en-US Wed, 16 Apr 2025 04:41:15 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 18000947 206 Plato ???? 0 3.85 -400
author: Plato
name: ????
average rating: 3.85
book published: -400
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/16
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]]> 902710 544 Lonely Planet 0864426771 ???? 0 to-read 4.23 1999
author: Lonely Planet
name: ????
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 16054217 The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present¡ªfacing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew¡¯s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches¡ªwith one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.]]> 561 Deborah Harkness 0670025593 ???? 0 to-read 4.15 2014
author: Deborah Harkness
name: ????
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
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]]> 6397029
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]> 242 John Steinbeck 1440674175 ???? 3 4.24 1932
author: John Steinbeck
name: ????
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1932
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
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]]> 6467201 468 T. Coraghessan Boyle 1101200359 ???? 0 to-read 4.12 2003
author: T. Coraghessan Boyle
name: ????
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54479 252 Jules Verne 014044906X ???? 3 3.95 1872
author: Jules Verne
name: ????
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1872
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
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]]> 97381 The Queen of Spades has long been acknowledged as one of the world's greatest short stories, in which Pushkin explores the nature of obsession. The Tales of Belkin are witty parodies of sentimentalism, while Peter the Great's Blackamoor is an early experiment with recreating the past. The Captain's Daughter is a novel-length masterpiece which combines historical fiction in the manner of Sir Walter Scott with the devices of the Russian fairy-tale. The Introduction provides close readings of the stories and places them in their European literary context.]]> 336 Alexander Pushkin 0192839543 ???? 0 to-read 4.16 1841
author: Alexander Pushkin
name: ????
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1841
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
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]]> 163716
A true classic of wonder for all ages.]]> 144 Oscar Wilde 1934169579 ???? 0 to-read 4.35 1888
author: Oscar Wilde
name: ????
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1888
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
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]]> 7713249
?? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????. ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????. ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ??????????. ????? ??? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??????.

????? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??????
]]> 245 Franz Kafka ???? 4 3.56 1925
author: Franz Kafka
name: ????
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1925
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/06/25
shelves:
review:

]]> 12628162 240 ???? ????? 9770144320 ???? 5 4.04
author: ???? ?????
name: ????
average rating: 4.04
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 1997/01/01
date added: 2024/04/15
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]]> 17125 The only English translation authorized by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

First published in the Soviet journal Novy Mir in 1962, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich stands as a classic of contemporary literature. The story of labor-camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, it graphically describes his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of communist oppression. An unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union and confirms Solzhenitsyn's stature as "a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dosotevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy"--Harrison Salisbury

This unexpurgated 1991 translation by H. T. Willetts is the only authorized edition available, and fully captures the power and beauty of the original Russian.]]> 182 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn ???? 0 to-read 3.98 1962
author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
name: ????
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> 173282 An Essay on Man is an original synthesis of contemporary knowledge, a unique interpretation of the intellectual crisis of our time, and a brilliant vindication of man¡¯s ability to resolve human problems by the courageous use of his mind.

What the thinkers of the past have thought of the human race, what can be said of its art, language, and capacities for good and evil in the light of modern knowledge are discussed by a great philosopher who had a profound experience of the past and of his own time.]]> 250 Ernst Cassirer 0300000340 ???? 4 3.99
author: Ernst Cassirer
name: ????
average rating: 3.99
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2013/10/02
date added: 2023/12/05
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]]> 7354
A vigorous, darkly comic, and at times magical portrait of the contemporary American family, The Shipping News shows why E. Annie Proulx is recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.
(back cover)]]> 337 Annie Proulx 0743225422 ???? 5 3.88 1993
author: Annie Proulx
name: ????
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/10/31
shelves:
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]]> 51204046
No one seems to take Naomi Pine's disappearance seriously, not even her father-with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde-with whom she shares a tragic connection-to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can't ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it's too late.]]> 371 Harlan Coben 1538748142 ???? 3 3.84 2020
author: Harlan Coben
name: ????
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/12/21
date added: 2023/10/24
shelves:
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]]> 15814391
¡°Happy again, back in the kingdom of light,¡± writes Paul Theroux as he sets out on a new journey through the continent he knows and loves best. Theroux first came to Africa as a twenty-two-year-old Peace Corps volunteer, and the pull of the vast land never left him. Now he returns, after fifty years on the road, to explore the little-traveled territory of western Africa and to take stock both of the place and of himself.

His odyssey takes him northward from Cape Town, through South Africa and Namibia, then on into Angola, wishing to head farther still until he reaches the end of the line. Journeying alone through the greenest continent, Theroux encounters a world increasingly removed from both the itineraries of tourists and the hopes of postcolonial independence movements. Leaving the Cape Town townships, traversing the Namibian bush, passing the browsing cattle of the great sunbaked heartland of the savanna, Theroux crosses ¡°the Red Line¡± into a different ¡°the improvised, slapped-together Africa of tumbled fences and cooking fires, of mud and thatch,¡± of heat and poverty, and of roadblocks, mobs, and anarchy. After 2,500 arduous miles, he comes to the end of his journey in more ways than one, a decision he chronicles with typically unsparing honesty in a chapter called ¡°What Am I Doing Here?¡±

Vivid, witty, and beautifully evocative, The Last Train to Zona Verde is a fitting final African adventure from the writer whose gimlet eye and effortless prose have brought the world to generations of readers.]]> 353 Paul Theroux 061883933X ???? 0 to-read 3.86 2012
author: Paul Theroux
name: ????
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/02
shelves: to-read
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]]> 254308 586 Ivan Goncharov 1933480092 ???? 0 to-read 4.09 1859
author: Ivan Goncharov
name: ????
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1859
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> 6610286 ?????? ????? 137 Naguib Mahfouz ???? 4 3.38 2004
author: Naguib Mahfouz
name: ????
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2014/01/01
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves:
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]]> 96562
After four years in prison, the skilled young thief Said Mahran emerges bent on revenge. He finds a world that has changed in more ways than one. Egypt has undergone a revolution and, on a more personal level, his beloved wife and his trusted henchman, who conspired to betray him to the police, are now married to each other and are keeping his six-year-old daughter from him. But in the most bitter betrayal, his mentor, Rauf Ilwan, once a firebrand revolutionary who convinced Said that stealing from the rich in a unjust society is an act of justice, is now himself a rich man, a respected newspaper editor who wants nothing to do with the disgraced Said. As Said's wild attempts to achieve his idea of justice badly misfire, he becomes a hunted man so driven by hatred that he can only recognize too late his last chance at redemption.]]> 160 Naguib Mahfouz 0385264623 ???? 4 3.65 1961
author: Naguib Mahfouz
name: ????
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1961
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/07/30
shelves:
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]]> 6799039 ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ...??? ???? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ...
???? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????
??? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ...]]> 182 ????? ????? 9770254371 ???? 4 3.42 1966
author: ????? ?????
name: ????
average rating: 3.42
book published: 1966
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 2392599 144 Tawfiq Al-Hakim ???? 4 3.72 1938
author: Tawfiq Al-Hakim
name: ????
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1938
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 18179374 Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher

Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei is your passport to all the most relevant and up-to-date advice on what to see, what to skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Trek through the Borneo rainforest to see flying lizards, eat fresh fish with coconut spice at a Malaysian night market, or head to Singapore's glitzy shopping malls; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei and begin your journey now!

Inside Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei Travel Guide:

Colour maps and images throughout

Highlights and itineraries show you the simplest way to tailor your trip to your own personal needs and interests

Insider tips save you time and money and help you get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Essential info at your fingertips - including hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, and prices

Honest reviews for all budgets - including eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, and hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Cultural insights give you a richer and more rewarding travel experience - including customs, history, art, media, religion, literature, dance, music, politics, environment, food, drink, and more

Over 90 colour local maps

Useful features - including Walking Tours, Outdoor Adventures, and Month-by-Month (annual festival calendar)

Coverage of Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Borneo, Penang, Langkawi, Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, East Coast Islands, Pahang, Tioman Island, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Sarawak, Sabah, and more
The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei, our most comprehensive guide to Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, is perfect for those planning to both explore the top sights and take the road less travelled.


Looking for just the highlights of Malaysia and Singapore? Check out Lonely Planet's Discover Malaysia & Singapore, a photo-rich guide to the region's most popular attractions.
Looking for a guide focused on Singapore or Borneo? Check out Lonely Planet's Singapore guide and Borneo guide for a comprehensive look at all these places have to offer, or check out Lonely Planet's Pocket Singapore, a handy-sized guide focused on the can't-miss sights for a quick trip.
Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet, Simon Richmond, Cristian Bonetto, Celeste Brash, Joshua Samuel Brown, Austin Bush, Adam Karlin, and Daniel Robinson.

About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in.]]> 640 Various 1741798477 ???? 4 4.07 1999
author: Various
name: ????
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2014/06/02
date added: 2022/12/06
shelves:
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]]> 54636521
"??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????. ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ???????? ????????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ???????"]]> 132 Ahmed Wael 9773138038 ???? 0 to-read 3.39 2021
author: Ahmed Wael
name: ????
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/11
shelves: to-read
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]]> 25792737 495 Gabriel Garc¨ªa M¨¢rquez 2843059445 ???? 4 3.56 1983
author: Gabriel Garc¨ªa M¨¢rquez
name: ????
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/03
date added: 2022/07/15
shelves:
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]]> 5502 "The Harafish begins with the tale of Ashur al-Nagi, a man who grows from humble beginnings to become a great leader, a legend among his people. Generation after generation, however, Ashur's descendants grow further from his legendary example. They lose touch with their origins as they amass and then squander large fortunes, marry prostitutes when they marry at all, and develop rivalries that end in death.

The community's upper class keeps a watchful eye on the descendants of al-Nagi for fear of losing their privileges, but they find no threat of another such as Ashur. Not, that is, until the al-Nagi who, like his noble ancestor, finds his power once again from among "The Harafish," or the common people. Through the strength of their numbers and their passion, the glory of the name of al-Nagi is restored.]]> 416 Naguib Mahfouz 0385423357 ???? 0 greatest-novels 4.07 1977
author: Naguib Mahfouz
name: ????
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1977
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: greatest-novels
review:

]]> 12474332
As Tsukiko and Sensei grow to know and love one another, time¡¯s passing comes across through the seasons and the food and beverages they consume together. From warm sake to chilled beer, from the buds on the trees to the blooming of the cherry blossoms, the reader is enveloped by a keen sense of pathos and both characters¡¯ keen loneliness.]]> 176 Hiromi Kawakami 1582435995 ???? 0 to-read 3.80 2001
author: Hiromi Kawakami
name: ????
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> 52280707
Dahlia has two lives. In one, she is a young woman with a good job, great friends and a busy social life. In the other, she is an unmarried daughter living at home, struggling with a burgeoning anxiety disorder and a deeply buried secret: a violent betrayal too shameful to speak of. With her thirtieth birthday fast-approaching, pressure from her mother to accept a marriage proposal begins to strain the family.?

As her two lives start to collide and fracture, all Dahlia can think of is escape: something that seems impossible when she cant even leave the country without her father's consent. But what if Dahlia does have a choice? What if all she needs is the courage to make?it? Set in contemporary Kuwait, The Pact We Made is a deeply affecting and timely debut about family, secrets and one woman's search for a different life.]]> 288 Layla AlAmmar 000828444X ???? 0 to-read 3.68
author: Layla AlAmmar
name: ????
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/17
shelves: to-read
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]]> 77818
Meanwhile, Latif Mahmud, someone intimately connected with Saleh's past, lives quietly alone in his London flat. When Saleh and Latif meet in an English seaside town, a story is unravelled. It is a story of love, betrayal, of seduction and of possession, and of a people desperately trying to find stability amidst the maelstrom of their times.]]> 245 Abdulrazak Gurnah 0747557853 ???? 0 currently-reading 3.86 2001
author: Abdulrazak Gurnah
name: ????
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/11/28
shelves: currently-reading
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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¡ªbut that will define his life forever.]]> 720 Hanya Yanagihara 0385539258 ???? 0 4.28 2015
author: Hanya Yanagihara
name: ????
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2021/11/28
date added: 2021/11/28
shelves:
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]]> 50891839
Or can you? With Dr. Seligman¡¯s help, our narrator will find out.

In a monologue that is both deliciously dark and subversively funny, she takes us on a wide-ranging journey from Hitler-centered sexual fantasies and overbearing mothers to the medicinal properties of squirrel tails and the notion that anatomical changes can serve as historical reparation. The Appointment is an audacious debut novel by an explosive new international literary voice, challenging all of our notions of what is fluid and what is fixed, and the myriad ways we seek to make peace with others and ourselves in the 21st century.]]> 144 Katharina Volckmer 1982150173 ???? 0 3.53 2020
author: Katharina Volckmer
name: ????
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/15
shelves:
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Short novella with a monologue. It has some psychological paths that could be burtal. Yet, I don't believe it should be categorized as novel. It is one dimensional.
]]> 22085568 An international business expert helps you understand and navigate cultural differences in this insightful and practical guide, perfect for both your work and personal life. Americans precede anything negative with three nice comments; French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans get straight to the point; Latin Americans and Asians are steeped in hierarchy; Scandinavians think the best boss is just one of the crowd. It's no surprise that when they try and talk to each other, chaos breaks out. In The Culture Map, INSEAD professor Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain in which people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together. She provides a field-tested model for decoding how cultural differences impact international business, and combines a smart analytical framework with practical, actionable advice.]]> 290 Erin Meyer ???? 0 to-read 4.32 2014
author: Erin Meyer
name: ????
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/11
shelves: to-read
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]]> 1547992 508 Pablo Neruda 0613365771 ???? 0 to-read The greatest Poet 4.39 1949
author: Pablo Neruda
name: ????
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1949
rating: 0
read at: 2021/08/09
date added: 2021/08/09
shelves: to-read
review:
The greatest Poet
]]> 14517546 216 Michael Bird 1856697959 ???? 0 3.71 2012
author: Michael Bird
name: ????
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/04
date added: 2021/08/09
shelves:
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Great reference to understand the journey of art across history.
]]> 49882394
Akira Kido is a divorce attorney whose own marriage is in danger of being destroyed by emotional disconnect. With a midlife crisis looming, Kido¡¯s life is upended by the reemergence of a former client, Ri¨¦ Takemoto. She wants Kido to investigate a dead man¡ªher recently deceased husband, Daisuk¨¦. Upon his death she discovered that he¡¯d been living a lie. His name, his past, his entire identity belonged to someone else, a total stranger. The investigation draws Kido into two intriguing mysteries: finding out who Ri¨¦¡¯s husband really was and discovering more about the man he pretended to be. Soon, with each new revelation, Kido will come to share the obsession with¡ªand the lure of¡ªerasing one life to create a new one.

In A Man, winner of Japan¡¯s prestigious Yomiuri Prize for Literature, Keiichiro Hirano explores the search for identity, the ambiguity of memory, the legacies with which we live and die, and the reconciliation of who you hoped to be with who you¡¯ve actually become.]]> 303 Keiichir¨­ Hirano 1542006864 ???? 0 currently-reading 3.94 2018
author: Keiichir¨­ Hirano
name: ????
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 4392 Living to Tell the Tale spans Marquez's life from his birth in 1927 through the beginning of his career as a writer to the moment in the 1950s when he proposed to the woman who would become his wife. It is a tale of people, places and events as they occur to him: family, work, politics, books and music, his beloved Colombia, parts of his history until now undisclosed and incidents that would later appear, transmuted and transposed in his fiction. A vivid, powerful, beguiling memoir that gives us the formation of Marquez as a writer and as a man.]]> 496 Gabriel Garc¨ªa M¨¢rquez 0141019425 ???? 0 "I lost this book in the Airport"]]> 4.01 2002
author: Gabriel Garc¨ªa M¨¢rquez
name: ????
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 2019/10/30
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves:
review:
Marquez is a storyteller that tells us what we need to know about life.
"I lost this book in the Airport"
]]> 18364989
?????? ???????
????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????
?????? ???????
????? ?????
????? ???????]]> 306 ???? ????? ???? 4 4.06 2008
author: ???? ?????
name: ????
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/16
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves:
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]]> 5269911 ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????. ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ???????. ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????]]> 154 Mahmoud Darwish 9953213038 ???? 0 4.23 1973
author: Mahmoud Darwish
name: ????
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at: 2015/01/01
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 15786490
?????? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????. ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????.]]> 286 ???? ????? 1855168073 ???? 0 3.85 2012
author: ???? ?????
name: ????
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves:
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]]> 49127718 A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined

Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix up their own marriage. There's a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them¡ªthe bank robber included¡ªdesperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope¡ªthe things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

Includes short story - The Last Round of Golf]]> 336 Fredrik Backman 198216963X ???? 0 4.17 2019
author: Fredrik Backman
name: ????
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2021/08/08
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves:
review:
It's joyful, witty, funny with a good insight into our modern life. It's relevant to what we are now, in the time of all complicated things.. a group of anxious people
]]> 58377159
¡°This lively, searching work makes the case that welcoming ¡®others¡¯ isn¡¯t just the bedrock of civilization, it¡¯s the surest path to the best of what life has to offer.¡±¡ªAyad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize¨Cwinning author of Homeland Elegies

In our cities, we stand in silence at the pharmacy and in check-out lines at the grocery store, distracted by our phones, barely acknowledging one another, even as rates of loneliness skyrocket. Online, we retreat into ideological silos reinforced by algorithms designed to serve us only familiar ideas and like-minded users. In our politics, we are increasingly consumed by a fear of people we¡¯ve never met. But what if strangers¡ªso often blamed for our most pressing political, social, and personal problems¡ªare actually the solution?

In The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane sets out on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don¡¯t know. He learns that while we¡¯re wired to sometimes fear, distrust, and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely. Digging into a growing body of cutting-edge research on the surprising social and psychological benefits that come from talking to strangers, Keohane finds that even passing interactions can enhance empathy, happiness, and cognitive development, ease loneliness and isolation, and root us in the world, deepening our sense of belonging. And all the while, Keohane gathers practical tips from experts on how to talk to strangers, and tries them out himself in the wild, to awkward, entertaining, and frequently poignant effect.

Warm, witty, erudite, and profound, equal parts sweeping history and self-help journey, this deeply researched book will inspire readers to see everything¡ªfrom major geopolitical shifts to trips to the corner store¡ªin an entirely new light, showing them that talking to strangers isn¡¯t just a way to live; it¡¯s a way to survive.]]> 328 Joe Keohane 1984855778 ???? 0 to-read 3.91 2021
author: Joe Keohane
name: ????
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 50736031
Breasts and Eggs paints a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan and recounts the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties on the road to finding peace and futures they can truly call their own.

It tells the story of three women: the thirty-year-old Natsu, her older sister, Makiko, and Makiko¡¯s daughter, Midoriko. Makiko has traveled to Tokyo in search of an affordable breast enhancement procedure. She is accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently grown silent, finding herself unable to voice the vague yet overwhelming pressures associated with growing up. Her silence proves a catalyst for each woman to confront her fears and frustrations.

On another hot summer¡¯s day ten years later, Natsu, on a journey back to her native city, struggles with her own indeterminate identity as she confronts anxieties about growing old alone and childless.]]> 430 Mieko Kawakami 1609455878 ???? 3 currently-reading 3.87 2019
author: Mieko Kawakami
name: ????
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/10
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 2119409 Out and Grotesque.

In a crowded residential suburb on the outskirts of Tokyo, four teenage girls indifferently wade their way through a hot, smoggy summer and endless ¡°cram school¡± sessions meant to ensure entry into good colleges. There¡¯s Toshi, the dependable one; Terauchi, the great student; Yuzan, the sad one, grieving over the death of her mother¡ªand trying to hide her sexual orientation from her friends; and Kirarin, the sweet one, whose late nights and reckless behavior remain a secret from those around her. When Toshi¡¯s next-door neighbor is found brutally murdered, the girls suspect the killer is the neighbor¡¯s son, a high school boy they nickname Worm. But when he flees, taking Toshi¡¯s bike and cell phone with him, the four girls get caught up in a tempest of dangers¡ªdangers they never could have even imagined¡ªthat rises from within them as well as from the world around them.

Psychologically intricate and astute, dark and unflinching, Real World is a searing, eye-opening portrait of teenage life in Japan unlike any we have seen before.]]> 208 Natsuo Kirino 0307267571 ???? 0 to-read 3.42 2003
author: Natsuo Kirino
name: ????
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 16032127 Yoko Ogawa.

An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her landlady has murdered her husband. Years later, the writer¡¯s stepson reflects upon his stepmother and the strange stories she used to tell him. Meanwhile, a surgeon¡¯s lover vows to kill him if he does not leave his wife. Before she can follow-through on her crime of passion, though, the surgeon will cross paths with another remarkable woman, a cabaret singer whose heart beats delicately outside of her body. But when the surgeon promises to repair her condition, he sparks the jealousy of another man who would like to preserve the heart in a custom tailored bag. Murderers and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and innocent bystanders¡ªtheir fates converge in a darkly beautiful web that they are each powerless to escape.

Macabre, fiendishly clever, and with a touch of the supernatural, Yoko Ogawa¡¯s Revenge creates a haunting tapestry of death¡ªand the afterlife of the living.]]> 162 Y¨­ko Ogawa ???? 0 to-read 3.91 1998
author: Y¨­ko Ogawa
name: ????
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 29875918 Six Four. The nightmare no parent could endure. The case no detective could solve. The twist no listener could predict.

For five days in January 1989, the parents of a seven-year-old Tokyo schoolgirl sat and listened to the demands of their daughter's kidnapper. They would never learn his identity. They would never see their daughter again.

For the 14 years that followed, the Japanese public listened to the police's apologies. They would never forget the botched investigation that became known as Six Four. They would never forgive the authorities their failure. For one week in late 2002, the press officer attached to the police department in question confronted an anomaly in the case.

He could never imagine what he would uncover. He would never have looked if he'd known what he would find.]]> 576 Hideo Yokoyama 0374265518 ???? 0 to-read 3.53 2012
author: Hideo Yokoyama
name: ????
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 16280119
Impeccably paced and snappily told, even when the truth grows murky, hard-boiled has never come as smooth and pure as in this choice distillation by way of Tokyo, Japan. No dogs, cute or otherwise, appear in this novel, in or out of water.

Legendary manga artist Kazuhiro Kiuchi ( Be-bop High School ) makes his English language debut as a novelist!]]> 204 Kazuhiro Kiuchi 1939130034 ???? 0 currently-reading 3.48 2013
author: Kazuhiro Kiuchi
name: ????
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 54834890 6 Jesse Eisenberg ???? 3 3.49 2020
author: Jesse Eisenberg
name: ????
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/07/29
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves:
review:
I believe it is a nice audiobook with a great performance from actors. However, Rachel's part was the worst.
]]> 50209372 A promise could betray you.

It¡¯s 2008, and the inauguration of President Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy-League educated Black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He¡¯s eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to¡ªand was forced to leave behind¡ªwhen she was a teenager. She had promised her family she¡¯d never look back, but Ruth knows that to move forward, she must make peace with the past.

Returning home, Ruth discovers the Indiana factory town of her youth is plagued by unemployment, racism, and despair. As she begins digging into the past, she unexpectedly befriends Midnight, a young white boy who is also adrift and looking for connection. Just as Ruth is about to uncover a burning secret her family desperately wants to keep hidden, a traumatic incident strains the town¡¯s already searing racial tensions, sending Ruth and Midnight on a collision course that could upend both their lives.

Powerful and revealing, The Kindest Lie captures?the heartbreaking divide between Black and white communities and offers both an unflinching view of motherhood in contemporary America and the never-ending quest to achieve the American Dream.

?]]> 336 Nancy Johnson 0063005654 ???? 0 to-read 3.51 2021
author: Nancy Johnson
name: ????
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54120408
In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?]]> 340 Kazuo Ishiguro 059331817X ???? 0 to-read 3.71 2021
author: Kazuo Ishiguro
name: ????
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51794532 From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers, comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an America oil company.

"We should have known the end was near."

So begins Imbolo Mbue¡¯s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells the story of a people living in fear amidst environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company.

Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of clean-up and financial reparations to the villagers are made¡ªand ignored. The country¡¯s government, led by a brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interest. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle would last for decades and come at a steep price.

Told through the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, How Beautiful We Were is a masterful exploration of what happens when the reckless drive for profit, coupled with the ghost of colonialism, comes up against one community¡¯s determination to hold onto its ancestral land and a young woman¡¯s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people¡¯s freedom.

"The unforgettable story of a community on the wrong end of Western greed, How Beautiful We Were will enthrall you, appall you, and show you what is possible when a few people stand up and say this is not right. A masterful novel by a spellbinding writer engaged with the most urgent questions of our day.¡±¡ªDavid Ebershoff, bestselling author of The Danish Girl]]> 364 Imbolo Mbue 0593132424 ???? 0 to-read 3.92 2021
author: Imbolo Mbue
name: ????
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 48889985 An insightful, hilarious, and compulsively readable novel about a complicated friendship between two women who are at two very different stages in life, from the best-selling author of Maine and Saints for All Occasions (named one of the Washington Post's Ten Best Books of the Year and a New York Times Critics' Pick).

Elisabeth, an accomplished journalist and new mother, is struggling to adjust to life in a small town after nearly twenty years in New York City. Alone in the house with her infant son all day (and awake with him much of the night), she feels uneasy, adrift. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms' Facebook group, her "influencer" sister's Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore.

Enter Sam, a senior at the local women's college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit. Sam is struggling to decide between the path she's always planned on and a romantic entanglement that threatens her ambition. She's worried about student loan debt and what the future holds. In short order, they grow close. But when Sam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Elisabeth's father-in-law, the true differences between the women's lives become starkly revealed and a betrayal has devastating consequences.

A masterful exploration of motherhood, power dynamics, and privilege in its many forms, Friends and Strangers reveals how a single year can shape the course of a life.]]> 416 J. Courtney Sullivan 0525520597 ???? 0 to-read 3.61 2020
author: J. Courtney Sullivan
name: ????
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55399725 Shortlisted for Ned Kelly Best Crime Novel.
Shortlisted for Ngaio Marsh Best Crime Novel.

Margot¡¯s clients all lie to her, but one lie could cost her family and freedom.

Psychologist Margot Scott has a picture-perfect life: a nice house in the suburbs, a husband, two children, and a successful career. On a warm spring morning, Margot spots one of her clients on a busy train platform. He is looking down at his phone, with his duffel bag in hand as the train approaches. That¡¯s when she slams into his back and he falls in front of the train. Suddenly, one tragedy leads to another leaving her, her family, and her patients in danger. As misfortune unfolds, listeners will soon question Margot¡¯s true role in all of these unfortunate events.

Tell Me Lies is a fast-paced, psychological, whodunit mystery that will leave listeners wondering if anyone can actually be trusted.]]> 257 J.P. Pomare 186971816X ???? 2 Unsettled with good twist 3.74 2020
author: J.P. Pomare
name: ????
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2021/08/07
date added: 2021/08/07
shelves:
review:
Unsettled with good twist
]]> 56923234
????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????????. ????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ???????. ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???????]]> ???? ??? ?????? ???? 0 to-read 4.03
author: ???? ??? ??????
name: ????
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 27705402 572 Thomas Hardy 1514110954 ???? 0 to-read 2.00 1874
author: Thomas Hardy
name: ????
average rating: 2.00
book published: 1874
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54373691 In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a caf¨¦ which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time...

From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold comes a story of four new customers each of whom is hoping to take advantage of Cafe Funiculi Funicula's time-travelling offer.

Among some faces that will be familiar to readers of Kawaguchi's previous novel, we will be introduced to:

The man who goes back to see his best friend who died 22 years ago
The son who was unable to attend his own mother¡¯s funeral
The man who travelled to see the girl who he could not marry
The old detective who never gave his wife that gift...

This beautiful, simple tale tells the story of people who must face up to their past, in order to move on with their lives. Kawaguchi once again invites the reader to ask themselves: what would you change if you could travel back in time?]]> 192 Toshikazu Kawaguchi 1529050863 ???? 3 3.98 2017
author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
name: ????
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/20
date added: 2021/04/04
shelves:
review:

]]> 51541496
Razor-sharp, provocatively page-turning and surprisingly tender, Luster by Raven Leilani is a painfully funny debut about what it means to be young now.]]> 227 Raven Leilani 0374194327 ???? 0 to-read 3.51 2020
author: Raven Leilani
name: ????
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32621144
What made Nabokov choose the name Lolita? Why did Fitzgerald use first-person narration in The Great Gatsby? How did Kerouac, who raged against revision, finally come to revise On the Road? Veteran editor and teacher Richard Cohen draws on his vast reservoir of a lifetime's reading and his insight into what makes good prose soar. Here are Gabriel Garcia Marquez's thoughts on how to start a novel ("In the first paragraph you solve most of the problems with your book"); Virginia Woolf offering her definition of style ("It is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can't use the wrong words"); and Vladimir Nabokov on the nature of fiction ("All great novels are great fairy tales").

Cohen has researched the published works and private utterances of our greatest authors to discover the elements that made their prose memorable. The result is a unique exploration of the act and art of writing that enriches our experience of reading both the classics and the best modern fiction. Evoking the marvelous, the famous, and the irreverent, he reveals the challenges that even the greatest writers faced--and shows us how they surmounted them.]]> 352 Richard A. Cohen 1786070219 ???? 0 currently-reading 3.97 2016
author: Richard A. Cohen
name: ????
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 33871745 Territory of Light is the luminous story of a young woman, living alone in Tokyo with her three-year-old daughter. Its twelve, stand-alone fragments follow the first year of her separation from her husband. The novel is full of light, sometimes comforting and sometimes dangerous: sunlight streaming through windows, dappled light in the park, distant fireworks, dazzling floodwater, desaturated streetlamps and earth-shaking explosions. The seemingly artless prose is beautifully patterned: the cumulative effect is disarmingly powerful and images remain seared into your retina for a long time afterwards.]]> 122 Y¨±ko Tsushima 0241312191 ???? 0 to-read 3.61 1978
author: Y¨±ko Tsushima
name: ????
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42201995 A poignant, heartfelt new novel by the award-nominated author of Together Tea¡ªextolled by the Wall Street Journal as a ¡°moving tale of lost love¡± and by Shelf Awareness as ¡°a powerful, heartbreaking story¡±¡ªexplores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.

Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri¡¯s neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink.

Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer¡ªhandsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi¡¯s poetry¡ªand she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.

A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts¡ªa result of the coup d¡¯etat that forever changes their country¡¯s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on¡ªto college in California, to another man, to a life in New England¡ªuntil, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?]]> 312 Marjan Kamali 1982107480 ???? 0 currently-reading 4.22 2019
author: Marjan Kamali
name: ????
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/12/31
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 42068288 398 Julian Baggini 1783782285 ???? 4 3.67 2018
author: Julian Baggini
name: ????
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/31
date added: 2020/12/31
shelves:
review:
I wish did read this book long ago! However, it is a recent book but the amount of knowledge here did reshape many of my ideas and understanding of how this world is. While the language is more academic and not easy to consume, I was enjoying the slow reading and constructing ideas one after another. The main conclusion of the book that the human perspective is unlimited to a certain philosophy. The world is a diverse place for ideas and the human mind. is much more than concepts such as logic and traditions. I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs to get over the premade ideas of Western philosophy. How the world thinks is a question of understanding the differences and not just the patterns.
]]> 50634450
Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia¡¯s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband¡¯s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?]]> 380 Jeanine Cummins 1250209765 ???? 4 4.34 2020
author: Jeanine Cummins
name: ????
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/24
date added: 2020/12/31
shelves:
review:

]]> 52698452 ¡°I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus.¡±

Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the ruler of Galilee, Ana is rebellious and ambitious, a relentless seeker with a brilliant, curious mind and a daring spirit. She yearns for a pursuit worthy of her life, but finds no outlet for her considerable talents. Defying the expectations placed on women, she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes secret narratives about neglected and silenced women. When she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus, each is drawn to and enriched by the other¡¯s spiritual and philosophical ideas. He becomes a floodgate for her intellect, but also the awakener of her heart.

Their marriage unfolds with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, James and Simon, and their mother, Mary. Here, Ana¡¯s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to the Roman occupation of Israel, partially led by her charismatic adopted brother, Judas. She is sustained by her indomitable aunt Yaltha, who is searching for her long-lost daughter, as well as by other women, including her friend Tabitha, who is sold into slavery after she was raped, and Phasaelis, the shrewd wife of Herod Antipas. Ana¡¯s impetuous streak occasionally invites danger. When one such foray forces her to flee Nazareth for her safety shortly before Jesus¡¯s public ministry begins, she makes her way with Yaltha to Alexandria, where she eventually finds refuge and purpose in unexpected surroundings.

Grounded in meticulous historical research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus¡¯s life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring account of one woman¡¯s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place, and culture devised to silence her.]]> 416 Sue Monk Kidd 052542976X ???? 3 4.21 2020
author: Sue Monk Kidd
name: ????
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/12/31
date added: 2020/12/31
shelves:
review:

]]> 21792828 An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization¡¯s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.

Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band¡¯s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.]]> 354 Emily St. John Mandel ???? 0 to-read 4.13 2014
author: Emily St. John Mandel
name: ????
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/12/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 52780142 You can choose hope in the midst of chaos. The visionary behind the million-strong IF:Gathering challenges you to exercise your God-given power to shift negative thinking patterns and take back control of your thoughts and emotions.

Are your thoughts holding you captive? I¡¯ll never be good enough. Other people have better lives than I do. God couldn¡¯t really love me. Jennie Allen knows what it¡¯s like to swirl in a spiral of destructive thoughts, but she also knows we don¡¯t have to stay stuck in toxic thinking patterns.

As she discovered in her own life, God built a way for us to escape that downward spiral. Freedom comes when we refuse to be victims to our thoughts and realize we have already been equipped with power from God to fight and win the war for our minds.

In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie inspires and equips us to transform our emotions, our outlook, and even our circumstances by taking control of our thoughts. Our enemy is determined to get in our heads to make us feel helpless, overwhelmed, and incapable of making a difference for the kingdom of God. But when we submit our minds to Christ, the promises and goodness of God flood our lives in remarkable ways.

It starts in your head. And from there, the possibilities are endless.]]> 223 Jennie Allen 1601429649 ???? 2 4.06 2020
author: Jennie Allen
name: ????
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2020/12/21
date added: 2020/12/21
shelves:
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]]> 51285456
Calhoun decided to find some answers. She looked into housing costs, HR trends, credit card debt averages, and divorce data. At every turn, she saw a pattern: sandwiched between the Boomers and the Millennials, Gen X women were facing new problems as they entered middle age, problems that were being largely overlooked.

Speaking with women across America about their experiences as the generation raised to ¡°have it all,¡± Calhoun found that most were exhausted, terrified about money, under-employed, and overwhelmed. Instead of being heard, they were told instead to lean in, take ¡°me-time,¡± or make a chore chart to get their lives and homes in order.

In Why We Can¡¯t Sleep, Calhoun opens up the cultural and political contexts of Gen X¡¯s predicament and offers solutions for how to pull oneself out of the abyss¡ªand keep the next generation of women from falling in. The result is reassuring, empowering, and essential reading for all middle-aged women, and anyone who hopes to understand them.]]> 267 Ada Calhoun 0802147852 ???? 3 3.66 2020
author: Ada Calhoun
name: ????
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/12/21
date added: 2020/12/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 45897568 From the New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits comes an epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents, following two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a new place to call home.

In the late 1930s, civil war gripped Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life irreversibly intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them wants, and together are sponsored by poet Pablo Neruda to embark on the SS Winnipeg along with 2,200 other refugees in search of a new life. As unlikely partners, they embrace exile and emigrate to Chile as the rest of Europe erupts in World War.

Starting over on a new continent, their trials are just beginning. Over the course of their lives, they will face test after test. But they will also find joy as they wait patiently for a day when they are exiles no more, and will find friends in the most unlikely of places. Through it all, it is that hope of being reunited with their home that keeps them going. And in the end, they will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along.]]> 325 Isabel Allende 198482015X ???? 2 3.92 2019
author: Isabel Allende
name: ????
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2020/12/21
date added: 2020/12/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 17860403 283 Waguih Ghali 9770932124 ???? 0 to-read 3.75 1964
author: Waguih Ghali
name: ????
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1964
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 332544 This first bilingual edition of France's most enduring wartime novel introduces Vercors's famous tale to a generation without personal experience of World War II who may not be able to read it in its original language. Readers are assisted with a historical and literary introduction, explanatory notes, a glossary of French terms and a select bibliography.
]]> 102 Vercors 0854963782 ???? 3 4.00 1942
author: Vercors
name: ????
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1942
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/21
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 43925876 From the author of Me Before You, set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond.

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt¡¯s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice¡¯s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who¡¯s never asked a man¡¯s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.

What happens to them¨Cand to the men they love¨Cbecomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they¡¯re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.

Based on a true story rooted in America¡¯s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic¨Ca richly rewarding novel of women¡¯s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.]]> 390 Jojo Moyes 0399562486 ???? 0 to-read 4.27 2019
author: Jojo Moyes
name: ????
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> 44318414
The story is told by Cyril¡¯s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they¡¯re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they¡¯ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they¡¯re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.]]> 337 Ann Patchett 0062963678 ???? 0 to-read 4.08 2019
author: Ann Patchett
name: ????
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> 48570454 Homegoing is a powerful, raw, intimate, deeply layered novel about a Ghanaian family in Alabama.

Gifty is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after a knee injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.

But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family's loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive. Transcendent Kingdom is a deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanaian immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief--a novel about faith, science, religion, love. Exquisitely written, emotionally searing, this is an exceptionally powerful follow-up to Gyasi's phenomenal debut.]]> 264 Yaa Gyasi ???? 4 4.10 2020
author: Yaa Gyasi
name: ????
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/21
date added: 2020/11/21
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]]> 52578297
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?]]> 288 Matt Haig 0525559477 ???? 4 3.96 2020
author: Matt Haig
name: ????
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/21
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves:
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]]> 43923951 Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone family, and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.]]> 310 Kiley Reid 052554190X ???? 3 3.76 2019
author: Kiley Reid
name: ????
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/28
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves:
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]]> 45754981 From the award-winning author of Station Eleven, an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events¨Ca massive Ponzi scheme collapse and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea.

Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star lodging on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. On the night she meets Jonathan Alkaitis, a hooded figure scrawls a message on the lobby¡¯s glass wall: Why don¡¯t you swallow broken glass. High above Manhattan, a greater crime is committed: Alkaitis is running an international Ponzi scheme, moving imaginary sums of money through clients¡¯ accounts. When the financial empire collapses, it obliterates countless fortunes and devastates lives. Vincent, who had been posing as Jonathan¡¯s wife, walks away into the night. Years later, a victim of the fraud is hired to investigate a strange occurrence: a woman has seemingly vanished from the deck of a container ship between ports of call.

In this captivating story of crisis and survival, Emily St. John Mandel takes readers through often hidden landscapes: campgrounds for the near-homeless, underground electronica clubs, the business of international shipping, service in luxury hotels, and life in a federal prison. Rife with unexpected beauty, The Glass Hotel is a captivating portrait of greed and guilt, love and delusion, ghosts and unintended consequences, and the infinite ways we search for meaning in our lives.]]> 307 Emily St. John Mandel 0525521143 ???? 3 3.66 2020
author: Emily St. John Mandel
name: ????
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/21
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves:
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]]> 45294613
Edward's story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place for himself in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a piece of him has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery--one that will lead him to the answers of some of life's most profound questions: When you've lost everything, how do find yourself? How do you discover your purpose? What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?

An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 340 Ann Napolitano 198485478X ???? 3 4.03 2020
author: Ann Napolitano
name: ????
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/21
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves:
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]]> 44890081
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager¡ªand who professed to worship only her¡ªmay be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa¡¯s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.]]> 373 Kate Elizabeth Russell 006294150X ???? 0 to-read 4.09 2020
author: Kate Elizabeth Russell
name: ????
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> 52755548 The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the ¡°nothing short of brilliant¡± (People) Mrs. Everything returns with an unforgettable novel about friendship and forgiveness set during a disastrous wedding on picturesque Cape Cod.

Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn¡¯t spoken one word to Drue in all this time¡ªshe doesn¡¯t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media¡ªso when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything¡ªexcept the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne¡¯s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She¡¯s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend¡¯s siren song.

A sparkling novel about the complexities of female friendship, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.]]> 368 Jennifer Weiner ???? 3 3.55 2020
author: Jennifer Weiner
name: ????
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/21
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves:
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]]> 93840 192 Jun'ichir¨­ Tanizaki 0679730249 ???? 3 3.64 1961
author: Jun'ichir¨­ Tanizaki
name: ????
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1961
rating: 3
read at: 2020/03/20
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 49122401 'Tautly plotted, gripping and emotional' - Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of After the End
A regular weekday morning veers drastically off-course for a group of strangers whose paths cross in a London caf¨¦ - their lives never to be the same again when an apparently crazed gunman holds them hostage. But there is more to the situation than first meets the eye and as the captives grapple with their own inner demons, the line between right and wrong starts to blur.
Will the secrets they keep stop them from escaping with their lives?
Shortlisted for 'best novel' in the 2021 Ngaio Marsh Awards]]> 352 Charity Norman ???? 3 4.26 2020
author: Charity Norman
name: ????
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/19
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 41860708 Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura¡¯s prearranged marriage to the son of her father¡¯s business associate would secure her family¡¯s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man¡ªan American sailor, a gaijin¡ªand to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it¡¯s learned Naoko carries the sailor¡¯s child, she¡¯s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kova?, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation¡ªone that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori¡¯s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.]]> 352 Ana Johns 0778308146 ???? 3 4.14 2019
author: Ana Johns
name: ????
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/31
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 50173134
But in 2019, as some claimed ¡°billions of people are going to die,¡± contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction.

Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.

Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions.

What¡¯s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.]]> 272 Michael Shellenberger 0063001705 ???? 3 4.09 2020
author: Michael Shellenberger
name: ????
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/20
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 52199285 A major expos¨¦ that reveals the absurd and shocking problems that pervade and undermine contemporary science.

So much relies on science. But what if science itself can¡¯t be relied on?

Medicine, education, psychology, health, parenting ¨C wherever it really matters, we look to science for advice. Science Fictions reveals the disturbing flaws that undermine our understanding of all of these fields and more.

While the scientific method will always be our best and only way of knowing about the world, in reality the current system of funding and publishing science not only fails to safeguard against scientists¡¯ inescapable biases and foibles, it actively encourages them. From widely accepted theories about ¡®priming¡¯ and ¡®growth mindset¡¯ to claims about genetics, sleep, microbiotics, as well as a host of drugs, allergies and therapies, we can trace the effects of unreliable, overhyped and even fraudulent papers in austerity economics, the anti-vaccination movement and dozens of bestselling books ¨C and occasionally count the cost in human lives.

Stuart Ritchie was among the first people to help expose these problems. In this vital investigation, he gathers together the evidence of their full and shocking extent ¨C and how a new reform movement within science is fighting back. Often witty yet deadly serious, Science Fictions is at the vanguard of the insurgency, proposing a host of remedies to save and protect this most valuable of human endeavours from itself.]]> 368 Stuart Ritchie 1847925669 ???? 3 4.36 2020
author: Stuart Ritchie
name: ????
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/20
date added: 2020/11/20
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]]> 29610119 THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER'Truly fascinating.' Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2- Have you ever forgotten the name of someone you¡¯ve met dozens of times?- Or discovered that your memory of an important event was completely different from everyone else¡¯s?- Or vividly recalled being in a particular place at a particular time, only to discover later that you couldn¡¯t possibly have been?We rely on our memories every day of our lives. They make us who we are. And yet the truth is, they are far from being the accurate record of the past we like to think they are. In The Memory Illusion, forensic psychologist and memory expert Dr Julia Shaw draws on the latest research to show why our memories so often play tricks on us ¨C and how, if we understand their fallibility, we can actually improve their accuracy. The result is an exploration of our minds that both fascinating and unnerving, and that will make you question how much you can ever truly know about yourself. Think you have a good memory? Think again.'A spryly paced, fun, sometimes frightening exploration of how we remember ¨C and why everyone remembers things that never truly happened.' Pacific Standard]]> 319 Julia Shaw ???? 3 3.94 2016
author: Julia Shaw
name: ????
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/30
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 6544357 538 Hassan Fathy ???? 4 4.30 1969
author: Hassan Fathy
name: ????
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1969
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/25
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 44421460 What would you change if you could go back in time?

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a caf¨¦ which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.

In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the caf¨¦¡¯s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the caf¨¦, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

Toshikazu Kawaguchi¡¯s beautiful, moving story explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?]]> 213 Toshikazu Kawaguchi 1529029589 ???? 3 3.67 2015
author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
name: ????
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/20
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 38357895
A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.]]> 163 Sayaka Murata ???? 3 3.70 2016
author: Sayaka Murata
name: ????
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/20
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 33113683
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is an honest and heartfelt look at one young woman¡¯s exploration of her sexuality, mental well-being, and growing up in our modern age. Told using expressive artwork that invokes both laughter and tears, this moving and highly entertaining single volume depicts not only the artist¡¯s burgeoning sexuality, but many other personal aspects of her life that will resonate with readers.]]> 144 Kabi Nagata 1626926034 ???? 1 4.11 2016
author: Kabi Nagata
name: ????
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 1
read at: 2020/03/20
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 13598486
??? ???? ????? ?? ?????: ?? ????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ???. ??? ????? ????? ??? ??"????? ??????? ??????"? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ??????. ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ?? ???????? ???????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ??????.
??? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ????????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????.
??? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ????????. ???? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ????????? ?????? ???????? ????? (?? ?????? ?????? ?????) ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???????.
????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ????. ?? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????.
??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ????????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????. ???? ??? ?????? ??? ????????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? (?? ???? ??? ?? ???) ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? (???????? ????????? ??????¡­).
???? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??????????. ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? (??????? ?????)? (????? ??????) ?? ?????.
??? ?????? ???? ?????????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ???? ???????. ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ????????.
??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??????. ??? ??? ????????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????. ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????. ????? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?????????.
??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????. ??? ????????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????. ????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????.
??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ????????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????.
???? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????. ??? ??? ???? ????????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?????. ?? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ????? ??????. ?? ???? ???? ??? ??? "?????? ??????? ???????". ?? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ????????? ???? ??? ??????? ??????.
???? ?????? ?????? ??? 1986 ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????. ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????. ?? ???? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?????. ???? ??? ????? ???? ???. ??? ????? ????. ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ????. ??? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????. ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? "?? ??????". ??? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????????. ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??????. ???? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?????.
??? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ??? 1911? ?? ???? ?? ?????????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ??????. ???? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???. ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ????????? ????????.
???? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????: ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ????????. ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ??????. ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????. ??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? "??????? ???????" ??? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?????.
???? ????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ????????. ????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ??????. ??? ????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ???: "??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????." ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??????. ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????. ??? ???? ?????! ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?????: "?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????????"
???? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??????. ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????. ?? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??????. ?? ????? ???!
??? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ??????. ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????. ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????. ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??? 1765 ??? ??? ???: "??? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????. ?????? ????? ?? ?????. ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ??"!]]> 229 Jean-Luc Hennig 6144042318 ???? 3 2.77 1995
author: Jean-Luc Hennig
name: ????
average rating: 2.77
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/20
date added: 2020/11/20
shelves:
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]]> 12640991
From "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year's weather; and from "I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter" to "Excuse me... is this book edible?", here is a book for heroic booksellers and booklovers everywhere.

This full-length collection illustrated by the Brothers McLeod also includes top "Weird Things" from bookshops around the world.]]> 119 Jen Campbell 1780334834 ???? 3 3.85 2012
author: Jen Campbell
name: ????
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/16
date added: 2020/11/16
shelves:
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]]> 49691870
Kyoto, Japan, 1948. "If a woman knows nothing else, she should know how to be silent. . . . Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist." Such is eight-year-old Noriko "Nori" Kamiza's first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents' imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her shameful skin.

The illegitimate child of a Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Though her grandparents take her in, they do so only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life for what it is, despite her natural intellect and nagging curiosity about what lies outside the attic's walls. But when chance brings her legitimate older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him the first person who will allow her to question, and the siblings form an unlikely but powerful bond¡ªa bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it¡ªa battle that just might cost her everything.

Spanning decades and continents, Fifty Words for Rain is a dazzling epic about the ties that bind, the ties that give you strength, and what it means to try to break free.]]> 449 Asha Lemmie 1524746363 ???? 3 3.79 2020
author: Asha Lemmie
name: ????
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/10
date added: 2020/11/10
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]]> 9557 alternate cover can be found here

Sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel.

Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell Miu how she feels for her? Meanwhile K wonders whether he should confess his own unrequited love for Sumire.

Then, a desperate Miu calls from a small Greek island: Sumire has mysteriously vanished...]]> 229 Haruki Murakami 0099448475 ???? 3 3.85 1999
author: Haruki Murakami
name: ????
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2020/02/10
date added: 2020/11/10
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]]> 3536802 373 Andrew Miller 0340825146 ???? 4 3.36 2008
author: Andrew Miller
name: ????
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2020/01/01
date added: 2020/11/10
shelves:
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]]> 3869
Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and ¡°arrows of time,¡± of the big bang and a bigger God¡ªwhere the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.]]> 226 Stephen Hawking 0553380168 ???? 4 4.22 1988
author: Stephen Hawking
name: ????
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/10
date added: 2020/11/10
shelves:
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]]> 629429 The World of Yesterday, mailed to his publisher a few days before Stefan Zweig took his life in 1942, has become a classic of the memoir genre. Originally titled ¡°Three Lives,¡± the memoir describes Vienna of the late Austro-Hungarian Empire, the world between the two world wars and the Hitler years.

Translated from the German by Benjamin W. Huebsch and Helmut Ripperger; with an introduction by Harry Zohn, 34 illustrations, a chronology of Stefan Zweig¡¯s life and a new bibliography, by Randolph Klawiter, of works by and about Stefan Zweig in English.

¡°The best single memoir of Old Vienna by any of the city¡¯s native artists.¡± ¡ª Clive James

¡°A book that should be read by anyone who is even slightly interested in the creative imagination and the intellectual life, the brute force of history upon individual lives, the possibility of culture and, quite simply, what it meant to be alive between 1881 and 1942.¡± ¡ª The Guardian

¡°It is not so much a memoir of a life as it is the memento of an age.¡± ¡ª The New Republic]]> 455 Stefan Zweig 0803252242 ???? 4 4.48 1942
author: Stefan Zweig
name: ????
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1942
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/08
date added: 2020/11/10
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]]> 53363 210 Martin Luther King Jr. 0062505521 ???? 3 4.50 1987
author: Martin Luther King Jr.
name: ????
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1987
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/10
date added: 2020/11/10
shelves:
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]]> 408615
Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them.?

It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love¡ªa love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family¡¯s killers.

The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman¡¯s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.]]> 214 Immacul¨¦e Ilibagiza 1401908977 ???? 4 4.42 2006
author: Immacul¨¦e Ilibagiza
name: ????
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/10
date added: 2020/11/10
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]]> 7960968 528 Giacomo Leopardi 0374235031 ???? 4 4.43 1845
author: Giacomo Leopardi
name: ????
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1845
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/10
date added: 2020/11/10
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]]> 34927828 Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America¡¯s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents¡¯ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights¡¯ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt¡¯s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: They are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska¨Da place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.]]> 440 Kristin Hannah 0312577230 ???? 0 4.35 2018
author: Kristin Hannah
name: ????
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2020/11/10
date added: 2020/11/10
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]]> 51179955 Featuring his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of the worldwide bestseller Magpie Murders, a brilliantly complex literary thriller with echoes of Agatha Christie from New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she's always wanted. But is it? She's exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she's beginning to miss London.

And then the Trehearnes come to stay. The strange and mysterious story they tell, about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married¡ªa picturesque inn on the Suffolk coast named Farlingaye Halle¡ªfascinates Susan and piques her editor¡¯s instincts.?

One of her former writers, the late Alan Conway, author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew the murder victim¡ªan advertising executive named Frank Parris¡ªand once visited Farlingaye Hall. Conway based the third book in his detective series, Atticus Pund Takes the Case, on that very crime.?

The Trehearne¡¯s, daughter, Cecily, read Conway¡¯s mystery and believed the book proves that the man convicted of Parris¡¯s murder¡ªa Romanian immigrant who was the hotel¡¯s handyman¡ªis innocent. When the Trehearnes reveal that Cecily is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to England and find out what really happened.

Brilliantly clever, relentlessly suspenseful, full of twists that will keep readers guessing with each revelation and clue, Moonflower Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction from one of its greatest masterminds, Anthony Horowitz.??]]> 608 Anthony Horowitz 0062955454 ???? 0 to-read 4.01 2020
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: ????
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> 40545956 In this gorgeously stunning debut, a mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again.

After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.

The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child¡¯s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay¨Djust until she learns more about Ursa¡¯s past.

Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren¡¯t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children¡¯s website anymore?

Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.]]> 332 Glendy Vanderah 154204006X ???? 3 3.98 2019
author: Glendy Vanderah
name: ????
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/28
date added: 2020/10/28
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]]> 39890430
Japonisme explores the Japanese art of findingcontentment and includes practical tips and tricksto live a happier, healthier, more thoughtful life.What is your ikigai (purpose)? How do you practice mindfulness in the unpredictability and chaos of everyday life?From shinrinyoku (forest bathing), calligraphy, ikebana(fl ower arranging) to tea ceremonies and their approach tofood, the Japanese have found contentment through traditions,philosophies, and the practice of art. This book shows how we can all incorporate aspects of Japonisme into our daily lives.Enhance your lifestyle and enrich your mind by looking at lifethrough the lens of wabi-sabi (the transient nature of life),kintsugi (repairing broken ceramics with gold) or kaizen(habit-forming techniques), in an accessible, practical way.]]> 293 Erin Niimi Longhurst 0008286051 ???? 4 3.74 2018
author: Erin Niimi Longhurst
name: ????
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/10/28
date added: 2020/10/28
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]]> 1401908 writer.

Sayoko, a thirty-five-year-old homemaker with a three-year-old child, begins working for Aoi, a free-spirited, single career woman her own age who runs a travel agency-housekeeping business. Timid and unable to connect with other mothers in her neighborhood, Sayoko finds herself drawn to Aoi's
independent lifestyle and easygoing personality. The two hit it off from the start, beginning a friendship that is for Sayoko also a reaffirmation of what living is about.

Aoi, meanwhile, has not always been the self-confident person she appears to be. Severe classroom bullying in junior high had forced her to change schools, uprooting her and her family to the countryside; and at her new school, she was so afraid of again becoming the object of her classmates'
cruelties that she spent most of her time steering clear of those around her.

The present-day friendship between Sayoko and Aoi on the one hand, and Aoi's painful high school past on the other, form a gripping two-tier narrative that converges in the final chapter. The book touches on a broad range of issues of concern to women today, from marriage and childrearing to being
single and working for oneself. It is a universal story about both the fear and the joy of opening up to others.]]> 271 Mitsuyo Kakuta 4770030436 ???? 3 3.70 2004
author: Mitsuyo Kakuta
name: ????
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/16
date added: 2020/09/16
shelves:
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]]>