en-US Sat, 05 Apr 2025 19:05:01 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 40265212
This book does not seek to draw a parallel or comparison between the Holocaust and Nakba or to merely inaugurate a “dialogue�� between them. Instead, it searches for a new historical and political grammar for relating and narrating their complicated intersections. The book features prominent international contributors, including a foreword by Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury on the centrality of the Holocaust and Nakba in the essential struggle of humanity against racism, and an afterword by literary scholar Jacqueline Rose on the challenges and contributions of the linkage between the Holocaust and Nakba for power to shift and a world of justice and equality to be created between the two peoples. The Holocaust and the Nakba is the first extended and collective scholarly treatment in English of these two constitutive traumas together.]]> 424 Bashir Bashir 023118297X Iman 0 to-read 4.23
author: Bashir Bashir
name: Iman
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42260353
J. Robert Rossman and Mathew D. Duerden present a comprehensive and accessible introduction to experience design. They synthesize the fundamental theories and methods from multiple disciplines and lay out a process for designing experiences from start to finish. Rossman and Duerden challenge us to reflect on what makes a great experience from the user’s perspective. They provide a framework of experience types, explaining people’s engagement with products and services and what makes experiences personal and fulfilling. The book presents interdisciplinary research underlying key concepts such as memory, intentionality, and dramatic structure in a down-to-earth style, drawing attention to both the macro and micro levels. Designing Experiences features detailed instructions and numerous real-world examples that clarify theoretical principles, making it useful for students and professionals. An invaluable overview of a growing field, the book provides readers with the tools they need to design innovative and indelible experiences and to move their organizations into the experience economy.

Designing Experiences features a foreword by B. Joseph Pine II.]]> 224 J Robert Rossman 0231191685 Iman 0 to-read 3.95
author: J Robert Rossman
name: Iman
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55868456 Two warriors shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end the tyrannical reign of a royal family in this new epic fantasy from the author of The Vanished Birds.

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.

But that god cannot be contained forever.

With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water is an ambitious and profound saga that will transport and transform you—and is like nothing you’ve ever read before.
]]> 525 Simon Jimenez 0593156595 Iman 0 to-read 4.17 2022
author: Simon Jimenez
name: Iman
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 48635408
Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes eye-opening interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back.

Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many hate-fueled misogynistic attacks online. At first, the vitriol seemed to be the work of a small handful of individual men... but over time, the volume and consistency of the attacks hinted at something bigger and more ominous. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.
In the book, Bates explores:

Extreme communities like incels, pick-up artists, MGTOW, Men's Rights Activists and more
The hateful, toxic rhetoric used by these groups
How this movement connects to other extremist movements like white supremacy
How young boys are targeted and slowly drawn in
Where this ideology shows up in our everyday lives in mainstream media, our playgrounds, and our government

By turns fascinating and horrifying, Men Who Hate Women is a broad, unflinching account of the deep current of loathing toward women and anti-feminism that underpins our society and is a must-read for parents, educators, and anyone who believes in equality for women.]]> 366 Laura Bates Iman 0 to-read 4.34 2020
author: Laura Bates
name: Iman
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 45100
For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy unjustly denied her--a legacy she will risk anything to reclaim. For Althea's young nephew Wintrow, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard ship, Vivacia is a life sentence.

But the fate of the Vestrit family--and the ship--may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider. The ruthless pirate Kennit seeks a way to seize power over all the denizens of the Pirate Isles...and the first step of his plan requires him to capture his own liveship and bend it to his will....


From the Paperback edition.]]> 880 Robin Hobb 000649885X Iman 0 to-read 4.20 1998
author: Robin Hobb
name: Iman
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 18952341 640 Ken Liu 1481424270 Iman 0 to-read 3.77 2015
author: Ken Liu
name: Iman
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 4133366
Complete with Fitzgerald's original text, dazzling watercolor illustrations, and an afterword describing the story's origins and critical reception, this edition offers a fresh look at a literary masterpiece.]]> 128 F. Scott Fitzgerald 1594742812 Iman 2 3.72 1922
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Iman
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1922
rating: 2
read at: 2013/09/16
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: classics, the-ii-50-book-in-2013-challenge
review:
Very delightful fast read. It takes less than an hour to read this short story.
]]> 62926938 An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.]]> 336 Ashley Poston Iman 4 An easy read with pleasant characters. No complexity to the plot, but a well structured storyline.
Overall, it was a great read for the weekend.]]> 4.18 2023
author: Ashley Poston
name: Iman
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves:
review:
This one was good! I saw a few reviews before going in, and the review that stuck out most was one about the author's excessive use of the word 'rumble', and it had me chuckling every time.Other than that, the writing was wonderful.
An easy read with pleasant characters. No complexity to the plot, but a well structured storyline.
Overall, it was a great read for the weekend.
]]> 22609310
For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?]]> 306 Colleen Hoover 1476791457 Iman 5 4.14 2015
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Iman
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/03/13
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: for-my-library, realistic-fiction, romance
review:

]]> 25489025
Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.]]> 188 Han Kang 0553448188 Iman 0 to-read 3.61 2007
author: Han Kang
name: Iman
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55710822 In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar - and maybe snag him as a prom date - even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love - and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like.]]> 356 Lynn Painter 1534467629 Iman 0 to-read 4.28 2021
author: Lynn Painter
name: Iman
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60387416
They think they've killed the last of us...

981 AD. The Viking King of Dublin is dead. His young widow, Gormflaith, has ambitions for her son �� and herself �� but Ireland is a dangerous place and kings tend not to stay kings for long. Gormflaith also has a secret. She is one of the Fomorians, an immortal race who can do fire-magic. She has kept her powers hidden at all costs, for there are other immortals in this world �� like the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of warriors who are sworn to kill Fomorians.

Fódla is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann with the gift of healing. Her kind dwell hidden in a fortress, forbidden to live amongst the mortals. Fódla agrees to help her kin by going to spy on Brian Boru, a powerful man who aims to be High King of Ireland. She finds a land on the brink of war �� a war she is desperate to stop. However, preventing the loss of mortal lives is not easy with Ireland in turmoil and the Fomorians now on the rise...]]> 416 Shauna Lawless Iman 0 to-read 4.11 2022
author: Shauna Lawless
name: Iman
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 56563852
Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others.

But Amara's spirit is far from broken.

By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learned that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her?

Set in Pompeii's lupanar, The Wolf Den reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.]]> 464 Elodie Harper Iman 0 to-read 4.05 2021
author: Elodie Harper
name: Iman
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62300945
When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers. Vengeful and brilliant, it's not long before Morgan becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin, influential sorcerer to the king. But fighting for her freedom, she risks losing everything �� her reputation, her loved ones and her life.]]> 347 Sophie Keetch 0861545192 Iman 0 to-read 4.17 2022
author: Sophie Keetch
name: Iman
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1617 Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must simply never be allowed to happen again.]]> 120 Elie Wiesel 0374500010 Iman 0 to-read 4.38 1956
author: Elie Wiesel
name: Iman
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1956
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 123349658
Rain of Shadows and Endings is book one in The Legacy Series and ends on a cliffhanger. This is new adult dark fantasy romance series and includes elements that may be triggering to some readers.]]> 670 Melissa K. Roehrich Iman 0 to-read 4.01 2023
author: Melissa K. Roehrich
name: Iman
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 213333212
Neither is the encounter with an enemy soldier.

Returning home to Alaha, she’s confronted with the aftermath of the day’s events. The future is uncertain as the threat of hunger looms over the people. With rumors of a growing rebellion, Brynn and her closest friends promise to stick together.

When an unexpected visitor arrives, Brynn’s loyalty will be tested as she learns of a world of magic and treachery. Once her enemy, always her enemy, right? But the dark, knowing eyes of a stranger make her question everything��

…including her heart.]]> 495 Rachel Schneider Iman 0 to-read 4.20
author: Rachel Schneider
name: Iman
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59725231 A bold, evocative new novel from the Sue Kaufman, Betty Trask and Plimpton Prize Award winner Isabella Hammad that follows actress Sonia as she returns to Palestine and takes a role in a West Bank production of Hamlet

After years away from her family’s homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. This is her first trip back since the second intifada and the deaths of their grandparents: while Haneen made a life here commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia stayed in London to focus on her acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.

At Haneen’s, Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Sonia is soon rehearsing Gertude’s lines in classical Arabic and spending more time in Ramallah than in Haifa, along with a dedicated group of men from all over historic Palestine who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, each want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer it becomes clear just how many violent obstacles stand before a troupe of Palestinian actors. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.

A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance. Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad’s highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite feat, an unforgettable story of artistry under occupation.]]> 336 Isabella Hammad 080216238X Iman 0 to-read 4.13 2023
author: Isabella Hammad
name: Iman
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57390604
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.

But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.

Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.]]> 417 Zoulfa Katouh 0316351377 Iman 0 to-read 4.48 2022
author: Zoulfa Katouh
name: Iman
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59028585
In the aftermath, racist accusations are hurled against May's parents for putting too much "pressure" on him. May's father tells her to keep her head down. Instead, May challenges these ugly stereotypes through her writing. Yet the consequences of speaking out run much deeper than anyone could foresee. Who gets to tell our stories, and who gets silenced? It's up to May to take back the narrative.]]> 448 Joanna Ho 0063059347 Iman 0 to-read 4.30 2022
author: Joanna Ho
name: Iman
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 52973514
The plan is to leave. As for how, when, to where, and even why—she doesn’t know yet. So begins a journey for the twenty-four-year-old narrator of Days of Distraction. As a staff writer at a prestigious tech publication, she reports on the achievements of smug Silicon Valley billionaires and start-up bros while her own request for a raise gets bumped from manager to manager.��And when her longtime boyfriend, J, decides to move to a quiet upstate New York town for grad school, she sees an excuse to cut and run.

Moving is supposed to be a grand gesture of her commitment to J and a way to reshape her sense of self. But in the process, she finds herself facing misgivings about her role in an interracial relationship. Captivated by the stories of her ancestors and other Asian Americans in history, she must confront a question at the core of her identity: What does it mean to exist in a society that does not notice or understand you?

Equal parts tender and humorous, and told in spare but powerful prose, Days of Distraction��is an offbeat coming-of-adulthood tale, a touching family story, and a razor-sharp appraisal of our times.]]> 312 Alexandra Chang 0062951807 Iman 0 to-read 3.56 2020
author: Alexandra Chang
name: Iman
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54633167
Delving into their emotional lives with sympathy and a generous warmth, Lonely Castle in the Mirror shows the unexpected rewards of reaching out to others. Exploring vivid human stories with a twisty and puzzle-like plot, this heart-warming novel is full of joy and hope for anyone touched by sadness and vulnerability.]]> 355 Mizuki Tsujimura 0857527274 Iman 0 to-read 4.25 2017
author: Mizuki Tsujimura
name: Iman
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 29236380
Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.]]> 416 Kathleen Glasgow 1101934719 Iman 0 to-read 3.94 2016
author: Kathleen Glasgow
name: Iman
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51648276
A deeply satisfying thriller cum fairy tale, Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead is a provocative exploration of the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, autonomy and fate. Whom do we deem sane? it asks. Who is worthy of a voice?

Duration: 11 hours 39 minutes.]]> 274 Olga Tokarczuk Iman 0 to-read 3.93 2009
author: Olga Tokarczuk
name: Iman
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 66087062 A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.

It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.

After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.]]> 320 Adrienne Young 0593598679 Iman 0 to-read 4.13 2023
author: Adrienne Young
name: Iman
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199798179 A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all:

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats�� from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge��: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as ��1847�� or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,�� “Spotify,�� and “the collapse of the British Empire.�� But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.]]> 339 Kaliane Bradley 1668045141 Iman 0 to-read 3.54 2024
author: Kaliane Bradley
name: Iman
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59713003
Noor Hindi’s poems explore colonialism, religion, patriarchy and everything in between with sharp wit and innovative precision. Layered to reflect the intersections of her identity, while constantly interrogating this identity itself, her writing combines lyrical beauty with political urgency.

This collection is ultimately a provocation―on trauma, on art, on what it takes to change the world.]]> 80 Noor Hindi 1642596965 Iman 0 to-read 4.51 2022
author: Noor Hindi
name: Iman
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42921509 What if all Palestinians vanished from their homeland overnight?

Alaa, a young Palestinian, is haunted by his grandmother’s memories of being displaced from Jaffa and becoming a refugee in her homeland. Ariel, Alaa’s neighbour and friend, is a liberal Zionist, critical of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet faithful to the project of Israel. When he wakes up one morning to find that all Palestinians have suddenly vanished, Ariel begins searching for clues to the secret of the collective disappearance; that search, and his reaction to it, intimately reveal the fissures at the heart of the Palestinian question. Between the stories of Alaa and Ariel are the people of Jaffa and Tel Aviv against whose ordinary lives these fissures and questions play out.

Critically acclaimed in Arabic, spare yet evocative, intensely intelligent in its interplay of perspectives, The Book of Disappearance is an unforgettable glimpse into contemporary Palestine.]]> 256 Ibtisam Azem 0815611110 Iman 0 to-read 4.14 2014
author: Ibtisam Azem
name: Iman
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40488767
Most novels are written by professional writers using second hand material. Not this one. Peirene commissioned nine refugees to tell their ‘Shatila Stories��. The result is a piece of collaborative fiction unlike any other. If you want to understand the chaos of the Middle East �� or you just want to follow the course of a beautiful love story �� start here.

Adam and his family flee Syria and arrive at the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut. Conditions in this overcrowded Palestinian camp are tough, and violence defines many of the relationships: a father fights to save his daughter, a gang leader plots to expand his influence, and drugs break up a family. Adam struggles to make sense of his refugee experience, but then he meets Shatha and starts to view the camp through her eyes.

Why Peirene chose to commission this book:
‘I want to hear their stories and see if their imaginations can open up a new path of understanding between us. Collaborative works of literature can achieve what no other literature can do. By pooling our imaginations we are able to access something totally different and new that goes beyond boundaries �� that of the individual, of nations, of cultures. It connects us to our common human essence: our creativity. Let’s make stories, not more war.�� Meike Ziervogel]]> 127 Omar Khaled Ahmad 1908670487 Iman 0 to-read 4.24 2018
author: Omar Khaled Ahmad
name: Iman
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 152143784
'Explores vulnerability, fragility, anxiety, and ambivalence as ways of beautifully coming to terms with the wounds and worries of the world' HOMI K. BHABHA

I may not be brave enough, but somewhere deep inside of me there is, perhaps, the kernel of someone who is.

That brave someone was the legendary Nusayba bint Ka’ab al Khazrajia, who fought alongside the Prophet Muhammad at the dawn of Islam, the author N.S Nuseibeh’s ancestor. In drawing on Nusayba's stories, Nuseibeh delves into the experience of being an Arab woman today and in the distant past �� taking her from superheroes and the glorification of violence to the rise of Arab feminism, to what courage looks like in the context of interminable conflict. By seeking to understand her namesake in the context of her own twenty-first century concerns, Nuseibeh links our current ideas of Muslims and Arabs with their origins, exploring myth-making and identity, religion and nationhood, feminism and race.

As intimate as they are thoughtful, these linked essays offer a dazzling exploration of heritage, gender and the idea of home, while also showing how connecting with our history can help us understand ourselves and others today.]]> 289 N.S. Nuseibeh 1838852654 Iman 0 to-read 4.36 2024
author: N.S. Nuseibeh
name: Iman
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62843450 200 Nada Elia 0745347479 Iman 0 to-read 4.55 2022
author: Nada Elia
name: Iman
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 208580653 From the award-winning novelist of The Parisian and Enter Ghost comes an outstanding essay on the Palestinian struggle and the power of narrative.

Isabella Hammad delivered the Edward W. Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University nine days before October 7th, 2023. The text of Hammad’s seminal speech and her afterword, written in the early weeks of 2024, together make up a searing appraisal of the war on Palestine during what seems a turning point in the narrative of human history. Profound and moving, Hammad writes from within the moment, giving voice to the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Recognizing the Stranger is a brilliant melding of literary and cultural analysis by one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and a foremost writer of fiction in the world today.

"Extraordinary and amazingly erudite. Hammad shows how art and especially literature can be much, much more revealing than political writing.�� �� Rashid Khalidi, author of the New York Times bestseller The Hundred Years�� War on Palestine]]> 96 Isabella Hammad 0802163920 Iman 0 to-read 4.68 2024
author: Isabella Hammad
name: Iman
average rating: 4.68
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
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]]> 35068705
When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.]]> 545 R.F. Kuang 0062662597 Iman 3 I have seen so many good reviews about this book series for years, and I have seen a lot of people recommend it. And so, I had very high expectations, which seems to be the issue I have been facing with most books lately, and I feel a bit disappointed. It is an ok read, but nth spectacular for a high fantasy book. The world building was fine. After reading some background information about where the author drew her inspiration from, I totally understand the criticism, and it does seem like the approach was a little lazy. I just expected it to have more lure around everything. The characters were also fine. The main character was a bit unfun as the protagonist. At every crossroad she flip flopped between what is right and wrong and didn't seem to know what she wanted. It was a little grating. Even in her pursuit of power she seemed meek. And all the reveals were very unfantastical.
I have a lot to say, but the book doesn't warrant much more effort. Casual fun read, nth to blow you away.]]> 4.16 2018
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Iman
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:
Eeeeeeeh ....
I have seen so many good reviews about this book series for years, and I have seen a lot of people recommend it. And so, I had very high expectations, which seems to be the issue I have been facing with most books lately, and I feel a bit disappointed. It is an ok read, but nth spectacular for a high fantasy book. The world building was fine. After reading some background information about where the author drew her inspiration from, I totally understand the criticism, and it does seem like the approach was a little lazy. I just expected it to have more lure around everything. The characters were also fine. The main character was a bit unfun as the protagonist. At every crossroad she flip flopped between what is right and wrong and didn't seem to know what she wanted. It was a little grating. Even in her pursuit of power she seemed meek. And all the reveals were very unfantastical.
I have a lot to say, but the book doesn't warrant much more effort. Casual fun read, nth to blow you away.
]]> 58416952 At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in this new fantasy series by internationally bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.

AUDI. VIDE. TACE.

The Catenan Republic �� the Hierarchy �� may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.

I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus �� what they call Will �� to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.

But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.

And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.

To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.

And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.]]> 639 James Islington 1982141190 Iman 0 to-read 4.61 2023
author: James Islington
name: Iman
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: to-read
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]]> 25667918 For the first time in hardcover, the winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award!

With a new foreword by N. K. Jemisin

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself -- but first she has to make it there, alive.

The Binti Series
Book 1: Binti
Book 2: Binti: Home
Book 3: Binti: The Night Masquerade]]> 96 Nnedi Okorafor 0765384469 Iman 0 to-read 3.81 2015
author: Nnedi Okorafor
name: Iman
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58885776 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780593336489.

Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she ������’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.

Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.]]> 368 Ashley Poston Iman 0 to-read 3.90 2022
author: Ashley Poston
name: Iman
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
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]]> 55987278 How far would you go for happily ever after?

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy...]]> 408 Stephanie Garber 1250268397 Iman 3 To pile on, I'd realized half way through that this author is also on the boycott list.]]> 4.06 2021
author: Stephanie Garber
name: Iman
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/24
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves:
review:
Not impressed enough to want to pick up the remainder of the series. I also heard it went down hill. So, after finishing this one, I read the summary of the other books in the series. And I am happy with that decision.
To pile on, I'd realized half way through that this author is also on the boycott list.
]]> 62919356
Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him.

Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he’s one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.

Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa’s adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin’s ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton’s partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for—her lover or her kingdom.]]> 372 Chloe Gong 1668000229 Iman 0 to-read 3.52 2023
author: Chloe Gong
name: Iman
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> 62047984
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.

But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.]]> 319 R.F. Kuang 000853277X Iman 0 to-read 3.69 2023
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Iman
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 203578730 Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.]]> 325 Ann Liang 1250289467 Iman 0 to-read 3.84 2024
author: Ann Liang
name: Iman
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 75513900 She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.
He is the very thing she’s spent her whole life pretending to be.

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. Easier said than done.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites�� powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is—completely Ordinary.]]> 523 Lauren Roberts Iman 0 to-read 4.17 2023
author: Lauren Roberts
name: Iman
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/23
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]]> 60435878 Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular.

By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan.

At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked the 'Battle-Axe' anyway. Even if her body doesn't move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.

In spite of it all: Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story about the cost of greatness and a legendary athlete attempting a comeback.]]> 384 Taylor Jenkins Reid 0593158687 Iman 0 I started then realized that she was on the literary boycott list and now I have zero interest in finishing the book.
The more you know :)]]> 4.19 2022
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Iman
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/22
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves:
review:
DNF
I started then realized that she was on the literary boycott list and now I have zero interest in finishing the book.
The more you know :)
]]> 58340706
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.

Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.]]> 399 Rachel Gillig 0316312487 Iman 0 to-read 4.26 2022
author: Rachel Gillig
name: Iman
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 203579293 Blood of the Old Kings begins an epic adventure in which three strangers journey through a vast Empire that uses the power of dead wizards to conquer and subdue, from award-winning author Sung-il Kim and translated by the highly-acclaimed Anton Hur.

Powered by the corpses of sorcerers, the Empire has conquered the world. It claims to have brought peace and stability to its conquered lands, but some see that peace for what it is—a lie—and will give everything in the fight against it.

Loran is desperate for revenge after the Empire killed her family, so much so that the swordswoman climbs the volcano where the legends say an ancient dragon slumbers and leaps in. She finds that the legends are true, and Loran leaves the mountain with a sword made of dragon’s fang and a great purpose before her.

Cain arrived in the Imperial Capital lost and orphaned, and it’s only thanks to the kindness of a stranger-turned-mentor that he survived on the city’s streets. When his friend is found murdered, he will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible, even if it means starting a war.

Arienne’s future has never been in question—born a sorcerer, she’ll be a Power Generator for the Empire upon her death. But when she starts to hear the voice of a powerful necromancer in her head, she realizes the only thing more terrifying than dying for the Empire is never getting to truly live in the first place.

When peace is a lie, there is power in truth—and as Loran, Cain, and Arienne hunt for answers in their own lives, any one of their small rebellions could be the stone that brings the Empire toppling down.]]> 368 Sung-Il Kim 1250895332 Iman 0 to-read 3.75 2016
author: Sung-Il Kim
name: Iman
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 206777615
In the occupied city of Tejomaya, calor—a magical fossil fuel—is found only in the blood rains that fall from the sky. While a six-month drought has brought Tejomaya to a desperate standstill, rumors of a secret stash of magic propel three unlikely treasure seekers to risk everything.

Tenacious and street-smart Zain Jatav has been forced to steal calor for her slumlord bosses for years. Finding the magic reserve might be her only key to freedom. But she’ll have to contend with Iravan Khotar, a slumlord himself and an ambitious revolutionary hoping to use the same magic to save his people from the mysterious illness devastating the slums—and to bolster a fight against their oppressors. Meanwhile, heiress Anastasia Drakos leads the ruling council of Tejomaya from the safety of a nearby island. With the hidden magic, she could finally take full control of the city and crush the slums beneath her unyielding fist.

As Zain, Iravan, and Anastasia draw closer to finding the treasure, their paths tangle, and not for the first time—they met before, a decade ago, in a fire that destroyed each of their lives in different ways. Their reunion might bring the already-weakened city to its knees.

Exploring the devastating mechanisms of power, this searing climate fantasy breathes life into a crumbling world hovering on the brink of total destruction.]]> 384 S. Hati 1959411683 Iman 0 to-read 3.50 2024
author: S. Hati
name: Iman
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32469783
In the richest empire the world has ever known, the city of Sorlost has always stood, eternal and unconquered. But in a city of dreams governed by an imposturous Emperor, decadence has become the true ruler, and has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The empire is on the verge of invasion �� and only one man can see it.

Haunted by dreams of the empire’s demise, Orhan Emmereth has decided to act. On his orders, a company of soldiers cross the desert to reach the city. Once they enter the Palace, they have one mission: kill the Emperor, then all those who remain. Only from ashes can a new empire be built.

The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers, for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier. Marching on Sorlost, Marith thinks he is running away from the past which haunts him. But in the Golden City, his destiny awaits him �� beautiful, bloody, and more terrible than anyone could have foreseen.]]> 470 Anna Smith Spark 0008204063 Iman 0 to-read 3.42 2017
author: Anna Smith Spark
name: Iman
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 50548197
A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) �� until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate�� or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.]]> 320 Naomi Novik 0593128486 Iman 0 to-read 3.93 2020
author: Naomi Novik
name: Iman
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 202251782
In the Nine Lands, only those of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors to fight in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war. But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor. And some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.]]> 640 M.H. Ayinde 0356525309 Iman 0 to-read 4.12 2025
author: M.H. Ayinde
name: Iman
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Iman 0 to-read, dystopian 4.14 2012
author: Hugh Howey
name: Iman
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: to-read, dystopian
review:

]]> 25330108
Reflecting on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism for today's struggles, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles, from the Black Freedom Movement to the South African anti-Apartheid movement. She highlights connections and analyzes today's struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine.

Facing a world of outrageous injustice, Davis challenges us to imagine and build��the movement for human liberation.��And in doing so, she reminds us that "Freedom is a constant struggle."]]> 158 Angela Y. Davis 1608465640 Iman 0 to-read 4.45 2015
author: Angela Y. Davis
name: Iman
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53121662 A scholar of American Christianity presents a seventy-five-year history of evangelicalism that identifies the forces that have turned Donald Trump into a hero of the Religious Right.

How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobate’s staunchest supporters? These are among the questions acclaimed historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez asks in Jesus and John Wayne, which delves beyond facile headlines to explain how white evangelicals have brought us to our fractured political moment. Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority�� backed Donald Trump for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Donald Trump in fact represents the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals�� most deeply held values.

Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism, or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.�� As Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the role of culture in modern American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals may not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex—and they have a silver ring to prove it. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical popular culture is teeming with muscular heroes—mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.�� Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.

Trump, in other words, is hardly the first flashy celebrity to capture evangelicals�� hearts and minds, nor is he the first strongman to promise evangelicals protection and power. Indeed, the values and viewpoints at the heart of white evangelicalism today—patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community—are likely to persist long after Trump leaves office.

A much-needed reexamination, Jesus and John Wayne explains why evangelicals have rallied behind the least-Christian president in American history and how they have transformed their faith in the process, with enduring consequences for all of us.]]> 356 Kristin Kobes Du Mez 1631495739 Iman 0 to-read 4.27 2020
author: Kristin Kobes Du Mez
name: Iman
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 203956715 A brilliant exploration of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival—by the acclaimed Yale historian and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On TyrannyTimothy Snyder has been called “the leading interpreter of our dark times.�� As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarianism here and abroad. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Now, in this tour de force of political philosophy, he helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for.Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means—and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from, as freedom to—the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible.On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes—the habits of mind—that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions (championed by the right) but also the role of institutions (the purview of the left). Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace.]]> 368 Timothy Snyder 0593728726 Iman 0 to-read 4.29 2024
author: Timothy Snyder
name: Iman
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
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review:

]]> 78130 500 William Blum 1567512526 Iman 0 to-read 4.25 1995
author: William Blum
name: Iman
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> 54814676
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humour and heart, she tells of growing up the only Asian-American kid at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the east coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, performing gigs with her fledgling band �� and meeting the man who would become her husband �� her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live.

It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Vivacious, lyrical and honest, Michelle Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.]]> 243 Michelle Zauner 0525657746 Iman 0 to-read 4.25 2021
author: Michelle Zauner
name: Iman
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57878711 This heartfelt and humorous YA contemporary follows Dua, who spends the month of Ramadan making unexpected discoveries about family, faith, and first love.

Being crammed into a house in Queens with her cousins is not how Dua envisions her trip to New York City. But here she is, spending the holy month of Ramadan with extended family she hasn’t seen in years.

Dua struggles to find her place in the conservative household and to connect with her aloof, engaged-to-be-married cousin, Mahnoor. And as if fasting the whole day wasn’t tiring enough, she must battle her hormones whenever she sees Hassan, the cute drummer in a Muslim band who has a habit of showing up at her most awkward moments.

After just a month, Dua is surprised to find that she’s learning a lot more than she bargained for about her faith, relationships, her place in the world—and cute drummers. . . .

Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.]]> 288 Sara Sharaf Beg 059348262X Iman 0 to-read 4.07 2022
author: Sara Sharaf Beg
name: Iman
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> 52459864
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.��

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia��. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.]]> 394 Xiran Jay Zhao 0735269939 Iman 0 to-read 4.03 2021
author: Xiran Jay Zhao
name: Iman
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211742041 The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.

Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.

High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.

But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin�� and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.

Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.

Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.]]> 400 Sasha Peyton Smith 0063372525 Iman 0 to-read 3.97 2025
author: Sasha Peyton Smith
name: Iman
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> 208430658 Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.

An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.

What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.

Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?

A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)]]> 430 M.L. Wang 0593873351 Iman 0 to-read 4.40 2023
author: M.L. Wang
name: Iman
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 173404023
Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.

Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn’t one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she’s the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they’re long-stemmed roses, she’s a dandelion: an adorable bloom that’s actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.

When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.

One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.

Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.]]> 352 Tia Williams 153872670X Iman 0 to-read 3.98 2024
author: Tia Williams
name: Iman
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: to-read
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]]> 220389465 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she ������’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.

Tessa Bailey’s Merry Ever After is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.]]> 59 Tessa Bailey 1662528736 Iman 1 I'm the grinch of christmas books.
DNF, & will not finish mini series.]]> 2.79 2024
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Iman
average rating: 2.79
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves:
review:
*Blegh*
I'm the grinch of christmas books.
DNF, & will not finish mini series.
]]> 195790586 She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.�� Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?]]> 336 Katherine Center 1250283809 Iman 0 to-read 4.06 2024
author: Katherine Center
name: Iman
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: to-read
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]]> 220389458 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.]]> 73 Ali Hazelwood 1662528396 Iman 2 I started the mini series because they were short. I thought I was in for something fast and sweet. And I kept waiting for the plot to make an appearance, but the pages ran out and the story just simply ended.
]]> 3.68 2024
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Iman
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves:
review:
Ok, I give up on trying to read anything by this author. Sorry, not sorry.
I started the mini series because they were short. I thought I was in for something fast and sweet. And I kept waiting for the plot to make an appearance, but the pages ran out and the story just simply ended.

]]> 58684524
While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere�� ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she ������’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

The New York Times bestselling author of Life's Too Short delivers a refreshingly modern fairy tale perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Emily Henry.]]> 389 Abby Jimenez 1538704374 Iman 0 to-read 4.26 2022
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Iman
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 195820807
Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?]]> 432 Abby Jimenez 1538704439 Iman 0 to-read 4.35 2024
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Iman
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> 212432167 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

Two writers with a complicated history end up working on the same TV show... Can they write themselves a new ending? A sexy and emotional enemies-to-lovers romance guaranteed to pull on your heartstrings and give you a book hangover from brilliant new voice Yulin Kuang.

Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard once in the thirteen years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together forever.

Now a bestselling author, Helen pours everything into her career. She’s even scored a coveted spot in the writers�� room of the TV adaptation of her popular young adult novels, and if she can hide her imposter syndrome and overcome her writer’s block, surely the rest of her life will fall into place too. LA is the fresh start she needs. After all, no one knows her there. Except��

Grant has done everything in his power to move on from the past, including building a life across the country. And while the panic attacks have never quite gone away, he’s well liked around town as a screenwriter. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but it will open doors to developing his own projects that he just ������’t pass up.

Grant’s exactly as Helen remembers him—charming, funny, popular, and lovable in ways that she’s never been. And Helen’s exactly as Grant remembers too—brilliant, beautiful, closed off. But working together is messy, and electrifying, and Helen’s parents, who have never forgiven Grant, have no idea he’s in the picture at all.

When secrets come to light, they must reckon with the fact that theirs was never meant to be any kind of love story. And yet�� the key to making peace with their past—and themselves—might just lie in holding on to each other in the present.]]> 384 Yulin Kuang 0063310686 Iman 0 to-read 3.51 2024
author: Yulin Kuang
name: Iman
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> 60531406 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?]]> 443 Brandon Sanderson Iman 3 I know Sanderson loves to challenge himself with building worlds while combining many themes and concepts together to create a whole new universe outside the familiar, but in this book the elements didn't mesh together because of the constant introjection of Hoid informing the reader that this is just how it is; instead of letting the reader imagine this world through description. It felt very surface level, as if I was held at arms length just at the edge peering in without being permitted to free fall into the depths of the story.
I was expecting more. But it was still an enjoyable read.]]> 4.35 2023
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Iman
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:
This one just didn't blow me away. After reading a few of Brandon Sanderson's books I have come to expect a lot more from fantasy books. Truth be told, I have been ruined and no longer enjoy most YA fantasy. And so my expectations were high going in. The world building wasn't as immersive as the other books I've read by Sanderson, the action part was sorta lacking excitement and was short, and the story being narrated by Hoid actually was a negative for me.
I know Sanderson loves to challenge himself with building worlds while combining many themes and concepts together to create a whole new universe outside the familiar, but in this book the elements didn't mesh together because of the constant introjection of Hoid informing the reader that this is just how it is; instead of letting the reader imagine this world through description. It felt very surface level, as if I was held at arms length just at the edge peering in without being permitted to free fall into the depths of the story.
I was expecting more. But it was still an enjoyable read.
]]> 199347538 Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. Featuring gorgeous orange sprayed edges!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 125088120X Iman 0 to-read 4.17 2024
author: T.J. Klune
name: Iman
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 194802722 A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... right?]]> 400 Emily Henry Iman 3 4.21 2024
author: Emily Henry
name: Iman
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/05
date added: 2024/12/05
shelves:
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]]> 60018635 A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life.

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and...Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he's concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn't know she was looking for....
]]> 318 Sangu Mandanna 059343935X Iman 0 to-read 4.05 2022
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Iman
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60766189 A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms �� but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose.

To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow �� exactly where she wants to be.

The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate.

When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.]]> 868 Samantha Shannon 1635577926 Iman 0 to-read 4.34 2023
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Iman
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61294937 Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.]]> 483 Shannon Chakraborty Iman 0 to-read 4.25 2023
author: Shannon Chakraborty
name: Iman
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61918816 A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match.

Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin��-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass�� scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.

And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,�� and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she ������’t refuse.]]> 416 Abby Jimenez 1538704390 Iman 0 to-read 4.29 2023
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Iman
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220817728 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.]]> 352 Taylor Jenkins Reid 0593158717 Iman 0 to-read 4.44 2025
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Iman
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58014893
Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without.

For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart.

When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.

Told over the course of six years and one weekend, Every Summer After is a big, sweeping nostalgic look at love and the people and choices that mark us forever.

Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.]]> 320 Carley Fortune 0593438531 Iman 3 The story is like a mash of many books with the same themes. There wasn't anything new, no added nuance to this type of dynamic. The fact that we are reading two timelines, first the characters as teenagers and then as mature responsible adults, should have brought something new to the conversation. Unlike YAs, where we are reading about characters with a younger perspective and thus the degree of expected maturity in how they deal with difficulties in their relationships and their personal insecurities is low, in a book with our main characters in their thirties one would hope for a fresh introspection of friendship and romance. But this book had none, and it has left me dissatisfied.
However, putting my personal expectations aside, this book was good for all intended purposes. It was well written and was an easy read.]]> 4.17 2022
author: Carley Fortune
name: Iman
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves:
review:
A solid 3 star rating.
The story is like a mash of many books with the same themes. There wasn't anything new, no added nuance to this type of dynamic. The fact that we are reading two timelines, first the characters as teenagers and then as mature responsible adults, should have brought something new to the conversation. Unlike YAs, where we are reading about characters with a younger perspective and thus the degree of expected maturity in how they deal with difficulties in their relationships and their personal insecurities is low, in a book with our main characters in their thirties one would hope for a fresh introspection of friendship and romance. But this book had none, and it has left me dissatisfied.
However, putting my personal expectations aside, this book was good for all intended purposes. It was well written and was an easy read.
]]> 23788985
Sam Hardacre makes a tough yet honest living as a fish gutter. But he has ambitions for a life far removed from the harsh existence on the quays of the north English coast. Through drive and determination he builds a business empire and amasses a fortune. His wife, Mary, once a poor street urchin, must learn to adapt to her new role as mistress of a grand house in Yorkshire.

Sam's sons, Joe and Harry, inherit some but not all of their father's qualities. Their opposing personalities lead them to make very different choices about their futures. Meanwhile, their younger sister, Jane, is born into a life of privilege and has no experience of her family's early struggles.

The three siblings and their offspring will know love, hate, passion and tragedy, as they live through the dramatic events of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The lives of the Hardacres are shaped by the extraordinary events of the Boer War, the Great War, the Wall Street Crash, the Second World War, Hitler's Germany and the London Blitz.

Hardacre is a gripping pageturner; a tale of ambition, fate and family ties.

Praise for the bestselling Hardacre

'History comes alive ... innocents, rascals and middling humans - an authentic bunch to set against tempestuous times.' Publishers Weekly

'This skilfully written, always entertaining family saga ... rich in plot, pace and character ... polished storytelling.' Newsagent and Bookshop

'The best family saga since Penmarric.' Manchester Evening News

For fans of rich and dramatic family sagas from the Forsyte Saga to Downton Abbey.]]> 596 C.L. Skelton Iman 0 to-read 4.32 1976
author: C.L. Skelton
name: Iman
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 20996321 91 Stevie Edwards 1935904523 Iman 0 to-read 4.50 2012
author: Stevie Edwards
name: Iman
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 10375247 Soon to be a major motion picture from the award-winning director Julian Schnabel, starring Freida Pinto. WRITTEN BY the much-admired Italo-Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal, Miral is a novel that focuses on remarkable women whose lives unfold in the turbulent political climate along the borders of Israel and Palestine. The story begins with Hind, a woman who sacrifices everything to establish a school for refugee Palestinian girls in East Jerusalem. Years later Miral arrives at the school after her mother commits suicide. Hind sees that Miral has the potential to change the world peacefully-but Miral is appalled by the injustice that surrounds her, and flirts with the notion of armed resistance. Hind desperately works to persuade her to stay the course of education, hard work, and non-violent resolution-but is she too late?Watch a Video]]> 322 Rula Jebreal 1101498382 Iman 3 3.67 2004
author: Rula Jebreal
name: Iman
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/01
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: summer-readings, books-i-could-never-finish
review:

]]> 45032 488 Jane Austen Iman 3 3.86 1814
author: Jane Austen
name: Iman
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 3
read at: 2022/09/19
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 58423214 I signed a contract to be married to my boss for 365 days and it stated there'd be no sex... but then I woke up in Vegas wearing a wedding ring and my boss' shirt...best part? I can't remember what happened.

After agreeing to be my boss' wife, it's been one drama after another. The terms were very specific about keeping things strictly professional, but as the months roll by, that is fast becoming an impossibility.

The thing is, I can't figure this guy out. He's warm and passionate one minute, then quick as a flash, he's back to being my grumpy boss. When he caught me flirting with a guy at a party, I thought he was going to beat the other guy up.

As we play a game of push and pull, I can't help but ask myself two questions:

How long are we going to ignore the ramping-up tension between us and keep all the terms in the contract?
and If one or both of us break the rules... what happens when the year is up?

Married to my Boss is an enemies-to-lovers, marriage-of-convenience romantic comedy with outrageous sizzling kisses and heart-pounding surprises. Prepare for a whirlwind of emotions as you laugh, gasp and swoon all on one page and spend hours tearing through the book until its deliciously delightful end.

HEAT LEVEL: This is a steamy closed-door romance.]]> 314 Laura Burton Iman 1 Yikes. Minus stars.]]> 3.55 2022
author: Laura Burton
name: Iman
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/29
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves:
review:
I don't like writing harsh reviews, but this one might actually deserve it.
Yikes. Minus stars.
]]> 337113 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful depiction of a woman's fight for domestic independence and creative freedom.]]> 576 Anne Brontë 0140434747 Iman 4 classics 4.00 1848
author: Anne Brontë
name: Iman
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1848
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/20
date added: 2024/07/28
shelves: classics
review:

]]> 22457530
Jared is stunned when Madison announces they are getting married. She pushed her revenge too far. How can he tell them it’s all a lie? And when his sick aunt asks them to be married before she dies, Madison comes up with a hair-brained plan to hire an actor and stage a fake wedding.

What they both don’t know is Jared’s father has found out about the fake wedding. And he’s got his own hair-brained plan.

This is a sweet romance, appropriate for any age.]]> 315 Victorine E. Lieske Iman 3 romance 3.75 2014
author: Victorine E. Lieske
name: Iman
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/07/28
shelves: romance
review:
Good listen for when you are working and have half a brain to listen to sth in the background.
]]> 30966535 From NYT's best selling author of NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS.

Sidney’s matchmaking business is suffering. When her best friend convinces her to put on a fake engagement ring to boost customer confidence in her, she reluctantly agrees. Couldn’t hurt to try, right? And when her childhood crush comes walking in, she’s glad to have her fake engagement as an excuse not to get involved with him. He shattered her heart ten years ago, and she ������’t take another painful Blake incident.

Blake ������’t believe it when he sees Sidney, all grown up. She looks amazing. But she’s also off limits, or so he thinks. When he finds out she’s not really engaged, he’s confused as to why Sidney would lie to him. He makes it his goal to coax the truth out of her, even if he has to go to great lengths to do it.

Blissfully Married is a sweet romance, with no graphic content. This can be read as a stand-alone novel.]]> 181 Victorine E. Lieske Iman 4 romance This is the second book I have listened to from the series and it is superior to the other book. I really enjoyed the love story, and their scheming to see who will basically confess their love to the other first. And best of all, it is a clean read with no smut or anything that would make me uncomfortable to listen to the book while working.
I highly recommend if you are looking for an easy breezy fun read.]]> 3.91 2016
author: Victorine E. Lieske
name: Iman
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/25
date added: 2024/07/28
shelves: romance
review:
In a desperate fit for sth new and entertaining to listen to while working I found this author's youtube channel, and I am very much pleased!
This is the second book I have listened to from the series and it is superior to the other book. I really enjoyed the love story, and their scheming to see who will basically confess their love to the other first. And best of all, it is a clean read with no smut or anything that would make me uncomfortable to listen to the book while working.
I highly recommend if you are looking for an easy breezy fun read.
]]> 124932739 I Hope This Doesn't Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class." It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course -- she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings -- but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work.

All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. "You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft..."

Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them... that is, until they're accidentally sent out.

Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare -- now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the "real" Sadie -- Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate...]]> 320 Ann Liang 1338827154 Iman 4 It is a little too young for my taste, but I can always count on YA to keep things clean and upbeat. ]]> 4.17 2024
author: Ann Liang
name: Iman
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/28
date added: 2024/07/28
shelves:
review:
If you are looking for a fast paced happy clean read, then this is for you!
It is a little too young for my taste, but I can always count on YA to keep things clean and upbeat.
]]> 31076583 229 Sarah J. Maas 168119631X Iman 0 3.77 2019
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Iman
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: to-read, 2019_50-book-challenge
review:

]]> 181344829 A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was��.

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.]]> 410 Ali Hazelwood Iman 1 Nope 3.98 2024
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Iman
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/05/08
shelves:
review:
Nope
]]> 31450913
What begins as a series of clandestine trysts quickly evolves into a passionate and genuine relationship. It is a journey that spans continents as Solène and Hayes navigate each other’s worlds: from stadium tours to international art fairs to secluded hideaways in Paris and Miami. For Solène, it is a reclaiming of self, as well as a rediscovery of happiness and love. When Solène and Hayes�� romance becomes a viral sensation, and both she and her daughter become the target of rabid fans and an insatiable media, Solène must face how her romantic life has impacted the lives of those she cares about most.]]> 372 Robinne Lee 1250125901 Iman 1 The plot was meh, no character building, no growth, no literary climax, and the dialogue was subpar. The dialogue was just the repetition of the same few themes.]]> 3.67 2017
author: Robinne Lee
name: Iman
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2024/05/08
date added: 2024/05/08
shelves:
review:
Nth about this book was good. What is going on in the romance genre?!
The plot was meh, no character building, no growth, no literary climax, and the dialogue was subpar. The dialogue was just the repetition of the same few themes.
]]> 92625 Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness.

The story 'Omelas" was first published in 'New Dimensions 3' (1973), a hard-cover science fiction anthology edited by Robert Silverberg, in October 1973, and the following year it won the prestigious Hugo Award for best short story.

The work was subsequently printed in Le Guin's short story collection 'The Wind's Twelve Quarters' (1975).

Ursula K Le Guin (1929��2018) was an American writer who published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry & four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, and more. She was known for her treatment of gender ('The Left Hand of Darkness' (1969), 'The Matter of Seggri' (1994)), political systems ('The Telling' (2000), 'The Dispossessed' (1974)) and difference/otherness in any other form.]]> 32 Ursula K. Le Guin 0886825016 Iman 4 4.38 1973
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Iman
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1973
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/06
date added: 2024/03/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 41812831
In 1899, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, mayor of Jerusalem, alarmed by the Zionist call to create a Jewish national home in Palestine, wrote a letter aimed at Theodore Herzl: the country had an indigenous people who would not easily accept their own displacement. He warned of the perils ahead, ending his note, “in the name of God, let Palestine be left alone.�� Thus Rashid Khalidi, al-Khalidi’s great-great-nephew, begins this sweeping history, the first general account of the conflict told from an explicitly Palestinian perspective.

Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials and the reports of generations of family members—mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats, and journalists—The Hundred Years' War on Palestine upends accepted interpretations of the conflict, which tend, at best, to describe a tragic clash between two peoples with claims to the same territory. Instead, Khalidi traces a hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, but backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age. He highlights the key episodes in this colonial campaign, from the 1917 Balfour Declaration to the destruction of Palestine in 1948, from Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon to the endless and futile peace process.

Original, authoritative, and important, The Hundred Years' War on Palestine is not a chronicle of victimization, nor does it whitewash the mistakes of Palestinian leaders or deny the emergence of national movements on both sides. In reevaluating the forces arrayed against the Palestinians, it offers an illuminating new view of a conflict that continues to this day.]]> 336 Rashid Khalidi 1627798552 Iman 0 currently-reading 4.50 2020
author: Rashid Khalidi
name: Iman
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 298230 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

Drawing heavily from personal experience, Anne Brontë wrote Agnes Grey in an effort to represent the many 19th Century women who worked as governesses and suffered daily abuse as a result of their position.

Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family.

Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity.

A tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more.

Anne Brontë, the somewhat lesser known sister, was in fact the first to finish and publish Agnes Grey under the pseudonym of Acton Bell. Charlotte and Emily followed shortly after with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

As Anne passed away from what is now known to be pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of just 29, she only published one further title; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. As feminist in nature as Agnes Grey, Anne's brave voice resonates and permeates during one of the most prejudiced and patriarchal times of English history.]]> 226 Anne Brontë 0140432108 Iman 0 to-read 3.71 1847
author: Anne Brontë
name: Iman
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1847
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 17465709 Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return.]]> 408 Robin Wall Kimmerer 1571313354 Iman 0 currently-reading 4.52 2013
author: Robin Wall Kimmerer
name: Iman
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 677591 136 John Stuart Mill 1594625328 Iman 0 3.92 1869
author: John Stuart Mill
name: Iman
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1869
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/29
shelves: currently-reading, feminism-women-s-rights, short-reads
review:

]]> 8556291
Taking into account changing demographics and changing lifestyles, Gehl explains how to develop cities that are lively, safe, sustainable, and healthy.

The book is extensively illustrated with over 700 photos and drawings of examples from Gehl’s work around the globe.]]> 285 Jan Gehl Iman 0 to-read, urbanism 4.34 2010
author: Jan Gehl
name: Iman
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/29
shelves: to-read, urbanism
review:

]]> 16031620
في "8 غرب"، القسم الذي يقرّر مَصير مُرتكبي الجرائم، يُقابل صديقاً قديماً يحمل إليه ماضياً جاهد طويلاً لينساه، ويصبح مَصيره فجأة بين يدي يحيى..

تعصِف المفاجآت بيحيى وتنقلب حياته رأسًا على عقب، ليصبح ما بدأ كمحاولة لاكتشاف حقيقة صديقه، رحلة مثيرة لاكتشاف نفسه.. أو ما تبقى منها..

يأخذنا أحمد مراد في روايته الثالثة إلى كواليس عالم غريب قضى عامين في دراسة تفاصيله، رحلة مثيرة مستكشف فيها أعمق وأغرب خبايا النفس البشرية..]]> 386 أحمد مراد 9770931543 Iman 4
Merged review:

3.5 stars .....]]> 3.79 2012
author: أحمد مراد
name: Iman
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/04
date added: 2023/07/25
shelves:
review:
3.5 stars .....

Merged review:

3.5 stars .....
]]> 9753375 288 عمرو عبدالحميد Iman 4 arabic, fantasy
Merged review:

First book of 2022. Quite an interesting read. I don't usually find fantasy books written in Arabic. And this definitely was a pleasant read.]]> 3.86 2010
author: عمرو عبدالحميد
name: Iman
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/01
date added: 2023/07/25
shelves: arabic, fantasy
review:
First book of 2022. Quite an interesting read. I don't usually find fantasy books written in Arabic. And this definitely was a pleasant read.

Merged review:

First book of 2022. Quite an interesting read. I don't usually find fantasy books written in Arabic. And this definitely was a pleasant read.
]]> 18693771 A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers' capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain's natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk's own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.]]> 464 Bessel van der Kolk 0670785938 Iman 0 to-read 4.36 2014
author: Bessel van der Kolk
name: Iman
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 26026054 ��
Depression. Anxiety. Chronic Pain. Phobias. Obsessive thoughts. The evidence is the roots of these difficulties may not reside in our immediate life experience or in chemical imbalances in our brains—but in the lives of our parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. The latest scientific research, now making headlines, supports what many have long intuited—that traumatic experience can be passed down through generations. It Didn’t Start with You builds on the work of leading experts in post-traumatic stress, including Mount Sinai School of Medicine neuroscientist Rachel Yehuda and psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score . Even if the person who suffered the original trauma has died, or the story has been forgotten or silenced, memory and feelings can live on. These emotional legacies are often hidden, encoded in everything from gene expression to everyday language, and they play a far greater role in our emotional and physical health than has ever before been understood.
��
As a pioneer in the field of inherited family trauma, Mark Wolynn has worked with individuals and groups on a therapeutic level for over twenty years. It Didn’t Start with You offers a pragmatic and prescriptive guide to his method, the Core Language Approach. Diagnostic self-inventories provide a way to uncover the fears and anxieties conveyed through everyday words, behaviors, and physical symptoms. Techniques for developing a genogram or extended family tree create a map of experiences going back through the generations. And visualization, active imagination, and direct dialogue create pathways to reconnection, integration, and reclaiming life and health. It Didn’t Start With You is a transformative approach to resolving longstanding difficulties that in many cases, traditional therapy, drugs, or other interventions have not had the capacity to touch.]]> 256 Mark Wolynn 1101980362 Iman 0 to-read 3.45 2016
author: Mark Wolynn
name: Iman
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58536046 Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith provides the skills you need to navigate common life challenges and take charge of your emotional and mental health in her debut book.

Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? teaches you how to fortify and maintain your mental health, even in the most trying of times. Dr Julie Smith's expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient, whether you want to manage anxiety, deal with criticism, cope with depression, build self-confidence, find motivation, or learn to forgive yourself. The book tackles everyday issues and offers practical solutions in bite-sized, easy-to-digest entries which make it easy to quickly find specific information and guidance.

Your mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being. Packed with proven strategies, Dr Smith's empathetic guide offers a deeper understanding of how your mind works and gives you the insights and help you need to nurture your mental health every day. Wise and practical, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? might just change your life.]]> 368 Julie Smith 0063227932 Iman 0 to-read 3.85 2022
author: Julie Smith
name: Iman
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53238858 Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and What Happened to You? provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand.

“Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our very lives.��—Oprah Winfrey

This book is going to change the way you see your life.

Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my behavior?" Others may judge our reactions and think, "What's wrong with that person?" When questioning our emotions, it's easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It's time we started asking a different question.

Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?�� to “What happened to you?��

Here, Winfrey shares stories from her own past, understanding through experience the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma and adversity at a young age. In conversation throughout the book, she and Dr. Perry focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves. It’s a subtle but profound shift in our approach to trauma, and it’s one that allows us to understand our pasts in order to clear a path to our future—opening the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way.]]> 304 Bruce D. Perry 1250223180 Iman 0 to-read 4.43 2021
author: Bruce D. Perry
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…about your thoughts?

Do you have a bias toward the negative?

Understanding how negative feelings and emotions work is the first step. Then we must learn how to reprogram those emotions and turn them around. A happier life is possible if you follow the steps.

This program works.

Over 300,000 copies sold.

“It gives me a place to go to that makes me feel better about my present situation and gives me hope for the future.�� - Kimberly

“My biggest take away so far (I'm not yet finished with the entire book) is that I am NOT my emotions. Emotions come and I - I still am who I am!�� - Itzel

�۴dz�’l��

31 simple coping strategies How to make your emotions work FOR you. A formula to reprogram your mind A free downloadable workbook, and much, much more!The author was an introvert whose shyness kept him from getting the results in life he wanted. When he decided to devote his life to betterment, everything changed. This is his story and how he found joy.

It will be the blueprint for your transformation, too.

�۴dz�’l�� love this practical, no frills program, because the results are easy to achieve once you’ve decided to Master Your Emotions.

Get it now.]]> 215 Thibaut Meurisse Iman 0 to-read 4.13 2018
author: Thibaut Meurisse
name: Iman
average rating: 4.13
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]]> 61075218 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER �� PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER �� LOS ANGELES TIMES SOCAL INDIE BESTSELLER

Are self-doubt and other negative feelings living rent free in your mind?

If so, you’re not alone. It’s common, even for the most accomplished among us, to let people, circumstances, and worries take up valuable headspace.

Get Out of My Head is a lifeline for overwhelmed professionals seeking direction and tranquility in turbulent times, whether navigating daily stressors or experiencing defining moments.

Author M. Andrew McConnell, CEO of RENTED, INC., shows you it’s possible to achieve clarity, make good decisions, and rise in your career, by illustrating that the human mind is not unlike real estate: adopting an owner’s mindset can make all the difference.

Drawing on ancient Stoic philosophy, modern science, and remarkable stories of contemporary innovators in business, sports, and more, Get Out of My Head demonstrates how to effectively allocate your mental resources, set mental boundaries, and overcome challenges by seizing ownership of your own mind and channeling adversity as a vehicle for growth.

The ancient Stoics recognized that the mind is a human’s most precious and finite resource—that it is the only thing of value anyone can truly possess. The Stoics also understood that the default human state is to waste our mind on trivial things. When we lend our mind to things that do not serve us, we are left with only remnants of our potential.

Beyond giving you the tools to set boundaries and develop better resilience—the remedy to chronic stress��Get Out of My Head shares the stories of high-achieving modern Stoics who have successfully reclaimed their headspace so that you, too, can transition from “mind rentership�� to “mind ownership.”]]> 272 M. Andrew McConnell 1637740751 Iman 0 to-read 3.79
author: M. Andrew McConnell
name: Iman
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