Cara's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 27 Apr 2025 13:35:19 -0700 60 Cara's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Evil Harvest: The True Story of Cult Murder in the American Heartland]]> 570816 364 Rod Colvin MS 1886039429 Cara 3 3.80 1992 Evil Harvest: The True Story of Cult Murder in the American Heartland
author: Rod Colvin MS
name: Cara
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood in the Water: The Untold Story of a Family Tragedy]]> 215057204 Troubled waters hide deadly secrets�

When Nathan Carman, a young man with a complicated past, is miraculously rescued from a lifeboat bobbing in the unforgiving North Atlantic, questions swirl about the fate of his mother, who is presumed to have drowned when their fishing boat sank. Nathan is in remarkably good shape for being lost at sea for a week, and his account of what exactly happened out there on the waves raises questions from family members and law enforcement.

Nathan's story of a fishing trip gone awry doesn't quite add up, and suspicion mounts. The mysterious murder of Nathan's multi-millionaire grandfather a few years before had made Nathan's mother an extremely wealthy woman. With a seven-million-dollar fortune at stake, did Nathan commit the ultimate betrayal? Or is there more to this tragic tale than meets the eye?

From New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman comes a gripping contemporary true crime narrative for everyone who was fascinated by the Murdaugh murders, and for anyone compelled by the intersection between money, power, and family.]]> 304 Casey Sherman 1728298199 Cara 3 3.78 2025 Blood in the Water: The Untold Story of a Family Tragedy
author: Casey Sherman
name: Cara
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West]]> 216522655 The definitive history of Russia’s most secret spy program, from the earliest days of the Soviet Union to Putin’s present-day invasion of Ukraine, and a revelatory examination of how that hidden history shaped both Russia and the West.

A century ago, the new Bolshevik government began sending Soviet citizens abroad as deep-cover spies, training them to pose as foreign aristocrats, merchants, and students. Over time, this became the most ambitious espionage program in human history. Many intelligence agencies use undercover operatives, but the KGB was the only one to go to such lengths, spending years training its spies in language and etiquette, and sending them abroad on missions that could last for decades. These spies were known as “the illegals.� During the Cold War, illegals were dispatched to assassinate world leaders and steal technological secrets—the greatest among them performed remarkable feats, while many others failed in their missions or cracked under the strain of living a double life.

Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews, as well as archival research in more than a dozen countries, Shaun Walker brings this history to life in a page-turning tour de force that takes us into the heart of the KGB’s most secretive program. A riveting spy drama peopled with richly drawn characters, The Illegals also uncovers a hidden thread in the story of Russia itself. As Putin extols Soviet achievements and the KGB’s espionage prowess, and Moscow continues to infiltrate illegals across the globe, this timely narrative shines new light on the long arc of the Soviet experiment, its messy aftermath, and its influence on our world at large.]]> 448 Shaun Walker 0593319680 Cara 0 currently-reading 4.45 2025 The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West
author: Shaun Walker
name: Cara
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Gatsby Gambit 215805799 A clever, transporting murder mystery, The Gatsby Gambit explores a world of class, money, glamour, and foul play—and reimagines some of America’s most beloved literary characters

Greta Gatsby has at last graduated from her stifling finishing school, is on the brink of turning twenty-one, and hopes to finally have her own legendary summer with her brother and guardian, Jay, at his West Egg mansion.ĚýOrphaned along with him some years before the war, Greta has seen her fortunes rise on the high tide of his entrepreneurship, even as she has remained in the shadows of his life—too young to join his late-night soirees or infamous summer parties and too shy to trade banter and barbs with his cadre of new friends.

Jay’s wish for her has been to shake off their new-money stain and gain a level of social acceptance he’s never quite enjoyed. She’s simply looking forward to reconnecting with him and embracing life as a modern young woman. She arrives at West Egg with a fresh and daring new bob hairdo to find Daisy and Tom Buchanan also summering at the mansion, along with Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker. And it’s hard to be noticed when the luminous and multifaceted Daisy Buchanan is in the same room.Ěý

But when one of their guests is murdered, Greta turns sleuth as the veil is lifted on Gatsby’s household and its inhabitants, including its staff. Tightly plotted, with thrilling prose and sensuous detail, this homage to and reinvention of a world American readers have lionized for generations ultimately reveals the secrets and lies that perpetuate the romantic notion that being rich is the answer to all of life’s problems.

Like the Enola Holmes series and The Christie Affair, The Gatsby Gambit is designed to bring new readers into the world of the original, iconic novel, as well as delight fans with its clever secrets and reverence for all things Gatsby.]]> 368 Claire Anderson Wheeler 0593831632 Cara 5 3.64 2025 The Gatsby Gambit
author: Claire Anderson Wheeler
name: Cara
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/26
date added: 2025/04/26
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]]> <![CDATA[Falling in Love at the Movies: Rom-Coms from the Screwball Era to Today (Turner Classic Movies)]]> 145624831
Romantic comedies have had an incredible influence on popular culture, shaping everything from how we think of relationships to fashion. Often swept aside in film history, these movies are thought of as pure comfort viewing. Although they certainly provide those fuzzy feelings, they have also had a significant artistic influence and cultural impact. Spanning decades of romantic comedies—from movies of the 1930s such as It Happened One Night and the rom com craze of the 80s and 90s including When Harry Met Sally... all the way to contemporary hits like Crazy Rich Asians , and everything in between� Falling in Love at the Movies will make you fall in love (all over again) with romantic comedies.

Esther Zuckerman—accomplished entertainment journalist and member of the New York Film Critic’s Circle—takes readers on a journey through the rom-com. She examines the psychological aspects that make us so drawn to these types of films, diving deep into the key auteurs—from Preston Sturges to James L. Brooks to Nora Ephron and beyond—who both created and subverted the canon . ĚýThese directors, actors, and writers shaped the genre, establishing and also busting traditional pillars and tenets of these movies such as the “Perfect Pairâ€� or “The Man in Crisisâ€� and “The High Maintenance Woman.”Ě� Along the way she takes detours, exploring iconic lines of dialogue (Who could forget Julia Robert’s “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love herâ€� iconic moment from Notting Hill ?) to memorable scenes (the magical moments at the Empire State Building in An Affair to Remember andĚýĚý Sleepless in Seattle ) and weaves in interviews of artists and romantic comedy fanatics in the industry.
Ěý
Looking beyond the traditional rom-com, Zuckerman digs into the nooks and crannies, the films that buck the trend of "happily ever after," the ones that think beyond heteronormative narratives, and the indies that kept the rom-com alive outside of the studio system, to offer a more comprehensive story of the rom-com than has ever been seen before—and one that you’re bound to love. How’s that for a happy ending?

Copyright © 2023 by Turner Classic Movies]]> 256 Esther Zuckerman 0762484462 Cara 4 3.64 Falling in Love at the Movies: Rom-Coms from the Screwball Era to Today (Turner Classic Movies)
author: Esther Zuckerman
name: Cara
average rating: 3.64
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans]]> 176443714
We’ve all heard of Amway, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and LuLaRoe, but few know the nefarious way they and countless other multilevel marketing (MLM) companies prey on desperate Americans struggling to make ends meet.

When factories close, stalwart industries shutter, and blue-collar opportunities evaporate, MLMs are there, ready to pounce on the crumbling American Dream. MLMs thrive in rural areas and on military bases, targeting women with promises of being their own boss and millions of dollars in easy income—even at the risk of their entire life savings. But the vast majority�99.7%—of those who join an MLM make no money or lose money, and wind up stuck with inventory they can’t sell to recoup their losses.

Featuring in-depth reporting and intimate research, Selling the Dream reveals how these companies—often owned by political and corporate elites, such as the Devos and the Van Andels families—have made a windfall in profit off of the desperation of the American working class.]]> 320 Jane Marie 1982155779 Cara 4 3.74 2024 Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans
author: Jane Marie
name: Cara
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/23
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves:
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]]> Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir 219129379 A smart, funny, and refreshing memoir from Mark Hoppus, the vocalist, bassist, and founding member of pop-punk band blink-182.

This is a story of what happens when an angst-ridden kid who grew up in the desert experiences his parents� bitter divorce, moves around the country, switches identities from dork to goth to skate punk, and eventually meets his best friend who just so happens to be his musical soulmate.

Bassist, songwriter, and vocalist for renowned pop-punk trailblazers blink-182, Mark Hoppus, tells his story inĚýFahrenheit-182. A memoir that paints a vivid picture of what it was like to come of age in the 1980s as a latchkey kid hooked on punk rock, skateboards, and MTV; Mark Hoppus shares how he came of age and forms one of the biggest bands of his generation. Threaded through with the very human story of a constant battle with anxiety and Mark’s public battle and triumph over cancer,ĚýFahrenheit-182Ěýis a delight for fans and also a funny, smart, and relatable memoir for anyone who has wanted to quit but kept going.]]> 400 Mark Hoppus 0063318911 Cara 5 4.63 2025 Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir
author: Mark Hoppus
name: Cara
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection]]> 220341389 John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest disease.

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, John Green met Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone while traveling with Partners in Health. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal and dynamic advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, treatable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing 1.5 million people every year.

In Everything is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.]]> 208 John Green 0525556575 Cara 4 4.52 2025 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
author: John Green
name: Cara
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3)]]> 20538936
Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrived in Wayward Pines, Idaho, three weeks ago. In this town, people are told who to marry, where to live, where to work. Their children are taught that David Pilcher, the town’s creator, is god. No one is allowed to leave; even asking questions can get you killed.

But Ethan has discovered the astonishing secret of what lies beyond the electrified fence that surrounds Wayward Pines and protects it from the terrifying world beyond. It is a secret that has the entire population completely under the control of a madman and his army of followers, a secret that is about to come storming through the fence to wipe out this last, fragile remnant of humanity.

Blake Crouch’s electrifying conclusion to the Wayward Pines Series—now a Major Television Event Series debuting Summer 2014 on FOX—will have you glued to the page right down to the very last word.]]> 285 Blake Crouch 1477822585 Cara 4 4.13 2014 The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3)
author: Blake Crouch
name: Cara
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/21
date added: 2025/04/19
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]]> <![CDATA[EMPATH WORKBOOK: Discover 50 Successful Tips To Boost Your Emotional, Physical And Spiritual Energy (Empath Series Book 2)]]> 53969828
Do you always attract toxic people and have a hard time setting healthy boundaries for yourself?

Want to start living as your true self but don’t know where to begin?

What if you could heal yourself and find inner peace?

If any of this sounds familiar, chances are high that you, or your loved one, are simply unaware of being an empath.

Empaths take on the emotions of others in addition to their own. Being an empath is a gift that can deplete and overwhelm you without the proper self-care and knowledge. In the Empath Workbook, you’ll discover 50 tips to avoid adrenal fatigue, chronic exhaustion, toxic relationships, and how to embrace your gift fully.

In Empath Workbook, you will learn how to:

Set healthy boundaries
Harness Kundalini energy
Journal mindfully
Meditate effectively
Sustain a healthy diet
Heal chakras
Overcome insomnia and psychic attacks
Ground yourself with the three amazing essential oils
Embrace your shadow self
Transform negative energy
Control your emotions
The powerful empathy techniques you never heard about
The most 14 useful tools every empath should master
The secret tip empaths should know about to live happily
And much, much more

EMPATH WORKBOOK is the Empath’s survival guide to living a fulfilled and energetic life.

Step out of the shadows and shine unapologetically bright!]]> 98 Alison L. Alverson Cara 3 3.00 2020 EMPATH WORKBOOK: Discover 50 Successful Tips To Boost Your Emotional, Physical And Spiritual Energy (Empath Series Book 2)
author: Alison L. Alverson
name: Cara
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Love Lies: A True Story of Marriage and Murder in the Suburbs]]> 26792006
When Nancy Cooper moved from Canada to Cary, North Carolina with her new husband Brad, their future was bright: living in one of the most picturesque towns in the US, the couple mingled with neighbors, attended parties, and raised two daughters.

Then, on July 14th, 2008, the façade came crashing down when Nancy’s strangled body was found in a storm pond.

Nancy’s husband claimed that she had gone for a jog and never come back. But as the police investigation deepened, and as Brad was brought to trial for murdering his wife, a complex web of affairs and lies was uncovered involving multiple residents of Cary’s idyllic neighborhoods. At the heart of it stood the Coopers� soured marriage, Nancy’s threat to leave with the children, and her own cold-blooded murder. It would take a mountain of damning evidence before justice was served.]]> 454 Amanda Lamb Cara 3 4.08 2011 Love Lies: A True Story of Marriage and Murder in the Suburbs
author: Amanda Lamb
name: Cara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/10
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Survivor: A Cultural History (The Cultural History of Television)]]> 219642729 Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Survivor with a look back at one of history’s most popular and long-running reality shows.



Premiering in 2000, Survivor altered the landscape of network television from its first season, popularizing reality shows for audiences in the 21st century and quickly growing to a semi-annual release slate that has resulted in more than 46 seasons and hundreds of contestants. Over twenty years later, the series remains popular and a ratings hit, maintaining a devoted fanbase even as the television landscape has evolved and shifted to streaming.



In Survivor: A Cultural History, Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski analyze how the iconic CBS show revolutionized television and has adapted and changed across decades of production. They explore the creation of the series and its surprising emergence as a ratings juggernaut, the evolution of gameplay for both the producers and the players, the series existence as a self-proclaimed “social experiment�, and much more. While the basic premise of the series has remained the same—survivors are marooned in the wild with few supplies and must vote someone out at a weekly tribal council with the goal of being the sole survivor to win $1 million—there are notable differences from where the game began to where it is now.



From stylistic changes in the presentation of the show to new twists in the game rules, the transformations from season 1 to the present reflect real life, keeping the show fresh amid a stream of new reality competition shows. Survivor: A Cultural History details these cultural shifts while highlighting Survivor’s place as one of the most impactful television shows of this century. Featuring an overview of the key players and a ranking of the must watch-seasons, this is an essential guide for fans both new and old.]]> 317 Joseph J. Darowski 1538196565 Cara 3 3.75 Survivor: A Cultural History (The Cultural History of Television)
author: Joseph J. Darowski
name: Cara
average rating: 3.75
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident]]> 17557470 288 Donnie Eichar 1452112746 Cara 4 3.94 2013 Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
author: Donnie Eichar
name: Cara
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves:
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]]> Pronto (Raylan Givens, #1) 85211 Justified are in for a major treat. The unstoppable manhunter with the very itchy trigger finger stars in Pronto, a crime fiction gem from the one and only Elmore Leonard, "the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever" (New York Times Book Review).

The Grand Master justifies the overwhelming acclaim he has received over the course of his remarkable career with an electrifying thriller that sends the indomitable Raylan racing to Italy on the trail of a fugitive bookie who's hiding from the vengeful Miami mob. The legendary Leonard, whom the Seattle Times lauds as the "King Daddy of crime writers," proves that all comparisons to American noir icons John D. MacDonald, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain are well deserved with this tale of very dirty doings and extremely dangerous men coming together in the birthplace of Puccini, Garibaldi, and La Cosa Nostra.
]]> 400 Elmore Leonard 0060082178 Cara 3 3.74 1993 Pronto (Raylan Givens, #1)
author: Elmore Leonard
name: Cara
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)]]> 214331246 When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 387 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 Cara 5 4.62 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Cara
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America]]> 214537764 A poignant memoir exploring smalltown baseball as a lens into what’s right and wrong with modern America � written by an acclaimed journalist who went from Princeton to Army Ranger School to Iraq in search of the core values he ended up finding in a minor league stadium in Batavia, New York.

What happens when a minor league team � that has been the heart and soul of a modest upstate NY town � is shut down by the billionaires who run Major League Baseball?

Batavia, New York â€� between Rochester and Buffalo â€� was a bastion of smalltown baseball where the professional game had been played uninterrupted since 1897. Many jobs have evaporated or gone overseas but its good families haven’t, and one remaining jewel of Batavia is the Muckdogsâ€� quirky ballpark that attracts a hefty portion of the local population from June to August every year.Ěý

In HOMESTAND, acclaimed author and journalist WillĚýBardenwerperĚýexplores the question of 'What is baseball,' and uses that as a lens to explore 'What is America today.' Introducing a vibrant and unforgettable cast of characters, Bardenwerper exposes the beating heart of smalltown America and its love of baseball â€� even as Major League Baseball is on a little-disguised mission to control the sport from the very top, closing down many minor league teams across the country.ĚýThe Batavia Muckdogs were one of the victims of MLB contraction â€� shut down unceremoniously in 2021. But the town fought back and a new version of the Muckdogs arose, playing in a summer league comprised of mostly college players and prospects. The town rallied, and the sounds and sights of local baseball on summer nights continued. Tickets and draft beer and hot dogs were still affordable. Kids were still starry eyed and seeking autographs before games.

Meanwhile, in other minor leagues, the mom-and-pop advertisements in center field are replaced by corporate ad sales controlled by NY marketing managers, and locally printed game programs and neighborhood teens working the ticket windows are replaced by convenient 'scan your ticket through the app at the kiosk and click the link to see today's lineup and pop-up advertisements from Google'� But at the heart of HOMESTAND, Bardenwerper searches the back roads of America for things that are still good and pure, for the crack of a bat in a small town under the summer stars � and he finds it.]]> 320 Will Bardenwerper 0385549652 Cara 4 4.19 Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America
author: Will Bardenwerper
name: Cara
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom]]> 214151420 From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.�

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.� No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.]]> 320 Shari Franke 1668065398 Cara 4 4.42 2025 The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom
author: Shari Franke
name: Cara
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Where Monsters Hide: Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest]]> 40972846 A tragic missing person case spirals into an unrelenting murder mystery. Intrigue, deception, and serial homicide erupt in the latest real-life thriller byĚýNew York TimesĚýbestselling investigative journalist M. William Phelps.
Ěý
In October 2014, after Chris Regan failed to arrive at his new job, his ex-girlfriend filed a missing-person report. Something was off. It was not like Chris, a devoted father, avid hiker, and all-around great guy, not to show up. When local Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo learned Chris was having an affair with Kelly Cochran, a married co-worker, suspicion fell on her husband, Jason. After a search warrant on their house revealed several suspicious items, the Cochrans abruptly moved to Indiana. As questions swirled around the case, the whereabouts of Chris Regan remained unknown.
Ěý
Sixteen months later Jason Cochran died from a drug overdose. Friends and family rallied around the grieving and distraught Kelly. But when the coroner ruled Jason’s death a homicide, no one reacted more bizarrely than his widow. For months detectives tried to put Kelly’s past into focus, but the truth was buried under a patchwork of lies, contradictions, and brutally horrific revelations. As Kelly Cochran, a Purdue graduate and psychology major, played “catch me if you can,â€� a mesmerizing story emerged that rivals today’s bestselling fiction in its drama and fascination. In the hands of veteran investigative journalist M. William Phelps, her staggering saga of murder, revenge, and payback surpasses anything that could go wrong in a season ofĚýFargo.
Ěý
“Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.� —Allison Brennan
Ěý
“Anything by Phelps is an eye-opening experience.”� �Suspense Magazine
Ěý
“Phelps is one of America’s finest true-crime authors.”—Vincent Bugliosi

“Master of true crime . . .â€� Ěýâ€�Real Crime magazine]]> 400 M. William Phelps Cara 2 3.78 2019 Where Monsters Hide: Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest
author: M. William Phelps
name: Cara
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves:
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]]> Flush 13067 Take a romp in the swamp with this New York Times bestselling mystery adventure set in the Florida Keys from Newbery Honoree Carl Hiaasen!

Noah's dad is sure that the owner of the Coral Queen casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor--which has made taking a dip at the local beach like swimming in a toilet. He can't prove it though, and so he decides that sinking the boat will make an effective statement. Right. The boat is pumped out and back in business within days and Noah's dad is in the local lock-up.

Now Noah is determined to succeed where his dad failed. He will prove that the Coral Queen is dumping illegally . . . somehow.]]> 263 Carl Hiaasen 0375821821 Cara 3 3.88 2005 Flush
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves:
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]]> My Time to Stand 212262006
A victim of her mother’s Munchausen by proxy and child abuse survivor, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard’s unique and controversial case made headlines across the world.

Now, she’s finally free to start living her life on her terms—and to tell her own story as only she can.

Forced to use a wheelchair in public and endure a lifetime of faux illness, fraud, and exploitation, Gypsy was subjected not only to her mother’s medical, physical, and emotional abuse, but deprived of childhood milestones. Prevented from attending school or socializing, Gypsy’s formative years were defined by pain and isolation.

After serving 8 years in prison for the role she played in her mother Dee Dee’s murder, Gypsy is embracing her fresh start—and reminding all of us that it’s never too late.

In this revelatory, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful memoir, Gypsy shares the painful realities she grew up with and the details of her life that only she knows, including:
The abusive cycle that began with Dee Dee’s abuse by her father
Gypsy’s fear that continued unnecessary surgery would leave her truly disabled
How she coped with guilt and accepted responsibility for her mother’s death
Memories of her final days in prison
What she learned upon reviewing her own medical records for the first time
How it felt to finally see her family again as her authentic self

Featuring Blanchard family photos and new facts about Gypsy’s life that she previously kept private, My Time to Stand offers an unprecedented look at the real Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, proudly embarking on her ongoing journey to recovery and self-discovery.]]> 264 Gypsy-Rose Blanchard 1637745907 Cara 4 3.40 2024 My Time to Stand
author: Gypsy-Rose Blanchard
name: Cara
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Rhett & Link Present: The Mythical Cookbook: 10 Simple Rules for Cooking Deliciously, Eating Happily, and Living Mythically]]> 181110015 336 Josh Scherer 0063323966 Cara 4 4.28 2024 Rhett & Link Present: The Mythical Cookbook: 10 Simple Rules for Cooking Deliciously, Eating Happily, and Living Mythically
author: Josh Scherer
name: Cara
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves:
review:

]]> Hoot 294420
The site of Coconut Cove's future Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House is experiencing a slight problem: survey stakes removed, alligators in the port-a-potties, and painted-over patrol cars. But who's behind the clever vandalism and pranks? New Florida resident Roy Eberhardt isn't aware of these goings-on, but he has often noticed a barefoot boy running down the street faster than anything. His curiosity piqued, Roy starts to inquire around and even follows the boy once, only to be told by Beatrice Leep, a.k.a. Beatrice the Bear, to mind his own business. Despite Beatrice's warning and plenty of bullying from the lunkheaded Dana Matherson, Roy follows the boy, whose name is Mullet Fingers, one day and winds up in the middle of an ecological mission to save a parliament of burrowing owls from being bulldozed.]]> 292 Carl Hiaasen Cara 3 3.73 2002 Hoot
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight]]> 62039227 At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night?

This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.

Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl� at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.

But the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?]]> 230 Kalynn Bayron 1547611545 Cara 3 3.56 2023 You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight
author: Kalynn Bayron
name: Cara
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
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]]> I Was a Teenage Slasher 199798522
It’s the summer before senior year for best friends Tolly Driver and Amber Dennison. They’re not in the marching band, they’re not in the FFA � they don’t really count. Amber’s the only Native student in town, and Tolly’s only on the radar due to his father’s recent death.

This is all about to change.

Bodies are going to be dropping fast in this small West Texas town. For a few unbearably hot days that will resonate through the decades and even get made into a TV movie, Tolly and Amber will be famous. Notorious even. Finally, everyone will know their names.

This is Stephen Graham Jones x-raying the slasher genre, interrogating its motivations over the shoulder and in the voice of the killer itself � from a town he did some growing up in, in a year he was also seventeen.

The kills will be poignant, the jokes will hurt, and the violence will be endearing. Everything’s turned around for Tolly, for Amber � for all of Lamesa, Texas.

Be happy you weren’t there.

Be happy you’re only reading about it.]]> 373 Stephen Graham Jones 1668022249 Cara 2 3.54 2024 I Was a Teenage Slasher
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Cara
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves:
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]]> Squirm 38146029 * He once saw a biker swerve across the road in order to run over a snake.
* Later, that motorcycle somehow ended up at the bottom of a canal.
* Billy isn't the type to let things go.
Some facts about Billy's family:
* They've lived in six different Florida towns because Billy's mom always insists on getting a house near a bald eagle nest.
* Billy's older sister is dating a jerk. It's a mystery.
* Billy's dad left when he was four, and Billy knows almost nothing about him.
* Billy has just found his dad's address--in Montana.
This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbor's cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father.]]> 276 Carl Hiaasen 0385752970 Cara 4 3.71 2018 Squirm
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[McMillions: The Absolutely True Story of How an Unlikely Pair of FBI Agents Brought Down the Most Supersized Fraud in Fast Food History]]> 203163978 In the tradition of Argo, The Wizard of Lies, and The Smartest Guys in the Room, a book that expands upon the HBO docuseries, McMillion$, with new, exclusive interviews and stories that couldn't make it into the series. In March of 2001, Federal prosecutor Mark Devereaux cold-called Rob Holm, the head of security for McDonald's Corporation. Without explanation, Devereaux asked that Holm and several other McDonald's senior executives plan a visit to the Jacksonville, Florida, FBI, and tell no one about their intended destination. It wasn't up for discussion. Upon their arrival, Devereaux watched them closely, looking at body language, checking for tells. To him, they were all potential suspects. Once they were seated in an unremarkable conference room, sealed away in the hyper-secure FBI building, Devereaux began to lay out a shocking conspiracy, one that ran deep into McDonald's most beloved the Monopoly game. From 1989 to 2001, not a single winner of a high-value prize was legitimate. Instead, all were the courtesy of one man who brilliantly crafted a near-infallible nationwide conspiracy for fraud. Expanded from the wildly popular HBO docuseries with major new interviews, MCMILLIONS traces this massive crime, the intricate web of lies that bolstered it, and the tireless work of the FBI agents that unraveled it all. It is a story littered with families torn apart, betrayals, financial ruin, and one suspicious car crash. Yet, there are bright spots in the hijinks of the FBI agents and their co-conspirators. Ultimately, it is a story of what happens when the American dream goes very wrong.]]> 336 James Lee Hernandez 1538720116 Cara 4 3.87 McMillions: The Absolutely True Story of How an Unlikely Pair of FBI Agents Brought Down the Most Supersized Fraud in Fast Food History
author: James Lee Hernandez
name: Cara
average rating: 3.87
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Foreign Faction - Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet?]]> 15760050
Foreign Faction blows the cover off the lone-intruder / sexual predator theory, and reveals startling new evidence that heretofore has only been seen by a select few. Kolar's work offers an entirely new perspective for the events leading up to JonBenet's murder on Christmas Day 1996, and it will ultimately redifine the public perception of one of the most unusual murder investigations this country has ever witnessed.]]> 530 A. James Kolar 0984763201 Cara 4 3.99 2012 Foreign Faction - Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet?
author: A. James Kolar
name: Cara
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves:
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]]> Chomp 40669514 here.

Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one.

When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself—to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's boneheaded star, before the shoot is over. But the job keeps getting more complicated. Derek Badger seems to actually believe his PR and insists on using wild animals for his stunts. And Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna—a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her old man and needs a place to hide out.

They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun . . .

It's anyone's guess who will actually survive "Expedition Survival". . . .]]> 306 Carl Hiaasen Cara 3 4.08 2012 Chomp
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Several People Are Typing 54468020
Told entirely through clever and captivating Slack messages, this irresistible, relatable satire of both virtual work and contemporary life is The Office for a new world.

Gerald, a mid-level employee of a New York–based public relations firm has been uploaded into the company’s internal Slack channels—at least his consciousness has. His colleagues assume it’s an elaborate gag to exploit the new work-from home policy, but now that Gerald’s productivity is through the roof, his bosses are only too happy to let him work from . . . wherever he says he is.

Faced with the looming abyss of a disembodied life online, Gerald enlists his co-worker Pradeep to help him escape, and to find out what happened to his body. But the longer Gerald stays in the void, the more alluring and absurd his reality becomes.

Meanwhile, Gerald’s colleagues have PR catastrophes of their own to handle in the real world. Their biggest client, a high-end dog food company, is in the midst of recalling a bad batch of food that’s allegedly poisoning Pomeranians nationwide. And their CEO suspects someone is sabotaging his office furniture. And if Gerald gets to work from home all the time, why can’t everyone? Is true love possible between two people, when one is just a line of text in an app? And what in the hell does the :dusty-stick: emoji mean?

In a time when office paranoia and politics have followed us home, Calvin Kasulke is here to capture the surprising, absurd, and fully-relatable factors attacking our collective sanity…and give us hope that we can still find a human connection.]]> 256 Calvin Kasulke Cara 4 3.63 2021 Several People Are Typing
author: Calvin Kasulke
name: Cara
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/08
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Introverts in Love: The Quiet Way to Happily Ever After]]> 22609020 From the author of The Introvert’s Way, a friendly and accessible guide to dating and relationships for introverts.

Love is tricky for everyone--and different personality types can face their own unique problems. Now the author ofĚýThe Introvert’s Way offers aĚýguide to romance that takes you through the frequently outgoing world of dating, courting, and relationships, helping you navigate issues that are particular to introverts, from making conversation at parties to the challenges of dating an extrovert.]]> 208 Sophia Dembling 0399170618 Cara 3 3.36 2015 Introverts in Love: The Quiet Way to Happily Ever After
author: Sophia Dembling
name: Cara
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves:
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]]> Basket Case 51574621 432 Carl Hiaasen Cara 4 4.23 2002 Basket Case
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide: Making It Work in Friendship, Love, and Sex]]> 209087763 How do I get people to respect my boundaries around intimacy?
What if I don't want intimacy at all?
It is selfish to pursue a relationship if I don't want romance?
These questions are not only a source of deep anxiety and frustration for ace and aro people - but limit the heights that ace and aro folks believe they can reach for in their lives. These questions make us believe that we should settle for less, when in fact we all deserve more.
. Whether we're talking about friendships, romantic relationships, casual dates or casual intimate partners, this guide will help you not only live authentically in your ace and aro identity, but joyfully share it with others.]]> 224 Cody Daigle-Orians 1839977345 Cara 3 4.34 2024 The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide: Making It Work in Friendship, Love, and Sex
author: Cody Daigle-Orians
name: Cara
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Neurodivergence Skills Workbook for Autism and ADHD: Cultivate Self-Compassion, Live Authentically, and Be Your Own Advocate (The Social Justice Handbook Series)]]> 197905738 Written by neurodivergent psychologists for neurodivergent readers. This empowering workbook offers self-compassion skills to help you embrace who you are and thrive.

As an autistic person or neurodivergent individual with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), you may sometimes feel as if you’re living in a world that wasn’t designed for you. You may have sensory sensitivities, social difficulties, struggles with executive functioning, sleep issues, depression, anxiety, burnout and meltdowns, and trauma from a lifetime of marginalization and microaggressions.

If you are struggling with your neurodivergent identity, know that you aren’t alone. Whether you were diagnosed as a child or are just now realizing your difference, this workbook can help you move beyond the internalized message that there is something wrong with you, so you can embrace who you really are and manage stress before it leads to neurodivergent burnout.

The Neurodivergence Skills Workbook for Autism and ADHD offers acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and self-compassion skills tailored to the needs of neurodiverse people—especially those with ADHD and Autism—so you can live authentically, take pride in your identity, increase overall well-being, and build meaningful connections to thrive as a neurodivergent person in the modern world.

This workbook will help

Acknowledge your needs and be your own advocate Unmask and express your authentic self Reduce sensory overload and balance emotions Manage rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD) and social anxiety Build meaningful social connections Improve executive functioning to get more done Adjust your environment to better fit your needs Ěý Most importantly, you’ll learn to take pride in your identity. Whether you’re autistic, ADHD, or both, this workbook can help you overcome self-critical thinking, advocate for yourself in effective ways, and learn practical skills to help you thrive as your authentic self.]]> 337 Jennifer Kemp 1648483097 Cara 4 4.43 The Neurodivergence Skills Workbook for Autism and ADHD: Cultivate Self-Compassion, Live Authentically, and Be Your Own Advocate (The Social Justice Handbook Series)
author: Jennifer Kemp
name: Cara
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Wrecker 62366722
Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living.

So is it destiny, irony, or just bad luck when Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flat? The men in the boat don't want Wrecker to call for help—in fact, they'll pay him to forget he ever saw them.

Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over Key West—at the marina, even in the cemetery. And now they want more than his silence—they want a lookout.

He'll have to dive deep into their shady dealings to figure out a way to escape this tangled net. . . .]]> 336 Carl Hiaasen 0593376285 Cara 3 3.83 2023 Wrecker
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Denton Little's Still Not Dead (Denton Little #2)]]> 25937799 You only live once—unless you’re Denton Little!

The good news: Denton Little has lived through his deathdate. Yay! The bad news: He’s being chased by the DIA (Death Investigation Agency), he can never see his family again, and he may now die any time. Huh. Cheating death isn’t quite as awesome as Denton would have thought�

Lance Rubin’s debut novel, Denton Little’s Deathdate, showed readers just how funny and poignant imminent death could be. Now in this sequel, he takes on the big questions about life. How do we cope, knowing we could die at any time? Would you save someone from dying even if they were a horrible person? Is it wrong to kiss the girl your best friend is crushing on if she’s really into you instead? What if she’s wearing bacon lip gloss?]]> 346 Lance Rubin 0553497006 Cara 3 3.67 Denton Little's Still Not Dead (Denton Little #2)
author: Lance Rubin
name: Cara
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2020/04/02
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves:
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]]> Confess 22609310
For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?]]> 306 Colleen Hoover 1476791457 Cara 3 4.14 2015 Confess
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Cara
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/04/09
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne]]> 211025396
On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Cornell was found hanging in a barn, four months pregnant, after a disgraceful liaison with a charismatic Methodist minister, Reverend Ephraim Avery. Some (Avery’s lawyers) claimed her death was suicide…but others weren’t so sure. Determined to uncover the real story, intrepid Victorian writer Catharine Williams threw herself into the investigation and wrote what many claim is the first American true-crime narrative, Fall River. The case and Williams� book became a sensation—one that divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. But the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell’s death. Until now.

In The Sinners All Bow, acclaimed true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to 19th century small town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before. Using modern investigative advancements—such as “forensic knot analysis� to determine cause of death, the prosecutor’s notes from 1833, and criminal profiling which was invented 55 years later with Jack the Ripper—Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams� research to find the truth. Along the way she also examines how society decides who is the “right kind� of crime victim and how America’s long history of religious evangelism may have clouded the facts both in the 1830s and today. Ultimately, The Sinners All Bow brings justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given.]]> 320 Kate Winkler Dawson 0593713613 Cara 3 3.52 2025 The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne
author: Kate Winkler Dawson
name: Cara
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/28
date added: 2025/02/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World]]> 13077 --from TEAM RODENT

TEAM RODENT
How Disney Devours America

"Revulsion is good. Revulsion is healthy. Each of us has limits, unarticulated boundaries of taste and tolerance, and sometimes we forget where they are. Peep Land is here to remind us; a fixed compass point by which we can govern our private behavior. Because being grossed out is essential to the human experience; without a perceived depravity, we'd have nothing against which to gauge the advance or decline of culture; our art, our music, our cinema, our books. Without sleaze, the yardstick shrinks at both ends. Team Rodent doesn't believe in sleaze, however, nor in old-fashioned revulsion. Square in the middle is where it wants us all to be, dependable consumers with predictable attitudes. The message, never stated but avuncularly implied, is that America's values ought to reflect those of the Walt Disney Company, and not the other way around."]]> 96 Carl Hiaasen 0345422805 Cara 4 3.62 1998 Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves:
review:

]]> Sick Puppy (Skink, #4) 13066 464 Carl Hiaasen 0446695688 Cara 4 3.89 2000 Sick Puppy (Skink, #4)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Overthinking About You: Navigating Romantic Relationships When You Have Anxiety, OCD, and/or Depression]]> 58328329


Ěý Ěý Ěý ĚýĚý]]> 208 Allison Raskin 1523513225 Cara 4 3.95 Overthinking About You: Navigating Romantic Relationships When You Have Anxiety, OCD, and/or Depression
author: Allison Raskin
name: Cara
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/22
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves:
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]]> Native Tongue (Skink #2) 13065 437 Carl Hiaasen 044669570X Cara 4 3.94 1991 Native Tongue (Skink #2)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Relating While Autistic: Fixed Signals for Neurodivergent Couples (Adulting while Autistic, 3)]]> 91409231 300 Wendela Whitcomb Marsh 195798404X Cara 4 3.83 Relating While Autistic: Fixed Signals for Neurodivergent Couples (Adulting while Autistic, 3)
author: Wendela Whitcomb Marsh
name: Cara
average rating: 3.83
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Ugh! As If!: Clueless 220902211
A sweet and sly exploration of the Jane Austen–inspired teen movie and its evergreen imperative to be kind, do better, and find the activist within

We are totally butt-crazy in love with Clueless. Since the movie’s premiere in 1995, pop culture has mined Amy Heckerling’s high school comedy for inspiration, from Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s “Fancy� music video to Cher’s iconic yellow plaid suit appearing at every Halloween party.

In Ugh As If!, Veronica Litt argues that this seemingly fluffy teen romp is the quintessential thinking woman’s movie, one in which the audience is asked to seriously consider the beauty and power of naïveté. Cher Horowitz’s gradual pivot from oblivious it girl to burgeoning activist is a powerful reminder that even the most unlikely people can change for the better and contribute to their communities. In this bright, shiny film, pursuing a more just society isn’t just possible � it’s enjoyable. This fun, feminine, feel-good movie is a counter-narrative to nihilism, a refusal to give into cynicism, hopelessness, and passivity. Almost without viewers noticing, Clueless teaches Cher, and us, how to become better. Like the film it examines, Ugh As If! nudges even the most jaded viewer into feeling hopeful about the future]]> 200 Veronica Litt 1770418164 Cara 4 RTC! 4.00 2025 Ugh! As If!: Clueless
author: Veronica Litt
name: Cara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
RTC!
]]> <![CDATA[Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner]]> 207567592
Meghan Keane spent most of her adult life without being in a serious, long-term relationship, and for much of that time, being single wasn’t something she celebrated or particularly enjoyed. Sick of feeling anxious or sad when she received yet another wedding invitation without a plus one, she decided she was going to mindfully shift her perspective. Luckily, Meghan is the founder of NPR’s self-improvement brand, Life Kit, so she consulted the experts, and what she learned changed her mindset—and her life.

Party of OneĚýis the self-help book Meghan wished she’d had from the start—a deeply researched, encouraging guide to bridging the gap between knowing that being single is awesome and feeling and embodying it. Inside, you’ll find practical advice for strengthening your self-compassion and inner resilience, practices for stopping rumination cycles, scripts for dealing with nosy friends and relatives, thoughtful prompts to support you on your journey, and much more. With vibrant illustrations from artist LA Johnson and Meghan as your relatable guide, Party of OneĚýwill help you learn to love your ownĚýcompany, regardless of your relationship status, and become your own best life partner.]]> 256 Meghan Keane 1797227521 Cara 4 3.84 Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner
author: Meghan Keane
name: Cara
average rating: 3.84
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gotham Central, Book One: In the Line of Duty]]> 3316474 240 Ed Brubaker 1401219233 Cara 4 4.35 2008 Gotham Central, Book One: In the Line of Duty
author: Ed Brubaker
name: Cara
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2014/09/29
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Skinny Dip (Skink, #5; Mick Stranahan #2)]]> 13079 496 Carl Hiaasen 0446615129 Cara 4 3.83 2004 Skinny Dip (Skink, #5; Mick Stranahan #2)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lords and Ladies (Discworld, #14)]]> 11295643 Librarian note: This a previously-published edition of ASIN B00354YA2C.

The fairies are back � but this time they don’t just want your teeth�

It's Midsummer Night � no time for dreaming. Because sometimes, when there's more than one reality at play, too much dreaming can make the walls between them come tumbling down.

Unfortunately there's usually a damned good reason for there being walls between them in the first place � to keep things out. Things who want to make mischief and play havoc with the natural order.

Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven of witches are up against real elves. And they’re spectacularly nasty creatures. Even in a world of dwarves, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers � and the odd orang-utan � this is going to cause trouble…]]> 337 Terry Pratchett Cara 3 4.48 1992 Lords and Ladies (Discworld, #14)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Cara
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Stormy Weather (Skink #3) 13061
"Hysterically funny...Hiaasen at his satirical best." - USA Today

Two honeymooners wake up early, make love twice, and brace themselves for a spectacle they won't be watching from the sidelines. A seductive con artiste stumbles into a scam that promises more cool cash than the lottery. A shotgun-toting mobile home salesman is about to close a deal with disaster. A law school dropout will be chasing one Gaboon viper, a troop of storm-shocked monkeys, and a newfound love life, while tourists by the thousands bail from the Florida Keys. We're now entering the hurricane zone, where hell and hilarity rule. And in the hands of the masterful, merciless Carl Hiaasen, we're going to have some weather.]]> 388 Carl Hiaasen 0446677167 Cara 4 3.94 1995 Stormy Weather (Skink #3)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves:
review:

]]> Star Island (Skink, #6) 7908638
Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,� Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott.

Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (über–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public—and from Cherry herself.

The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink—the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp—and now he’s heading for Miami to find her . . .

Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry’s motley posse does?

All will be revealed in this hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane.]]> 337 Carl Hiaasen 0307272583 Cara 3 3.46 2010 Star Island (Skink, #6)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Dead Air: The Night That Orson Welles Terrified America]]> 211241486 280 William Elliott Hazelgrove 1538187167 Cara 3 3.55 Dead Air: The Night That Orson Welles Terrified America
author: William Elliott Hazelgrove
name: Cara
average rating: 3.55
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/02
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]]> <![CDATA[Llewellyn's 2025 Magical Almanac: Practical Magic for Everyday Living (Llewellyn's 2025 Calendars, Almanacs & Datebooks Book 6)]]> 210058752 Enjoy More Magic Every Day with Tips from Today's Top Writers

Packed with spells, rituals, and new ideas for enhancing your magical practice, this almanac has been a favorite resource for over three decades. You'll find two dozen articles, grouped by element, on a wide variety of topics, including Welsh narrative charms, playing card divination, standing stones, and Mexican sweat houses.

This almanac features an energetic forecast, which analyzes major astrological movements, numerology, the zodiac, and tarot. You'll also find recommendations for what kinds of magic to do and a convenient calendar section with world festivals, holidays, and the 2025 sabbats.

� Practice green witchery in small spaces with Monica Crosson
� Make crocheted crafts for Mabon and Samhain with Opal Luna
� Create or lead a Pagan festival with Stephanie Woodfield
� Explore Ozark faery magic with Brandon Weston
� Connect with queer ancestors with Kir Beaux
� Discover the magical power of sleep with Shana Nunnelly
� Color your way to successful magic with three colorable illustration spells

Published annually for thirty-five years ]]> 265 Llewellyn 0738777609 Cara 4 3.56 Llewellyn's 2025 Magical Almanac: Practical Magic for Everyday Living (Llewellyn's 2025 Calendars, Almanacs & Datebooks Book 6)
author: Llewellyn
name: Cara
average rating: 3.56
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/01
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]]> Double Whammy (Skink #1) 13068 404 Carl Hiaasen 0446695661 Cara 4 3.89 1987 Double Whammy (Skink #1)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches, #3)]]> 2442
Once upon a time there was a fairy godmother named Desiderata who had a good heart, a wise head, and poor planning skills—which unfortunately left the Princess Emberella in the care of her other (not quite so good and wise) godmother when DEATH came for Desiderata. So now it's up to Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg to hop on broomsticks and make for far-distant Genua to ensure the servant girl doesn't marry the Prince.

But the road to Genua is bumpy, and along the way the trio of witches encounters the occasional vampire, werewolf, and falling house (well this is a fairy tale, after all). The trouble really begins once these reluctant foster-godmothers arrive in Genua and must outwit their power-hungry counterpart who'll stop at nothing to achieve a proper "happy ending"—even if it means destroying a kingdom.]]> 374 Terry Pratchett 0061020613 Cara 5 4.24 1991 Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches, #3)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Cara
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways]]> 61903859
Social justice work, we often assume, is raised voices and raised fists. It requires leading, advocating, fighting, and organizing wherever it takes place--in the streets, slums, villages, inner cities, halls of political power, and more. But what does social justice work look like for those of us who don't feel comfortable battling in the trenches?

Sensitive souls--including those who consider themselves highly emotional, empathic, or introverted--have much to contribute to bringing about a more just and equitable world. Such individuals are wise, thoughtful, and conscientious; they feel more deeply and see things that others don't. We need their contributions. Yet, sustaining justice work can be particularly challenging for the sensitive, and it requires a deep level of self-awareness, intentionality, and care.

In Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul, writer Dorcas Cheng-Tozun (Enneagram 4, INFJ, nonprofit/social enterprise professional, and multiple-burnout survivor) offers six possible pathways for sensitive

- relational activists whose interactions and conversations build the social capital necessary for change

- artists and creators whose work inspires, sheds light, makes connections, and brings issues into the public consciousness

- Record archivists who preserve essential information and hold our collective memory and history

- inventors, programmers, and engineers who center empathy as they develop society-changing products and technologies

- educators, mentors, and elders who build skills and knowledge within movements and shepherd the next generation of changemakers

- data-driven individuals who utilize information as a persuasive tool to effect change and propose options for improvement

Alongside inspiring, real-life examples of highly sensitive world-changers, Cheng-Tozun expands the possibilities of how to have a positive social impact, affirming the particular gifts and talents that sensitive souls offer to a hurting world.]]> 249 Dorcas Cheng-Tozun 1506483445 Cara 3 3.98 2023 Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways
author: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun
name: Cara
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/26
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]]> Witchcraft for Wayward Girls 207611566 There’s power in a book�

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.

In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master� (NPR).]]> 482 Grady Hendrix 0593548981 Cara 4 4.00 2025 Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Cara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/25
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]]> <![CDATA[Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches, #2)]]> 34504
Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders they didn't have.

But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe...]]> 265 Terry Pratchett 0061020664 Cara 4 4.15 1988 Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches, #2)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Cara
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Tarot for Self-Care: How to Use Tarot to Manifest Your Best Self]]> 43822374
Self-care is an important daily ritual to everyone’s lifestyle. But it is about more than simply pampering yourself in a bubble bath or getting a manicure. It’s about connecting and understanding your true self. That’s where the magic of tarot comes in—it puts you in touch with your hidden fears and secret hopes, weaknesses and strengths. These revealing cards do more than simply predict the future. They offer essential, insightful messages from your subconscious, showing a new perspective on how to achieve personal growth.

Tarot for Self-Care uncovers how to make the most out of your daily tarot practice with mindful readings, pre-reading rituals, daily one-card check-ins, practices to explore your intuition, and more. You can think problems over by laying out a spread, ask the cards yes or no questions, or explore your intuitive skills. It will definitely be worth adding these techniques to your tarot self-care toolbox.]]> 256 Minerva Siegel 1507210973 Cara 3 4.05 Tarot for Self-Care: How to Use Tarot to Manifest Your Best Self
author: Minerva Siegel
name: Cara
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
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]]> Nick 53369483
Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's periphery, he was at the center of a very different story—one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I.

Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance—doomed from the very beginning—to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence.

An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know but few have pondered deeply. Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak, and profound yearning to paralyze even the heartiest of golden age scribes, Nick reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.]]> 292 Michael Farris Smith 0316529761 Cara 5 3.13 2021 Nick
author: Michael Farris Smith
name: Cara
average rating: 3.13
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
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I took two weeks to read this in lieu of my normal two days because I didn't want it to end. Nick's beautiful and haunting backstory is now 100% canon in my mind. I think Fitzgerald would love the hell out of what Michael Farris Smith has created.
]]> <![CDATA[Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches, #1)]]> 34507 240 Terry Pratchett 0060855908 Cara 4 4.06 1987 Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Cara
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation]]> 200298052 260 Jim O’Heir 0063293501 Cara 4 3.70 2024 Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation
author: Jim O’Heir
name: Cara
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)]]> 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—facing 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—with 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 Cara 4 4.15 2014 The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Cara
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/04
date added: 2025/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Never a Girl, Always a Boy: A Family Memoir of a Transgender Journey]]> 64663207


By high school, when he showed no interest in flirting, his parents thought he might be lesbian. At twenty, he wondered if he was asexual. At twenty-three, he surgically removed his breasts. A year later, he began taking the hormones that would lower his voice and give him a beard—and he announced his new name and pronouns.



Once a Girl, Always a Boy is Jeremy’s journey from childhood through coming out as transgender and eventually emerging as an advocate for the transgender community. This is not only Jeremy’s story but also that of his family, told from multiple perspectives—those of the siblings who struggled to understand the brother they once saw as a sister, and of the parents who ultimately joined him in the battle against discrimination. This is a story of acceptance in a world not quite ready to accept.]]> Jo Ivester 1631528866 Cara 2 4.08 2020 Never a Girl, Always a Boy: A Family Memoir of a Transgender Journey
author: Jo Ivester
name: Cara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
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]]> Lifeform 208209822
What happened was this: Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and in that period there was a deep dark loneliness that she had to face and befriend, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, and in that period she was like chimes, or a flock of clean breaths, and her spine lying flat was the many-colored planks on the xylophone, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love, because of past injury. And then what happened was that she became a wild-pregnant-mammal-thing and then she exploded herself by having a whole baby blast through her vagina during a global plague and then she was expected to carry on like everything was normal—but was this normal, and had she or anything ever been normal? Herein lies an account of this journey, told in five phases—Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing—through luminous, laugh-out-loud funny, unclassifiable essays that take the form of letters to a doctor, dreams of a stork, fantasy therapy sessions, gossip between racoons, excerpts from an imaginary olden timey play, obituaries, theories about post-partum hair loss, graduation speeches, and more. No one writes like Jenny Slate.]]> 240 Jenny Slate 0316263931 Cara 4 3.72 2024 Lifeform
author: Jenny Slate
name: Cara
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/14
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]]> <![CDATA[Earth Magic: Your Complete Guide to Natural Spells, Potions, Plants, Herbs, Witchcraft, and More]]> 49927417 Earth Magic: Your Complete Guide to Natural Spells, Potions, Plants, Herbs, Witchcraft, and More. It will guide you through the rites, practices, and traditions people use to connect themselves to the planet, spirits, and energies. Earth Magic brings the balance and harmony to modern life through the inherent magic found in nature. With more than 120 photos and graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.]]> 400 Marie D. Jones 1578596971 Cara 3 3.32 Earth Magic: Your Complete Guide to Natural Spells, Potions, Plants, Herbs, Witchcraft, and More
author: Marie D. Jones
name: Cara
average rating: 3.32
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/13
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]]> <![CDATA[The Modern Witchcraft Book of Astrology: Your Complete Guide to Empowering Your Magick with the Energy of the Planets (Modern Witchcraft Magic, Spells, Rituals)]]> 61271907 Witchcraft meets astrology in this comprehensive guide to the power of the planets tailored specifically for witches so you can incorporate the celestial study into your spells and magical rituals.

This guide to astrology was written just for witches, with information to help you understand how the positions of the celestial bodies can affect your magic and spellcraft—and how you can use a deeper understanding of the zodiac to strengthen your magic by becoming in tune with the planets.

The Modern Witchcraft Book of Astrology
-Expert information on how to use astrology to strengthen your magic
-An index of the magical energies and correspondences for the astrological seasons, houses, the planets, asteroids, and other celestial bodies
-Dozens of spells to try, organized by astrological season so you have powerful magic to choose from at every point in the wheel of the year

The Modern Witchcraft Book of Astrology is perfect for witches who are just starting out or practiced spellcasters who are looking to deepen their relationship with the stars and planets.]]> 255 Julia Halina Hadas 1507220162 Cara 4 3.96 The Modern Witchcraft Book of Astrology: Your Complete Guide to Empowering Your Magick with the Energy of the Planets (Modern Witchcraft Magic, Spells, Rituals)
author: Julia Halina Hadas
name: Cara
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
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]]> The Weight of Blood 59816818
When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation � Maddy did it.

An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington.

After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life.

But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret � one that will cost them all their lives. "]]> 416 Tiffany D. Jackson 0063029146 Cara 2 4.18 2022 The Weight of Blood
author: Tiffany D. Jackson
name: Cara
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/07
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]]> <![CDATA[The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick: Your Guide to Crafting Charms, Rituals, and Spells from the Natural World (Modern Witchcraft Magic, Spells, Rituals)]]> 36373845
Modern-day interest in witchcraft and wicca isn’t surprising—who wouldn’t want to focus their energy into rituals of change and healing in today’s troubled and chaotic times? Right now, many of the most popular types of magick are nature-based.

This fun and practical book includes methods to help you connect with the Earth mother and your own natural self. Each chapter focuses on a different type of nature magick, from seed magick to the magick of the sun, of water, of the moon, and more—and every topic includes its own accompanying spells, charms, rituals, and meditations.

The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick is your complete guide to everything you’ll need to know about nature-based magick to fully embrace your spiritual and natural self.]]> 240 Judy Ann Nock 1507207204 Cara 3 3.51 The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick: Your Guide to Crafting Charms, Rituals, and Spells from the Natural World (Modern Witchcraft Magic, Spells, Rituals)
author: Judy Ann Nock
name: Cara
average rating: 3.51
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/04
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves:
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]]> Small Mercies 61812308 The acclaimed New York Times bestselling writer returns with a masterpiece to rival Mystic River —an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history.

In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,� the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart.

One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business.

Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city’s desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work that only Dennis Lehane could write.]]> 303 Dennis Lehane 0062129481 Cara 4 4.22 2023 Small Mercies
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live]]> 216818681
Over the fifty years that Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of Saturday Night Live, he has become a revered, inimitable, and bewildering presence in the entertainment world. He’s a tastemaker, a mogul, a withholding father figure, a genius spotter of talent, a shrewd businessman, a name-dropper, a raconteur, the inspiration for Dr. Evil, the winner of more than a hundred Emmys—and, essentially, a mystery. Generations of writers and performers have spent their lives trying to figure him out, by turns demonizing and lionizing him. He’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi� (Tracy Morgan), the “great and powerful Oz� (Kate McKinnon), or “some kind of very distant, strange comedy god� (Bob Odenkirk).

Lorne will introduce you to him, in full, for the first time. With unprecedented access to Michaels and the entire SNL apparatus, Susan Morrison takes readers behind the curtain for the lively, up-and-down, definitive story of how Michaels created and maintained the institution that changed comedy forever.

Drawn from hundreds of interviews—with Michaels, his friends, and SNL’s iconic stars and writers, from Will Ferrell to Tina Fey to John Mulaney to Chris Rock to Dan Aykroyd�Lorne is a deeply reported, wildly entertaining account of a man singularly obsessed with the show that would define his life—and have a profound impact on American culture.]]> 656 Susan Morrison 0812988876 Cara 5
This one is definitely for the deep-dive nerd fans. (So, me.)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley]]> 4.20 2025 Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
author: Susan Morrison
name: Cara
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:
Lorne Michaels is an interesting guy, isn't he? I've never really gotten a feel for who he is as a person, so this bio was super cool, and perfect timing, as SNL 50 is gloriously upon us. The format made it compulsively readable, each section starting with individual days of an SNL production week (week in the life?) leading up to Jonah Hill's five-timers episode. Then the actual chapters start chronologically from Lorne's upbringing and goes through his Canadian comedy roots, how hard he had to fight for SNL to even be on the air, to the present day. And of course, all the excitement and drama in between.

This one is definitely for the deep-dive nerd fans. (So, me.)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley
]]> <![CDATA[Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch (The Outsider's Guides)]]> 203166778 A smart, funny crash course in the horror movie canon, from Psycho to Hereditary, for people who love getting the reference but hate being scared.

You don't have to miss out just because you don't like to be frightened! Stop trying to read nonsensical Wikipedia plot summaries (we know you’re doing it), and let an expert tell you everything you need to know about the most influential horror films of the past 60 years—without a single jump scare or a drop of gore.

With a rundown of the history and significance of horror cinema, explanations of common tropes, and detailed entries on 25 important movies ranging from Night of the Living Dead to The Blair Witch Project to Get Out, Horror for Weenies will turn even the scarediest of cats into a confident connoisseur.

Each entry includes:
- A detailed plot summary, with enough jokes that it won’t freak you out
- Smart, illuminating analysis of the film’s themes and cultural significance
- Descriptions of iconic scenes you definitely do not want to look at
- Talking points for impressing even the biggest scary-movie buffs

Never get left out of a conversation again!]]> 272 Emily C. Hughes 1683694252 Cara 4 4.34 2024 Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch (The Outsider's Guides)
author: Emily C. Hughes
name: Cara
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet]]> 55145261 A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.

Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.]]> 304 John Green 0525555218 Cara 4 4.37 2021 The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
author: John Green
name: Cara
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/25
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire]]> 203578896 The first unauthorized look at the inner workings―and ultimate breakdown―of the Disney Channel machine

For many kids growing up in the 2000s, there was no cultural touchstone more powerful than Disney Channel, the most-watched cable channel in prime time at its peak. Today it might best be known for introducing the world to talents like Hilary Duff, Raven-Symoné, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Zendaya.

It wasn't always destined for greatness: When Disney Channel launched in 1983, it was a forgotten stepchild within the Walt Disney Company, forever in the shadow of Disney’s more profitable movies and theme parks. But after letting the stars of their Mickey Mouse Club revival―among them Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling―slip through their fingers, Disney Channel reinvented itself as a powerhouse tween network. In the new millennium it churned out billions of dollars in original content and triple-threat stars whose careers were almost entirely controlled by the corporation. Suddenly everyone wanted a piece of the pie―and there were constant clashes between the studio, network, labels, and creatives as Disney Channel became a pressure cooker of perfection for its stars.

From private feuds and on-set disasters, to fanfare that swept the nation and the realities of child stardom, culture journalist Ashley Spencer offers the inside story of the heyday of TV’s House of Mouse, featuring hundreds of exclusive new interviews with former Disney executives, creatives, and celebrities to explore the highs, lows, and everything in between.]]> 336 Ashley Spencer 1250283450 Cara 4 4.01 2024 Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire
author: Ashley Spencer
name: Cara
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/24
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Moonlight Mile (Kenzie & Gennaro #6)]]> 59122233 “[Lehane has] emerged from the whodunit ghetto as a broader and more substantial talent....When it comes to keeping readers exactly where he wants them, Mr. Lehane offers a bravura demonstration of how it’s done.�
�New York Times

Moonlight Mile is the first Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro suspense novel in more than a decade from the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling master of the new noir, Dennis Lehane. An explosive tale of vengeance and redemption—the brilliant sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone�Moonlight Mile returns Lehane’s unforgettable and deeply human detective duo to the mean streets of blue collar Boston to investigate the second disappearance of Amanda McCready, now sixteen years old. After his remarkable success with Mystic River, Shutter Island, and The Given Day, the celebrated author whom the Washington Post praises as, “one of those brave new detective stylists who is not afraid of fooling around with the genre’s traditions,� returns to his roots—and the result, as always, is electrifying.

]]> 419 Dennis Lehane Cara 4 4.17 2010 Moonlight Mile (Kenzie & Gennaro #6)
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cara
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Gennaro, #1)]]> 59121839 Finding Jenna, however, is easy compared to staying alive once they've got her. The investigation escalates, implicating members of Jenna's family and rival gang leaders while uncovering extortion, assassination, and child prostitution extending from bombed-out ghetto streets to the highest levels of government.

A Drink Before the War, the first in Lehane's acclaimed series with Boston detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, is a remarkable debut that is at once a pulsating crime thriller and a mirror of our world, one in which the worst human horrors are found closest to home, and the most vicious obscenities are committed in the name of love.

]]> 371 Dennis Lehane Cara 5 4.00 1994 A Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Gennaro, #1)
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/14
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Prayers for Rain (Kenzie & Gennaro #5)]]> 59122222 When a former client jumps naked from a Boston landmark, Private Investigator Patrick Kenzie wants to know why. Once a perky young woman in love with life, her suicide is the final fall in a spiral of self-destruction.

What Kenzie discovers is a sadistic stalker who targeted the woman and methodically drove her to her death � a monster that the law can’t touch. But Kenzie can. He and his former partner, Angela Gennaro, will fight a mind-twisting battle against the psychopath, even as he turns tricks on them�

Prayers for Rain is another superior thriller from Dennis Lehane, the bestselling and acclaimed author of Mystic River, Shutter Island, and Gone, Baby, Gone.

]]> 416 Dennis Lehane Cara 4 4.22 1999 Prayers for Rain (Kenzie & Gennaro #5)
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood and the Cyanide Poisonings That Shook the World]]> 60069636 From the #1 bestselling author comes the shocking true-crime story of a mother and wife, her disturbing family secrets and how she became a cold-hearted killer.

At 5.02 pm on June 5th, 1986, a call came into the local sheriff office in the small town of Auburn, Washington State from Stella Nickell. Her husband Bruce was having a seizure. As the officers arrived on the scene, Bruce was already dead.

Forensics identified that Bruce had consumed headache pills laced with cyanide and in an attempt to cover her tracks, Stella saw to it that a stranger would also become her next victim of the cyanide-tainted painkillers.

What would drive a seemingly normal outgoing and popular mum and wife to kill?
As the investigation began to unfold, Stella’s daughter Cynthia notified federal agents of her mother’s crimes. But she didn’t reveal everything…]]> 497 Gregg Olsen 1803146184 Cara 3 3.53 1993 American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood and the Cyanide Poisonings That Shook the World
author: Gregg Olsen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Home Is Where the Bodies Are 193993695
While going through their parents' belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends.

Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.]]> 295 Jeneva Rose Cara 4
This was heavy on family drama, which was a good direction to take--the mystery was simple but compelling, and Rose doesn't rely on overwrought twists for the sake of it. That being said, I didn't totally buy the string of horrible tragedies being used as a plot device to heal old familial wounds, especially since it happened so quickly, but it was fine.

I'd never heard of this author before and am looking forward to checking out more.

Thanks to the publisher and to NG!]]> 4.03 2024 Home Is Where the Bodies Are
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Cara
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/04
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves:
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Three estranged adult siblings are forced back together after the death of their mother. Their complicated relationships with each other become even more strained when they find an old VHS tape with footage that potentially implicates their parents in the decades-old disappearance of a neighborhood child.

This was heavy on family drama, which was a good direction to take--the mystery was simple but compelling, and Rose doesn't rely on overwrought twists for the sake of it. That being said, I didn't totally buy the string of horrible tragedies being used as a plot device to heal old familial wounds, especially since it happened so quickly, but it was fine.

I'd never heard of this author before and am looking forward to checking out more.

Thanks to the publisher and to NG!
]]> <![CDATA[Gone, Baby, Gone (Kenzie & Gennaro, #4)]]> 59122212 448 Dennis Lehane Cara 4 4.39 1998 Gone, Baby, Gone (Kenzie & Gennaro, #4)
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cara
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Sacred (Kenzie & Gennaro #3) 59122202 A beautiful, grief-stricken woman has vanished without a trace. So has the detective hired to find her. And a lot of money�

Enter tough-nosed private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. Rooted in the streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they've seen it all � and survived. But this case leads them into unexpected territory: a place of lies and corruption, where trusting anyone could get them killed, and where nothing is sacred.

Another superior thriller from Dennis Lehane, the bestselling and acclaimed author of Mystic River, Shutter Island, and Gone, Baby, Gone.

]]> 435 Dennis Lehane Cara 4 4.26 1997 Sacred (Kenzie & Gennaro #3)
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cara
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie & Gennaro #2)]]> 59121849 Title 2 of 6: Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro
🎧Listening Length: 12 hours, 15 minutes

The master of the new "noir," Dennis Lehane magnificently evokes the dignity and savagery of working-class Boston in this terrifying tale of darkness and redemption.

Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro's latest client is a prominent Boston psychiatrist running scared from a vengeful Irish mob. The private investigators know something about cold-blooded retribution. Born and bred on the mean streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they've seen the darkness that lives in the hearts of the unfortunate. But an evil for which even they are unprepared is about to strike as secrets long-dormant erupt, setting off a chain of violent murders that will stain everything--including the truth.]]> 400 Dennis Lehane Cara 5 4.35 1996 Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie & Gennaro #2)
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cara
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Postmodernism for Beginners 154505 ]]> 163 James N. Powell Cara 4 3.72 2007 Postmodernism for Beginners
author: James N. Powell
name: Cara
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/11
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Am McLovin: How Superbad Became the Biggest Comedy Hit of Its Generation]]> 215359569 Superbad was released on August 17th in 2007, it proved itself to be a massive success right out of the gate, especially for those in the film’s target millennial demographic. The film wound up dominating at the box office, bringing in $170 million dollars worldwide, against a $20 million dollar budget. It also launched the careers of Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Emma Stone, Bill Hader, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Seth Rogen whose careers are all thriving to this day. It further proved that Judd Apatow is now one of the most successful film producers of his generation, bringing the world hit after hit.

Superbad remains, to this day, a beloved comedy film for millennials who grew up with it. This is because, unlike other comedies of that era, it embraced the awkwardness of the characters, particularly with someone like Michael Cera. Unlike the cartoonish representations of an 80s comedy like Revenge of the Nerds, Superbad presented itself with a depth to the characters that enabled millennials (and other generations) to bond with the movie in a more meaningful way.



Full of interviews with people like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Martha MacIssac, Judd Apatow, Bill Hader, Greg Motolla, Evan Goldberg, and Shauna Robertson, I Am McLovin is a comprehensive guide to the movie that changed a generation.]]> 244 Andrew Buss 1493079824 Cara 4
RTC]]> 4.14 I Am McLovin: How Superbad Became the Biggest Comedy Hit of Its Generation
author: Andrew Buss
name: Cara
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves:
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"People don't forget!"

RTC
]]> Savage Son 59353547 A Horrific Execution. . .

It was a night of celebration for the Whitaker family. Their son Bart was graduating from college. But when Bart's brother Kevin opened the door to their house, a masked intruder shot him point blank. His mother took the next bullet, followed by Mr. Whitaker and Bart. Blood was everywhere, but somehow Bart and his father survived. . .


A Sordid Double Life. . .

To the cops the story didn't add up, and their investigation discovered a stunning web of lies. Bart was living a double life. He hadn't been enrolled in college since his freshman year. Instead of attending classes, he'd spent his days playing video games with his friends--while planning to murder his family to inherit their million-dollar estate. . .


A Heartless Murderer. . .

Now bestselling author Corey Mitchell takes us inside this chilling murder case to reveal the twisted motives of a seemingly All-American-Boy-Next Door who turned into a cold-blooded killer now residing on Death Row. . .]]> 417 Corey Mitchell Cara 3 4.38 2010 Savage Son
author: Corey Mitchell
name: Cara
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/02
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Cold War: History in an Hour]]> 13407693 102 Rupert Colley 0007451180 Cara 4 4.00 2010 The Cold War: History in an Hour
author: Rupert Colley
name: Cara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/02
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War]]> 195608683 The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War—a slow-burning crisis that finally tore a deeply divided nation in two.

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston: Fort Sumter.
Ěý
Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter—a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.�
Ěý
At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between both. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous Secretary of State, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable—one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans.
Ěý
Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink—a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late.]]> 565 Erik Larson 0385348746 Cara 4 4.13 2024 The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
author: Erik Larson
name: Cara
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Sociopath: A Memoir 176443093
Patric Gagne realized she made others uncomfortable before she started kindergarten. Something about her caused people to react in a way she didn’t understand. She suspected it was because she didn’t feel things the way other kids did. Emotions like fear, guilt, and empathy eluded her. For the most part, she felt nothing. And she didn’t like the way that “nothing� felt.

She did her best to pretend she was like everyone else, but the constant pressure to conform to a society she knew rejected anyone like her was unbearable. So Patric stole. She lied. She was occasionally violent. She became an expert lock-picker and home-invader. All with the goal of replacing the nothingness with...something.

In college, Patric finally confirmed what she’d long suspected. She was a sociopath. But even though it was the very first personality disorder identified—well over 200 years ago—sociopathy had been neglected by mental health professionals for decades. She was told there was no treatment, no hope for a normal life. She found herself haunted by sociopaths in pop culture, madmen and evil villains who are considered monsters. Her future looked grim.

But when Patric reconnects with an old flame, she gets a glimpse of a future beyond her diagnosis. If she’s capable of love, it must mean that she isn’t a monster. With the help of her sweetheart (and some curious characters she meets along the way) she embarks on a mission to prove that the millions of Americans who share her diagnosis aren’t all monsters either.

This is the inspiring story of her journey to change her fate and how she managed to build a life full of love and hope.]]> 368 Patric Gagne 166800318X Cara 2 3.74 2024 Sociopath: A Memoir
author: Patric Gagne
name: Cara
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves:
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]]> Pure Innocent Fun: Essays 199454293 In this nostalgic and raucous collection of sixteen original essays, Ira Madison III—critic, television writer, and host of the beloved podcast "Keep It"—combines memoir and criticism to offer a brand-new pop-culture manifesto.

You can recall the first TV show, movie, book, or song that made you feel understood—that shaped how you live, what you love, and who you would become. It gave you an entire worldview. For Ira Madison, that book was Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, which cemented the idea that pop culture could be a rigorous subject—and that, for better or for worse, it shapes all of us.

Here Madison explores the key cultural moments that inspired his career as a critic and guided his coming of age as a Black gay man in Milwaukee. In this hilarious, full throttle trip through the 1990s and 2000s, he recounts learning about sex from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and his mom's Lil' Kim CDs; facing the most heartbreaking election of his youth (not George W. Bush's 2004 re-election but Jennifer Hudson's losing American Idol); observing how Jerry Springer accidentally shaped queer representation; and how never getting his driver’s license in high school made him just like Cher Horowitz in Clueless: “A virgin who can’t drive.�

Brimming with a profound love for a bygone culture and alternating between irreverence and heartfelt insight, Pure Innocent Fun, like all the best products of pop culture, will leave you entertained and surprisingly enlightened.]]> 256 Ira Madison III 0593446186 Cara 4
Critiquing pop culture is such an art, and one that I am constantly thirsting for. This is the perfect essay collection for millennials who grew up with the most wild public figures whose actions and legacies still reverberate today. It's always a fun (and sometimes scary) look back into what we consumed as we came of age.

The writing was a bit...erratic? Almost like he was typing out whatever came to him in a stream-of-consciousness kind of way. Sometimes I lost track of what the chapter was originally supposed to be about, but at the same time, I could relate to all the different types of feelings and experiences, and it definitely made for a unique way of presenting information.

Also I thought I was the only person who remembered Bobby's World, so thank you, Ira.

Thanks to the publisher for the automatic approval to read this! ]]> 3.84 2025 Pure Innocent Fun: Essays
author: Ira Madison III
name: Cara
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/25
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves:
review:
As someone who also had a spiritual pop culture awakening thanks to Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs, I felt Pure Innocent Fun in my soul.

Critiquing pop culture is such an art, and one that I am constantly thirsting for. This is the perfect essay collection for millennials who grew up with the most wild public figures whose actions and legacies still reverberate today. It's always a fun (and sometimes scary) look back into what we consumed as we came of age.

The writing was a bit...erratic? Almost like he was typing out whatever came to him in a stream-of-consciousness kind of way. Sometimes I lost track of what the chapter was originally supposed to be about, but at the same time, I could relate to all the different types of feelings and experiences, and it definitely made for a unique way of presenting information.

Also I thought I was the only person who remembered Bobby's World, so thank you, Ira.

Thanks to the publisher for the automatic approval to read this!
]]> <![CDATA[The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War]]> 37542581
The man was a spy for MI6. A senior KGB officer, for more than a decade he had supplied his British spymasters with a stream of priceless secrets from deep within the Soviet intelligence machine. No spy had done more to damage the KGB. The Safeway bag was a signal: to activate his escape plan to be smuggled out of Soviet Russia.

So began one of the boldest and most extraordinary episodes in the history of spying. Ben Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever...]]> 384 Ben Macintyre 0771060335 Cara 4 4.48 2018 The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
author: Ben Macintyre
name: Cara
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/23
date added: 2024/11/23
shelves:
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]]> Slow Dance 198530925
They were just friends. Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha—Shiloh would go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.

Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, and it’s been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there—and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything?

The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

It’s the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start.]]> 400 Rainbow Rowell 0063380196 Cara 4 3.63 2024 Slow Dance
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Cara
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/20
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves:
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]]> Too Young to Kill 59354055
Sixteen-year-old Adrianne Reynolds couldn't unravel the twisted tangles of jealousy and domination complicating her new life in East Moline, Illinois. What began as a fresh start after a troubled home life in Texas ended with Adrianne's body charred, stuffed into garbage bags, and scattered. It seemed the work of hardened criminals, but the truth was far more astonishing: her own "best friends� choked Adrianne to death and cut her up. Now, master crime writer M. William Phelps recounts this horrific saga of teen lust and violence in every gripping detail.]]> 454 M. William Phelps Cara 2 4.04 2011 Too Young to Kill
author: M. William Phelps
name: Cara
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/18
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed]]> 201626940 FromĚýNew York TimesĚýbestseller Maureen Callahan, a fierce, character-driven exposĂ© of the real Kennedy Curse—the family’s generations-long legacy of misogyny, murder, and mayhem—and the women who have paid the price for our obsession with Camelot

The Kennedy name has long been synonymous with wealth, power, glamor, and—above all else—integrity. But this carefully constructed veneer hides a dark truth: the pattern of Kennedy men physically and psychologically abusing women and girls, leaving a trail of ruin and death in each generation’s wake. Through decades of scandal after scandal—from sexual assaults to reputational slander, suicides to manslaughter—the family and their defenders have kept the Kennedy brand intact.

Now, in Ask Not, bestselling author and journalist Maureen Callahan reveals the Kennedys� hidden history of violence and exploitation, laying bare their unrepentant sexism and rampant depravity while also restoring these women and girls to their rightful place at the center of the dynasty’s story: from Jacqueline Onassis and Marilyn Monroe to Carolyn Bessette, Martha Moxley, Mary Jo Kopechne, Rosemary Kennedy, and many others whose names aren’t nearly as well known but should be.

Drawing on years of explosive reportage and written in electric prose, Ask Not is a long-overdue reckoning with this fabled family and a consequential part of American history that is still very much with us. At long last Callahan redirects the spotlight to the women in the Kennedys� orbit, paying homage to those who freed themselves and giving voice to those who, through no fault of their own, could not.]]> 400 Maureen Callahan 0316276170 Cara 4 4.04 2024 Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed
author: Maureen Callahan
name: Cara
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America's Child]]> 103488315 In Light of All Darkness embeds readers inĚýone of the most famous true-crime stories of our generation—the kidnapping of Polly Klaas—a case as pivotal in the history of the FBI as the Unabomber or Oklahoma City bombing.Ěý

On October 1, 1993, a 12-year-old girl was kidnapped at knifepoint from her bedroom in Petaluma, California, during a sleepover with two friends, while her mother slept soundly in the room next door. This rarest of all kidnappings—a stranger abduction from the home—triggered one of the largest manhunts in FBI history. Ěý

Many Americans remember Polly's face, which appeared on the national news every night, on the cover of People magazine, and on more than 8 million flyers distributed as far as China. The emotional gravity of Polly’s story touched every agent, police officer, and forensic technician who worked on her case. Many of these investigators have never shared their stories—until now.

Kim Cross has written the first comprehensive account of what happened on that fateful night in October, as well as how the case forever transformed the Bureau’s approach to solving crimes. With unprecedented access to case files, crime scene photos, a videotaped murder confession, andĚýinside sources,ĚýIn Light of All DarknessĚýfollows the investigators who pieced together the evidence that led to the arrest and conviction of the kidnapper—and made the victim a household name and a girl who will never be forgotten.]]> 464 Kim Cross 1538725061 Cara 4 4.27 2023 In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America's Child
author: Kim Cross
name: Cara
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/07
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves:
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]]> The Music of Bees 55198935 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, following three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, who are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it.

Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.

In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.

And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.

Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect.]]> 322 Eileen Garvin 0593183924 Cara 2 4.01 2021 The Music of Bees
author: Eileen Garvin
name: Cara
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves:
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]]> Bad Monkey (Andrew Yancy, #1) 16071701 Carl Hiaasen is back doing what he does best: spinning a wickedly funny, fiercely pointed tale in which the greedy, the corrupt, and the degraders of pristine land in Florida--now, in the Bahamas too--get their comeuppance in mordantly ingenious, diabolically entertaining fashion.

Andrew Yancy--late of the Miami Police, soon-to-be-late of the Key West Police--has a human arm in his freezer. There's a logical (Hiaasenian) explanation for that, but not for how and why it parted from its owner. Yancy thinks the boating-accident/shark-luncheon explanation is full of holes, and if he can prove murder, his commander might relieve him of Health Inspector duties, aka Roach Patrol. But first Yancy will negotiate an ever-surprising course of events--from the Keys to Miami to a Bahamian out island--with a crew of equally ever-surprising characters, including: the twitchy widow of the frozen arm; an avariciously idiotic real estate developer; a voodoo witch whose lovers are blinded-unto-death by her particularly peculiar charms; Yancy's new love, a kinky medical examiner; and the eponymous Bad Monkey, who earns his place among Hiaasen's greatest characters with hilariously wicked aplomb.Ěý]]> 337 Carl Hiaasen 0307272591 Cara 4 3.68 2013 Bad Monkey (Andrew Yancy, #1)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/30
date added: 2024/10/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World]]> 61327444 A paradigm-shifting look at a long-undervalued yet hugely beneficial personality trait, from the creators of the world's largest community for highly sensitive people

"Don't be so sensitive!"

Everyone has a sensitive side, but nearly one in three people have the genes to be more sensitive than others--both physically and emotionally. These are the people who pause before speaking and think before acting; they tune into subtle details and make connections that others miss. They tend to be intelligent, big-hearted, and wonderfully creative; they are wired to go deep, yet society tells them to hide the very sensitivity that makes them this way. These are the world's "highly sensitive people," and Sensitive is the book that champions them.

By the creators of the world's largest community for sensitive people, Sensitive teaches us how to unlock the potential in this undervalued strength and leverage it across the most important areas of our lives: in friendships and relationships, the workplace, leadership, and parenting. Through fascinating research and expert storytelling, Jenn Granneman and Andre SĂłlo show readers that the way to thrive as a sensitive person is not to hide their sensitivity, but to embrace it--and they demonstrate how to do that in each area of life. Weaving together actionable advice, relatable anecdotes, and the latest scientific research, Sensitive shows readers how leaning in to their sensitivity unlocks a powerful "boost effect" to launch them ahead in life. It hands them the tools and insights they need to thrive as a sensitive person in a loud, fast, too-much world.

A powerfully validating, destigmatizing, and practical book, Sensitive plants a gently fluttering flag in the ground for sensitive people everywhere. This inspiring book has the power to change--once and for all--how we see sensitive people, and how they see themselves.]]> 261 Jenn Granneman 0593235010 Cara 4 4.08 2023 Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World
author: Jenn Granneman
name: Cara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/29
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Message: The Graphic Novel (Animorphs Graphix #4)]]> 63898991 WE CAN'T TELL YOU WHO WE ARE. IT'S TOO RISKY, AND EVERYONE IS IN DANGER. YEAH, EVEN YOU.

It begins with the dreams. Cassie has been having strange nightmares of a voice calling to her from deep beneath the ocean. They’re unsettling, but it isn’t until Cassie discovers Tobias has been the exact same dreams � of a voice pleading for help � that she decides it’s time to start listening.

When pieces of debris wash up on shore, marked with alien writing, the team realizes they may still have allies in the fight for Earth � allies who are trying to make contact. Now they just have to reach them, before time runs out.]]> 202 K.A. Applegate 1338796216 Cara 4 4.30 The Message: The Graphic Novel (Animorphs Graphix #4)
author: K.A. Applegate
name: Cara
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World]]> 29083645

Written for highly sensitive people, the book explains the characteristics of being highly sensitive and how to overcome common difficulties, such as low self-esteem and the exhausting effects of socialising. Ilse Sand also encourages you to explore and appreciate the advantages of high sensitivity, including your aptitude for depth, intensity and presence, and suggests activities to calm and inspire.]]> 160 Ilse Sand 1785920669 Cara 3 3.67 2010 Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World
author: Ilse Sand
name: Cara
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/27
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Empath's Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People]]> 30962218 The Empath's Survival Guide is an invaluable resource for empaths and anyone who wants to nurture their empathy and develop coping skills in our high-stimulus world—while fully embracing their gifts of intuition, compassion, creativity, and spiritual connection.
Ěý
This practical, empowering, and loving book was created to support empaths through their unique challenges and help loved ones better understand the empath's needs and gifts. Dr. Orloff offers crucial practices, including:
Ěý
� Exercises to help you identify your empath type and where you are on the empathy spectrum;
� Tools for protecting yourself from sensory overload, exhaustion, addictions, and compassion fatigue while replenishing your vital energy;
� Simple, effective strategies to stop absorbing stress and physical symptoms from others and protect yourself from narcissists and other energy vampires;
� How to find the right work that feeds you;
� How to navigate intimate relationships without feeling overwhelmed;
� Guidance for parenting and raising empathic children;
� Awakening the empath's gift of intuition and deepening your spiritual connection to all living beings.
Ěý
For any sensitive person who's been told to "grow a thick skin," here is a lifelong guide for staying fully open while building resilience, exploring your gifts of depth and compassion, and feeling welcome and valued by a world that desperately needs what you have to offer.]]> 245 Judith Orloff 1622036573 Cara 3 3.79 2017 The Empath's Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People
author: Judith Orloff
name: Cara
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Encounter: The Graphic Novel (Animorphs Graphix #3)]]> 59806015
When he discovers an important Yeerk secret, Tobias knows he has to do everything in his power to destroy it. But to do so, he'll have to contend with a part of himself that's wrestling for dominion. A part that isn't human.

For Tobias, the fight against the Yeerks is more pressing than ever � not just for humankind, but for his own humanity.]]> 202 K.A. Applegate 1338538403 Cara 4 4.28 2022 The Encounter: The Graphic Novel (Animorphs Graphix #3)
author: K.A. Applegate
name: Cara
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/23
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves:
review:

]]> Razor Girl (Andrew Yancy, #2) 28185972 The new full-tilt, razor-sharp, unstoppably hilarious and entertaining novel from the best-selling author of Bad Monkey, Star Island, Nature Girl, et al.

When Lane Coolman's car is bashed from behind on the road to the Florida Keys, what appears to be an ordinary accident is anything but (this is Hiaasen!). Behind the wheel of the other car is Merry Mansfield--the eponymous Razor Girl--and the crash scam is only the beginning of events that spiral crazily out of control while unleashing some of the wildest characters Hiaasen has ever set loose on the page. There's Trebeaux, the owner of Sedimental Journeys--a company that steals sand from one beach to restore erosion on another . . . Dominick "Big Noogie" Aeola, a NYC mafia capo with a taste for tropic-wear . . . Buck Nance, a Wisconsin accordionist who has rebranded himself as the star of a redneck reality show called Bayou Brethren . . . a street psycho known as Blister who's more Buck Nance than Buck could ever be . . . Brock Richardson, a Miami product-liability lawyer who's getting dangerously--and deformingly--hooked on the very E.D. product he's litigating against . . . and Andrew Yancy--formerly Detective Yancy, busted down to the Key West roach patrol after accosting his then-lover's husband with a Dust Buster. Yancy believes that if he can singlehandedly solve a high-profile murder, he'll get his detective badge back. That the Razor Girl may be the key to Yancy's future will be as surprising as anything else he encounters along the way--including the giant Gambian rats that are livening up his restaurant inspections.]]> 335 Carl Hiaasen 0385349742 Cara 4 3.74 2016 Razor Girl (Andrew Yancy, #2)
author: Carl Hiaasen
name: Cara
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/21
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves:
review:

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