’t change, the rest is ridiculous! I’d have to make a complicated flow chart on when I would do every little thing. Also, I would have to know what animal the people I’m dealing with are.

I’m a wolf... night person goddamn it. If I didn’t have a clock to guide me I would likely go to bed at 4:00 am and get up at noon. I bet you rolled your eyes reading that and thinking I’m some sort of lazy person, but I get more done after 9:00 pm then those lions or bears do.... sleeping in their beds and all. The world is set up for the morning folk though and that really sucks sometimes. Seriously, if I have to be anywhere before 10 am it’s a hardship. I may physically be there, but my brain will not be functional.

Most people have figured this out themselves and really don’t need to read this book. ]]>
3.58 2016 The Power of When: Discover Your Chronotype--and the Best Time to Eat Lunch, Ask for a Raise, Have Sex, Write a Novel, Take Your Meds, and More
author: Michael Breus
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2018/12/08
date added: 2018/12/08
shelves: 2018, non-fiction
review:
Let me break this down for you...

If you are a lion, do everything early in the day. If you are a bear, do everything in the middle of the day. If you are a wolf, do everything in the evening or at night. If you are a dolphin (insomniac), forget it you’re effed.

There. You don’t have to read the book.

Aside from the scientific part of this book, that basically your internal clock is set by genetics and is something you really can’t change, the rest is ridiculous! I’d have to make a complicated flow chart on when I would do every little thing. Also, I would have to know what animal the people I’m dealing with are.

I’m a wolf... night person goddamn it. If I didn’t have a clock to guide me I would likely go to bed at 4:00 am and get up at noon. I bet you rolled your eyes reading that and thinking I’m some sort of lazy person, but I get more done after 9:00 pm then those lions or bears do.... sleeping in their beds and all. The world is set up for the morning folk though and that really sucks sometimes. Seriously, if I have to be anywhere before 10 am it’s a hardship. I may physically be there, but my brain will not be functional.

Most people have figured this out themselves and really don’t need to read this book.
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<![CDATA[Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America]]> 34859714 The remarkable untold story of Thomas Jefferson's three daughters - two white and free, one black and enslaved - and the divergent paths they forged in a newly independent America.

Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. In Jefferson's Daughters, Catherine Kerrison, a scholar of early American and women's history, recounts the remarkable journey of these three women - and how their struggle to define themselves reflects both the possibilities and the limitations that resulted from the American Revolution.

Although the three women shared a father, the similarities end there. Martha and Maria received a fine convent school education while they lived with their father during his diplomatic posting in Paris - a hothouse of intellectual ferment whose celebrated ˛ő˛ą±ô´Ç˛Ô˛Ôľ±Ă¨°ů±đ˛ő are vividly brought to life in Kerrison's narrative. Once they returned home, however, the sisters found their options limited by the laws and customs of early America.

Harriet Hemings followed a different path. She escaped slavery - apparently with the assistance of Jefferson himself. Leaving Monticello behind, she boarded a coach and set off for a decidedly uncertain future.

For this groundbreaking triple biography, Kerrison has uncovered never-before-published documents written by the Jefferson sisters when they were in their teens, as well as letters written by members of the Jefferson and Hemings families. She has interviewed Hemings family descendants (and, with their cooperation, initiating DNA testing) and searched for possible descendants of Harriet Hemings.

The eventful lives of Thomas Jefferson's daughters provide a unique vantage point from which to examine the complicated patrimony of the American Revolution itself. The richly interwoven story of these three strong women and their fight to shape their own destinies sheds new light on the ongoing movement toward human rights in America - and on the personal and political legacy of one of our most controversial Founding Fathers.]]>
425 Catherine Kerrison 1101886242 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.55 2018 Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America
author: Catherine Kerrison
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/11/24
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Spartan Way: Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better.]]> 39621705 New York Times bestselling author Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of Spartan, the global health and wellness platform, leader in obstacle racing, and executive producer of NBC’s television show Ultimate Team Challenge, challenges you to live The Spartan Way.

Determined to yank 100 million people off their couch cushions to start living instead of being passive observers of life, Joe De Sena has one ultimate to help improve everyone’s physical and emotional health by teaching them the tenets of Spartan living from ancient simple eating, smart training, mastering resilience, and an all-out commitment to achieving a goal.

Like Spartan training, living The Spartan Way requires endurance to reach your finish line, the goal that inspires and drives you to succeed no matter what obstacles are thrown in your path. De Sena believes you can gain that endurance in just thirty-six days by following the ten Spartan Core Virtues, timeless principles to help you embrace adversity and overcome any challenge, and making them a permanent part of your own personal core.

The Spartan Core Values

Self-Awareness—Know yourself
Commitment—Be dedicated
Passion—Discover your purpose
Discipline—Practice diligence
Prioritization—Put your house in order
Grit—Push your limits
Courage—Face your fears and your failures
Optimism—Look for the positives
Integrity—Act honestly
Wholeness—Live as a Spartan

De Sena turned this philosophy into a lifestyle—and so can you. With The Spartan Way, you’ll discover your true north, unleash the warrior within, and transform your life to 10X your maximum potential.]]>
195 Joe De Sena 1250153220 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 3 2018, health, non-fiction 4.34 2018 The Spartan Way: Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better.
author: Joe De Sena
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/24
date added: 2018/11/24
shelves: 2018, health, non-fiction
review:

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<![CDATA[House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia]]> 40728633 THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“The story Unger weaves with those earlier accounts and his original reporting is fresh, illuminating and more alarming than the intelligence channel described in the Steele dossier.”—TheĚýWashington PostHouse of Trump, House of Putin offers the first comprehensive investigation into the decades-long relationship among Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian Mafia that ultimately helped win Trump the White House. It is a chilling story that begins in the 1970s, when Trump made his first splash in the booming, money-drenched world of New York real estate, and ends with Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States. That moment was the culmination of Vladimir Putin’s long mission to undermine Western democracy, a mission that he and his hand-selected group of oligarchs and Mafia kingpins had ensnared Trump in, starting more than twenty years ago with the massive bailout of a string of sensational Trump hotel and casino failures in Atlantic City. This book confirms the most incredible American paranoias about Russian malevolence. To most, it will be a hair-raising revelation that the Cold War did not end in 1991—that it merely evolved, with Trump’s apartments offering the perfect vehicle for billions of dollars to leave the collapsing Soviet Union. In House of Trump, House of Putin, Craig Unger methodically traces the deep-rooted alliance between the highest echelons of American political operatives and the biggest players in the frightening underworld of the Russian Mafia. He traces Donald Trump’s sordid ascent from foundering real estate tycoon to leader of the free world. He traces Russia’s phoenix like rise from the ashes of the post–Cold War Soviet Union as well as its ceaseless covert efforts to retaliate against the West and reclaim its status as a global superpower. Without Trump, Russia would have lacked a key component in its attempts to return to imperial greatness. Without Russia, Trump would not be president. This essential book is crucial to understanding the real powers at play in the shadows of today’s world. The appearance of key figures in this book—Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and Felix Sater to name a few—ring with haunting significance in the wake of Robert Mueller’s report and as others continue to close in on the truth.]]> 382 Craig Unger 1524743526 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.04 2018 House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia
author: Craig Unger
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Nightingale 21853621 Der Weltbestseller � die Nr. 1 aus den USA.
Zwei Schwestern im von den Deutschen besetzten Während Vianne ums Überleben ihrer Familie kämpft, schließt sich die jüngere Isabelle der Résistance an und sucht die Freiheit auf dem Pfad der Nachtigall, einem geheimen Fluchtweg über die Pyrenäen. Doch wie weit darf man gehen, um zu überleben? Und wie kann man die schützen, die man liebt?
In diesem epischen, kraftvollen und zutiefst berührenden Roman erzählt Kristin Hannah die Geschichte zweier Frauen, die ihr Schicksal auf ganz eigene Weise meistern.]]>
564 Kristin Hannah 0312577222 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2018, historical-fiction, ww2 4.63 2015 The Nightingale
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/07
date added: 2018/09/07
shelves: 2018, historical-fiction, ww2
review:

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The Saturday Night Ghost Club 36911680 A short, irresistible, and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of "Stranger Things" and "Stand by Me" about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.

Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls--a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place--Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly lighthearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories, The Saturday Night Ghost Club examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become.]]>
253 Craig Davidson 0735274827 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.82 2018 The Saturday Night Ghost Club
author: Craig Davidson
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/08/31
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly]]> 33313 A deluxe, annotated edition of Kitchen Confidential to celebrate the life of Anthony Bourdain, featuring new photo inserts

Over two decades ago, the New Yorker published a now infamous article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,� by then little-known chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain spared no one’s appetite as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door. The article was a sensation, and the book it spawned, the now iconic Kitchen Confidential, became an even bigger sensation and megabestseller. Frankly confessional, addictively acerbic, and utterly unsparing, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business.

Fans will love to return to this deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade, laying out Bourdain’s more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine. Including a handwritten introduction and annotations done by Bourdain about a decade after the book was originally published, this edition also features previously unpublished photos to accompany the now-classic text.]]>
312 Anthony Bourdain 0060899220 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2018, cooking 4.17 2000 Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
author: Anthony Bourdain
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/27
date added: 2018/08/27
shelves: 2018, cooking
review:

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<![CDATA[The Plot to Destroy Democracy: How Putin and his Spies are Undermining America and Dismantling the West]]> 37506133 A provocative, comprehensive analysis of Vladimir Putin and Russia's master plan to destroy democracy in the age of Donald Trump.

In the greatest intelligence operation in the history of the world, Donald Trump was made President of the United States with the assistance of a foreign power. The Plot to Destroy Democracy reveals the dramatic story of how blackmail, espionage, assassination, and psychological warfare were used by Vladimir Putin and his spy agencies to steal the 2016 U.S. election—and attempted to bring about the fall of NATO, the European Union, and western democracy. The book shows how Russia and its fifth column allies tried to flip the cornerstones of democracy in order to re-engineer the world political order that has kept most of the world free since 1945.

Career U.S. Intelligence officer Malcolm Nance examines how Russia has used cyber warfare, political propaganda, and manipulation of our perception of reality—and will do so again—to weaponize American news, traditional media, social media, and the workings of the internet to attack and break apart democratic institutions from within, and what we can expect to come should we fail to stop their next attack.

Nance uses top secret Russian-sourced political and hybrid warfare strategy documents to demonstrate the master plan to undermine American institutions that has been in effect from the Cold War to the present day. Based on original research and countless interviews with espionage experts, Nance examines how Putin's recent hacking accomplished a crucial first step for destabilizing the West for Russia, and why Putin is just the man to do it.

Nance exposes how Russia has supported the campaigns of right-wing extremists throughout both the U.S. and Europe to leverage an axis of autocracy, and how Putin's agencies have worked since 2010 to bring fringe candidate Donald Trump into elections.

The Plot To Destroy Democracy puts a professional spy lens on Putin's plot and unravels it play-by-play. In the end, he provides a better understanding of why Putin's efforts are a serious threat to our national security and global alliances—in much more than one election—and a blistering indictment of Putin's puppet, President Donald J. Trump.]]>
352 Malcolm W. Nance 0316484814 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 5 2018, non-fiction, horrifying 4.15 2018 The Plot to Destroy Democracy: How Putin and his Spies are Undermining America and Dismantling the West
author: Malcolm W. Nance
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/27
date added: 2018/08/27
shelves: 2018, non-fiction, horrifying
review:

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How I Live Now 161426 "Every war has turning points and every person too."

Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she's never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.

As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it's a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy's uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.

A riveting and astonishing story.]]>
194 Meg Rosoff 0553376055 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.59 2004 How I Live Now
author: Meg Rosoff
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/08/27
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House]]> 40226205 The former Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump White House provides an eye-opening look into the corruption and controversy of the current administration.

Few have been a member of Donald Trump’s inner orbit longer than Omarosa Manigault Newman. Their relationship has spanned fifteen years—through four television shows, a presidential campaign, and a year by his side in the most chaotic, outrageous White House in history. But that relationship has come to a decisive and definitive end, and Omarosa is finally ready to share her side of the story in this explosive, jaw-dropping account.

A stunning tell-all and takedown from a strong, intelligent woman who took every name and number, Unhinged is a must-read for any concerned citizen.]]>
320 Omarosa Manigault Newman 1508269114 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.18 2018 Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House
author: Omarosa Manigault Newman
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America]]> 30011020 Democracy in Chains names its true architect—the Nobel Prize-winning political economist James McGill Buchanan—and dissects the operation he and his colleagues designed over six decades to alter every branch of government to disempower the majority.

In a brilliant and engrossing narrative, Nancy MacLean shows how Buchanan forged his ideas about government in a last gasp attempt to preserve the white elite’s power in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. In response to the widening of American democracy, he developed a brilliant, if diabolical, plan to undermine the ability of the majority to use its numbers to level the playing field between the rich and powerful and the rest of us.

Corporate donors and their right-wing foundations were only too eager to support Buchanan’s work in teaching others how to divide America into “makers� and “takers.� And when a multibillionaire on a messianic mission to rewrite the social contract of the modern world, Charles Koch, discovered Buchanan, he created a vast, relentless, and multi-armed machine to carry out Buchanan’s strategy.

Without Buchanan's ideas and Koch's money, the libertarian right would not have succeeded in its stealth takeover of the Republican Party as a delivery mechanism. Now, with Mike Pence as Vice President, the cause has a longtime loyalist in the White House, not to mention a phalanx of Republicans in the House, the Senate, a majority of state governments, and the courts, all carrying out the plan. That plan includes harsher laws to undermine unions, privatizing everything from schools to health care and Social Security, and keeping as many of us as possible from voting. Based on ten years of unique research, Democracy in Chains tells a chilling story of right-wing academics and big money run amok. This revelatory work of scholarship is also a call to arms to protect the achievements of twentieth-century American self-government.]]>
334 Nancy MacLean 1101980966 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.26 2017 Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
author: Nancy MacLean
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

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Fire Shut Up in My Bones 20256590 A gorgeous, moving memoir of how one of America's most innovative and respected journalists found his voice by coming to terms with a painful past

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow mines the compelling poetry of the out-of-time African-American Louisiana town where he grew up � a place where slavery's legacy felt astonishingly close, reverberating in the elders' stories and in the near-constant wash of violence.

Blow's attachment to his mother � a fiercely driven woman with five sons, brass knuckles in her glove box, a job plucking poultry at a nearby factory, a soon-to-be-ex husband, and a love of newspapers and learning � cannot protect him from secret abuse at the hands of an older cousin. It's damage that triggers years of anger and searing self-questioning.

Finally, Blow escapes to a nearby state university, where he joins a black fraternity after a passage of brutal hazing, and then enters a world of racial and sexual privilege that feels like everything he's ever needed and wanted, until he's called upon, himself, to become the one perpetuating the shocking abuse.

A powerfully redemptive memoir that both fits the tradition of African-American storytelling from the South, and gives it an indelible new slant.]]>
228 Charles M. Blow 0544228049 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.95 2014 Fire Shut Up in My Bones
author: Charles M. Blow
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/08/04
shelves: to-read
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Rat Girl 8143996 The founder of a cult rock band shares her outrageous tale of growing up much faster than planned.

In 1985, Kristin Hersh was just starting to find her place in the world. After leaving home at the age of fifteen, the precocious child of unconventional hippies had enrolled in college while her band, Throwing Muses, was getting off the ground amid rumors of a major label deal. Then everything changed: she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and found herself in an emotional tailspin; she started medication, but then discovered she was pregnant. An intensely personal and moving account of that pivotal year, Rat Girl is sure to be greeted eagerly by Hersh's many fans.]]>
318 Kristin Hersh 0143117394 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 3.96 2010 Rat Girl
author: Kristin Hersh
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/07/19
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why]]> 2706211
Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims? Will our upbringing, our gender, our personality–anything we’ve ever learned, thought, or dreamed of–ultimately matter?
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Amanda Ripley, an award-winning journalist for Time magazine who has covered some of the most devastating disasters of our age, set out to discover what lies beyond fear and speculation. In this magnificent work of investigative journalism, Ripley retraces the human response to some of history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917–one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb–to a plane crash in England in 1985 that mystified investigators for years, to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Then, to understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts, formal and informal, from a Holocaust survivor who studies heroism to a master gunfighter who learned to overcome the effects of extreme fear.

Finally, Ripley steps into the dark corners of her own imagination, having her brain examined by military researchers and experiencing through realistic simulations what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire.
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Ripley comes back with precious wisdom about the surprising humanity of crowds, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, and the stunning inadequacy of many of our evolutionary responses. Most unexpectedly, she discovers the brain’s ability to do much, much better, with just a little help.

The Unthinkable escorts us into the bleakest regions of our nightmares, flicks on a flashlight, and takes a steady look around. Then it leads us home, smarter and stronger than we were before.]]>
266 Amanda Ripley 0307352897 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 0 to-read 4.16 2008 The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why
author: Amanda Ripley
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Rampage (Bloodlands collection)]]> 40508762 In 1949, things like this just didn’t happen: A quiet New Jersey resident took a morning walk with a 9 mm Luger pistol. In twelve minutes he murdered thirteen neighbors…and then went back to bed.

Howard Unruh went from obscurity to infamy overnight. Even after his obsessive diaries were discovered—a catalogue of simmering rage, petty grievances, and sexual repression—the anomalous crime seemed incomprehensible. Succeeding decades would confirm that Unruh’s “Walk of Death� was just the beginning. The prototype for the modern mass murderer, he would usher in a new age of violence in America.

Rampage is part of Bloodlands, a chilling collection of short page-turning historical narratives from bestselling true-crime master Harold Schechter. Spanning a century in our nation’s murderous past, Schechter resurrects nearly forgotten tales of madmen and thrill-killers that dominated the most sensational headlines of their day.

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61 Harold Schecter 1503954242 Stephanie *Eff your feelings* 4 2018, true-crime 3.77 2018 Rampage (Bloodlands collection)
author: Harold Schecter
name: Stephanie *Eff your feelings*
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/15
date added: 2018/07/14
shelves: 2018, true-crime
review:

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