Lisa's bookshelf: read en-US Fri, 25 Apr 2025 11:04:00 -0700 60 Lisa's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Little Mouse: A Short Story 57481845 19 Ryan Williamson Lisa 4 4.18 Little Mouse: A Short Story
author: Ryan Williamson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves:
review:
I didn't think the virtual voice was that bad in the Audible edition. Correct inflections, though maybe people disliked the British voice narrating a story from the United States. I wouldn't have known she was AI. I was thoroughly engrossed by the story, though it was somewhat predictable. The pacing was on point and told in simple prose similar to what a child her age would think. I loved that the book was set in the 1980s who had all the toys I played with at her age. She seemed so real.
]]> <![CDATA[I Love You So BEARY Much: A Heartwarming Rhyming Picture Book for Babies and Toddlers]]> 230269459 I Love You So BEARY Much ¨C A Heartwarming Rhyming Picture Book for Babies and Toddlers

Snuggle up and share your love with your baby or toddler with I Love You So BEARY Much ¡ª a beautifully illustrated, rhyming picture book that celebrates the unbreakable bond between parent and child. Perfect for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, this sweet and soothing read-aloud features 25 heartfelt short rhymes, each paired with a colorful full-spread illustration of an animal parent with their baby.

From dolphins and bears to monkeys and hedgehogs, each gentle rhyme expresses just how special, cherished, and deeply loved every little one truly is.

Why families love this
? Includes 25 different animal pairs, each capturing a unique kind of love
? Features gorgeous, full-spread illustrations that keep young children engaged
? Short, rhyming text that's easy to read aloud and perfect for bedtime
? A touching gift for newborns, baby showers, and birthdays


Whether you're a mama bear or a papa penguin, I Love You So BEARY Much is a keepsake book your child will want to hear again and again ¡ª and one you'll never get tired of reading.

Because when it comes to your little one... there¡¯s no such thing as too much love.]]> Madeline Mede 1967624003 Lisa 5 Beautifully Illustrated

Definitely read this on a Kindle App, the illustrations are gorgeous. Written in verse, this early children's book shows the depths of a parent's unconditional love for a child. This was really bittersweet for me as my mother's been gone many years ]]> 4.79 I Love You So BEARY Much: A Heartwarming Rhyming Picture Book for Babies and Toddlers
author: Madeline Mede
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.79
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/15
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves:
review:
Beautifully Illustrated

Definitely read this on a Kindle App, the illustrations are gorgeous. Written in verse, this early children's book shows the depths of a parent's unconditional love for a child. This was really bittersweet for me as my mother's been gone many years
]]> The Demon Next Door 44164596 Burrough is widely admired as a master storyteller, and this chilling tale raises important questions of whether serial killers can be recognized before they kill or rehabilitated after they do. It is also a story of Texas politics and power that led the good citizens of the town of Temple to enable a demon who was their worst nightmare.
This title contains mature themes, including physical and sexual violence, that some listeners may find unsettling.]]> 3 Bryan Burrough Lisa 4 3.33 2019 The Demon Next Door
author: Bryan Burrough
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/16
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves:
review:
A good, mostly ethical true crime book. The narrator of this Audible Original was less than optimal. He seems gleeful as he recites the monstrous crimes of Corwin.
]]> Silk 61264 91 Alessandro Baricco 0375703829 Lisa 3 3.91 1996 Silk
author: Alessandro Baricco
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves:
review:
The book was good, don't get me wrong, but I was so immensely annoyed by the protagonist lusting after the seemingly European mistress of a Japanese nobleman. I know this is the main premise of the book: Why lust after what you already have but don't realize? But I was incensed for his loyal, loving, and possibly barren wife. Urggg
]]> The Guineveres 28220847
They come to The Sisters of the Supreme Adoration convent by different paths, delivered by their families, each with her own complicated, heartbreaking story that she safeguards. Gwen is all Hollywood glamour and swagger; Ginny is a budding artiste with a sentiment to match; Win's tough bravado isn't even skin deep; and Vere is the only one who seems to be a believer, trying to hold onto her faith that her mother will one day return for her. However, the girls are more than the sum of their parts and together they form the all powerful and confident The Guineveres, bound by the extraordinary coincidence of their names and girded against the indignities of their plain, sequestered lives.

The nuns who raise them teach the Guineveres that faith is about waiting: waiting for the mail, for weekly wash day, for a miracle, or for the day they turn eighteen and are allowed to leave the convent. But the Guineveres grow tired of waiting. And so when four comatose soldiers from the War looming outside arrive at the convent, the girls realize that these men may hold their ticket out.

In prose shot through with beauty, Sarah Domet weaves together the Guineveres' past, present, and future, as well as the stories of the female saints they were raised on, to capture the wonder and tumult of girlhood and the magical thinking of young women as they cross over to adulthood.]]> 352 Sarah Domet 1250086612 Lisa 5 dollar-tree-book-club 3.23 2016 The Guineveres
author: Sarah Domet
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.23
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: dollar-tree-book-club
review:
This is one of those books you're either going to really love or hate and I fall into the former. The stories of four girls all named Guinevere living in a convent school captivated me. Their lives are filled with abandonment, yearning, and hope that really struck a chord with me. The story is absolutely devastating without leaning into tropes of abusive nuns, etc.
]]> A Room of One¡¯s Own 18521 A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on the 24th of October, 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. While this extended essay in fact employs a fictional narrator and narrative to explore women both as writers and characters in fiction, the manuscript for the delivery of the series of lectures, titled Women and Fiction, and hence the essay, are considered nonfiction. The essay is seen as a feminist text, and is noted in its argument for both a literal and figural space for women writers within a literary tradition dominated by patriarchy.]]> 112 Virginia Woolf Lisa 5 4.22 1929 A Room of One¡¯s Own
author: Virginia Woolf
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1929
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves:
review:
It's been a long time since I've read a Woolf book and I'm extremely glad that I finally picked up this gem. Without the ability to have a room of one's own or money of your own don't expect to be able to flourish. Still prescient today even though we no longer need to be escorted everywhere, women are still seen as the lesser sex and not capable.
]]> <![CDATA[Emeka, the Great Footballer: A children's book for ages 4-7 years old on Patience (The Overcomer Series 2)]]> 220388555 Want the perfect resource to teach your child patience? Then this sweet children's book is the perfect resource for you!

Children are prone to wanting things right away and with no delay! It may be hard to teach your child that although they may want something bad, sometimes they may have to wait to get the very thing they want the most! Emeka, the Great Footballer is a rhyming picture book for kids that teaches them the very important lesson of patience!

Emeka has it all! Smarts with amazing talent and great friends. However, Emeka is impatient! And when his plans for becoming captain of the soccer team are delayed, Emeka learns with time why it is important to wait on things.

Rhyming words- this endearing story uses rhyming words that will keep your child engaged

Culture- through its unique characters and introduction to new words, your child will grab hints of Emeka's African culture

Coloring pages- also an activity resource, this book contains 3 free coloring pages in the back of the book

"In the end, Emeka no longer needed to hurry.
A missed chance meant another one was on the way, no need to worry"

** If you like books likes these, don't forget to check out Amara's Big Scary Race, also from the Overcomer Series Children's Books! **

Don't delay- get your child this amazing book today! ]]> Dr. Ruth Obiarinze Lisa 4 4.50 Emeka, the Great Footballer: A children's book for ages 4-7 years old on Patience (The Overcomer Series 2)
author: Dr. Ruth Obiarinze
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves:
review:
I read this short children's book on my Kindle so I missed seeing the beautiful illustrations in color. The story is of an Nigerian American boy who learns the value of patience. Sweet.
]]> <![CDATA[Everything Lost Returns: A Novel]]> 231127402 336 Sarah Domet 1250087899 Lisa 0 to-read 0.0 Everything Lost Returns: A Novel
author: Sarah Domet
name: Lisa
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Little Astronauts: A Journey Through Space]]> 221350214
As you flip through the pages of "Little A Journey Through Space," you'll be greeted by fascinating facts and vibrant illustrations that bring the wonders of the solar system to life. You'll dance around the fiery sun, skate on Saturn's rings, and witness Jupiter's fierce storms. Each page is an adventure, offering insights into our neighboring planets, distant stars, and even the mysterious black holes. The book educates and entertains, weaving scientific facts into a narrative that is both engaging and accessible to young readers. It's like having a space museum in your hands!

Imagine the joy and excitement of discovering something new about the universe every time you open the book. "Little A Journey Through Space" is designed to nurture a love for science and exploration. It's a perfect blend of education and entertainment, making learning about space fun and engaging. Whether you dream of becoming an astronaut scientist or are just curious about the night sky, this book will take you on a journey you'll always remember. It's not just about reading; it's about embarking on an epic space adventure that will inspire you to dream big and reach for the stars.

With "Little A Journey Through Space," the universe is not just something you learn about¡ªit's a world you experience and]]> Elizabeth Shelby Lisa 2 3.47 Little Astronauts: A Journey Through Space
author: Elizabeth Shelby
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.47
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves:
review:
Could be wrong, but I think this was AI slop, but it was free at the time
]]> The Art of War 10534 170 Sun Tzu Lisa 3 3.98 -400 The Art of War
author: Sun Tzu
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.98
book published: -400
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves:
review:
Finally finished this thing. It wasn't boring per se, but some of the tactics went through my brain too fast.
]]> People Mover 56943147
Very few of them are particularly good.]]> 84 John David Card Lisa 4
At 12 years-old, Helen has lost her beloved grandfather and her parents sell and consume meth. The story opens with the heroine hitchhiking her way with truckers to Alaska to see a mountain. Helen is no ordinary girl: She is extremely cunning and she' s stolen her parents' gun. Her adventure is steadily ramping up in danger as the story progresses, but I would say this story would be safe for a teenage audience and up while not being targeted towards young adults.

The pacing is phenomenal, the believability not so much. I found tiny plot holes, but screw it, I was entertained.]]> 3.38 People Mover
author: John David Card
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.38
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves:
review:
I expected this novella to be bad. I wanted to be able to pan it. But it's surprisingly good and I read the whole book in one sitting.

At 12 years-old, Helen has lost her beloved grandfather and her parents sell and consume meth. The story opens with the heroine hitchhiking her way with truckers to Alaska to see a mountain. Helen is no ordinary girl: She is extremely cunning and she' s stolen her parents' gun. Her adventure is steadily ramping up in danger as the story progresses, but I would say this story would be safe for a teenage audience and up while not being targeted towards young adults.

The pacing is phenomenal, the believability not so much. I found tiny plot holes, but screw it, I was entertained.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)]]> 6 734 J.K. Rowling 0439139597 Lisa 0 to-read 4.56 2000 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lasselia: Or, the Self-Abandon'd. a Novel]]> 8609500 94 Eliza Fowler Haywood 1170030998 Lisa 0 to-read 3.29 2010 Lasselia: Or, the Self-Abandon'd. a Novel
author: Eliza Fowler Haywood
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bloodchild and Other Stories 60930
Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability¡ªand responsibility¡ªto save humanity from itself?
Like all of Octavia Butler¡¯s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature¡¯s strongest voices.

Bloodchild
The evening and the morning and the night
Near of kin
Speech sounds
Crossover
Positive obsession
Furor scribendi
Amnesty
The Book of Martha]]> 214 Octavia E. Butler 1583226982 Lisa 3 4.35 1995 Bloodchild and Other Stories
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:
Great short stories. Not my usual genre, but I'm glad I found this.
]]> <![CDATA[The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump]]> 37848398 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ??From the Pulitzer Prize¨Cwinning critic comes an impassioned critique of America¡¯s retreat from reasonWe live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases.?How did truth become an endangered species in contemporary America? This decline began decades ago, and in The Death of Truth, former New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani takes a penetrating look at the cultural forces that contributed to this gathering storm. In social media and literature, television, academia, and politics, Kakutani identifies the trends¡ªoriginating on both the right and the left¡ªthat have combined to elevate subjectivity over factuality, science, and common values. And she returns us to the words of the great critics of authoritarianism, writers like George Orwell and Hannah Arendt, whose work is newly and eerily relevant.?With remarkable erudition and insight, Kakutani offers a provocative diagnosis of our current condition and points toward a new path for our truth-challenged times.]]> 190 Michiko Kakutani 0525574840 Lisa 3 4.02 2018 The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump
author: Michiko Kakutani
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:
Unfortunately this book is still relevant, maybe more so now in Trump's second term.
]]> Galatea 18162954 An enchanting short story from Madeline Miller that boldly reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion.

In ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece ¡ª the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen ¡ª the gift of life. Now his wife, he expects Galatea to please him, to be obedience and humility personified. But she has desires of her own and yearns for independence.

In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, Galatea is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But with a daughter to rescue, she is determined to break free, whatever the cost...]]> 27 Madeline Miller 1408848147 Lisa 4 3.93 2013 Galatea
author: Madeline Miller
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves:
review:
A great modern feminist retelling of Pygmillian from the woman's pov.
]]> <![CDATA[The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper]]> 37570548
What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888.

Their murderer was never identified, but the name created for him by the press has become far more famous than any of these five women.

In this devastating narrative of five lives, historian Hallie Rubenhold finally gives these women back their stories.]]> 352 Hallie Rubenhold Lisa 4 4.06 2019 The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
author: Hallie Rubenhold
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves:
review:
An indictment against society's idea of worthy victims .
]]> Dead Inside 25760088
A young hospital security guard with a disturbingly unique taste in women. A maternity doctor with a horrifically unusual appetite. When the two of them meet, they embark on a journey of self-discovery as they shatter societal norms while engaging in destructive and abhorrent behavior. As they unwittingly help each other understand a world in which neither of them seems to belong, they begin to realize what it truly means to be alive...and that it might not always be a good thing.]]> 191 Chandler Morrison 1512036080 Lisa 0 to-read 3.19 2015 Dead Inside
author: Chandler Morrison
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.19
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Shining (The Shining, #1) 11588 497 Stephen King 0450040186 Lisa 0 to-read 4.28 1977 The Shining (The Shining, #1)
author: Stephen King
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1977
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cross My Heart and Never Lie (Cross My Heart, #1)]]> 125080438
Perfect for fans of The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag, HeartStopper by Alice Oseman, and Jen Wang's The Dressmaker and the Prince.

Tuva is starting seventh grade, and her checklist of goals writing out a diary, getting a trendy look, building the best fort in the woods with her BFFs, and much more. But when she starts school, nothing is how she hoped it would be.

Seventh grade has split her friends into rival TEAM LINNEA and the girls who fall in love and TEAM BAO and the girls who NEVER fall in love. Linnea has a BOYFRIEND, Bao hates everything related to love. Worst of all, Linnea and Bao expect Tuva to choose a side!

In this delighfully hand-lettered coming-of-age graphic diary, Tuva gets caught between feeling like a kid and wanting to know HOW to become a teenager. Then Miriam shows up and suddenly Tuva feels as if she¡¯s met her soulmate. Can you fall in love with a girl, keep it from your friends, and survive? For Tuva, it may be possible, but it's defintely not easy.]]> 250 Nora D?snes 1662640552 Lisa 4 Authentic Coming of Age Story

This was a great story about a 12 year-old stuck in the middle of being a kid but also wanting to be a teen and be mature. One of her best friends has no interest in falling in love or being mature while her other BFF has a boyfriend. Friction ensues between the close friends as their interests diverge, and soon Tuva finds herself in love with the new girl in class.

Beautifully illustrated, age appropriate, and translated from Norwegian, this graphic novel is almost perfect. I found that the ending seemed a little too quick.]]> 4.22 2020 Cross My Heart and Never Lie (Cross My Heart, #1)
author: Nora D?snes
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:
Authentic Coming of Age Story

This was a great story about a 12 year-old stuck in the middle of being a kid but also wanting to be a teen and be mature. One of her best friends has no interest in falling in love or being mature while her other BFF has a boyfriend. Friction ensues between the close friends as their interests diverge, and soon Tuva finds herself in love with the new girl in class.

Beautifully illustrated, age appropriate, and translated from Norwegian, this graphic novel is almost perfect. I found that the ending seemed a little too quick.
]]> Chasing the Boogeyman 55774890
In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI, are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman¡ªand he¡¯s playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.

Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. Amid preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into a real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer¡¯s reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.

A clever, terrifying, and heartrending work of metafiction, Chasing the Boogeyman is the ultimate marriage between horror fiction and true crime. Chizmar¡¯s ¡°dazzling work of fresh imagination and psychological insight¡± (Caroline Kepnes, New York Times bestselling author of You ) is on full display in this truly unique novel that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.]]> 333 Richard Chizmar 1982175184 Lisa 0 to-read 4.09 2021 Chasing the Boogeyman
author: Richard Chizmar
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unlucky Ones (Black Harbor, #4)]]> 211003793 A police transcriber-turned-novelist returns to Black Harbor to help solve the case of her ex-husband¡¯s murder in the newest riveting Black Harbor mystery by acclaimed author Hannah Morrissey.

Black Harbor is a tinderbox. Temperatures and violent crime have both risen to all-time highs, a new drug razes the city, and the scene to which Sergeant Nikolai Kole responds is anything but a rote homicide. In the back of a clubhouse lies a body wrapped in garbage bags and doused in bleach.

It isn¡¯t just any body. Tommy Greenlee, the ex-husband of Kole¡¯s former lover, Hazel, has been shot several times and left for dead. What¡¯s more¡­the killer left what appears to be a calling card.

Elsewhere, Hazel is haunted by her memories of Black Harbor. Lured there after eight years, she returns to find out who killed Tommy and why. Now back in Kole¡¯s orbit, their love affair can hardly pick up where it left off. They both used each other to their own ends before, which begs the question: would they do it again?

With the atmosphere growing more volatile by the second, Hazel and Kole call a truce, and as they work together to solve this murder, they will not only unearth Black Harbor¡¯s deepest, darkest secrets¡ªthey¡¯ll each have to face their own.]]> 304 Hannah Morrissey 1250369746 Lisa 0 to-read 4.00 The Unlucky Ones (Black Harbor, #4)
author: Hannah Morrissey
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Autumn of Ruth Winters 205837964 In this heartwarming story about second acts and second chances, a no-nonsense retiree, very much set in her ways, must learn to adapt and make peace with her past in order to build a fulfilling future.

Ruth Winters is retired, widowed, and resigned to spending the rest of her life alone in her suburban home. She likes her routine and uses it to avoid having to spend time with other people. She probably wouldn¡¯t call herself fulfilled, but it¡¯s too late now to go chasing happiness.

Then three things happen at a beloved niece makes a big announcement, an old flame reaches out, and her estranged sister receives life-changing news. Ruth finds herself reconnecting with people she thought were long gone from her world, as she is forced to reconsider her expectations for this phase of her life.

None of this fits into Ruth¡¯s routine¡ªin fact, the whole thing just blows to bits. But when Ruth starts to pick up the pieces, she discovers that maybe it¡¯s not too late to make something new after all.]]> 264 Marshall Fine 1662518331 Lisa 0 to-read 4.08 2024 The Autumn of Ruth Winters
author: Marshall Fine
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Seven O'Clock Club 216522745 Four strangers are brought together to participate in an experimental treatment designed to heal broken hearts in this surprising and heartfelt debut novel from author Amelia Ireland.

In a perfectly ordinary building, four strangers who couldn't be more different meet for the first time. Their skepticism of this new kind of grief therapy¡ªand the unnervingly perceptive group leader¡ªmeans they're all wary, but as the weeks go by, they find themselves returning again and again, pulled to work toward healing, even if it means first facing the pain head-on.

A sharp-tongued lawyer who has no intention of letting down her walls, a fragile young woman looking for a place to belong, a musician at the top of his game who's one drink away from losing it all, and an interior designer facing the crumbling of her picture-perfect life¡ªthis unlikely group slowly opens up, not only to the possibility of a happier future but to friendship, change, and even romance.

When a shocking revelation reveals the real reason they were chosen for this group, it shakes the very foundation of what they thought they knew. What began as a journey designed to heal turns out to be a much greater test of friendship, strength, and love as they realize happiness is just outside the door...if they're brave enough to seek it.]]> 368 Amelia Ireland 0593952634 Lisa 0 to-read 3.97 2025 The Seven O'Clock Club
author: Amelia Ireland
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dying Earth (The Dying Earth, #1)]]> 951749 156 Jack Vance 0671831526 Lisa 3 3.91 1950 The Dying Earth (The Dying Earth, #1)
author: Jack Vance
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1950
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
Surprisingly good for a fantasy novel. Not a fan of the genre in general, but since there were women in the stories it wasn't too bad ( even if they're manufactured by the men or are witches)
]]> <![CDATA[Batman: The Dark Knight Returns]]> 59960
Crime runs rampant in the streets, and the man who was Batman is still tortured by the memories of his parents' murders. As civil society crumbles around him, Bruce Wayne's long-suppressed vigilante side finally breaks free of its self-imposed shackles.

The Dark Knight returns in a blaze of fury, taking on a whole new generation of criminals and matching their level of violence. He is soon joined by this generation's Robin¡ªa girl named Carrie Kelley, who proves to be just as invaluable as her predecessors.

But can Batman and Robin deal with the threat posed by their deadliest enemies, after years of incarceration have made them into perfect psychopaths? And more important, can anyone survive the coming fallout of an undeclared war between the superpowers¡ªor a clash of what were once the world's greatest superheroes?

Over fifteen years after its debut, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns remains an undisputed classic and one of the most influential stories ever told in the comics medium.

Collecting Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1-4]]> 197 Frank Miller 156389341X Lisa 3 4.26 1986 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
author: Frank Miller
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
A 1980s era Batman comic book that I enjoyed mainly for the 1980s style and relevance. Reagan is portrayed as I remember him, a funny geezer only somewhat with it. Batman's middle aged, Robin's a 13 year-old girl, and the Mutant Gang has a very crack era desperation to it. There's an ever present fear, probably exaggerated, of the Soviet Union nuking us that I recall very well. The story was kinda mid, but interesting. I had a bit of trouble following some of the characters as I'm not a big Super Hero fan.
]]> <![CDATA[A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (É°Ä®¤Ë†D¤¤¤¿¤Ò¤Þ¤ï¤ê) Japanese/ English Bilingual]]> 368243 32 Amy Lee-Tai 0892392150 Lisa 5 4.07 2006 A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (É°Ä®¤Ë†D¤¤¤¿¤Ò¤Þ¤ï¤ê) Japanese/ English Bilingual
author: Amy Lee-Tai
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
A beautifully illustrated book about a little girl finding hope even in an internment camp during WWII.
]]> <![CDATA[Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory]]> 58284103 Run Towards the Danger explores memory and the dialogue between her past and her present

These are the most dangerous stories of my life. The ones I have avoided, the ones I haven't told, the ones that have kept me awake on countless nights. As these stories found echoes in my adult life, and then went another, better way than they did in childhood, they became lighter and easier to carry.

Sarah Polley's work as an actor, screenwriter, and director is celebrated for its honesty, complexity, and deep humanity. She brings all those qualities, along with her exquisite storytelling chops, to these six essays. Each one captures a piece of Polley's life as she remembers it, while at the same time examining the fallibility of memory, the mutability of reality in the mind, and the possibility of experiencing the past anew, as the person she is now but was not then. As Polley writes, the past and present are in a "reciprocal pressure dance."

Polley contemplates stories from her own life ranging from stage fright to high-risk childbirth to endangerment and more. After struggling with the aftermath of a concussion, Polley met a specialist who gave her wholly new advice: to recover from a traumatic injury, she had to retrain her mind to strength by charging towards the very activities that triggered her symptoms. With riveting clarity, she shows the power of applying that same advice to other areas of her life in order to find a path forward, a way through. Rather than live in a protective crouch, she had to run towards the danger.

In this extraordinary book, Polley explores what it is to live in one's body, in a constant state of becoming, learning, and changing.]]> 272 Sarah Polley 0593300351 Lisa 0 to-read 4.29 2022 Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory
author: Sarah Polley
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Christmas Book Hunt 220506847
A Christmas mission¡­

Mirren¡¯s beloved great-aunt Violet is seriously ill. Her one Christmas wish is to be reunited with a long-lost hand-illustrated book from her childhood, a challenge Mirren gladly accepts to give Violet some much-needed festive cheer.

An enchanting journey¡­

With no sign of the cherished volume online, Mirren falls into the fascinating world of rare books. From London to snowy Hay-on-Wye and Edinburgh¡¯s cobbled streets, she chases leads from bookshop to bookshop¡ªand bumps into mysterious, charming Theo, who, unbeknownst to her, is searching for the same book for reasons of his own¡­

The start of a new chapter?

As the two join forces to track the book down before time runs out for Violet, will Mirren find her Christmas miracle¡ªand maybe even a kiss under the mistletoe¡­ ?

For fans of Josie Silver, Jill Mansell and the Queen of Christmas herself, a snow-swept love story to warm even the coldest winter¡¯s day.]]> 127 Jenny Colgan 1662522576 Lisa 3 3.73 2024 The Christmas Book Hunt
author: Jenny Colgan
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
A great Christmas story for antiquarian book lovers set in England and Scotland. I enjoyedit and it was definitely different from the typical American fare that gets churned out at Christmas.
]]> The Tinsel & The Hay 55606871 96 Harold E. Kohn Lisa 3 4.00 The Tinsel & The Hay
author: Harold E. Kohn
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
I've had this book for years on my shelf and only got to reading it this Christmas. Considering the book was written in the late 1960s, the author is pretty progressive. These essays' main focus is be good to one another, be Christ-like throughout the year. It's not overwhelmingly profound, but a good message to remember.
]]> A Promised Land 55361205
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency¡ªa time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.

Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation¡¯s highest office.

Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune¡¯s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden.

A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective¡ªthe story of one man¡¯s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of ¡°hope and change,¡± and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.

This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama¡¯s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.]]> 768 Barack Obama 1524763187 Lisa 3 4.32 2020 A Promised Land
author: Barack Obama
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
I've been reading this off and on since 2020 and I'm finally done. Not exactly a page turner, but chronicles his first term up to popping Bin Laden. I really miss having someone with integrity in office, but here we are.
]]> <![CDATA[The Myth of the Twentieth Century: The Myth of the 20th Century; Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts; An Evaluation of the Spiritual-Intellectual Confrontations of Our Age]]> 19165686

Rosenberg's influences

Rosenberg was inspired by Meister Eckhart, the racist theories of Houston Stewart Chamberlain, Richard Wagner's romanticism and also by Nordicism and Aryanism. He believed that God created man as separate races, not as individuals or mankind as a whole, and that all races have their own soul, although the Aryan race was superior to the others. The Myth of the Twentieth Century was conceived as a sequel to Chamberlain's The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century.[2]
[edit]Outline of contents of the book

Rosenberg's racial interpretation of history concentrates on the negative influence of the Jewish race in contrast to the Aryan race. He equates the latter with the Nordic peoples of northern Europe and also includes the Berbers from North Africa and the upper classes of Ancient Egypt.[3] According to Rosenberg, modern culture has been corrupted by Semitic influences (cf. anti-Semitism), which have produced degenerate modern art, along with moral and social degeneration. In contrast, Aryan culture is defined by innate moral sensibility and an energetic will to power. Rosenberg believed that the higher races must rule over the lower and not interbreed with them, because cross-breeding destroys the divine combination of physical heredity and spirit. He uses an organic metaphor of the race and the State and argues that the Nazis must purify the race soul by eliminating non-Aryan elements in much the same ruthless and uncompromising way in which a surgeon would cut a cancer from a diseased body.
In Rosenberg's view of world history, migrating Aryans founded various ancient civilizations which later declined and fell due to inter-marriage with lesser races. This included the Indo-Aryan civilization, ancient Persia, Greece, and Rome. He saw the ancient Germanic invasions of the Roman empire as "saving" its civilization, which had been corrupted both by race mixing and by "Judaized-cosmopolitan" Christianity. Furthermore, he noted that the persecutions of Protestants in France and other areas represented the wiping out of the last remnants of the Aryan element in those areas, a process completed by the French revolution. In contemporary Europe, he saw the northern areas that embraced Protestantism as closest to the Aryan racial and spiritual ideal.
Following H.S. Chamberlain and other v?lkisch theorists, he believed that Jesus was an Aryan (specifically an Amorite) and that original Christianity was an "Aryan" religion, but had been corrupted by the followers of Paul of Tarsus. The "Mythus" is very anti-Catholic, seeing the Church's cosmopolitanism and "Judaized" version of Christianity as one of the factors in Germany's spiritual bondage. Rosenberg mentions the anti-Judaic teachings of the heresies Marcionism and "Aryo-Persian" Manicheanism as more representative of the true, "anti-Judaic" Jesus Christ and more suited to the Nordic world-view. Rosenberg saw Martin Luther and the Reformation as an important step forward toward reasserting the "Aryan spirit", but having not gone far enough in its founding of just another dogmatic church.]]> 455 Alfred Rosenberg Lisa 0 to-read 3.63 1930 The Myth of the Twentieth Century: The Myth of the 20th Century; Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts; An Evaluation of the Spiritual-Intellectual Confrontations of Our Age
author: Alfred Rosenberg
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1930
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Who Is Colin Kaepernick? (Who HQ Now)]]> 60023501 Learn about the inspiring life and career of professional football player and activist Colin Kaepernick in the new Who HQ Now format featuring newsmakers and trending topics.

On August 14, 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began a protest when he refused to stand for the national anthem. He wanted to make a statement about the oppression of people of color in the United States after he had spent a summer speaking out against police brutality. After playing professional football for six seasons, that would become Colin Kaepernick's last season in the NFL, but he would go on to become one of the most prominent activists of today. Colin believed that speaking out against racism was far bigger than football, and other athletes agreed with him. Today, hundreds of athletes -- from high schools to professional teams -- still kneel during the national anthem to protest the treatment of people of color in America. This is Colin Kaepernick's story.]]> 54 Lakita Wilson 0593519426 Lisa 3 A Short, Positive Biography, no cap

This short biography was enlightening about Kaepernick. I didn't realize a soldier's suggestion started Kaepernick's respectful protest. Things I wish the author would've stated: A short reminder of who the victims were that started Kaepernick's protest, nothing too graphic as it is a book for kids. Also, I bristled somewhat at Kaepernick's request to have an early American flag removed from Nike due to slavery. It's not a deal breaker, but it's not quite the same as the Confederate flag. Lastly, I would have liked to know exactly why he chose to change stadiums for recruiting him after he won his lawsuit. That seemed odd, but overall a good biography. There could've been some more nuance in how the author phrased certain things about the police, like saying 'some police officers' or 'many.' ]]> 4.31 Who Is Colin Kaepernick? (Who HQ Now)
author: Lakita Wilson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
A Short, Positive Biography, no cap

This short biography was enlightening about Kaepernick. I didn't realize a soldier's suggestion started Kaepernick's respectful protest. Things I wish the author would've stated: A short reminder of who the victims were that started Kaepernick's protest, nothing too graphic as it is a book for kids. Also, I bristled somewhat at Kaepernick's request to have an early American flag removed from Nike due to slavery. It's not a deal breaker, but it's not quite the same as the Confederate flag. Lastly, I would have liked to know exactly why he chose to change stadiums for recruiting him after he won his lawsuit. That seemed odd, but overall a good biography. There could've been some more nuance in how the author phrased certain things about the police, like saying 'some police officers' or 'many.'
]]> Wren Martin Ruins It All 61070530
His greatest opponent: Leo Reyes, vice president and all-around annoyingly perfect student, who has a solution to Wren¡¯s budget problem. A sponsorship from Buddy, the anonymous ¡°not a dating¡± app sweeping the nation. Now instead of a dance-less senior year, Wren is in charge of the biggest dance Rapture High has ever seen. He¡¯s even secretly signed up for the app. For research, of course.

But when Wren develops capital F-Feelings for his anonymous match, things spiral out of control. Wren decided a long time ago that dating while asexual wasn¡¯t worth the hassle. With the Dance rapidly approaching, he isn¡¯t sure what will kill him first: the dance, his relationship drama, or the growing realization that Leo¡¯s perfect life might not be so perfect after all.

In an unforgettably quippy and endearingly chaotic voice, narrator Wren Martin explores the complexities of falling in love while asexual.]]> 352 Amanda DeWitt 1682635988 Lisa 0 currently-reading 4.23 2023 Wren Martin Ruins It All
author: Amanda DeWitt
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Head Cases (PAR Unit, #1) 222453320
Head Cases follows an enigmatic group of FBI agents as they hunt down a murderer seeking his own justice in this electrifying¡ªand commercial¡ªseries debut.

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He also has a blind spot on the human side of investigations, a blindness that sometimes even includes people in his own life, like his beloved seven-year-old daughter Camila. Gardner and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI¡¯s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.

When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action. A second victim establishes a pattern, and the murderer begins leaving a trail of clues and riddles especially for Gardner. And while the PAR team is usually relegated to working cold cases from behind a desk, the investigation puts them on the road and into the public eye, following in the footsteps of a killer.

Along with Gardner, PAR consists of a mathematician, a weapons expert, a computer analyst, and their leader, a career agent. Each of them must use every skill they have to solve the riddle of the killer¡¯s identity. But with the perpetrator somehow learning more and more about the team at PAR, can they protect themselves and their families¡­before it¡¯s too late?

With an enigmatic case that will keep readers on the edge of their seats and a thoroughly engaging ensemble cast, John McMahon¡¯s Head Cases is a triumph.]]> 10 John McMahon 1250384273 Lisa 0 to-read 4.02 2025 Head Cases (PAR Unit, #1)
author: John McMahon
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Vocation and a Voice: Stories]]> 274580
Emil Toth, biographer of Kate Chopin as well as editor of her diaries and letters, discusses the author's style and the inspiration for her stories and provides insight into Chopin's controversial career in this long-awaited classic.
--back cover

A vocation and a voice ;
Elizabeth Stock's one story ;
Two portraits ;
An idle fellow ;
A mental suggestion ;
An egyptian cigarette ;
The white eagle ;
The story of an hour ;
Two summers and two souls ;
The night came slowly ;
Juanita ;
The unexpected ;
Her letters ;
The kiss ;
Suzette ;
The falling in love of Fedora ;
The recocery ;
The blind man ;
An easter day conversation ;
Lilacs ;
Ti demon (a horse story) ;
Ti demon ;
The godmother]]> 202 Kate Chopin 0140390782 Lisa 0 to-read 3.90 1991 A Vocation and a Voice: Stories
author: Kate Chopin
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Jane and Prudence 2334777 240 Barbara Pym Lisa 0 to-read 3.89 1953 Jane and Prudence
author: Barbara Pym
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bodies Are Cool 55333940 This cheerful love-your-body picture book for preschoolers is an exuberant read-aloud with bright and friendly illustrations to pore over.

From the acclaimed creator of Dancing at the Pity Party and Roaring Softly, this picture book is a pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Highlighting the various skin tones, body shapes, and hair types is just the beginning in this truly inclusive book. With its joyful illustrations and encouraging refrain, it will instill body acceptance and confidence in the youngest of readers. "My body, your body, every different kind of body! All of them are good bodies! BODIES ARE COOL!"]]> 32 Tyler Feder 0593112628 Lisa 2 Bodies are gross actually 4.58 2021 Bodies Are Cool
author: Tyler Feder
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves:
review:
Bodies are gross actually
]]> <![CDATA[A Boy Called Bat (A Boy Called Bat, #1)]]> 30653731
But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he¡¯s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.]]> 208 Elana K. Arnold 0062445820 Lisa 3 4.04 2017 A Boy Called Bat (A Boy Called Bat, #1)
author: Elana K. Arnold
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father]]> 207294155 The untold story behind the hit true crime podcast The Clearing, this unforgettable memoir traces one daughter¡¯s moving quest to understand her larger-than-life childhood as she searches for the truth about her father, the serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards. One evening in 2009, April Balascio was searching online, as she had been every night, for unsolved murders in the towns her family had lived growing up, when she stumbled across the latest investigations into the ¡°Sweetheart Murders¡± cold case. All at once, the buried memories of her father¡¯s dark history were awakened, and she knew she had to take action. She picked up the phone to call a detective and the rest is infamous true crime history. In her unflinching memoir, Balascio bravely reveals an astonishing tale of a lifetime of manipulation, unexplained upheavals, and silent fear. Some part of her had always known what her father was capable of, but the full truth of how she came to these revelations is as riveting as it is quietly terrifying. Through searing storytelling, dedicated research, and intimate insight, Raised by a Serial Killer is a gripping, courageous memoir unlike any other.]]> 352 April Balascio 1982177039 Lisa 0 currently-reading 3.82 2024 Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father
author: April Balascio
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Seven Pillars of Wisdom 61195394 T.E. Lawrence Lisa 0 currently-reading 4.00 Seven Pillars of Wisdom
author: T.E. Lawrence
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War]]> 8908
Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, "By excluding the human factor, aren't we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn't the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as 'the living dead'?"

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.]]> 342 Max Brooks 0307346609 Lisa 3 4.02 2006 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
author: Max Brooks
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
Parts were really good. Others were redundant. The book could've been 25 percent shorter and would've been just as good, probably better. The author is somewhat biased in favor of Israel.
]]> <![CDATA[Dirty Christmas (Slayers Hockey, #5.5)]]> 61395304 DIRTY CHRISTMAS is a sexy, feel-good standalone novella, set in the Slayers Hockey world.

As car-jackings go, I know I lucked out. But still.

Christmas is rough.

Now I¡¯m stuck in some tiny twinkle-light town with my plans to avoid the holiday hype blown to *holly* hell.

I¡¯m starting to suspect there¡¯s no escaping this lump of coal when a feisty redhead lands in my lap.

Suddenly, I know exactly what I want for Christmas.

Now I just have to convince her I¡¯m not the naughty player she thinks I am and to give me a chance to score a permanent spot on her nice list.


**Dirty Christmas was previously published as part of the Scoring Over the Holidays collection**]]> 82 Mira Lyn Kelly Lisa 3 4.04 Dirty Christmas (Slayers Hockey, #5.5)
author: Mira Lyn Kelly
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.04
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
I hate to admit I read this and that I kind of enjoyed it. I empathize with the male protagonist being an orphan. It was free on Google play books
]]> <![CDATA[Dissertation on Slavery With a Proposal for the Gradual Abolition of it, in the State of Virginia]]> 19221614 39 St. George Tucker Lisa 3 3.43 2011 Dissertation on Slavery With a Proposal for the Gradual Abolition of it, in the State of Virginia
author: St. George Tucker
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
"Slavery bad, but they not like us. Maybe they'll go elsewhere once they've paid their dues to their owners via indentured servitude."
]]> <![CDATA[Blue Christmas (Weezie and Bebe Mysteries, #3)]]> 56065 194 Mary Kay Andrews 0060837349 Lisa 4 dollar-tree-book-club 3.74 2006 Blue Christmas (Weezie and Bebe Mysteries, #3)
author: Mary Kay Andrews
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: dollar-tree-book-club
review:
Read in two sittings. Pretty predictable but it's such a cute story that I didn't mind. The Christmas dinner was hilarious.
]]> <![CDATA[Bear Stays Up for Christmas (Bear Books)]]> 756342 "The day before Christmas,

snuggled on his floor,

Bear sleeps soundly

with a great big snore...."

Bear's friends are determined to keep Bear awake for Christmas! So they wake Bear up and have him help them find a Christmas tree, bake cakes, hang up stockings, and sing Christmas songs. Bear stays up -- by discovering that giving is one of the best Christmas presents!

How a SURPRISE visit from someone very special gives Bear and his friends a Christmas to remember makes an enchanting holiday story for young readers. With Karma Wilson's memorable text and Jane Chapman's glowing illustrations, Bear Stays Up for Christmas is a book to cherish throughout the year.

]]> 40 Karma Wilson 0689852789 Lisa 2 4.28 2004 Bear Stays Up for Christmas (Bear Books)
author: Karma Wilson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2004
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
I listened to this short read. Would probably be better as an illustrated story.
]]> The Weirdies 55951995 This is a very, very sad story. The characters suffer terrible tragedies. People die in unspeakable ways. Only a truly horrible person would be amused by their misfortune.

Nevertheless, it is kind of funny.

My advice is that you listen to this all by yourself. People can be judgy.

If you¡¯re a fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Edward Scissorhands, or the darkest bits of Roald Dahl, the Weirdie triplets - Barnacle, Garlic, and Melancholy - will feel like old friends. After being left behind when the entire estate of Deadeye Manor is packed up for a doomed vacation cruise, the triplets have to learn how to fend for themselves. (When a staff of 200 servants has taken care of your every need, even brushing your own teeth is a mountainous task.) From their time at the Our Lady of the Perpetual Side-Eye Orphanage to their adoptive home on picture-perfect Sunshine Circle, the Weirdies have a lot to learn about the world...but, at least, they have each other.

?2020 Michael Buckley (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.]]> 2 Michael Buckley Lisa 4 3.99 2020 The Weirdies
author: Michael Buckley
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
This is like Series of Unfortunate Events , but good!
]]> Make It Scream, Make It Burn 43521617 New York Times bestselling author of The Recovering and The Empathy Exams. A combination of memoir, criticism, and journalism, Make It Scream, Make It Burn is Leslie Jamison's profound exploration of the oceanic depths of longing and the reverberations of obsession.

Among Jamison's subjects are 52 Blue, deemed "the loneliest whale in the world"; the eerie specter of reincarnated children; devotees of an online existence called Second Life, to the exclusion of their real lives; Civil War photography; and an entire museum dedicated to relationship breakups. Through these essays and through forays into her own obsessions and longings, Jamison delves into the nature of storytelling itself. We wonder alongside her whether it is ever really possible to hear someone else's story without somehow making it our own, without seeing it through the cracked windows of our private selves.

Throughout these essays, Jamison, who has frequently been compared to Joan Didion and Susan Sontag, shines the spotlight every bit as uncomfortably on herself as she does on others. Unlike the standard journalistic practice, Jamison acknowledges her emotional investment in her subjects, always with utmost clarity and unwavering empathy. In her view, true art cannot be made any other way. Indeed, this refusal to hide¡ªthis emotional frankness¡ªis precisely the quality that makes Jamison's questing and irrepressible voice impossible not to fall in love with.]]> 272 Leslie Jamison 0316259632 Lisa 3 3.92 2019 Make It Scream, Make It Burn
author: Leslie Jamison
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
The author excels at the personal essays about her life experiences, but the ones not directly relating to her were only adequate.
]]> <![CDATA[Home For Christmas (Bar V5 Dude Ranch #1; Copper Mountain Christmas #2)]]> 18743147 166 Melissa McClone 1940296080 Lisa 4 3.82 2013 Home For Christmas (Bar V5 Dude Ranch #1; Copper Mountain Christmas #2)
author: Melissa McClone
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
As this genre goes, it was a particularly good romance with characters you actually care about.
]]> The Call of Cthulu 208438434 44 H.P. Lovecraft Lisa 3 3.55 The Call of Cthulu
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.55
book published:
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:
Considering how many people love this book, I thought it would be better. It just didn't do it for me. The mega racism even for Lovecraft's time was almost funny and the image of Cthulu following a yacht was kinda comical.
]]> <![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 Lisa 0 to-read 4.37 2021 The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
author: John Green
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Resting Scrooge Face 63077284 From USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a festive short romance about old flames and mistaken identities.

After a bad breakup, Nola wants nothing to do with Christmas, especially in her quaint hometown of Bright Harbor, Maine. Infuriatingly charming and cheery, Nola¡¯s surroundings only worsen her sour mood.

To make matters worse, Caleb, the boy who broke her heart years ago, is all grown up and still living in town. While doing her best to avoid him, Nola bumps into the local mailman, who gives her a mysterious letter. And when she finds that the writer is a fellow Scrooge, she can¡¯t help but feel her spirit lifting.

Nola writes back to her new pen pal¡ªwho, unbeknownst to Nola, is none other than Caleb. When Caleb gets a response hand delivered by the mailman, he¡¯s intrigued by the mystery sender. A friendly correspondence develops¡ªand quickly turns flirtatious.

Although Nola and Caleb claim they can¡¯t stand each other, they can¡¯t deny the simmering attraction that brought them together in the first place.

Can these nameless pen pals write their own love story¡ªor will they be too caught up with the ghosts of their Christmases past to find a future together?]]> 80 Meghan Quinn 166251042X Lisa 3 Very sweet

A cute Christmas novella. Fluffy, Hallmarkian, but overall satisfying. I loved the letters, old-fashioned and harkens back to a time pre-email ( when people still knew how to write.]]> 3.60 2022 Resting Scrooge Face
author: Meghan Quinn
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:
Very sweet

A cute Christmas novella. Fluffy, Hallmarkian, but overall satisfying. I loved the letters, old-fashioned and harkens back to a time pre-email ( when people still knew how to write.
]]> <![CDATA[Blue Christmas (Blonde Barracuda, #1.5)]]> 16177814 74 Taylor Lee Lisa 2 It was OK

They were giving this away 12/15/24, but realized I had grabbed this novella maybe last year? I haven't read any of the other books in this series, so I wasn't invested in the characters to begin with. I'm not a wokescold, or at least, I generally am not....but the attitude of the author towards the Koreans seems somewhat stereotypical. Sometimes stereotypes ring true, so I don't know how much is condescending and how much is true that Koreans want Westerners for endowments they don't have, or believe America is the place to be. Some of it just seemed ....eh. The main characters' romantic scenes were OK. The story was OK. It was all ho hum, but not full bah humbug.]]> 3.89 2012 Blue Christmas (Blonde Barracuda, #1.5)
author: Taylor Lee
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves:
review:
It was OK

They were giving this away 12/15/24, but realized I had grabbed this novella maybe last year? I haven't read any of the other books in this series, so I wasn't invested in the characters to begin with. I'm not a wokescold, or at least, I generally am not....but the attitude of the author towards the Koreans seems somewhat stereotypical. Sometimes stereotypes ring true, so I don't know how much is condescending and how much is true that Koreans want Westerners for endowments they don't have, or believe America is the place to be. Some of it just seemed ....eh. The main characters' romantic scenes were OK. The story was OK. It was all ho hum, but not full bah humbug.
]]> <![CDATA[Vampyroteuthis Infernalis: A Treatise, with a Report by the Institut Scientifique de Recherche Paranaturaliste, Vol. 23]]> 13795345 112 Vil¨¦m Flusser 0816678227 Lisa 3 4.14 1993 Vampyroteuthis Infernalis: A Treatise, with a Report by the Institut Scientifique de Recherche Paranaturaliste, Vol. 23
author: Vil¨¦m Flusser
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves:
review:
Octopi apparently are not as different to humans as one would think. Interesting, but not a beach read.
]]> Penitence 211003837 For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It¡¯s a suspenseful, addictive page-turner filled with literary insight that compels readers to consider whether each of us is more than the worst thing we¡¯ve ever done.

When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn¡¯t just legal counsel¡ªshe¡¯s also the mother of Angie¡¯s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.

Spanning decades, from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of post-9/11 New York City and back again, Kristin Koval¡¯s debut novel Penitence is an examination of the complexities of familial loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness.]]> 320 Kristin Koval 1250342996 Lisa 0 to-read 3.68 2025 Penitence
author: Kristin Koval
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Outside Circle: A Graphic Novel]]> 23130299
Pete, a young Aboriginal man wrapped up in gang violence, lives with his younger brother, Joey, and his mother who is a heroin addict. One night, Pete and his mother¡¯s boyfriend, Dennis, get into a big fight, which sends Dennis to the morgue and Pete to jail. Initially, Pete keeps up ties to his crew, until a jail brawl forces him to realize the negative influence he has become on Joey, which encourages him to begin a process of rehabilitation that includes traditional Aboriginal healing circles and ceremonies.

Powerful, courageous, and deeply moving, The Outside Circle is drawn from the author¡¯s twenty years of work and research on healing and reconciliation of gang-affiliated or incarcerated Aboriginal men.]]> 128 Patti Laboucane-Benson 1770899375 Lisa 4 4.23 2015 The Outside Circle: A Graphic Novel
author: Patti Laboucane-Benson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
I enjoyed this graphic novel of a young man sentenced to prison who is eventually sent to a program for Indigenous men and learns about his roots, generational trauma, and healing. The book is based on an actual program in Canada for First Nations People in prison.
]]> After the Rain 53590505 Nnedi Okorafor¡¯s story of Chioma, a young Nigerian-American woman whose destiny is revealed during a furious rainstorm¡ªnow in paperback, with bonus content including Q&As with the creative team and never-before-seen art and designs!After the Rain is an adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor¡¯s short story, ¡°On the Road.¡± The adaptation, written by John Jennings and illustrated by David Brame, begins in Nigeria during a powerful and unexpected storm. While visiting her grandmother, a young Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at the door and is horrified by what she sees¡ªa young boy with a severe head wound is standing on the doorstep.? ? When he touches Chioma, his hand burns like fire and just as suddenly as he arrived, he disappears. Her grandmother comes down to see what is wrong and chastises Chioma for opening the door for a stranger. Outside there are only footprints in the mud which vanish in the same manner as their owner. This event sets off a chain of mysterious occurrences that become more and more terrifying. Chioma knows that something is wrong, and that the boy has ¡°marked¡± her in some way. . . . Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive.]]> 128 Nnedi Okorafor 1683358341 Lisa 0 to-read 3.65 2021 After the Rain
author: Nnedi Okorafor
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness]]> 7793990 264 Olivier Martini 1551119285 Lisa 0 to-read 4.20 2010 Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness
author: Olivier Martini
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> If I Go Missing 45430039 If I Go Missing is derived from excerpts of a letter that went viral and was also the basis of a documentary film. In her letter, Jonnie calls out the authorities for neglecting to immediately investigate missing Indigenous people and urges them to not treat me as the Indigenous person I am proud to be if she were to be reported missing. Indigenous artist Neal Shannacappo provides the artwork. Through his illustrations, he imagines a situation in which a young Indigenous woman does disappear, portraying the reaction of her community, her friends, the police, and media.

-- "Journal"]]> 64 Brianna Jonnie 1459414519 Lisa 0 to-read 4.49 2019 If I Go Missing
author: Brianna Jonnie
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wild Geese 348946
Today, Wild Geese is widely recognized as a milestone in the development of modern realist fiction. Set on the windswept prairies, it is a story of love and tyranny, of destruction and survival, told with vigour and lyric beauty. It is also a poignant evocation of loneliness, which, like the call of the wild geese, is beyond human warmth, beyond tragedy, ¡°an endless quest.¡±]]> 312 Martha Ostenso 0771099940 Lisa 0 to-read 3.59 1925 Wild Geese
author: Martha Ostenso
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1925
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Surviving the City (Surviving the City, #1)]]> 41215879 Surviving the City, is a story about womanhood, friendship, colonialism, and the anguish of a missing loved one. Miikwan and Dez are best friends. Miikwan is Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Together, the teens navigate the challenges of growing up in an urban landscape ¨C they¡¯re so close, they even completed their Berry Fast together. However, when Dez¡¯s grandmother becomes too sick, Dez is told she can¡¯t stay with her anymore. With the threat of a group home looming, Dez can¡¯t bring herself to go home and disappears. Miikwan is devastated, and the wound of her missing mother resurfaces. Will Dez¡¯s community find her before it¡¯s too late? Will Miikwan be able to cope if they don¡¯t?]]> 56 Tasha Spillett 1553797566 Lisa 0 to-read 4.06 2019 Surviving the City (Surviving the City, #1)
author: Tasha Spillett
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story]]> 13432146 40 David Alexander Robertson Lisa 0 to-read 4.15 2011 Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story
author: David Alexander Robertson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pemmican Wars (A Girl Called Echo, #1)]]> 35545695
Pemmican Wars is the first graphic novel in a new series, A Girl Called Echo, by Governor General Award¨Cwinning writer, and author of Highwater Press¡¯ The Seven Teaching Stories, Katherena Vermette.]]> 48 Katherena Vermette 1553796780 Lisa 0 to-read 3.71 2017 Pemmican Wars (A Girl Called Echo, #1)
author: Katherena Vermette
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story]]> 25800893
This book is a true account. Content may be disturbing to some readers.]]> 30 David Alexander Robertson 155379544X Lisa 0 to-read 4.17 2015 Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story
author: David Alexander Robertson
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 51496 139 Robert Louis Stevenson 0451528956 Lisa 0 to-read 3.84 1886 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1886
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals]]> 102748 Rules for Radicals is Saul Alinsky's impassioned counsel to young radicals on how to effect constructive social change and know ¡°the difference between being a realistic radical and being a rhetorical one.¡± Written in the midst of radical political developments whose direction Alinsky was one of the first to question, this volume exhibits his style at its best.
Like Thomas Paine before him, Alinsky was able to combine, both in his person and his writing, the intensity of political engagement with an absolute insistence on rational political discourse and adherence to the American democratic tradition.

Contents

The Purpose
Of Means and Ends
A Word about Words
The Education of an Organizer
Communication
In the Beginning
Tactics
The Genesis of Tactic Proxy
The Way Ahead]]> 196 Saul D. Alinsky 0679721134 Lisa 3 3.74 1971 Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
author: Saul D. Alinsky
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1971
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/18
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves:
review:
Some of Alinsky's tactics seem a bit shifty in withholding the truth from a community to motivate them, or the disgusting stunt at the opera. Pragmatism is often necessary and I like how he wanted to bring people together and allow events to radicalize them. Honestly, the book is not some socialist/ communist manifesto that the right tried to say it was. Overall, Rules for Radicals was OK.
]]> <![CDATA[I'm Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America]]> 203751774
More than a million women lose a pregnancy each year, whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination for medical reasons. For most, the experience often casts a shadow of isolation, shame, and blame. In the aftermath of the 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade, 25 million women of childbearing age live in states with laws that restrict access to abortion, including for those who never wanted to end their pregnancies. How did we get here?

Rebecca Little and Colleen Long, childhood friends who grew up to be journalists, both experienced late-term loss, and together they take an incisive, deeply reported look at the issue, working to shatter taboos that have made so many pregnant women feel ashamed and alone. They trace the experience of pregnancy loss and reproductive care from America's founding to the present day, exposing the deep impact made by a dangerous tangle of laws, politics, medicine, racism, and misogyny. Combining powerful personal narratives with exhaustive research, I'm Sorry for My Loss is a comprehensive examination on how pregnancy loss came to be so stigmatized and politicized, and why a system of more compassionate care is critical for everyone.]]> 496 Rebecca Little 1728292786 Lisa 0 to-read 4.37 2024 I'm Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America
author: Rebecca Little
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/18
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Grace I Never Knew: One Man's Journey to Finding True Grace]]> 41883922 - Are you struggling with life and what it has to offer you?
- Are you a Christian having challenges with your spiritual walk?
- Are you struggling to find your identity, place, and purpose in
God's Kingdom?
Just like you can be inside a grocery store and still go hungry, you can be in church all of your life and still miss Jesus. Mathew Joseph, a Pastor's Kid, writes about his journey in finding true grace; the kind that he never knew growing up in church. He shares how he ultimately learned to understand and experience true grace resulting in uncommon blessings!
In this book, you will discover
- Salvation is a gift
- Righteousness is a gift
- Justification is a gift
None of these gifts can be earned! All of these gifts are yours when you believe, receive, and accept God's precious gift of Jesus Christ into your heart freely. God has already promised you and even made a way for you to have an abundant and happy life in Christ!
The quality of your life depends on how you receive and use these gifts in your life. It starts in your mind. The way you believe and accept these gifts, in your mind, will drive your attitude and behavior. It will
also create an awesome environment for you to thrive and experience]]> 110 Mathew Joseph 099983584X Lisa 0 to-read 0.0 The Grace I Never Knew: One Man's Journey to Finding True Grace
author: Mathew Joseph
name: Lisa
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How Open A Chess Game [Successfull Guide]: how to open a chess game]]> 77616673 47 Mathew Joseph Lisa 0 to-read 0.0 How Open A Chess Game [Successfull Guide]: how to open a chess game
author: Mathew Joseph
name: Lisa
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Grey Mound And Other Poems: A Bouquet of Thoughts And Sentiments]]> 80855043 88 Mathew Joseph Lisa 0 to-read 0.0 The Grey Mound And Other Poems: A Bouquet of Thoughts And Sentiments
author: Mathew Joseph
name: Lisa
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/17
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review:

]]> Jesus: Simplified 218130994 34 Mathew Joseph Lisa 0 to-read 0.0 Jesus: Simplified
author: Mathew Joseph
name: Lisa
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/17
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[THE ASPIRANT: Memoirs of a Monk Turned Civil Servant]]> 58235080 267 Mathew Joseph 9354388094 Lisa 0 to-read 4.30 THE ASPIRANT: Memoirs of a Monk Turned Civil Servant
author: Mathew Joseph
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The King in Yellow 32277642 The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers is a masterful collection of short stories that will transport you to a realm of eerie mystery, madness, and supernatural horror, where the boundaries between reality and the unknown are blurred.

The book is named after a play with the same title which recurs as a motif through some of the stories. The first half of the book features highly esteemed weird stories, and the book has been described by critics such as E. F. Bleiler, S. T. Joshi and T. E. D. Klein as a classic in the field of the supernatural. There are ten stories, the first four of which ("The Repairer of Reputations", "The Mask", "In the Court of the Dragon", and "The Yellow Sign") mention The King in Yellow, a forbidden play which induces despair or madness in those who read it. "The Yellow Sign" inspired a film of the same name released in 2001.

Stories:
- The Repairer of Reputations
- The Mask
- In the Court of the Dragon
- The Yellow Sign
- The Demoiselle D'ys
- The Prophets' Paradise
- The Street of the Four Winds
- The Street of the First Shell
- The Street of Our Lady of the Fields
- Rue Barree]]> 224 Robert W. Chambers 153905344X Lisa 3 3.58 1895 The King in Yellow
author: Robert W. Chambers
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1895
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:
Overall, a solid book of stories, some good, some dull. I think I liked the last 2 romantic stories as much if not more than the supernatural ones.
]]> <![CDATA[Dreaming of Autumn Skies (The Sutherland Series, #3)]]> 207294145 A young girl does whatever¡¯s necessary to take back her agency when she is sent to live with her controlling grandfather in this atmospheric novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Flowers in the Attic and the Landry series¡ªnow popular Lifetime movies.With her mother deceased and her father remarried, Caroline is forced to live with her domineering grandfather. But having endured so much loss and cruelty in her young life, she is determined to not let her suffering to have been in vain. Soon, Caroline embarks on a campaign to reclaim her own power and win over the most influential person in her family. But when she finds herself in a heated rivalry with her uncle as they compete for her grandfather¡¯s favor, Caroline stops at nothing to build the life¡ªand the independence¡ªshe so desperately dreams of.]]> 288 V.C. Andrews 166801582X Lisa 3 3.34 Dreaming of Autumn Skies (The Sutherland Series, #3)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.34
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
review:
I thought I had seen the trajectory of this novel to the end, but it was a bit surprising. By now all V.C. Andrews have a Bingo card of situations, but the books still have me hooked. I started reading FITA when I was 12 ( quite a bit different from the 1987 film, which I loved). Now I'm 46 and still reading these things. Sad! I enjoyed this series.
]]> State of Paradise 195790688
Along with her husband, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author returns to her mother's house in the Florida town where she grew up. As the summer heat sets in, she wrestles with family secrets and memories of her own troubled youth. Her mercurial sister, who lives next door, spends a growing amount of time using MIND¡¯S EYE, a virtual reality device provided to citizens of the town by ELECTRA, a tech company in South Florida, during the doldrums of a recent pandemic. But it¡¯s not just the ominous cats, her mother¡¯s burgeoning cult, or the fact that her belly button has become an increasingly deep cavern¨Dsomething is off in the town, and it probably has to do with the posters of missing citizens spread throughout the streets.

During a violent rainstorm, the writer¡¯s sister goes missing for several days. When she returns, sprawled on their mother¡¯s lawn and speaking of another dimension, the writer is forced to investigate not only what happened to her sister and the other missing people but also the uncanny connections between ELECTRA, the famous author, and reality itself.

A sticky, rain-soaked reckoning with the elusive nature of storytelling, Laura van den Berg¡¯s Florida Diary is an interlocking and page-turning whirlwind. With inimitable control and thrilling style, she reaches deep into the void and returns with a story far stranger than either reality or fiction.]]> 224 Laura van den Berg 037461220X Lisa 0 to-read 3.41 2024 State of Paradise
author: Laura van den Berg
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Deep 42201962 Yetu holds the memories for her people.

Her people, the wajinru ¨C water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slavers ¨C live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one. Save the historian.

Yetu remembers for all the wajinru, and the memories ¨C painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so she flees to the surface, escaping the memories and the expectations and the responsibilities ¨C and discovers a world the wajinru left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past ¨C and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they¡¯ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identities ¨C and own who they really are.

Inspired by the hit song by clipping. (comprised of Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes), The Deep will resonate long after the last page is turned.]]> 166 Rivers Solomon 1534439862 Lisa 0 to-read 3.78 2019 The Deep
author: Rivers Solomon
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space]]> 199798785
On January 28, 1986, just seventy-three seconds into flight, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board. Millions of Americans witnessed the tragic deaths of a crew including New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Like 9/11 or JFK¡¯s assassination, the Challenger disaster is a defining moment in 20th-century history¡ªyet the details of what took place that day, and why, have largely been forgotten. Until now.

Based on extensive archival records and meticulous, original reporting, Challenger follows a handful of central protagonists¡ªincluding each of the seven members of the doomed crew¡ªthrough the years leading up to the accident, a detailed account of the tragedy itself, and into the investigation that followed. It¡¯s a tale of optimism and promise undermined by political cynicism and cost-cutting in the interests of burnishing national prestige; of hubris and heroism; and of an investigation driven by leakers and whistleblowers determined to bring the truth to light. Throughout, there are the ominous warning signs of a tragedy to come, recognized but then ignored, and ultimately kept from the public.

Higginbotham reveals the history of the shuttle program, the lives of men and women whose stories have been overshadowed by the disaster as well as the designers, engineers, and test pilots who struggled against the odds to get the first shuttle into space.]]> 563 Adam Higginbotham 198217661X Lisa 0 to-read 4.52 2024 Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
author: Adam Higginbotham
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lost House 211332312 In Melissa Larsen's The Lost House comes the mesmerizing story of a young woman with a haunting past who returns to her ancestral home in Iceland to investigate a gruesome murder in her family.

Forty years ago, a young woman and her infant daughter were found buried in the cold Icelandic snow, lying together as peacefully as though sleeping. Except the mother¡¯s throat had been slashed and the infant drowned. The case was never solved. There were no arrests, no conviction. Just a suspicion turned into a the husband did it. When he took his son and fled halfway across the world to California, it was proof enough of his guilt.

Now, nearly half a century later and a year after his death, his granddaughter, Agnes, is ready to clear her grandfather¡¯s name once and for all. Still recovering from his death and a devastating injury, Agnes wants nothing more than an excuse to escape the shambles of her once-stable life¡ªwhich is why she so readily accepts true crime expert Nora Carver¡¯s invitation to be interviewed for her popular podcast. Agnes packs a bag and hops on a last-minute flight to the remote town of Bifr?st, Iceland, where Nora is staying, where Agnes¡¯s father grew up, and where, supposedly, her grandfather slaughtered his wife and infant daughter.

Is it merely coincidence that a local girl goes missing the very same weekend Agnes arrives? Suddenly, Agnes and Nora¡¯s investigation is turned upside down, and everyone in the small Icelandic town is once again a suspect. Seeking to unearth old and new truths alike, Agnes finds herself drawn into a web of secrets that threaten the redemption she is hell-bent on delivering, and even her life¡ªdiscovering how far a person will go to protect their family, their safety, and their secrets.

Set against an unforgiving Icelandic winter landscape, The Lost House is a chilling and razor-sharp thriller packed with jaw-dropping twists that will leave you breathless.]]> 352 Melissa Larsen 1250332885 Lisa 0 to-read 3.77 2025 The Lost House
author: Melissa Larsen
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon:: A Tale of Southern Slave Life]]> 27852103 70 H. Mattison 1453653708 Lisa 5
The horrors of slavery never quite end in the book, such as begging for money to buy her mother for 1000.00, roughly 30 k in modern money,]]> 5.00 2012 Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon:: A Tale of Southern Slave Life
author: H. Mattison
name: Lisa
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/27
date added: 2024/10/26
shelves:
review:
The true story of Louisa Piquet's days in slavery is honestly one of the most depressing books I have ever read. The inhumanity of a not so distant past in the annals of American history is a stark reminder of what happens when you dehumanize another race of humans. With the delicateness of the time, Louisa tells a horrifying story of how she came to only be an 8th Black through widespread rape and how she herself became concubine to a cruel master.

The horrors of slavery never quite end in the book, such as begging for money to buy her mother for 1000.00, roughly 30 k in modern money,
]]> <![CDATA[Halloweird: Classic Stories from the Season of Samhain (British Library Hardback Classics)]]> 220074561 320 Johnny Mains 0712355022 Lisa 0 to-read 4.00 Halloweird: Classic Stories from the Season of Samhain (British Library Hardback Classics)
author: Johnny Mains
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Into the Land of the Unicorns (The Unicorn Chronicles, #1)]]> 114701 One unicorn dwells on Earth.
Hundreds fight in Luster.
Their legends are recorded in
THE UNICORN CHRONICLES

Into the Land of the Unicorns
As each chime sounds, Cara climbs faster up the steep bell tower. Eleven! She must be on the roof when the next bell tolls. Twelve! With a deep breath, and only half believing she will survive, Cara jumps off the church roof and into Luster, land of the unicorns.

In Luster, Cara meets many wonderful creatures, but the most magnificent of all is Lightfoot, a rebellious young unicorn. Cara's band of friends comes to include a hairy creature named the Dimblethum and the monekey-like Squijim. Together, they set out to reach the Unicorn Queen before the mysterious man who is following them does - to prevent the destruction of all unicorns forever.

"Coville weaves traditional unicorn myths into his accessible fantasy...[with] an ending that hints at the next adventure." Booklist]]> 176 Bruce Coville 0439108381 Lisa 4 4.07 1994 Into the Land of the Unicorns (The Unicorn Chronicles, #1)
author: Bruce Coville
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/22
shelves:
review:

]]> West by God 200241518 310 Tyler Bell Lisa 4
The book starts somewhat slow, and one might think it's a loose regurgitation of A Time to Kill through the eyes of a reporter. When I say the book starts slow, it isn't boring, per se, just not page turning until midway in, where the story racks up increasingly until the end.

The heroine, a bit of a white savior with a twist, is named Adelaide Stevenson, not to be confused with Adelei Stevenson, and the male author can perhaps be forgiven for certain tropes that give away that Adelaide is written as how a man would think women think.

When we first meet Adelaide, she is in the middle of being sick, comically in the men's bathroom, to ward off women asking if she's OK. When workmen come in, one asks her if she's OK, and Adelaide, fresh from emesis, wonders if he's handsome (eye roll).

Adelaide's Black adopted mother knows Adelaide is pregnant before she or a pregnancy test can confirm so, female magic or the glow of a woman bearing the fruit of connubial bliss, I cannot say.

Adelaide is afraid of nothing, rebuffing having a man around when doing a report out of town of a murder ( I think most women would be somewhat concerned for their safety, but whatever).


We are led to believe the murder of the young adult in this book is racially charged, a Black man raped, hanged, and sexually mutilated by white men. But no, the Whites have been framed in this predominantly Black town ( see, why I say she's a white savior with a twist?).

Why is the man murdered referred to as a woman as she is killed? Because she was a woman, a trans woman in the early 2000s, living in rural West Virginia. As the story progresses, the book becomes a DEI whodunnit, with a colorful cast of characters, a little bit of the supernatural, and moments I held my breath in suspense.

The book does seem at times a monument to White liberal virtue signaling, but overall, the elements of the book where sensitivity is needed are well-crafted. Apart from naming a majority Black town Targrady, that is.

The horrific death of Julie is not drawn out with excessive gore or length. The several Black trans characters in the story are all respected by the author, along with their pronouns. Even the poor White family of the accused murderers is written with nuance.

What I would say were the flaws in the novel is that the dream sequences were a bit too lengthy even though they come together in the end, and maybe ask a few women regarding female characters if this or that seems plausible.

Lastly, it's always great when one can hear an author read his work as it sounded to himself when he wrote it. Tyler Bell has a voice for audiobooks, doing the voices of his characters as he meant them to be.]]> 4.43 West by God
author: Tyler Bell
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/22
date added: 2024/10/22
shelves:
review:
I came upon this novel expecting to be bored and to poke fun at sophomoric writing. I was pleasantly surprised that this book actually didn't suck and may have been worth Audible's one measley credit a month.

The book starts somewhat slow, and one might think it's a loose regurgitation of A Time to Kill through the eyes of a reporter. When I say the book starts slow, it isn't boring, per se, just not page turning until midway in, where the story racks up increasingly until the end.

The heroine, a bit of a white savior with a twist, is named Adelaide Stevenson, not to be confused with Adelei Stevenson, and the male author can perhaps be forgiven for certain tropes that give away that Adelaide is written as how a man would think women think.

When we first meet Adelaide, she is in the middle of being sick, comically in the men's bathroom, to ward off women asking if she's OK. When workmen come in, one asks her if she's OK, and Adelaide, fresh from emesis, wonders if he's handsome (eye roll).

Adelaide's Black adopted mother knows Adelaide is pregnant before she or a pregnancy test can confirm so, female magic or the glow of a woman bearing the fruit of connubial bliss, I cannot say.

Adelaide is afraid of nothing, rebuffing having a man around when doing a report out of town of a murder ( I think most women would be somewhat concerned for their safety, but whatever).


We are led to believe the murder of the young adult in this book is racially charged, a Black man raped, hanged, and sexually mutilated by white men. But no, the Whites have been framed in this predominantly Black town ( see, why I say she's a white savior with a twist?).

Why is the man murdered referred to as a woman as she is killed? Because she was a woman, a trans woman in the early 2000s, living in rural West Virginia. As the story progresses, the book becomes a DEI whodunnit, with a colorful cast of characters, a little bit of the supernatural, and moments I held my breath in suspense.

The book does seem at times a monument to White liberal virtue signaling, but overall, the elements of the book where sensitivity is needed are well-crafted. Apart from naming a majority Black town Targrady, that is.

The horrific death of Julie is not drawn out with excessive gore or length. The several Black trans characters in the story are all respected by the author, along with their pronouns. Even the poor White family of the accused murderers is written with nuance.

What I would say were the flaws in the novel is that the dream sequences were a bit too lengthy even though they come together in the end, and maybe ask a few women regarding female characters if this or that seems plausible.

Lastly, it's always great when one can hear an author read his work as it sounded to himself when he wrote it. Tyler Bell has a voice for audiobooks, doing the voices of his characters as he meant them to be.
]]> <![CDATA[Ya Oughta Nota Let a Vampire Use Your Bathroom]]> 216172149 vampire?
A vampire in your bathroom, of course!
Find out what happens when a brave little boy and his dog meet a horrible vampire who urgently wants to use the bathroom.
Presenting a howlingly funny book that will teach kids of all ages HOW NOT TO DO STUPID STUFF!
Written and illustrated by Jim Stenstrum, veteran artist on Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, SWAT Kats, Curious George, and many other children's animated favorites.]]> Jim Stenstrum 1942617054 Lisa 3 4.54 Ya Oughta Nota Let a Vampire Use Your Bathroom
author: Jim Stenstrum
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/22
date added: 2024/10/22
shelves:
review:
It was cute, but I absolutely hate bathroom humor. I think children would love it though.
]]> <![CDATA[A TRUE AND FEAREFULL VEXATION OF ONE ALEXANDER NYNDGE: : BEING MOST HORRIBLY TORMENTED WITH THE DEUILL... A SINGLE LEAF FROM]]> 165968633 0 Edward Nynge? Lisa 3 to-read 3.00 A TRUE AND FEAREFULL VEXATION OF ONE ALEXANDER NYNDGE: : BEING MOST HORRIBLY TORMENTED WITH THE DEUILL... A SINGLE LEAF FROM
author: Edward Nynge?
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/19
date added: 2024/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:
What was actually wrong with Alexander that his brother, the Master of Arts, Edward, was able to exercise? The world may never know.
]]> Daughters of Shandong 195888874
A propulsive, extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters¡¯ harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China, by debut author Eve J. Chung, based on her family story

Daughters are the Ang family¡¯s curse.

In 1948, civil war ravages the Chinese countryside, but in rural Shandong, the wealthy, landowning Angs are more concerned with their lack of an heir. Hai is the eldest of four girls and spends her days looking after her sisters. Headstrong Di, who is just a year younger, learns to hide in plain sight, and their mother¡ªabused by the family for failing to birth a boy¡ªfinds her own small acts of rebellion in the kitchen. As the Communist army closes in on their town, the rest of the prosperous household flees, leaving behind the girls and their mother because they view them as useless mouths to feed.

Without an Ang male to punish, the land-seizing cadres choose Hai, as the eldest child, to stand trial for her family¡¯s crimes. She barely survives their brutality. Realizing the worst is yet to come, the women plan their escape. Starving and penniless but resourceful, they forge travel permits and embark on a thousand-mile journey to confront the family that abandoned them.

From the countryside to the bustling city of Qingdao, and onward to British Hong Kong and eventually Taiwan, they witness the changing tide of a nation and the plight of multitudes caught in the wake of revolution. But with the loss of their home and the life they¡¯ve known also comes new freedom¡ªto take hold of their fate, to shake free of the bonds of their gender, and to claim their own story.

Told in assured, evocative prose, with impeccably drawn characters, Daughters of Shandong is a hopeful, powerful story about the resilience of women in war; the enduring love between mothers, daughters, and sisters; and the sacrifices made to lift up future generations.]]> 400 Eve J. Chung 0593640535 Lisa 0 to-read 4.45 2024 Daughters of Shandong
author: Eve J. Chung
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Eye for an Eye 3869837 341 Erika Holzer 0812515293 Lisa 3
This book was a Libertarian's wet dream of a revenge novel. In a world of libtard judges soft on crime and full of technicalities, crime victims are fed up. Karen Newman, whose daughter has been raped and murdered, wants revenge on the men who killed her daughter and to avenge other victims. Yet, as Karen is seduced into a vigilante group full of victims, not all of Victims Anonymous are good and some are just as evil as the criminals they hunt.

The book is filled with plot twists that are at times less than believable, and characters are seemingly killed off once they fulfill their roles in the book to an almost ridiculous degree.

]]> 2.97 1993 Eye for an Eye
author: Erika Holzer
name: Lisa
average rating: 2.97
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/17
date added: 2024/10/17
shelves:
review:
The movie was better, extremely different from the book, but not bad.

This book was a Libertarian's wet dream of a revenge novel. In a world of libtard judges soft on crime and full of technicalities, crime victims are fed up. Karen Newman, whose daughter has been raped and murdered, wants revenge on the men who killed her daughter and to avenge other victims. Yet, as Karen is seduced into a vigilante group full of victims, not all of Victims Anonymous are good and some are just as evil as the criminals they hunt.

The book is filled with plot twists that are at times less than believable, and characters are seemingly killed off once they fulfill their roles in the book to an almost ridiculous degree.


]]> <![CDATA[The Girl's Guide to Homelessness]]> 11212809 344 Brianna Karp 1459201671 Lisa 4 3.39 2011 The Girl's Guide to Homelessness
author: Brianna Karp
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> Sharon Tate 15791605 54 Andrew Yorke 0985200006 Lisa 3 3.59 2012 Sharon Tate
author: Andrew Yorke
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2017/06/29
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Living with Viola 59647726
Livy is already having trouble fitting in as the new girl at school¡ªand then there¡¯s Viola. Viola is Livy¡¯s anxiety brought to life, a shadowy twin that only Livy can see or hear. Livy tries to push back against Viola¡¯s relentless judgment, but nothing seems to work until she strikes up new friendships at school. Livy hopes that Viola¡¯s days are numbered. But when tensions arise both at home and at school, Viola rears her head stronger than ever. Only when Livy learns how to ask for help and face her anxiety does she finally figure out living with Viola.

Rosena Fung draws on her own early experiences with anxiety and the pressures of growing up as the child of Chinese immigrant parents to craft a charming, deeply personal story that combines the poignancy of Raina Telgemeier¡¯s Guts with the wacky humor of Lumberjanes. Exuberant, colorful art brings Livy¡¯s rich imaginative world¡ªfilled with everything from sentient dumplings to flying unicorns¡ªto life on the page.]]> 275 Rosena Fung 1773215507 Lisa 5 4.38 2021 Living with Viola
author: Rosena Fung
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/14
date added: 2024/09/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Around the World in Eighty Days]]> 54479 252 Jules Verne 014044906X Lisa 0 to-read 3.95 1872 Around the World in Eighty Days
author: Jules Verne
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1872
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Small Rain 205363938 A medical crisis brings one man close to death¡ªand to love, art, and beauty¡ªin a profound and luminous novel by award-winning author Garth Greenwell.

A poet's life is turned inside out by a sudden, wrenching pain. The pain brings him to his knees, and eventually to the ICU. Confined to bed, plunged into the dysfunctional American healthcare system, he struggles to understand what is happening to his body, as someone who has lived for many years in his mind.

This is a searching, sweeping novel set at the furthest edges of human experience, where the forces that give life value¡ªart, memory, poetry, music, care¡ªare thrown into sharp relief. Time expands and contracts. Sudden intimacies bloom. Small Rain surges beyond the hospital to encompass a radiant vision of human life: our shared vulnerability, the limits and possibilities of sympathy, the ideal of art and the fragile dream of America. Above all, this is a love story of the most unexpected kind.]]> 306 Garth Greenwell 0374279543 Lisa 0 to-read 4.06 2024 Small Rain
author: Garth Greenwell
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Where The River Begins 543492 128 Patricia St. John 0802481248 Lisa 3 3.91 1980 Where The River Begins
author: Patricia St. John
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1980
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: checked-out-or-bought-at-library, from-library
review:
Not as preachy as American Christian children's fiction, which is a good thing. Basically, this short novel is the story of a boy from a troubled home who almost falls into a bad crowd, but is saved by the good example of the Christian family that fosters him.
]]> The Skull 60539545
In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both?]]> 105 Jon Klassen Lisa 3 from-library 4.22 2023 The Skull
author: Jon Klassen
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: from-library
review:
Unusual folktale for children that just didn't pack a punch for me.
]]> A Brief Life of the Queen 14762861
So while Lilibet was brought up with almost religious respect for the crown, there seemed no chance of her inheriting it. Her head was never turned by the personal prospect of grandeur¡ªwhich is why she would prove so very good at her job. Elizabeth II's lack of ego was to prove the paradoxical secret of her greatness.

For more than thirty years, acclaimed author and royal biographer Robert Lacey has been gathering material from members of the Queen's inner circle¡ªher friends, relatives, private secretaries, and prime ministers.

Now, in The Queen, Lacey offers a life of the celebrated monarch, told in six succinct chapters, accentuated by elegant color and black-and-white photographs that capture the distinctive flavor of passing eras and reveal how Elizabeth II adapted¡ªor, on occasions, regally declined to adapt¡ªto changing times.]]> 166 Robert Lacey 0715642928 Lisa 0 to-read 4.27 2012 A Brief Life of the Queen
author: Robert Lacey
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Age of Faith (The Story of Civilization, #4)]]> 78166 1196 Will Durant 0965000753 Lisa 0 to-read 4.38 1950 The Age of Faith (The Story of Civilization, #4)
author: Will Durant
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1950
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sir Ladybug 60761235
Ladies and gentlebugs, presenting the duke of the dandelion patch, champion of truth and justice, the one, the only¡ªSir Ladybug!

Sir Ladybug never shies away from a quest, even when he¡¯d rather be playing a video game or baking a cake. So when a caterpillar needs rescuing from a ¡°monster¡± (a hungry chickadee), Sir Ladybug and his trusty friends¡ªhis herald, a?roly-poly named Pell, and his squire, a snail named?Sterling¡ªhatch the perfect (delicious) plan.

This is the first in a new graphic novel series for newly independent readers, following the adventures of a ladybug knight and his pals in the dandelion patch.

Woven seamlessly into this funny and surprising story are the themes of friendship, bravery, teamwork, creative thinking, and helping others. With warmth and heart, surprising and delightful asides, and memorable cast of characters, this new series will appeal to avid and reluctant readers alike.]]> 72 Corey R. Tabor 0063069083 Lisa 4 4.32 Sir Ladybug
author: Corey R. Tabor
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/31
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[More: A Memoir of Open Marriage]]> 70251573
"An intimate portrait of a woman on an earnest search to reclaim her passion and her body from the quotidian obligations of her various roles."¡ªChristie Tate, bestselling author of Group and BFF

Molly Roden Winter was a mom of two young children in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a husband, Stewart, who often worked late. One night when Stewart missed the kids' bedtime, again , she stormed out of the house to clear her head. At impromptu drinks with a friend, she met Matt, an unbelievably hot younger man. When Molly told her husband that Matt had asked her out, she was surprised that he encouraged her to accept.

So begins Molly's unexpected open marriage, and with it a life-changing journey of self-discovery. Molly and Stewart, who also begins to see other people, set ground rules to Don¡¯t date an ex. Don¡¯t date someone you work with. Don't go to anyone's house. And above all, don't fall in love. Spoiler They end up breaking most of their rules, even the most important one.

Molly follows her sexual desire onto dating sites and to public places around New York City. In therapy sessions, fueled by the discovery that her parents had an open marriage, too, she grapples with her past and what it means to be both a mother and her truest self. Molly Roden Winter narrates her journey with warmth and style in this magnetic, intensely personal debut memoir.]]> 304 Molly Roden Winter 0385549458 Lisa 4 3.41 2024 More: A Memoir of Open Marriage
author: Molly Roden Winter
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/12
date added: 2024/07/12
shelves:
review:
As I read this memoir, it seemed to outline all the reasons NOT to have an open relationship. From the jealousy of the author towards her husband's paramours, to blossoming feelings towards her lovers, to being duped or disregarded, this all seemed to paint a fairly unpleasant portrait even though that isn't fully the author's intention. It was an entertaining memoir, but didn't truly sound like a lifestyle that I'd want.
]]> <![CDATA[Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable]]> 196841887
On the night of September 28, 2016, twenty-five-year-old Carolyn Bush was brutally stabbed to death in her New York City apartment by her roommate Render Stetson-Shanahan, leaving friends and family of both reeling. In life, Carolyn had been a gregarious, smart-mouthed aspiring poet, who had seemingly gotten along well with Render, a reserved art handler. Where had it gone so terribly wrong?

This is the question that has plagued acclaimed author Sarah Gerard and driven her obsessive pursuit to understand this horrifying tragedy. In Sarah¡¯s exploration into Carolyn¡¯s life and death, she spent thousands of hours interviewing her and Render¡¯s friends and family, poring over court documents and news media, attending memorials for Carolyn, and Render¡¯s trial, and reading obscure writings and internet posts from both parties. Even as she gleaned through this work a deeper understanding of Carolyn, her murderer, and the reasons for the crime, Sarah couldn¡¯t help but turn her gaze to the greater forces that enabled it.

Sarah¡¯s relentless instinct to follow a story and its characters to even their darkest ends makes this work at once a gripping work of true crime, a striking homage to Carolyn¡¯s life, and an explosive excavation of a society in which murderous crimes committed by white men have become a disturbing norm.]]> 368 Sarah Gerard 1638930465 Lisa 0 to-read 3.13 2024 Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable
author: Sarah Gerard
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.13
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Between the Lies 39863370 In the vein of Allison Brennan, Michelle Adams's Between the Lies is an addictive psychological thriller with twists that keep the reader guessing until the last page, in which a woman who's lost her memory is back home with a family she doesn't know--who are keeping secrets of their own.

The truth is hiding between the lies.

What would you do if you woke up and didn't know who you were?

Chloe Daniels regains consciousness in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
She doesn't recognise the strangers who call themselves family. She can't even remember her own name.

What if your past remained a mystery?

As she slowly recovers, her parents and sister begin to share details of her life.
The successful career. The seaside home. The near-fatal car crash.
But Chloe senses they're keeping dark secrets--and her determination to uncover the truth will have devastating consequences.

What if the people you should be able to trust are lying to you?]]> 336 Michelle Adams 1250308941 Lisa 0 to-read 3.67 2019 Between the Lies
author: Michelle Adams
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[????? ?????? (????? ???????? #2)]]> 1833297
??? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?????????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??????.

????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???????????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ????????? ????? ????? ??? "????? ???????" ??? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????. ??? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???????.]]> 494 Dan Brown 9953298696 Lisa 4 4.16 2003 ????? ?????? (????? ???????? #2)
author: Dan Brown
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]>