en-US Mon, 28 Apr 2025 18:16:13 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 90202302 “The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.�� —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders�� capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.]]> 623 Rebecca Yarros 1649374178 Ashleigh 0 currently-reading 4.33 2023
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> 94675 320 Constantin Stanislavski 0878309837 Ashleigh 0 currently-reading 4.07 1936
author: Constantin Stanislavski
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1936
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 52011076 From the creator of Your Fat Friend, an explosive indictment of the systemic and cultural bias facing plus-size people that will move us toward creating an agenda for fat justice.

Anti-fatness is everywhere. In What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Aubrey Gordon unearths the cultural attitudes and social systems that have led to people being denied basic needs because they are fat and calls for social justice movements to be inclusive of plus-sized people's experiences. Unlike the recent wave of memoirs and quasi self-help books that encourage readers to love and accept themselves, Gordon pushes the discussion further towards authentic fat activism, which includes ending legal weight discrimination, giving equal access to health care for large people, increased access to public spaces, and ending anti-fat violence. As she argues, I did not come to body positivity for self-esteem. I came to it for social justice.

By sharing her experiences as well as those of others--from smaller fat to very fat people--she concludes that to be fat in our society is to be seen as an undeniable failure, unlovable, unforgivable, and morally condemnable. Fatness is an open invitation for others to express disgust, fear, and insidious concern. To be fat is to be denied humanity and empathy. Studies show that fat survivors of sexual assault are less likely to be believed and less likely than their thin counterparts to report various crimes; 27% of very fat women and 13% of very fat men attempt suicide; over 50% of doctors describe their fat patients as awkward, unattractive, ugly and noncompliant; and in 48 states, it's legal--even routine--to deny employment because of an applicant's size.

Advancing fat justice and changing prejudicial structures and attitudes will require work from all people. What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat is a crucial tool to create a tectonic shift in the way we see, talk about, and treat our bodies, fat and thin alike.]]> 197 Aubrey Gordon 0807041300 Ashleigh 3 4.41 2020
author: Aubrey Gordon
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/28
date added: 2025/04/28
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]]> 61431922 Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile�� humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die]]> 528 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 Ashleigh 5 4.56 2023
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
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]]> 59808451 Madly Deeply is a rare invitation into the mind of Alan Rickman—one of the most magnetic, beloved performers of our time.

From his breakout role in Die Hard to his outstanding, multifaceted performances in the Harry Potter films, Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and more, Alan Rickman cemented his legacy as a world-class actor. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today.

But Rickman’s ability to breathe life into projects wasn't confined to just his performances. As you'll find, Rickman's diaries detail the extraordinary and the ordinary, flitting between worldly and witty and gossipy, while remaining utterly candid throughout. He takes us inside his home, on trips with friends across the globe, and on the sets of films and plays ranging from Sense and Sensibility, to Noël Coward's Private Lives, to the final film he directed, A Little Chaos.

Running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into Rickman's public and private life. Reading them is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close companion. Meet Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveler, the fan, the director, the enthusiast; in short, the man beyond the icon.

Madly, Deeply features a photo insert, a foreword by Emma Thompson, and an afterword by Rima Horton.]]> 469 Alan Rickman 1250847958 Ashleigh 4 3.54 2022
author: Alan Rickman
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
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]]> 923950
Most of us feel overstimulated every once in a while, but for the HSP, it's a way of life. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Elaine Aron, a clinical psychologist, workshop leader, and an HSP herself, shows you how to identify this trait in yourself and make the most of it in everyday situations. Drawing on her many years of research and hundreds of interviews, she shows how you can better understand yourself and your trait to create a fuller, richer life.]]> 251 Elaine N. Aron 0553062182 Ashleigh 3 3.86 1996
author: Elaine N. Aron
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
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]]> 35224992 A story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare.

“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.�� And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?��

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.]]> 409 Malinda Lo 0525555250 Ashleigh 3 4.21 2021
author: Malinda Lo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
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]]> 171677185 ��
What if you stopped feeling ashamed of constantly being late or of getting so hyperfocused on a task that you drop everything else you had to do? How can you as a partner, parent, or friend better understand your neurodivergent loved one’s way of moving through the world?
��
In Dirty Laundry , life partners Rich Pink and Rox Emery unapologetically guide you through the ups and downs of life with ADHD. Every chapter starts with a common symptom of ADHD, like impulsivity or struggles with finances, and an earnest moment from their own lives to show you how they navigate the symptom together. Rox reminds you to be kind to yourself and love yourself for who you are; Rich offers tips on how he uses compassion and honesty instead of jumping to conclusions. Whether it's helping your ADHDer with friendly time-checks before an appointment or reminding yourself to take breaks during hours spent hyperfocusing on a new project, Rox and Rich give you the tools to destigmatize and normalize life with ADHD.]]> 144 Richard Pink 0593835530 Ashleigh 4 3.86 2023
author: Richard Pink
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
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]]> 53138095
فردی که بیش از دیگران اعصاب او را تحریک می‌کند�� کسی نیست جز کاسین، این جنگجوی زخم‌خورد�� که موقعیتش در دربار ریسند و فیرا او را مدام در نزدیکی نستا نگه می­دارد؛ اما خشم نستا تنها چیزی نیست که در حضور کاسین تحریک می­‌شو��. آتشی که بین آن­‌ه�� شعله می­‌کش�� غیرقابل‌انکا�� است و وقتی ناچار به زندگی باهم در یک خانه می­شوند، بیش‌ازپی�� حرارت می‌گیر��.

دراین‌بین�� ملکه‌­ها�� انسان خائن نیز که طی جنگ اخیر به قلمرو خود بازگشته‌ان�� متحدی جدید و خطرناک یافته‌ان�� که حضورش صلح شکننده حاکم بر دیگر قلمروها را تهدید می‌کند�� و کلید بازداشتن این تهدید جدید در دست کاسین و نستاست که باید با گذشته­ی شوم خود روبه‌ر�� شوند.

نستا و کاسین در دنیایی غرق در جنگ، در دنیایی که عدم اطمینان و بی­ثباتی آن را فراگرفته با هیولاهایی بیرون و درون وجود خود روبه‌ر�� شده و به دنبال بهبود و پذیرش در آغوش یکدیگر می‌گردن��.]]> 757 Sarah J. Maas 168119628X Ashleigh 5 4.44 2021
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
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]]> 121288476
Written by two late-diagnosed neurodivergent women and the founders of fast-growing online community @IAmPayingAttention, HOW NOT TO FIT IN is an handbook-meets-rallying cry.

Foregrounding real experiences with autism and ADHD, this book explores the journey of discovering, accepting and flourishing with your neurodivergent brain. It explores why getting diagnosis can be so fraught and gendered, and how to navigate a world which centres neurotypical brains in the realms of relationships, careers, friendships and finances.

By reading this book, you��

Start to understand why so many people are being diagnosed with ADHD and autism right nowLearn the impact that not knowing your own brain can have on your mental healthFind the confidence to ask for accommodations and adjustments at work �� without apologisingHave the chance to note down how this journey is evolving for you in chapter-by-chapter workbook sections.�� and, most importantly, get to know yourself and your needs better. Featuring the latest research and thinking on neurodivergence, contributions from dozens of experts and the real stories of people just like you, this innovative book �� which has been written and designed especially for *spicy* brains �� is essential reading for anyone whose brain seems to see the world in a different way.]]> 323 Jess Joy 0008589232 Ashleigh 3 4.05
author: Jess Joy
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/01
date added: 2025/02/23
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]]> 61242426
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success �� not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.]]> 296 Travis Baldree Ashleigh 4 4.04 2022
author: Travis Baldree
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
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]]> 55711559 Honestly, sometimes I think it’s the only recourse. Killing men in times like these.

Joan has spent a lifetime enduring the cruel acts of men. But when one of them commits a shocking act of violence in front of her, she flees New York City in search of Alice, the only person alive who can help her make sense of her past. In the sweltering hills above Los Angeles, Joan unravels the horrific event she witnessed as a child—that has haunted her every waking moment—while forging the power to finally strike back.

Here is the electrifying debut novel from Lisa Taddeo, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Three Women, which was named to more than thirty best-of-the-year lists and hailed as “a dazzling achievement�� (Los Angeles Times) and “a heartbreaking, gripping, astonishing masterpiece�� (Esquire). Animal is a depiction of female rage at its rawest, and a visceral exploration of the fallout from a male-dominated society. With writing that scorches and mesmerizes, Taddeo illustrates one woman’s exhilarating transformation from prey into predator.]]> 336 Lisa Taddeo 1982122129 Ashleigh 4 3.71 2021
author: Lisa Taddeo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
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]]> 25065522 288 Drew Barrymore 1101983795 Ashleigh 3 3.58 2015
author: Drew Barrymore
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves:
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]]> 50659471
Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, her concern for those dearest to her deepens. They have more wounds than she anticipated-scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court.

Bridging the events of A Court of Wings and Ruin with the later books in the series, A Court of Frost and Starlight explores the far-reaching effects of a devastating war and the fierce love between friends.]]> 272 Sarah J. Maas 1635575621 Ashleigh 4 3.69 2019
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/13
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]]> 62080187
But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate�� with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.

And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.

The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.]]> 286 Freida McFadden Ashleigh 4 4.09 2022
author: Freida McFadden
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/08
date added: 2025/01/08
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]]> 50659472 The epic third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything-and everyone-she holds dear.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers-both magical and political-and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the fate of Feyre's world is at stake as armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy it.]]> 699 Sarah J. Maas 1635575605 Ashleigh 5 4.47 2017
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2025/01/01
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]]> 44285784 A paradigm-shifting study of neurodivergent women—those with ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, and sensory processing disorder—exploring why these traits are overlooked in women and how society benefits from allowing their unique strengths to flourish.

As a successful Harvard and Berkeley-educated writer, entrepreneur, and devoted mother, Jenara Nerenberg was shocked to discover that her “symptoms��--only ever labeled as anxiety-- were considered autistic and ADHD. Being a journalist, she dove into the research and uncovered neurodiversity—a framework that moves away from pathologizing “abnormal�� versus “normal�� brains and instead recognizes the vast diversity of our mental makeups.��

When it comes to women, sensory processing differences are often overlooked, masked, or mistaken for something else entirely. Between a flawed system that focuses on diagnosing younger, male populations, and the fact that girls are conditioned from a young age to blend in and conform to gender expectations, women often don’t learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all. As a result, potentially millions live with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed neurodivergences, and the misidentification leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and shame. Meanwhile, we all miss out on the gifts their neurodivergent minds have to offer.

Divergent Mind is a long-overdue, much-needed answer for women who have a deep sense that they are “different.�� Sharing real stories from women with high sensitivity, ADHD, autism, misophonia, dyslexia, SPD and more, Nerenberg explores how these brain variances present differently in women and dispels widely-held misconceptions (for example, it’s not that autistic people lack sensitivity and empathy, they have an overwhelming excess of it).

Nerenberg also offers us a path forward, describing practical changes in how we communicate, how we design our surroundings, and how we can better support divergent minds. When we allow our wide variety of brain makeups to flourish, we create a better tomorrow for us all.]]> 244 Jenara Nerenberg 0062876813 Ashleigh 4 3.83 2020
author: Jenara Nerenberg
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
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]]> 211483 304 Sari Solden 1887424970 Ashleigh 4 4.22 1995
author: Sari Solden
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/16
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]]> 58537365 Celebrating special interests Cultivating Autistic relationships Reframing Autistic stereotypes And rediscovering your valuesIt’s time to honor the needs, diversity, and unique strengths of Autistic people so that they no longer have to mask—and it’s time for greater public acceptance and accommodation of difference. In embracing neurodiversity, we can all reap the rewards of nonconformity and learn to live authentically, Autistic and neurotypical people alike.]]> 304 Devon Price 0593235231 Ashleigh 0 currently-reading 4.38 2022
author: Devon Price
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 61986136 A young woman pretends to be someone she isn't in this stunning novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Girls.

Summer is coming to a close on the East End of Long Island, and Alex is no longer welcome.

A misstep at a dinner party, and the older man she's been staying with dismisses her with a ride to the train station and a ticket back to the city.

With few resources and a waterlogged phone, but gifted with an ability to navigate the desires of others, Alex stays on Long Island and drifts like a ghost through the hedged lanes, gated driveways, and sun-blasted dunes of a rarified world that is, at first, closed to her. Propelled by desperation and a mutable sense of morality, she spends the week leading up to Labor Day moving from one place to the next, a cipher leaving destruction in her wake.

Taut, propulsive, and impossible to look away from, Emma Cline's The Guest is a spellbinding literary achievement.]]> 304 Emma Cline 0812998626 Ashleigh 4 3.29 2023
author: Emma Cline
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
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]]> 199347538 Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. Featuring gorgeous orange sprayed edges!

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He’s the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there’s the island’s sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 125088120X Ashleigh 4 4.17 2024
author: T.J. Klune
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
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]]> 50659468
Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she's now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.

As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre's hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil.

Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her dazzling, sexy, action-packed series to new heights.]]> 626 Sarah J. Maas 1635575583 Ashleigh 5 4.65 2016
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/06
date added: 2024/11/06
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]]> 36206591 The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

Love, loss, friendship, and the betrayals of the past all collide in this first fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).]]> 432 Christina Lauren 1501190539 Ashleigh 4 4.23 2018
author: Christina Lauren
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/21
date added: 2024/10/21
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]]> 199235727
I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.

Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes.

But her cold stare gives me chills��

The Lowells�� maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.

Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here?

I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?]]> 364 Freida McFadden 1464223319 Ashleigh 3 3.79 2024
author: Freida McFadden
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/11
shelves:
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]]> 50659467
At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.]]> 419 Sarah J. Maas 1635575567 Ashleigh 5 4.16 2015
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/26
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves:
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]]> 61062194 From the magical moments on set as Draco Malfoy to the challenges of growing up in the spotlight, get a backstage pass into Tom Felton’s life on and off the big screen in this #1 New York Times bestseller.

Tom Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame in beloved films like The Borrowers catapulted him into the limelight, but nothing could prepare him for what was to come after he landed the iconic role of the Draco Malfoy, the bleached blonde villain of the Harry Potter movies. For the next ten years, he was at the center of a huge pop culture phenomenon and yet, in between filming, he would go back to being a normal teenager trying to fit into a normal school.

Speaking with great candor and his signature humor, Tom shares his experience growing up as part of the wizarding world while also trying to navigate the muggle world. He tells stories from his early days in the business like his first acting gig where he was mistaken for fellow blonde child actor Macaulay Culkin and his Harry Potter audition where, in a very Draco-like move, he fudged how well he knew the books the series was based on (not at all). He reflects on his experiences working with cinematic greats such as Alan Rickman, Sir Michael Gambon, Dame Maggie Smith, and Ralph Fiennes (including that awkward Voldemort hug). And, perhaps most poignantly, he discusses the lasting relationships he made over that decade of filming, including with Emma Watson, who started out as a pesky nine-year-old whom he mocked for not knowing what a boom mic was but who soon grew into one of his dearest friends. Then, of course, there are the highs and lows of fame and navigating life after such a momentous and life-changing experience.

Tom Felton’s Beyond the Wand is an entertaining, funny, and poignant must-read for any Harry Potter fan. Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.]]> 288 Tom Felton 1538741369 Ashleigh 3 4.28 2022
author: Tom Felton
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/27
date added: 2024/08/27
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]]> 668282 Alternative cover edition of ISBN 0141188340

Lise is thin, neither good-looking nor bad-looking. One day she walks out of her office, acquires a gaudy new outfit, adopts a girlier tone of voice, and heads to the airport to fly south. On the plane she takes a seat between two men. One is delighted with her company, the other is deeply perturbed. So begins an unnerving journey into the darker recesses of human nature.]]> 103 Muriel Spark Ashleigh 3 3.62 1970
author: Muriel Spark
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1970
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/21
date added: 2024/08/21
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]]> 61151270
By the��award-winning author of Something Wild , a gripping portrait of a tumultuous, consuming relationship between a young woman and a recovering addict

When Leah Kempler meets Charlie Nelson in line at the grocery store, their attraction is immediate and intense. Charlie, with his big feelings and grand proclamations of love, captivates her completely. But there are peculiarities of his life—he’s older than her but lives with his parents; he meets up with a friend at odd hours of the night; he sleeps a lot and always seems to be coming down with something. He confesses that he’s a recovering heroin addict, but he promises Leah that he’s never going to use again.

Leah's friends and family are concerned. As she finds herself getting deeper into an isolated relationship, one of manipulation and denial, the truth about Charlie feels as blurry as their time together. Even when Charlie’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, when he starts to make Leah feel unsafe,��she can’t help but feel that what exists between them is destined. Charlie is wide open, boyish, and unbearably handsome. The bounds of Leah’s own pain—and love—are so deep that she can’t see him spiraling into self-destruction.

Hanna Halperin writes with aching vulnerability and intimacy, sharply attuned to Leah’s desire for an all-consuming, compulsive connection. I Could Live Here Forever exposes the chasm between perception and truth to tell an intoxicating story of one woman’s relationship with an addict, the accompanying swirl of compassion and codependence, and her enduring search for love and wholeness.]]> 336 Hanna Halperin 0593492072 Ashleigh 4 3.72 2023
author: Hanna Halperin
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/14
date added: 2024/08/14
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]]> 13456414
In this haunting existential novella, author, philosopher, and ecologist Steven L. Peck explores a subversive vision of eternity, taking the reader on a journey through the afterlife of a world where everything everyone believed in turns out to be wrong.]]> 110 Steven L. Peck 098374842X Ashleigh 4 4.17 2011
author: Steven L. Peck
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/05
date added: 2024/08/05
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]]> 58950713 This darkly funny and provocative novel reimagines classic fairy tale characters as modern women in a support group for trauma.

In present-day New York City, five women meet in a basement support group to process their traumas. Bernice grapples with the fallout of dating a psychopathic, blue-bearded billionaire. Ruby, once devoured by a wolf, now wears him as a coat. Gretel questions her memory of being held captive in a house made of candy. Ashlee, the winner of a Bachelor-esque dating show, wonders if she really got her promised��fairy tale ending. And Raina's love story will shock them all.

Though the women start out wary of one another, judging each other’s stories, gradually they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they supposed . . . What really brought them here? What secrets will they reveal? And is it too late for them to rescue each other?

Dark, edgy, and wickedly funny, this debut for readers of Carmen Maria Machado, Kristen Arnett, and Kelly Link takes our coziest, most beloved childhood stories, exposes them as anti-feminist nightmares, and transforms them into a new kind of myth for grown-up women.]]> 291 Maria Adelmann 0316450847 Ashleigh 4 3.54 2022
author: Maria Adelmann
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/31
date added: 2024/07/31
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]]> 39735213
Two of the jurors: Hannah, a married fifty-two-year-old former Rolling Stone and Interview Magazine photographer of rock stars and socialites (she began to photograph animals when she realized she saw people “as a species��), and Graham, a forty-one-year-old anatomy professor. Both are sequestered (she, juror C-2; he, F-17) along with the other jurors at the Econo Lodge off I-75. As the shocking and numbing details of the crime are revealed during a string of days and courtroom hours, and the nights play out in a series of court-financed meals at Outback Steak House (the state isn’t paying for their drinks) and Red Lobster, Hannah and Graham fall into a furtive affair, keeping their oath as jurors never to discuss the trial. During deliberations the lovers learn that they are on opposing sides of the case. Suddenly they look at one another through an altogether different lens, as things become more complicated . . .

After the verdict, Hannah returns home to her much older husband, but the case ignites once again and Hannah’s “one last dalliance before she is too old�� takes on profoundly personal and moral consequences as The Body in Question moves to its affecting, powerful, and surprising conclusion.

Listening length: 5 hours, 26 minutes]]> 6 Jill Ciment 198488980X Ashleigh 3 3.53 2019
author: Jill Ciment
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
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]]> 56756209
Following her beloved How to Be a Wildflower series, Katie Daisy is here to guide you through the mystery and magic of the night. How to Be a Moonflower is a journey from dusk to dawn, full of quotes, poems, meditations, and stunning watercolor illustrations. From nocturnal animals, such as luna moths, wolves, and owls, to night-blooming flowers that thrive under the moon, the nighttime offers much to explore, observe, and reflect on.

This book will help you make the most of those mystical, after-dark hours and observe the hidden wonders that come to life after twilight. Complete with field guides to different nocturnal flora and fauna, and charts that map out the cosmos, Katie Daisy's lush illustrations and insightful words capture the beauty that comes to life in the darkness of the night.

BELOVED Known for her lush, painterly illustrations and love of the natural world, New York Times bestselling author and artist Katie Daisy has a loyal following on Instagram, where she frequently posts her charming artwork.

BESTSELLING Beginning with How to Be a Wildflower , Katie Daisy’s books, tarot-inspired oracle decks, journals, planners, and more have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and are beloved by nature-lovers of all kinds.

DELUXE Featuring a tactile cover with silver metallic ink on the spine and back panel, How to Be a Moonflower is a beautiful gift for anyone interested in nature, witchcraft, or forming a more mindful connection to the natural world.

Perfect ]]> 208 Katie Daisy 1797201913 Ashleigh 4 4.41
author: Katie Daisy
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/14
date added: 2024/07/14
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]]> 63017297 In this suspenseful and darkly funny debut novel, a sophisticated French woman spends her life obsessing over her perfect husband--but can their marriage survive her passionate love?

At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she's never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. After all, would a truly infatuated man ever let go of his wife's hand when they're sitting on the couch together?

Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, charting every mistake and punishing him accordingly to help him improve. And she tests him--setting traps to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met.

Until one day she realizes she may have gone too far . . .

The winner of France's First Novel Prize in 2021, My Husband builds on the premise of hits like Gone Girl and Fates and Furies--how well can you really know your spouse?--and adds the tension and creepy obsession of You. The result is an irresistible read--compelling, tense, and engaging, infused with sly subversive humor, and told in an utterly original voice that makes it unforgettable.

Translated from the French by Emma Ramadan]]> 272 Maud Ventura 0063274825 Ashleigh 4 3.67 2021
author: Maud Ventura
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/14
date added: 2024/07/14
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]]> 74956299
Three teenagers believe they are witches. A woman defaces a local billboard. A bored landlord tries to influence his son's best friend. A cul-de-sac WhatsApp group discusses eggs at length. A heavily pregnant woman finds a way to time travel and a girl discovers joy on a stolen bicycle...

Each tale paints a life in miniature and offers an escape chute from the catastrophes of modern life.]]> 256 Josie Long 1838856080 Ashleigh 3 3.48 2023
author: Josie Long
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/07
date added: 2024/07/07
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]]> 18691131 304 Paul M. Buhle 1781682623 Ashleigh 0 currently-reading 3.45 2014
author: Paul M. Buhle
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/02
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 23513349 Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.

It is split into four chapters, with each chapter dealing with a different pain. Healing a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them -- because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.]]> 204 Rupi Kaur 1502784270 Ashleigh 4 3.96 2014
author: Rupi Kaur
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/30
date added: 2024/06/30
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]]> 22822858
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride.��Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.]]> 720 Hanya Yanagihara 0385539258 Ashleigh 4 4.28 2015
author: Hanya Yanagihara
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/29
date added: 2024/06/29
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]]> 62898932 Do you know what happened already?
Did you know her?
Did you see it on the internet?
Did you listen to a podcast?
Did the hosts make jokes?

Did you see the pictures of the body?

Did you look for them?

It's been nearly a decade since the horrifying murder of sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson rocked Crow-on-Sea, and the events of that terrible night are now being published for the first time.

That story is Penance, a dizzying feat of masterful storytelling, where Eliza Clark manoeuvres us through accounts from the inhabitants of this small seaside town. Placing us in the capable hands of journalist Alec Z. Carelli, Clark allows him to construct what he claims is the 'definitive account' of the murder - and what led up to it. Built on hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, painstaking historical research, and most notably, correspondence with the killers themselves, the result is a riveting snapshot of lives rocked by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil.

The only question is: how much of it is true?]]> 336 Eliza Clark 0571371795 Ashleigh 4 3.87 2023
author: Eliza Clark
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/21
date added: 2024/05/21
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]]> 45047384
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.]]> 394 T.J. Klune Ashleigh 5 4.37 2020
author: T.J. Klune
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/07
date added: 2024/05/07
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]]> 13153370
But Tom has another life, another equally overpowering claim on his affections. Patrick, a curator at the Brighton Museum, is also besotted with his policeman, and opens Tom's eyes to a world previously unknown to him. But in an age when those of 'minority status' were condemned by society and the law, it is safer for this policeman to marry his teacher. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed.

Unfolding through the dual narratives of Marion and Patrick, both writing about the man at the centre of their lives, this beautifully-told, painful, tragic story is revealed.It is a tale of wasted years, misguided love and thwarted hope, of how at a time when the country was on the verge of change so much was still impossible.

Bethan Roberts has produced an intense and exquisitely raw yet tender novel, which proves her to be one of our most exciting young writers.]]> 352 Bethan Roberts 0701185848 Ashleigh 4 4.00 2012
author: Bethan Roberts
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/16
date added: 2024/04/16
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]]> 61685822 From the author of the New York Times best seller Poser and the acclaimed memoir Love and Trouble, a passionate, provocative, blisteringly smart interrogation of how we make and experience art in the age of #MeToo, and of the link between genius and monstrosity.

In this unflinching, deeply personal book that expands on her instantly viral Paris Review essay, What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men? Claire Dederer asks: Can we love the work of Hemingway, Polanski, Naipaul, Miles Davis, or Picasso? Should we love it? Does genius deserve special dispensation? Is male monstrosity the same as female monstrosity? Does art have a mandate to depict the darker elements of the psyche? And what happens if the artist stares too long into the abyss? She explores the audience's relationship with artists from Woody Allen to Michael Jackson, asking: How do we balance our undeniable sense of moral outrage with our equally undeniable love of the work? In a more troubling vein, she wonders if an artist needs to be a monster in order to create something great. And if an artist is also a mother, does one identity inexorably, and fatally, interrupt the other? Highly topical, morally wise, honest to the core, Monsters is certain to incite a conversation about whether and how we can separate artists from their art.]]> 257 Claire Dederer 0525655115 Ashleigh 4 3.75 2023
author: Claire Dederer
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/08
date added: 2024/04/08
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]]> 60320407
When you have ADHD, it can be hard to stay on top of your wellness. Self-Care for People with ADHD is here to help!

This book can help you engage in some neurodiverse self-care—without pretending to be neurotypical. You’ll find more than 100 tips to accepting yourself, destigmatizing ADHD, finding your community, and taking care of your physical and mental health. You’ll find solutions for managing the negative aspects of ADHD, as well as ideas to bring out the positive aspects. With expert advice from psychiatrist and clinician Sasha Hamdani, MD, Self-Care for People with ADHD will help you live your life to the fullest!]]> 192 Sasha Hamdani 1507219431 Ashleigh 4 3.75 2023
author: Sasha Hamdani
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/30
date added: 2024/03/30
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]]> 75571342 'Endlessly intriguing . . . I was enchanted' - DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Illuminating in every sense of the word' - John Higgs

In an illuminating blend of memoir and art history, The Other Side explores the lives and work of a group of extraordinary women artists. From the twelfth-century mystic Hildegard of Bingen and the nineteenth-century spiritualist Georgiana Houghton to the pioneering Hilma af Klint, these women all - in their own unique ways - shared the same to communicate with, and learn from, other dimensions.

Weaving in and out of their myriad lives, Jennifer Higgie considers the solace of ritual, the gender exclusions of art history, the contemporary relevance of myth, the boom in alternative ways of understanding the world and the impact of spiritualism on feminism and contemporary art.]]> 264 Jennifer Higgie 1474623352 Ashleigh 3 4.05
author: Jennifer Higgie
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/27
date added: 2024/03/27
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]]> 1840511 From the master of literary mayhem and provocation, a full-frontal Triple X novel that goes where no American work of fiction has gone before

Cassie Wright, porn priestess, intends to cap her legendary career by breaking the world record for serial fornication. On camera. With six hundred men. Snuff unfolds from the perspectives of Mr. 72, Mr. 137, and Mr. 600, who await their turn on camera in a very crowded green room. This wild, lethally funny, and thoroughly researched novel brings the huge yet underacknowledged presence of pornography in contemporary life into the realm of literary fiction at last. Who else but Chuck Palahniuk would dare do such a thing? Who else could do it so well, so unflinchingly, and with such an incendiary (you might say) climax?]]> 208 Chuck Palahniuk 0385517882 Ashleigh 3 3.23 2008
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.23
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/27
date added: 2024/03/27
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]]> 60784549
The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,�� he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.]]> 432 T.J. Klune 125021744X Ashleigh 4 3.90 2023
author: T.J. Klune
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/22
date added: 2024/03/22
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]]> 374671
Christina was a young girl shown off to the world as a fortunate little princess. But at home, her lonely, controlling, even ruthless mother made her life a nightmare. A fierce battle of wills, their relationship could be characterized as an ultimately successful, for Christina, struggle for independence. She endured and survived, becoming the voice of so many other victims who suffered in silence, and giving them the courage to forge a productive life out of chaos.]]> 420 Christina Crawford 0966336909 Ashleigh 3 3.64 1978
author: Christina Crawford
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1978
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/04
date added: 2024/03/04
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]]> 63133205 The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.]]> 288 Britney Spears 1668009048 Ashleigh 4 3.83 2023
author: Britney Spears
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/04
date added: 2024/03/04
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]]> 58655861 0 Viktor E. Frankl Ashleigh 4 4.35 1946
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1946
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/02/17
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]]> 53205888 Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.

And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.

But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.]]> 376 T.J. Klune 1250217342 Ashleigh 5 4.11 2021
author: T.J. Klune
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/14
date added: 2024/02/14
shelves:
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]]> 34593688 208 Joan Crawford 1631681141 Ashleigh 3 3.93 1971
author: Joan Crawford
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1971
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/01/31
shelves:
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]]> 22207 A gritty, heart-wrenching novel about bruised innocence on the city's feral streets—the remarkable debut of a stunning literary talent

Heather O'Neill dazzles with a first novel of extraordinary prescience and power, a subtly understated yet searingly effective story of a young life on the streets—and the strength, wits, and luck necessary for survival.

At thirteen, Baby vacillates between childhood comforts and adult temptation: still young enough to drag her dolls around in a vinyl suitcase yet old enough to know more than she should about urban cruelties. Motherless, she lives with her father, Jules, who takes better care of his heroin habit than he does of his daughter. Baby's gift is a genius for spinning stories and for cherishing the small crumbs of happiness that fall into her lap. But her blossoming beauty has captured the attention of a charismatic and dangerous local pimp who runs an army of sad, slavishly devoted girls—a volatile situation even the normally oblivious Jules cannot ignore. And when an escape disguised as betrayal threatens to crush Baby's spirit, she will ultimately realize that the power of salvation rests in her hands alone.]]> 330 Heather O'Neill 0060875070 Ashleigh 4 4.04 2006
author: Heather O'Neill
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/19
date added: 2024/01/19
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]]> 59855440 Make Your Life Magical With This Essential Book For New Witches
There is so much more wonder and magic in this world than most people ever experience, but if you've decided to check out this book, than you already suspect there's something more.

Witchcraft is the doorway into that new world. The doorway you've been looking for.

Taking your first step into the world of magic doesn't have to be complicated or scary.

Witchcraft for Beginners breaks down everything you need to know with simple explanations and instructions on how to get started.

Here's just a sampling of what you'll learn in this many different types of modern witches from Kitchen Witch to Cosmic Witch - page 14The tools you'll need to get started from crystals to wands - page 25How to make your own magical Protection Oil using essential oils - page 49When the phases of the moon will influence your magic - page 54How to protect yourself before you cast a spell - page 67
You'll also learn how to cast real spells for love and prosperity, as well as banishing and protection. Each spell includes step-by-step instructions and easy to find ingredients.

To take your first step into the magical world of witchcraft today, scroll up and click “add to cart��.]]> 99 Bridget Bishop Ashleigh 4 4.02
author: Bridget Bishop
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.02
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/02
date added: 2024/01/02
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]]> 62047984
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.

But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.]]> 319 R.F. Kuang 000853277X Ashleigh 4 3.69 2023
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/28
date added: 2023/12/28
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]]> 286957
In a private journal, the woman records her growing obsession with the “horrid�� wallpaper. Its strange pattern mutates in the moonlight, revealing what appears to be a human figure in the design. With nothing else to occupy her mind, the woman resolves to unlock the mystery of the wallpaper. Her quest, however, leads not to the truth, but into the darkest depths of madness.

A condemnation of the patriarchy, The Yellow Wallpaper explores with terrifying economy the oppression, grave misunderstanding, and willful dismissal of women in late nineteenth-century society.

First published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine.

Excerpt:
Out of another I get a lovely view of the bay and a little private wharf belonging to the estate. There is a beautiful shaded lane that runs down there from the house. I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try.]]> 62 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1558611584 Ashleigh 3 4.11 1892
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1892
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/12/09
shelves:
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]]> 60139504 How to Keep House While Drowning will introduce you to six life-changing principles that will revolutionize the way you approach home care—without endless to-do lists. Presented in 31 daily thoughts, this compassionate guide will help you begin to get free of the shame and anxiety you feel over home care.

Inside you will learn:
· How to shift your perspective of care tasks from moral to functional;
· How to stop negative self-talk and shame around care tasks;
· How to give yourself permission to rest, even when things aren’t finished;
· How to motivate yourself to care for your space.]]> 151 K.C. Davis 166800285X Ashleigh 5 4.22 2022
author: K.C. Davis
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/09
date added: 2023/12/09
shelves:
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]]> 62848145 As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can't risk losing this job �� not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe . . .

It's hard to find an employer who doesn't ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It's almost perfect. But I still haven't met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I'm sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I'm doing laundry. And one day I can't help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything...

That's when I make a promise. After all, I've done this before. I can protect Mrs. Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It's simply a question of how far I'm willing to go...]]> 318 Freida McFadden 1837901317 Ashleigh 4 4.21 2023
author: Freida McFadden
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/03
date added: 2023/12/03
shelves:
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]]> 59940401 Poor Little Sick Girls is the book for femmes who are online and want more from activism and life.

Ione Gamble never imagined that entering adulthood would mean hospital trips, medication choices, and throwing up in public. Diagnosed with an incurable illness two weeks after her nineteenth birthday, as the world became obsessed with Girlboss feminism, Ione came to grips with spending 20 hours a day in bed.

Watching identity politics become social media fodder, from the confines of her sickbed she began to pick apart our obsession with self-care, personal branding, productivity, and #LivingYourBestLife.

Using her experience with disability to cast a fresh gaze on the particularly peculiar cultural moment in which young women find themselves, Ione explores the pressures faced, as well as the power of existing as, a chronically ill, overweight, and unacceptable woman in our current era of empowerment.]]> 352 Ione Gamble 0349702411 Ashleigh 4 3.60 2022
author: Ione Gamble
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/11/28
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]]> 58784475 In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.]]> 401 Gabrielle Zevin 0735243344 Ashleigh 4 4.12 2022
author: Gabrielle Zevin
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/17
date added: 2023/11/17
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]]> 60556912
Every day I clean the Winchesters�� beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out�� and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of��

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down!]]> 329 Freida McFadden 1803144378 Ashleigh 5 4.31 2022
author: Freida McFadden
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/11/01
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]]> 3008
This unique and fully annotated edition appends excerpts from Frances Hodgson Burnett 's original 1888 novella Sara Crewe and the stage play that preceded the novel, as well as an early story, "Behind the White Brick," allowing readers to see how A Little Princess evolved. In his delightful introduction, U. C. Knoepflmacher considers the fairy-tale allusions and literary touchstones that place the book among the major works of Victorian literature, and shows it to be an exceptionally rich and resonant novel.]]> 242 Frances Hodgson Burnett 0142437018 Ashleigh 4 4.22 1905
author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1905
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/27
date added: 2023/10/27
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]]> 58604389 Monkey to the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit, creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes, OBE, is the nation's favourite (and naughtiest) treasure. Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?'

From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.]]> 427 Miriam Margolyes Ashleigh 4 4.08 2021
author: Miriam Margolyes
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/18
date added: 2023/10/18
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]]> 61991328 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781538742570.

Every day I clean the Winchesters�� beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out�� and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…]]> 329 Freida McFadden Ashleigh 5 4.27 2022
author: Freida McFadden
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/27
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves:
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]]> 32620332
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ��80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501139231 Ashleigh 5 4.39 2017
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/20
date added: 2023/09/20
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]]> 33918491 272 Amy Licence 144567064X Ashleigh 4 3.70
author: Amy Licence
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.70
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/09/11
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]]> 3431
Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"]]> 196 Mitch Albom 0786868716 Ashleigh 5 4.01 2003
author: Mitch Albom
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/09/11
shelves:
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]]> 62593327
Kim looks at how ADHD affects women differently and unravels the stories and beliefs a lifetime of undiagnosed ADHD, judgement, and self-criticism creates.

Were you told you needed to try harder as a child?
Have you spent a lifetime feeling like you never do, are or have enough?
Are you going around in circles, bouncing from hyper-focus to burnout?
Does the fear of rejection, criticism or judgement hold you back?
Do you struggle to regulate your emotions?

Have you been labelled lazy, unmotivated, disorganised, clumsy, messy, greedy, anxious, depressed, hyper, reckless, impulsive, overemotional, sensitive or fiery by yourself or others?

If so, then Square Pegs is the book to show you how to love your creative, ingenious, super-fast brain, tap into its powers, and find the peace you deserve.]]> 217 Kim Raine Ashleigh 5 3.95
author: Kim Raine
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/11
date added: 2023/09/11
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]]> 60473073 Pageboy is a groundbreaking coming-of-age memoir from the Academy Award-nominated actor Elliot Page. A generation-defining actor and one of the most famous trans advocates of our time, Elliot will now be known as an uncommon literary talent, as he shares never-before-heard details and intimate interrogations on gender, love, mental health, relationships, and Hollywood.]]> 271 Elliot Page Ashleigh 3 3.72 2023
author: Elliot Page
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/11
date added: 2023/09/11
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]]> 19288043 What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?]]> 415 Gillian Flynn 0307588378 Ashleigh 4 4.22 2012
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/05
date added: 2023/09/05
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]]> 59364173
Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,�� eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?�� She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly , she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!��), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.]]> 320 Jennette McCurdy Ashleigh 5 4.45 2022
author: Jennette McCurdy
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/08/29
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]]> 2052157
In 1942, at the height of his fame, Augustus John predicted that 'fifty years from now I shall be known as the brother of Gwen John'. Gwen John (1876-1939) is indeed now recognised as a great artistic innovator, yet for years her life remained shrouded in the myth of the solitary recluse. Born in Pembrokeshire, Gwen followed her brother to the Slade. Her future was bound up with Augustus, his women and his coteries, yet she was also daring and highly original, living determinedly in her own way.

Defiant yet shy, she painted and modelled amid the Bohemian circles of early twentieth-century Paris and embarked on a long, intense love affair with France's most legendary artistic figure, the sculptor Rodin. A friend of Symbolist poets and post-Impressionist painters, later she turned increasingly to religion, achieving a deep serenity which masked her inner turbulence and creating her haunting paintings, described as delicate and austere, restrained and still.

Based on her lively and passionate unpublished letters and lavishly illustrated, this vivid new biography challenges our prejudices about the ways we evaluate women artists and finally uncovers the life of this ardent and complicated personality, one of the finest artists of her day.]]> 464 Sue Roe 0374113173 Ashleigh 4 4.00 2001
author: Sue Roe
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/27
date added: 2023/08/27
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]]> 61326125 240 Kiera Lawlor-Skillen 0008546525 Ashleigh 4 3.99
author: Kiera Lawlor-Skillen
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.99
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/08/19
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]]> 26245853
Amos Decker, newly hired on an FBI special task force, takes an interest in Mars's case after discovering the striking similarities to his own life: Both men were talented football players with promising careers cut short by tragedy. Both men's families were brutally murdered. And in both cases, another suspect came forward, years after the killing, to confess to the crime. A suspect who may or may not have been telling the truth.

The confession has the potential to make Melvin Mars--guilty or not--a free man. Who wants Mars out of prison? And why now?

But when a member of Decker's team disappears, it becomes clear that something much larger--and more sinister--than just one convicted criminal's life hangs in the balance. Decker will need all of his extraordinary brainpower to stop an innocent man from being executed.]]> 644 David Baldacci 1455566020 Ashleigh 2 4.14 2016
author: David Baldacci
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2023/08/08
date added: 2023/08/08
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]]> 341879 Just Kids, Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal days of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies. An honest and moving story of youth and friendship, Smith brings the same unique, lyrical quality to Just Kids as she has to the rest of her formidable body of work--from her influential 1975 album Horses to her visual art and poetry.]]> 304 Patti Smith Ashleigh 5 4.19 2010
author: Patti Smith
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/12
shelves:
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]]> 876172 Little Richard made himself a star through sheer force of personality, breaking racial and sexual taboos on his way to becoming the primal force of Fifties rock 'n' roll. Elvis Presley called him 'the greatest'. Otis Redding called him his 'inspiration' and James Brown called him his idol. Charles White is the only author to have captured the true energy of Little Richard. Using Richard's own words, White chronicles a staggering career that spanned the very rules of rock 'n' roll, the rise of The Beatles, tussles with God and The Devil and an erratic series of comebacks. Illustrated with pictures from Little Richard's own archive and including a comprehensive discography.]]> 290 Charles White 0711997616 Ashleigh 3 4.02 1984
author: Charles White
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1984
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/25
date added: 2023/07/12
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]]> 41081373
Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years.

Joyfully polyphonic and vibrantly contemporary, this is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible.]]> 453 Bernardine Evaristo 0241364906 Ashleigh 4 4.27 2019
author: Bernardine Evaristo
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/12
date added: 2023/07/12
shelves:
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]]> 6514 294 Sylvia Plath 0571268862 Ashleigh 4 4.05 1963
author: Sylvia Plath
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1963
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/12
date added: 2023/06/12
shelves:
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]]> 421500 213 Tracey Emin 0340769467 Ashleigh 4 3.86 2005
author: Tracey Emin
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/06
date added: 2023/06/06
shelves:
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]]> 61269 396 Henri Murger 1417916214 Ashleigh 3 3.98 1845
author: Henri Murger
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1845
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/06
date added: 2023/06/06
shelves:
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]]> 40588534 Nanette, even as she declared that she was quitting stand-up. Now, she takes us through the defining moments in her life that led to the creation of Nanette and her powerful decision to tell the truth-no matter the cost.

'There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.' -Hannah Gadsby, Nanette

Gadsby's unique stand-up special Nanette was a viral success that left audiences captivated by her blistering honesty and her ability to create both tension and laughter in a single moment. But while her worldwide fame might have looked like an overnight sensation, her path from open mic to the global stage was hard-fought and anything but linear.

Ten Steps to Nanette traces Gadsby's growth as a queer person from Tasmania-where homosexuality was illegal until 1997-to her ever-evolving relationship with comedy, to her struggle with late-in-life diagnoses of autism and ADHD, and finally to the backbone of Nanette - the renouncement of self-deprecation, the rejection of misogyny, and the moral significance of truth-telling.

Equal parts harrowing and hilarious, Ten Steps to Nanette continues Gadsby's tradition of confounding expectations and norms, properly introducing us to one of the most explosive, formative voices of our time.]]> 400 Hannah Gadsby 1742374034 Ashleigh 5 4.45 2022
author: Hannah Gadsby
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/19
date added: 2023/05/19
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]]> 37798684 136 Virgie Tovar 1936932318 Ashleigh 4 4.26 2018
author: Virgie Tovar
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/10
date added: 2023/05/10
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]]> 52129515 Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member’s ability to bring her full self to the table. And it is the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is.]]> 333 Glennon Doyle 1984801252 Ashleigh 4 3.98 2020
author: Glennon Doyle
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/30
date added: 2023/04/30
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]]> 40381501 183 Emilie Pine 1999700848 Ashleigh 4 4.16 2018
author: Emilie Pine
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/27
date added: 2023/04/27
shelves:
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]]> 5127140 700 Michael Holroyd 070116087X Ashleigh 4 3.95 1975
author: Michael Holroyd
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/20
date added: 2023/04/20
shelves:
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]]> 58284110 A poignant and hilarious memoir from the cultural icon, gay rights activist, and four-time Tony Award-winning actor and playwright, revealing never-before-told stories of his personal struggles and conflict, of sex and romance, and of his fabled career

Harvey Fierstein's legendary career has transported him from community theater in Brooklyn, to the lights of Broadway, to the absurd excesses of Hollywood and back. He's received accolades and awards for acting in and/or writing an incredible string of hit plays, films, and TV shows: Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Cheers, La Cage Aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies, and Kinky Boots. While he has never shied away from the spotlight, Mr. Fierstein says that even those closest to him have never heard most of the tales--of personal struggles and conflict, of sex and romance, of his fabled career--revealed in these wildly entertaining pages.

I Was Better Last Night bares the inner life of this eccentric nonconforming child from his roots in 1952 Brooklyn, to the experimental worlds of Andy Warhol and the Theatre of the Ridiculous, to the gay rights movements of the seventies and the tumultuous AIDS crisis of the eighties, through decades of addiction, despair, and ultimate triumph.

Mr. Fierstein's candid recollections provide a rich window into downtown New York City life, gay culture, and the evolution of theater (of which he has been a defining figure), as well as a moving account of his family's journey of acceptance. I Was Better Last Night is filled with wisdom gained, mistakes made, and stories that come together to describe an astonishingly colorful and meaningful life. Lucky for us all, his unique and recognizable voice is as engaging, outrageously funny, and vulnerable on the page.]]> 386 Harvey Fierstein 0593320522 Ashleigh 5 4.35 2022
author: Harvey Fierstein
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2022
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/10/24
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]]> 50693537 �� Stephanie Yeboah, 2017
Twenty-nine year-old plus-size blogger Stephanie Yeboah has experienced racism and fat-phobia throughout her life. From being bullied at school to being objectified and humiliated in her dating life, Stephanie's response to discrimination has always been to change the narrative around body-image and what we see as beautiful. In her debut book, Fattily Ever After, Stephanie Yeboah speaks openly and courageously about her own experience on navigating life as a black, plus-sized woman �� telling it how it really is �� and how she has managed to find self-acceptance in a world where judgement and discrimination are rife.

Featuring stories of every day misogynoir and being fetishized, to navigating the cesspit of online dating and experiencing loneliness, Stephanie shares her thoughts on the treatment of black women throughout history, the marginalisation of black, plus-sized women in the media (even within the body-positivity movement) whilst drawing on wisdom from other black fat liberation champions along the way. Peppered with insightful tips and honest advice and boldly illustrated throughout, this inspiring and powerful book is essential reading for a generation of black, plus-sized women, helping them to live their life openly, unapologetically and with confidence.]]> 240 Stephanie Yeboah 1784883441 Ashleigh 0 4.21 2020
author: Stephanie Yeboah
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/11/18
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]]> 34220899 50 Queers Who Changed the World is a tribute to some of the most inspirational people of all time]]> 112 Dan Jones 1784881341 Ashleigh 5 3.57 2017
author: Dan Jones
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/18
date added: 2020/11/18
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]]> 4866
The book mentions fundamental facts to know about worry and magic formula for solving worry-some situations.

Psychologists & Doctors' view:

-Worry can make even the most stolid person ill.

-Worry may cause nervous breakdown.

-Worry can even cause tooth decay

-Worry is one of the factors for High Blood Pressure.

-Worry makes you tense and nervous and affect the nerves of your stomach.

The book suggests basic techniques in analysing worry, step by step, in order to cope up with them.

A very interesting feature of the book is 'How to eliminate 50% of your business worries'.

The book offers 7 ways to cultivate a mental attitude that will bring you peace and happiness. Also, the golden rule for conquering worry, keeping your energy & spirits high.

The book consists of some True Stories which will help the readers in conquering worry to lead you to success in life.

The book is full of similar incidences and narrations which will make our readers to understand the situation in an easy way and lead a happy life. A must read book for everyone.]]> 358 Dale Carnegie 0671035975 Ashleigh 4 4.16 1944
author: Dale Carnegie
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1944
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/18
date added: 2020/11/18
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]]> 37754223
Catherine Gray was stuck in a hellish whirligig of Drink, Make horrible decisions, Hangover, Repeat. She had her fair share of 'drunk tank' jail cells and topless-in-a-hot-tub misadventures. But this book goes beyond the binges and blackouts to deep-dive into uncharted territory: What happens after you quit drinking? This gripping, heart-breaking and witty book takes us down the rabbit-hole of an alternative reality. A life with zero hangovers, through sober weddings, sex, Christmases and breakups.

In The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, Catherine Gray shines a light on society's drink-pushing and talks to top neuroscientists and psychologists about why we drink, delving into the science behind what it does to our brains and bodies. Much more than a tale from the netherworld of addicted drinking, this book is about the escape, and why a sober life can be more intoxicating than you ever imagined. Whether you're a hopelessly devoted drinker, merely sober-curious, or you've already ditched the drink, you will love this book.]]> 274 Catherine Gray 1912023415 Ashleigh 4 4.31 2017
author: Catherine Gray
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2020/07/16
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]]> 86062 A comical and poignant memoir of a gay man living life as he pleased in the 1930s

In 1931, gay liberation was not a movement—it was simply unthinkable. But in that year, Quentin Crisp made the courageous decision to "come out" as a homosexual. This exhibitionist with the henna-dyed hair was harassed, ridiculed and beaten. Nevertheless, he claimed his right to be himself—whatever the consequences. The Naked Civil Servant is both a comic masterpiece and a unique testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
]]> 212 Quentin Crisp 0141180536 Ashleigh 4 4.06 1968
author: Quentin Crisp
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1968
rating: 4
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date added: 2020/06/18
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]]> 1795197 356 Sebastian Horsley 0061461253 Ashleigh 5 3.55 2002
author: Sebastian Horsley
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/19
date added: 2020/03/19
shelves:
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]]> 49562809
What does yours mean to you?

THE RESULT IS EXTRAORDINARY.

Over 70 people have shared their stories. Powerful, funny, moving, this book is here to tell you:

It's OK.

With writing from:

Adam Kay - Alastair Campbell - Alexis Caught - Ben Platt - Bryony Gordon - Candice Carty-Williams - Charlie Mackesy - Charly Cox - Chidera Eggerue - Claire Stancliffe - Davina McCall - Dawn O'Porter - Elizabeth Day - Elizabeth Uviebinené - Ella Purnell - Emilia Clarke - Emma Thompson - Eve Delaney - Fearne Cotton - Gabby Edlin - Gemma Styles - GIRLI (Milly Toomey) - Grace Beverley - Hannah Witton - Honey Ross - Hussain Manawer - Jack Rooke - James Blake - Jamie Flook - Jamie Windust - Jessie Cave - Jo Irwin - Jonah Freud - Jonny Benjamin - Jordan Stephens - Kai-Isaiah Jamal - Kate Weinberg - Kelechi Okafor - Khalil Aldabbas - KUCHENGA - Lauren Mahon - Lena Dunham - Maggie Matic - Martha Lane Fox - Mathew Kollamkulam - Matt Haig - Megan Crabbe - Michael Kitching - Michelle Elman - Miranda Hart - Mitch Price - Mona Chalabi - Montana Brown - Nadia Craddock - Naomi Campbell - Poorna Bell - Poppy Jamie - Reggie Yates - Ripley Parker - Robert Kazandjian - Rosa Mercuriadis - Saba Asif - Sam Smith - Scarlett Curtis - Scarlett Moffatt - Scottee - Sharon Chalkin Feldstein - Shonagh Marie - Simon Amstell - Steve Ali - Tanya Byron - Travon Free - Yomi Adegoke - Yusuf Al Majarhi]]> 576 Scarlett Curtis 0241410886 Ashleigh 4 4.16 2019
author: Scarlett Curtis
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/12/20
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]]> 34661984 Don't Cry; Love Sport; Play Rough; Drink Beer; Don't Talk About Feelings

But Robert Webb has been wondering for some time are those rules actually any use? To anyone?

Looking back over his life, from schoolboy crushes (on girls and boys) to discovering the power of making people laugh (in the Cambridge Footlights with David Mitchell), and from losing his beloved mother to becoming a husband and father, Robert Webb considers the absurd expectations boys and men have thrust upon them at every stage of life.

Hilarious and heartbreaking, How Not To Be a Boy explores the relationships that made Robert who he is as a man, the lessons we learn as sons and daughters, and the understanding that sometimes you aren't the Luke Skywalker of your life - you're actually Darth Vader.]]> 337 Robert Webb Ashleigh 5 4.19 2017
author: Robert Webb
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2017
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 15734715
As well as giving a specific account of every single time he's scored some smack, this disgusting memoir also details:

�� the singular, pitbull-infested charm of the FRP (‘Flat Roofed Pub��)

�� the curious French habit of injecting everyone in the arse rather than the arm

�� why, by the time he got to Cambridge, he really, really needed a drink

�� the pain of being denied a childhood birthday party at McDonalds

�� the satisfaction of writing jokes about suicide

�� how doing quite a lot of walking around London helps with his sciatica

�� trying to pretend he isn’t a total **** at Robert Webb’s wedding

�� that he has fallen in love at LOT, but rarely done anything about it

�� why it would be worse to bump into Michael Palin than Hitler on holiday

�� that he’s not David Mitchell the novelist. Despite what David Miliband might think]]> 336 David Mitchell 0007351739 Ashleigh 3 3.82 2012
author: David Mitchell
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2012
rating: 3
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 23215469 352 Holly Madison 0062372106 Ashleigh 3 3.53 2015
author: Holly Madison
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2015
rating: 3
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 33932358
"This manual for self-realization comes not from a mountain but from the mud.... My qualification is not that I am better than you but I am worse." (Russell Brand)

With a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion, comedian and movie star Russell Brand mines his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his 14 years of recovery. Brand speaks to those suffering along the full spectrum of addiction - from drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar addictions to addictions to work, stress, bad relationships, digital media, and fame. Brand understands that addiction can take many shapes and sizes and how the process of staying clean, sane, and unhooked is a daily activity. He believes that the question is not "why are you addicted?" but "what pain is your addiction masking? Why are you running - into the wrong job, the wrong life, the wrong person's arms?"

Russell has been in all the 12-step fellowships going, he's started his own men's group, he's a therapy regular and a practiced yogi - and while he's worked on this material as part of his comedy and previous best sellers, he's never before shared the tools that really took him out of it, that keep him clean and clear. Here he provides not only a recovery plan but an attempt to make sense of the ailing world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.]]> 288 Russell Brand 1250141923 Ashleigh 3 3.92 2017
author: Russell Brand
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 34211873
Simon Amstell did his first stand-up gig at the age of thirteen. His parents had just divorced and puberty was confusing. Trying to be funny solved everything.

HELP is the hilarious and heartbreaking account of Simon’s ongoing compulsion to reveal his entire self on stage. To tell the truth so it can’t hurt him any more. Loneliness, anxiety, depression �� this book has it all. And more.

From a complicated childhood in Essex to an Ayahuasca-led epiphany in the Amazon rainforest, this story will make you laugh, cry and then feel happier than you’ve ever been.]]> 209 Simon Amstell 1910931543 Ashleigh 4 3.97 2017
author: Simon Amstell
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 27180300 269 Mel Wells 1781807124 Ashleigh 4 3.72 2016
author: Mel Wells
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2016
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 33627840 'Wonderfully honest and relatable, and it's also extremely comforting and reassuring too' MIND, No.1 Mental Health charity'I recommend this for anyone who's looking to find true consistent happiness' Craig David"This book is a way to release what's going on inside your head and to keep heading towards the good stuff. The simple stuff. The stuff that's going to really hit up that happiness on a deep and nourishing level. Whether you dip into these pages every now and then when you feel you need it, or use it daily as a positive exercise, I hope it brings you much relief, joy and calm. Amen to the pen." - Fearne Cotton For many of us, life can feel like it's moving too fast with pressure bearing down on us from all sides - whether that's from school or work, family or social media. As a result, we find ourselves frazzled, lost and - too often - feeling blue.It's a subject close to Fearne's heart. Drawing on her own experiences and including expert advice, HAPPY offers practical ways of finding joy each and every day. Happiness isn't a mountain to climb, it's just one foot in front of the other on the path of life, and here you'll find little steps that will help make the differences that count. With workbook elements to help you start and end the day well; get in touch with your creative side; and find peace through written exercises, simple practical ideas and visualisations, these are daily tricks and reminders to help you unlock that inner happiness.]]> 273 Fearne Cotton Ashleigh 4 3.76
author: Fearne Cotton
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.76
book published:
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 4893500 304 Julie Walters 029785206X Ashleigh 4 3.87 2008
author: Julie Walters
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]> 20980987
Even while Amanda is both celebrated and attacked for her fearlessness in asking for help, she finds that there are important things she cannot ask for-as a musician, as a friend, and as a wife. She learns that she isn't alone in this, that so many people are afraid to ask for help, and it paralyzes their lives and relationships. In this groundbreaking book, she explores these barriers in her own life and in the lives of those around her, and discovers the emotional, philosophical, and practical aspects of The Art Of Asking.

Part manifesto, part revelation, this is the story of an artist struggling with the new rules of exchange in the twenty-first century, both on and off the Internet. The Art Of Asking will inspire readers to rethink their own ideas about asking, giving, art, and love.]]> 339 Amanda Palmer 1455581089 Ashleigh 5 3.89 2014
author: Amanda Palmer
name: Ashleigh
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2014
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/11/30
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]]>