Rashi's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 25 Apr 2025 16:11:38 -0700 60 Rashi's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #2)]]> 207293948
Flash forward months later, and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him.

Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with rom-com-worthy grand gestures she loves. Only . . . Liz will have none of it! Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend . . . a guy friend.

Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.]]> 442 Lynn Painter 1665947136 Rashi 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #2)
author: Lynn Painter
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Do-Over 51035594 In this riotous young adult romp for fans of Recommended for You and A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, a teen girl has the worst Valentine’s Day ever—only to relive it over and over again.

After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.

Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.

How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?]]> 304 Lynn Painter Rashi 0 to-read 3.93 2022 The Do-Over
author: Lynn Painter
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #1)]]> 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 Rashi 0 currently-reading 4.28 2021 Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #1)
author: Lynn Painter
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Babel 57945316 From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?]]> 544 R.F. Kuang 0063021420 Rashi 0 dropped 4.17 2022 Babel
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]> 22628 offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see
what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

(back cover)]]> 213 Stephen Chbosky Rashi 5 4.24 1999 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
author: Stephen Chbosky
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/23
date added: 2025/04/23
shelves: classic, contemporary, adult, mental-health-awareness
review:

]]> Iron Heart (Crier's War, #2) 44650326 if she hadn’t fallen in love first.Ěý

Now Ayla has pledged her allegiance to Queen Junn, who can help accomplish the human rebellion’s ultimate goal: destroy the Iron Heart. Without its power, the Automae will be weakened to the point of extinction. Ayla wants to succeed, but can’t shake the strong feelings she’s developed for Crier. And unbeknownst to her, Crier has also fled the palace, taking up among traveling rebels, determined to find and protect Ayla.

Even as their paths collide, nothing can prepare them for the dark secret underlying the Iron Heart.]]> 400 Nina Varela Rashi 4 4.23 2020 Iron Heart (Crier's War, #2)
author: Nina Varela
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: dystopia, fantasy, romance, sci-fic, thrill, young-adult
review:
the end got really turned up suddenly. so many previous characters came in our of nowhere not going to lie. but the overall book was epic. the world building, with the character built was just perfect in mix. the ratio of both the characters working and trying new things out was right at place for a good series ending.
]]> <![CDATA[Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language]]> 41716694
Amanda Montell, feminist linguist and staff features editor at online beauty and health magazine Byrdie.com, deconstructs language—from insults and cursing to grammar and pronunciation patterns—to reveal the ways it has been used for centuries to keep women form gaining equality. Ever wonder why so many people are annoyed when women use the word “like� as a filler? Or why certain gender neutral terms stick and others don’t? Or even how linguists have historically discussed women’s speech patterns? Wordslut is no stuffy academic study; Montell’s irresistible humor shines through, making linguistics not only approachable but both downright hilarious and profound.]]> 304 Amanda Montell 006286887X Rashi 0 to-read 4.26 2019 Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language
author: Amanda Montell
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Icebreaker (UCMH, #1) 61767292
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried . . . because she could never like a hockey player, right?]]> 447 Hannah Grace Rashi 3 adult, contemporary, romance trust me, this was only ever bearable because it was started on a bus ride from a trip and was continued while i was having a existential crisis while working. There is no in between to these points of my life, so did the book not have it.
writing a literary review wont be plausible cause of the delivery of less than wattpaddy level of writing and appreciation for the characters.
loved the guys and the team and the involvement of the games, unlike many of the comments i saw regarding the same. the dynamic of sports team was the first introduction to me through this particular book so wasn't really overbearing on me. though the first half was a fight against smut and smut alone. handling it all while the end just flips the table on you, makes them start distancing themselves physically for dance was hilarious cause the marketing was based on smut so yeah. none reviews for a brainrot alike this. thank you.
]]> 3.75 2022 Icebreaker (UCMH, #1)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: adult, contemporary, romance
review:
2.75
trust me, this was only ever bearable because it was started on a bus ride from a trip and was continued while i was having a existential crisis while working. There is no in between to these points of my life, so did the book not have it.
writing a literary review wont be plausible cause of the delivery of less than wattpaddy level of writing and appreciation for the characters.
loved the guys and the team and the involvement of the games, unlike many of the comments i saw regarding the same. the dynamic of sports team was the first introduction to me through this particular book so wasn't really overbearing on me. though the first half was a fight against smut and smut alone. handling it all while the end just flips the table on you, makes them start distancing themselves physically for dance was hilarious cause the marketing was based on smut so yeah. none reviews for a brainrot alike this. thank you.

]]> <![CDATA[Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print]]> 11070101
An artist himself, author Frederick Harris--a well-known American collector who lived in Japan for 50 years--pays special attention to the methods and materials employed in Japanese printmaking. The book traces the evolution of ukiyo-e from its origins in metropolitan Edo (Tokyo) art culture as black and white illustrations, to delicate two-color prints and multicolored designs. Advice to admirers on how to collect, care for, view and buy Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints rounds out this book of charming, carefully selected prints.]]> 192 Frederick Harris 4805310987 Rashi 0 4.21 2011 Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print
author: Frederick Harris
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves:
review:

]]> If I See You Again Tomorrow 61272862
From the author of The Sky Blues and Blaine for the Win comes a speculative young adult romance about a teen stuck in a time loop that’s endlessly monotonous until he meets the boy of his dreams.

For some reason, Clark has woken up and relived the same monotonous Monday 309 times. Until Day 310 turns out to be…different. Suddenly, his usual torturous math class is interrupted by an anomaly—a boy he’s never seen before in all his previous Mondays.

When shy, reserved Clark decides to throw caution to the wind and join effusive and effervescent Beau on a series of “errands� across the Windy City, he never imagines that anything will really change, because nothing has in such a long time. And he definitely doesn’t expect to fall this hard or this fast for someone in just one day.

There’s just one problem: how do you build a future with someone if you can never get to tomorrow?]]> 328 Robbie Couch 1534497498 Rashi 0 to-read 4.12 2023 If I See You Again Tomorrow
author: Robbie Couch
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> If You Could See the Sun 60099660 actually invisible.
Ěý
When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power—she’ll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price.
Ěý
But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience—or even her life.

In this genre-bending YA debut, a Chinese American girl monetizes her strange new invisibility powers by discovering and selling her wealthy classmates� most scandalous secrets.]]> 346 Ann Liang 1335915842 Rashi 0 to-read 4.01 2022 If You Could See the Sun
author: Ann Liang
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I Hope This Doesn't Find You 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 Rashi 4
Really got back in my feelings for this one
Bought back the happy memories of school readings, the gossip between the class. The very essence of teenhood really retrieved itself in this particular book.]]> 4.17 2024 I Hope This Doesn't Find You
author: Ann Liang
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: contemporary, romance, young-adult
review:
I was thinking I don't like reading much anymore. Sounds like I was reading the wrong books entirely.

Really got back in my feelings for this one
Bought back the happy memories of school readings, the gossip between the class. The very essence of teenhood really retrieved itself in this particular book.
]]> The Sirens of Titan 6588742 Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’sĚýThe Great American Read

The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course there� s a catch to the invitation–and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell.]]> 338 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Rashi 0 to-read 4.15 1959 The Sirens of Titan
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1959
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language]]> 12870068 252 Mark Forsyth Rashi 0 to-read 4.25 2011 The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
author: Mark Forsyth
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Honey come Honey 01 49418568 208 Yuki Shiraishi 3842047045 Rashi 3 3.90 2017 Honey come Honey 01
author: Yuki Shiraishi
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2021/07/09
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: contemporary, manga, romance, young-adult
review:

]]> The Stationary Shop 216875733 0 Marjan Kamali 1508286582 Rashi 0 4.26 2019 The Stationary Shop
author: Marjan Kamali
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: romance, currently-reading, dystopia, historic
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Longshadow (Regency Faerie Tales, #3)]]> 60420294 Proper Regency ladies are not supposed to become magicians � but Miss Abigail Wilder is far from proper.

The marriageable young ladies of London are dying mysteriously, and Abigail Wilder intends to discover why. Abigail's father, the Lord Sorcier of England, believes that a dark lord of faerie is involved � but while Abigail is willing to match her magic against Lord Longshadow, neither her father nor high society believe that she is capable of doing so.

Thankfully, Abigail is not the only one investigating the terrible events in London. Mercy, a street rat and self-taught magician, insists on joining Abigail to unravel the mystery. But while Mercy's own magic is strange and foreboding, she may well post an even greater danger to Abigail's heart.

From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a queer faerie tale romance full of love and defiant hope. Pick up LONG SHADOW, and return once more to Olivia Atwater's charming, magical version of Regency England.]]> 263 Olivia Atwater 0316463124 Rashi 0 to-read 3.83 2021 Longshadow (Regency Faerie Tales, #3)
author: Olivia Atwater
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, #1)]]> 40914165 An alternate cover edition for ISBN 978-1492671527 can be found here.

In 1936, tucked deep into the woods of Troublesome Creek, KY, lives blue-skinned 19-year-old Cussy Carter, the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry.

The lonely young Appalachian woman joins the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian, riding across slippery creek beds and up treacherous mountains on her faithful mule to deliver books and other reading material to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky.

Along her dangerous route, Cussy, known to the mountain folk as Bluet, confronts those suspicious of her damselfly-blue skin and the government's new book program. She befriends hardscrabble and complex fellow Kentuckians, and is fiercely determined to bring comfort and joy, instill literacy, and give to those who have nothing, a bookly respite, a fleeting retreat to faraway lands.]]> 309 Kim Michele Richardson Rashi 0 to-read 4.17 2019 The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, #1)
author: Kim Michele Richardson
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dead Poets Society 67238 166 N.H. Kleinbaum 0553282980 Rashi 0 classic, dropped 4.19 1988 Dead Poets Society
author: N.H. Kleinbaum
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: classic, dropped
review:

]]> Crier's War (Crier's War, #1) 41951626 Impossible love between two girls —one human, one Made.
A love that could birth a revolution.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, Designed to be the playthings of royals, took over the estates of their owners and bent the human race to their will.

Now, Ayla, a human servant rising the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging the death of her family� by killing the Sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier. Crier, who was Made to be beautiful, to be flawless. And to take over the work of her father.

Crier had been preparing to do just that—to inherit her father’s rule over the land. But that was before she was betrothed to Scyre Kinok, who seems to have a thousand secrets. That was before she discovered her father isn’t as benevolent as she thought. That was before she met Ayla.

Set in a richly-imagined fantasy world, Nina Varela’s debut novel is a sweepingly romantic tale of love, loss and revenge, that challenges what it really means to be human.]]> 464 Nina Varela 0062823965 Rashi 4 A soul striking YA 4.12 2019 Crier's War (Crier's War, #1)
author: Nina Varela
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: fantasy, lgbtq, mystery, romance, sci-fic, thrill, young-adult, dark
review:
A soul striking YA
]]> <![CDATA[More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #2)]]> 199295788 In this charming and emotionally resonant follow up to the internationally bestselling Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, Satoshi Yagisawa paints a poignant and thoughtful portrait of life, love, and how much books and bookstores mean to the people who love them.

Set again in the beloved Japanese bookshop and nearby coffee shop in the Jimbocho neighborhood of Toyko, More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop deepens the relationship between Takako, her uncle Satoru , and the people in their lives. A new cast of heartwarming regulars have appeared in the shop, including an old man who wears the same ragged mouse-colored sweater and another who collects books solely for the official stamps with the author’s personal seal.

Satoshi Yagisawa illuminates the everyday relationships between people that are forged and grown through a shared love of books. As time passes, Satoru, with Takako’s help, must choose whether to keep the bookshop open or shutter its doors forever. Making the decision will take uncle and niece on an emotional journey back to their family’s roots and remind them again what a bookstore can mean to an individual, a neighborhood, and a whole culture.]]> 176 Satoshi Yagisawa 0063278715 Rashi 4 contemporary, young-adult 3.90 2011 More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #2)
author: Satoshi Yagisawa
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: contemporary, young-adult
review:
If the first book didn't hit home, this was a sequel which brought back the epitome of the bookstore feeling back to you. In the best way possible, this book excelled every imagination as the sequel book. All the loopholes which interacted with each other in the first installment came in a very beautiful ending by the next.
]]> <![CDATA[The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)]]> 150247395
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.]]> 410 Robert Jackson Bennett 1984820702 Rashi 0 to-read 4.28 2024 The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales, #1)]]> 60717747 It's difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you're a young lady with only half a soul.

Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season - but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.

If Dora's reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.

Bridgerton meets Howl's Moving Castle in this enchanting historical fantasy, where the only thing more meddlesome than faeries is a marriage-minded mother.

Pick up HALF A SOUL, and be stolen away into Olivia Atwater's charming, magical version of Regency England!]]> 304 Olivia Atwater Rashi 5 4.04 2020 Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales, #1)
author: Olivia Atwater
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: fairy-tales-renarrated, fantasy, favorites, romance, thrill
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales, #2)]]> 60420293 Regency housemaid Euphemia Reeves has acquired a faerie godfather. Unfortunately, he has no idea what he's doing.

Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. There's only one problem; Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Ashbrooke's heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favourite jacket.

Effie has heard rumours about what happens to those who accept help from faeries, but life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now, she has one hundred days - and ten thousand stitches - to make Mr Ashbrooke fall in love and propose. . . if Lord Blackthorn doesn't wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie's greatest obstacle might well prove to be Lord Blackthorn's overwhelmingly good intentions.

From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a whimsical fantasy romance with a Cinderella twist. Pick up TEN THOUSAND STITCHES, and dive into another enchanting faerie tale set in Olivia Atwater's charming, magical version of Regency England!]]> 288 Olivia Atwater 031646290X Rashi 0 to-read 3.91 2020 Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales, #2)
author: Olivia Atwater
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Metamorphosis 485894 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 0553213695 / 9780553213690

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was laying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes."

With it's startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing—though absurdly comic—meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."]]> 201 Franz Kafka 0553213695 Rashi 0 to-read 3.90 1915 The Metamorphosis
author: Franz Kafka
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1915
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/27
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]]> An Enchantment of Ravens 30969741 Every enchantment has a price.

With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. These immortal creatures cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and they trade valuable enchantments for Isobel’s paintings. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life.

Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is seriously amiss in his world, and they are attacked from every side. With Isobel and Rook depending upon each other for survival, their alliance blossoms into trust, perhaps even love . . . a forbidden emotion that would violate the fair folks� ruthless laws, rendering both their lives forfeit. What force could Isobel's paintings conjure that is powerful enough to defy the ancient malice of the fairy courts?

Isobel and Rook journey along a knife-edge in a lush world where beauty masks corruption and the cost of survival might be more frightening than death itself.]]> 304 Margaret Rogerson 1481497588 Rashi 0 to-read 3.64 2017 An Enchantment of Ravens
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Yeonnam-dong's Smiley Laundromat]]> 203469691
It is already a haven of tranquility and reflection for locals, but when someone leaves a notebook behind, the laundromat becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd.

But there is more to the diary than first appears, and before long the laundromat's regulars are teaming up to solve a mystery and help the notebook's former owner find peace.]]> 320 Kim Jiyun 1529437431 Rashi 0 to-read 3.92 2023 Yeonnam-dong's Smiley Laundromat
author: Kim Jiyun
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)]]> 154488299 The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason customers stop by . . .

The father-daughter duo are â€food detectivesâ€�. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories â€� dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.

A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal.]]> 201 Hisashi Kashiwai 0593717716 Rashi 0 to-read 3.70 2013 The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)
author: Hisashi Kashiwai
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Woman Next Door 58490536 169 Kuniko Mukoda 490947319X Rashi 0 to-read 4.08 The Woman Next Door
author: Kuniko Mukoda
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/25
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]]> Code Name Hélène 50089336 Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name.

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name.

As LUCIENNE CARLIER Nancy smuggles people and documents across the border. Her success and her remarkable ability to evade capture earns her the nickname THE WHITE MOUSE from the Gestapo. With a five million franc bounty on her head, Nancy is forced to escape France and leave Henri behind. When she enters training with the Special Operations Executives in Britain, her new comrades are instructed to call her ±áÉł˘Ă±··ˇ. And finally, with mission in hand, Nancy is airdropped back into France as the deadly MADAM ANDRÉ, where she claims her place as one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance, armed with a ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and the ability to summon weapons straight from the Allied Forces.

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she--and the people she loves--become.]]> 451 Ariel Lawhon 0385544685 Rashi 0 to-read 4.39 2020 Code Name Hélène
author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Stationery Shop 42201995
Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—and she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.

A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on—to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England—until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?

A poignant, heartfelt new novel by the award-nominated author of Together Tea—extolled by the Wall Street Journal as a “moving tale of lost love� and by Shelf Awareness as “a powerful, heartbreaking story”—explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.]]> 312 Marjan Kamali 1982107480 Rashi 0 to-read 4.22 2019 The Stationery Shop
author: Marjan Kamali
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
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]]> <![CDATA[The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England]]> 63068377 The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?]]> 366 Brandon Sanderson 1250899672 Rashi 0 to-read 3.75 2023 The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Under the Whispering Door 53205888 Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

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

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

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

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.]]> 376 T.J. Klune 1250217342 Rashi 0 to-read 4.11 2021 Under the Whispering Door
author: T.J. Klune
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Travelling Cat Chronicles 40961230
An instant international bestseller and indie bestseller, The Travelling Cat Chronicles has charmed readers around the world. With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner, Satoru, as they take to the road on a journey with no other purpose than to visit three of Satoru's longtime friends. Or so Nana is led to believe...

With his crooked tail—a sign of good fortune—and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. And as they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love.]]> 281 Hiro Arikawa 0735235244 Rashi 0 to-read 4.35 2012 The Travelling Cat Chronicles
author: Hiro Arikawa
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Essays In Love 24109873 "The longing for a destiny is nowhere stronger than in our romantic life" we are told at the outset of Alain de Botton's On Love, a hip, charming, and devastatingly witty rumination on the thrills and pitfalls of romantic love.

The narrator is smitten by Chloe on a Paris-London flight, and by the time they've reached the luggage carousel, he knows he is in love. He loves her chestnut hair and pale nape and watery green eyes, the way she drives a car and eats Chinese food, the gap that makes her teeth Kantian and not Platonic, her views on Heidegger's Being and Time - although he hates her taste in shoes. On Love plots the course of their affair from the initial delirium of infatuation to the depths of suicidal despair, through the "Marxist" stage of coming to terms with being loved by the unattainable beloved, through a fit of anhedonia, defined in medical texts as a disease resulting from the terror brought on by the threat of utter happiness, and finally through the nausea induced and terrorist tactics employed when the beloved begins, inexplicably, to drift away.

Alain de Botton is simultaneously hilarious and intellectually astute, shifting with ease among such seminal romantic texts as The Divine Comedy, Madame Bovary, and The Bleeding Heart, a self-help book for those who love too much. He is schematically flawless, funny, funky, and totally engaging. Filled with profound observations and useful diagrams, On Love displays and examines for all of us the pain and exhilaration of love, asking, "Can we not be forgiven if we believe ourselves fated to stumble one day upon the man or woman of our dreams? Can we not be excused a certain superstitious faith in a creature who will prove the solution to our relentless yearnings?"]]> 223 Alain de Botton Rashi 0 to-read 4.12 1993 Essays In Love
author: Alain de Botton
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1993
rating: 0
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]]> How Should a Person Be? 9361377 The Middle Stories and Ticknor comes a bold interrogation into the possibility of a beautiful life. How Should a Person Be? is a novel of many identities: an autobiography of the mind, a postmodern self-help book, and a fictionalized portrait of the artist as a young woman � of two such artists, in fact.

For reasons multiple and mysterious, Sheila finds herself in a quandary of self-doubt, questioning how a person should be in the world. Inspired by her friend Margaux, a painter, and her seemingly untortured ability to live and create, Sheila casts Margaux as material, embarking on a series of recordings in which nothing is too personal, too ugly, or too banal to be turned into art. Along the way, Sheila confronts a cast of painters who are equally blocked in an age in which the blow job is the ultimate art form. She begins questioning her desire to be Important, her quest to be both a leader and a pupil, and her unwillingness to sacrifice herself.

Searching, uncompromising and yet mordantly funny, How Should a Person Be? is a brilliant portrait of art-making and friendship from the psychic underground of Canada's most fiercely original writer.]]> 306 Sheila Heti 0887842402 Rashi 0 to-read 3.35 2010 How Should a Person Be?
author: Sheila Heti
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
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]]> Pure Colour 57693639 Pure Colour is a galaxy of a novel: explosive, celestially bright, huge, and streaked with beauty. It is a contemporary bible, an atlas of feeling, and an absurdly funny guide to the great (and terrible) things about being alive. Sheila Heti is a philosopher of modern experience, and she has reimagined what a book can hold.

Here we are, just living in the first draft of Creation, which was made by some great artist, who is now getting ready to tear it apart.

In this first draft of the world, a woman named Mira leaves home to study. There, she meets Annie, whose tremendous power opens Mira’s chest like a portal—to what, she doesn’t know. When Mira is older, her beloved father dies, and his spirit passes into her. Together, they become a leaf on a tree. But photosynthesis gets boring, and being alive is a problem that cannot be solved, even by a leaf. Eventually, Mira must remember the human world she’s left behind, including Annie, and choose whether or not to return.]]> 224 Sheila Heti 0374603944 Rashi 0 to-read 3.46 2022 Pure Colour
author: Sheila Heti
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
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]]> Motherhood 36203362 How Should a Person Be? (“one of the most talked-about books of the year”�Time Magazine) and the New York Times Bestseller Women in Clothes comes a daring novel about whether to have children.

In Motherhood, Sheila Heti asks what is gained and what is lost when a woman becomes a mother, treating the most consequential decision of early adulthood with the candor, originality, and humor that have won Heti international acclaim and made How Should A Person Be? required reading for a generation.

In her late thirties, when her friends are asking when they will become mothers, the narrator of Heti’s intimate and urgent novel considers whether she will do so at all. In a narrative spanning several years, casting among the influence of her peers, partner, and her duties to her forbearers, she struggles to make a wise and moral choice. After seeking guidance from philosophy, her body, mysticism, and chance, she discovers her answer much closer to home.

Motherhood is a courageous, keenly felt, and starkly original novel that will surely spark lively conversations about womanhood, parenthood, and about how—and for whom—to live.]]> 304 Sheila Heti 1627790772 Rashi 0 to-read 3.66 2018 Motherhood
author: Sheila Heti
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
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]]> Alphabetical Diaries 127282792
Sheila Heti kept a record of her thoughts over a ten-year period, then arranged the sentences from A to Z. Passionate and reflective, joyful and despairing, these are her alphabetical diaries.]]> 224 Sheila Heti 0374610789 Rashi 0 currently-reading 3.95 2024 Alphabetical Diaries
author: Sheila Heti
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Three Apples Fell from the Sky]]> 51551602 An unforgettable story of friendship and feuds in a remote Armenian mountain village

In an isolated village high in the Armenian mountains, a close-knit community bickers, gossips and laughs. Their only connection to the outside world is an ancient telegraph wire and a perilous mountain road that even goats struggle to navigate.

As they go about their daily lives � harvesting crops, making baklava, tidying houses � the villagers sustain one another through good times and bad. But sometimes all it takes is a spark of romance to turn life on its head, and a plot to bring two of Maran's most stubbornly single residents together soon gives the village something new to gossip about...

Three Apples Fell from the Sky is an enchanting fable that brilliantly captures the idiosyncrasy of a small community. Sparkling with sumptuous imagery and warm humour, this is a vibrant tale of resilience, bravery and the miracle of everyday friendship.]]> 231 Narine Abgaryan 1786077310 Rashi 0 to-read 4.05 2015 Three Apples Fell from the Sky
author: Narine Abgaryan
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[가� 동맹 2 (Our Secret Alliance, Vol. 2)]]> 212586820 284 Cakenyam Rashi 4 romance, webtoon, young-adult 4.42 가짜 동맹 2 (Our Secret Alliance, Vol. 2)
author: Cakenyam
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: romance, webtoon, young-adult
review:

]]> <![CDATA[가� 동맹 1 (Our Secret Alliance, Vol. 1)]]> 209588845 312 Cakenyam Rashi 0 to-read 4.18 가짜 동맹 1 (Our Secret Alliance, Vol. 1)
author: Cakenyam
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Study in Drowning (A Study in Drowning, #1)]]> 75302266 Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.

But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.]]> 378 Ava Reid 0063211505 Rashi 4 3.73 2023 A Study in Drowning (A Study in Drowning, #1)
author: Ava Reid
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: fantasy, mystery, romance, thrill, young-adult
review:
The whole juxtapositions of the very well written fantasy with okayish world building but extreme of prejudice kinda left a blare on me.
]]> Heaven 53223710
These raw and realistic portrayals of bullying are counterbalanced by textured exposition of the philosophical and religious debates concerning violence to which the weak are subjected.

Kawakami's simple yet profound new work stands as a dazzling testament to her literary talent. There can be little doubt that it has cemented her reputation as one of the most important young authors working to expand the boundaries of contemporary Japanese literature.]]> 192 Mieko Kawakami 1609456211 Rashi 3 dark, mental-health-awareness 3.80 2009 Heaven
author: Mieko Kawakami
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: dark, mental-health-awareness
review:
This is a book which left me ajar with how and what I feel towards it. The very concept left me feeling broken and humbled me against the world around me. It destroyed and created a whole new world for me.
]]> <![CDATA[A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning, #2)]]> 221228045
All stories come to an end.

Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.

But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?

With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.

As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.

Are dreams ever truly just dreams?]]> 416 Ava Reid 0063421674 Rashi 0 to-read 3.93 2025 A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning, #2)
author: Ava Reid
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Great Big Beautiful Life 218559595 Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years--or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.]]> 432 Emily Henry Rashi 0 to-read 4.19 2025 Great Big Beautiful Life
author: Emily Henry
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My December Darling 218137764 A small-town Christmas novella by the New York Times bestselling author of LAKEFRONT BILLIONAIRES series that will make you want to pack your bags and spend the holiday in Lake Wisteria.

Catalina
Playing the part of my sister’s maid of honor is easy even if she’s marrying my ex.
But playing nice with the best man? An impossible task given our history.
Sure, Luke Darling may be suspiciously kind, incredibly handsome, and stubborn to a fault, but regardless of how hard he tries to make me see otherwise, I’m not interested.
It’s on me to remind him that he’s my ex-boyfriend’s best friend.
And the one I’m secretly starting to wish I met first.

Luke
My job as the best man is a simple one, except for one minor issue.
I’ve spent so much time avoiding my best friend’s ex that I didn’t consider what could happen if I started craving Catalina Martinez’s company instead.
She is only in Lake Wisteria for the winter wedding, but her January departure date won’t stop me from pursuing her.
Getting her to date me would be nothing short of a Christmas miracle, but I’m determined to make her mine.
â€Tis the season to fall in love…even if I’m the only one taking the risk.

My December Darling is a 50,000 word, Christmas-themed romance between a grumpy maid of honor and an outgoing best man who chases after what he wants. ]]> 252 Lauren Asher 1964990025 Rashi 0 to-read 3.72 2024 My December Darling
author: Lauren Asher
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 3]]> 200786719 180 Mokumokuren 1975392779 Rashi 0 to-read 4.39 2023 The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 3
author: Mokumokuren
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Answer Is No 219876684 In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone?

Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.]]> 68 Fredrik Backman 1662526520 Rashi 0 to-read 3.94 2024 The Answer Is No
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[What the River Knows (Secrets of the Nile, #1)]]> 65213381
When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.]]> 416 Isabel Ibañez 1250803373 Rashi 0 to-read 3.82 2023 What the River Knows (Secrets of the Nile, #1)
author: Isabel Ibañez
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[What You Are Looking For Is in the Library]]> 91274427 For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this charming Japanese novel shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a reader's life.

What are you looking for?

This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves—but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they’re looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it.

Each visitor comes to her library from a different juncture in their careers and dreams, from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job to the struggling working mother who longs to be a magazineĚýeditor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi—and the surprise book she lends each of them—will have life-altering consequences.

With heartwarming charm and wisdom, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a paean to the magic of libraries, friendship and community, perfect for anyone who has ever found themselves at an impasse in their life and in need of a little inspiration.]]> 304 Michiko Aoyama 1335005625 Rashi 0 to-read 4.07 2020 What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
author: Michiko Aoyama
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop]]> 133938826 should feel successful—but all she feels is drained. Haunted by an abandoned dream, she takes a leap of faith and leaves her old life behind. Quitting her job and divorcing her husband, Yeongju moves to a quiet residential neighborhood outside the city and opens the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.

The transition isn’t easy. For months, all Yeongju can do is cry. But as the long hours in the shop stretch on, she begins to reflect on what makes a good bookseller and a meaningful store. She throws herself into reading voraciously, hosting author events, and crafting her own philosophy on bookselling. Gradually, Yeongju finds her footing in her new surroundings.

Surrounded by friends, writers, and the books that bind them, Yeongju begins to write a new chapter in her life. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop evolves into a warm, welcoming haven for lost souls—a place to rest, heal, and remember that it’s never too late to scrap the plot and start over.]]> 307 Hwang Bo-Reum Rashi 0 to-read 3.94 2022 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
author: Hwang Bo-Reum
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping]]> 123029113 A whimsical and heartwarming novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests' shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power�

Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone...and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.]]> 336 Sangu Mandanna Rashi 0 to-read 4.36 2025 A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom, #1)]]> 56554281 Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.

Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tomi Adeyemi, and Sabaa Tahir, this is the explosive first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi.]]> 512 Tahereh Mafi 0062972464 Rashi 0 to-read 3.95 2022 This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom, #1)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life / The Little Book of Lykke / Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living]]> 40534545 3 Books Collection Set:

Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life

The people of Japan believe that everyone has an ikigai � a reason to jump out of bed each morning. And according to the residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa � the world’s longest-living people � finding it is the key to a longer and more fulfilled life. Inspiring and comforting, this book will give you the life-changing tools to uncover your personal ikigai. It will show you how to leave urgency behind, find your purpose, nurture friendships and throw yourself into your passions.

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well

The Danish word hygge is one of those beautiful words that doesn't directly translate into English, but it more or less means comfort, warmth or togetherness. Hygge is the feeling you get when you are cuddled up on a sofa with a loved one, in warm knitted socks, in front of the fire, when it is dark, cold and stormy outside. It that feeling when you are sharing good, comfort food with your closest friends, by candle light and exchanging easy conversation. It is those cold, crisp blue sky mornings when the light through your window is just right.

Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living

Step aside Hygge. Lagom is the new Scandi lifestyle trend taking the world by storm. This delightfully illustrated book gives you the lowdown on this transformative approach to life and examines how the lagom ethos has helped boost Sweden to the No.10 ranking in 2017's World Happiness Report. Lagom (pronounced 'lah-gom') has no equivalent in the English language but is loosely translated as 'not too little, not too much, just right'. It is widely believed that the word comes from the Viking term 'laget om', for when a mug of mead was passed around a circle and there was just enough for everyone to get a sip.]]> HĂ©ctor GarcĂ­a 9123672609 Rashi 0 non-fiction, dropped 3.85 2018 Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life / The Little Book of Lykke / Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living
author: HĂ©ctor GarcĂ­a
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2023/01/01
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: non-fiction, dropped
review:

]]> Life of the Party 43124132
i’m a good girl, bad girl, dream girl, sad girl
girl next door sunbathing in the driveway
i wanna be them all at once, i wanna be
all the girls I’ve ever loved
—from “Girl�

Lauded for the power of her writing and having attracted an online fan base of millions for her extraordinary spoken-word performances, Olivia Gatwood now weaves together her own coming-of-age with an investigation into our culture’s romanticization of violence against women. At times blistering and riotous, at times soulful and exuberant, Life of the Party explores the boundary between what is real and what is imagined in a life saturated with fear. Gatwood asks, How does a girl grow into a woman in a world racked by violence? Where is the line between perpetrator and victim? In precise, searing language, she illustrates how what happens to our bodies can make us who we are.

Praise for Life of the Party

“Delicately devastating, this book will make us all â€feel less alone in the dark.â€� â€� —Miel Bredouw, writer and comedian,Ěý Punch Up the Jam
Ěý
“Gatwood writes about the women who were forgotten and the men who got off too easy with an effortlessness and empathy and anger that yanked every emotion on the spectrum out of me. Imagine, we get to live in the age of Olivia Gatwood. Goddamn.â€� —Jamie Loftus, writer and comedian,Ěý Boss Whom Is GirlĚý andĚý The Bechdel Cast

“I’ve read every poem inĚý Life of the Party . I’ve read each of them more than once. In some parts of the book the spine is already breaking because I’ve spent so much time poring over it and losing hours in this world Olivia Gatwood has partly created, but partly just invited the reader to enter on their own, caution signs be damned.ĚýThis book is enlightening, inspiring, igniting, and f***ing scary . I loved every word on every page with a ferocity that frightened me.â€� —Madeline Brewer , actress,Ěý The Handmaid’s Tale, Orange Is the New Black, ĚýandĚý Cam]]> 176 Olivia Gatwood 1984801902 Rashi 0 adult, poetry, dropped 4.20 2019 Life of the Party
author: Olivia Gatwood
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: adult, poetry, dropped
review:

]]> Les Misérables 24280 1463 Victor Hugo 0451525264 Rashi 0 classic, romance, dropped 4.19 1862 Les Misérables
author: Victor Hugo
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1862
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: classic, romance, dropped
review:

]]> Twisted Love (Twisted, #1) 55817097 He has a heart of ice...but for her, he'd burn the world.

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:

A crack.
A melt.
A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

***

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember.

But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want.

Her brother’s best friend.
Her neighbor.
Her savior and her downfall.

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen—but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold dear.

Twisted Love is a brother’s best friend/opposites attract romance with a hint of suspense. It's book one in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

WARNING: This book contains a possessive, morally gray alphahole; explicit sexual content, and profanity. No cheating or menage, but if you're looking for a traditionally sweet, loveable hero, this is not the book for you. Recommended for 18+. ]]> 360 Ana Huang Rashi 0 3.74 2021 Twisted Love (Twisted, #1)
author: Ana Huang
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: adult, contemporary, romance, dropped
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Dowry of Blood (A Dowry of Blood, #1)]]> 60521937
This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.]]> 292 S.T. Gibson 0316501077 Rashi 0 dropped 3.91 2021 A Dowry of Blood (A Dowry of Blood, #1)
author: S.T. Gibson
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> Upstream: Selected Essays 29358559 Upstream finds beloved poet Mary Oliver reflecting on her astonishment and admiration for the natural world and the craft of writing. Ěý

As she contemplates the pleasure of artistic labor, finding solace and safety within the woods, and the joyful and rhythmic beating of wings, Oliver intimately shares with her readers her quiet discoveries, boundless curiosity, and exuberance for the grandeur of our world.Ěý

This radiant collection of her work, with some pieces published here for the first time, reaffirms Oliver as a passionate and prolific observer whose thoughtful meditations on spiders, writing a poem, blue fin tuna, and Ralph Waldo Emerson inspire us all to discover wonder and awe in life's smallest corners.]]> 178 Mary Oliver 1594206708 Rashi 0 dropped 4.17 2016 Upstream: Selected Essays
author: Mary Oliver
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Purple Hyacinth, Season 3 (Purple Hyacinth #3)]]> 60481437 NOT A BOOK Rashi 0 ]]> 4.75 Purple Hyacinth, Season 3 (Purple Hyacinth #3)
author: NOT A BOOK
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: webtoon, young-adult, romance, thrill, dark, dropped
review:
This hasnt been prettier sis i will say so

]]> Normal People 41057294
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.]]> 273 Sally Rooney 1984822179 Rashi 0 dropped 3.81 2018 Normal People
author: Sally Rooney
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> Heaven 56927764 From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs and international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami, comes a sharp and illuminating novel about a fourteen-year-old boy subjected to relentless bullying.

In Heaven, a fourteen-year old boy is tormented for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, he chooses to suffer in silence. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate, Kojima, who experiences similar treatment at the hands of her bullies. Providing each other with immeasurable consolation at a time in their lives when they need it most, the two young friends grow closer than ever. But what, ultimately, is the nature of a friendship when your shared bond is terror?

Unflinching yet tender, sharply observed, intimate and multi-layered, this simple yet profound novel stands as yet another dazzling testament to Mieko Kawakami’s uncontainable talent. There can be little doubt that it has cemented her reputation as one of the most important young authors at work today.]]> 167 Mieko Kawakami 1509898247 Rashi 0 to-read 3.74 2009 Heaven
author: Mieko Kawakami
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Immortal 211642122 A stunning, standalone romantic fantasy filled with dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, and passion, of a young ruler who fights to protect her kingdom, from bestselling author Sue Lynn Tan and set in the breathtaking world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

“What the gods did not give us, I would take.�

As the heir to Tianxia, Liyen knows she must ascend the throne and renew her kingdom’s pledge to serve the immortals who once protected them from a vicious enemy. But when she is poisoned, Liyen’s grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. Enraged at his betrayal, the immortal queen commands the powerful God of War to attack Tianxia.

Upon her grandfather’s death, Liyen ascends a precarious throne, vowing to end her kingdom’s obligation to the immortals. When she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, she seizes the opportunity to learn their secrets and to form a tenuous alliance to safeguard her people, all with the one she should fear and mistrust the most: the ruthless God of War. As they are drawn together, a treacherous attraction ignites between them—one she has to resist, to not endanger all she is fighting for.

But with darker forces closing in around them, and her kingdom plunged into peril, Liyen must risk everything to save her people from an unspeakable fate, even if it means forging a dangerous bond with the immortal� even if it means losing her heart.]]> 464 Sue Lynn Tan 0063267616 Rashi 0 to-read 3.87 2025 Immortal
author: Sue Lynn Tan
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Julie Chan Is Dead 220161576 In this razor-sharp, diabolical debut thriller, a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life, only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied.

Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but.

Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.]]> 320 Liann Zhang 1668067897 Rashi 0 to-read 3.78 2025 Julie Chan Is Dead
author: Liann Zhang
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Bright Years 214152211 One family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they’re unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this big-hearted family saga perfect for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.

Ryan and Lillian Bright are deeply in love, recently married, and now parents to a baby girl, Georgette. But Lillian has a son she hasn’t told Ryan about, and Ryan has an alcohol addiction he hasn’t told Lillian about, so Georgette comes of age watching their marriage rise and fall.

When a shocking blow scatters their fragile trio, Georgette tries to distance herself from reminders of her parents. Years later, Lillian’s son comes searching for his birth family, so Georgette must return to her roots, unearth her family’s history, and decide whether she can open up to love for them—or herself—while there’s still time.

Told from three intimate points of view, The Bright Years is a tender, true-to-life novel that explores the impact of each generation in a family torn apart by tragedy but, over time, restored by the power of grace and love.]]> 288 Sarah Damoff 1668061449 Rashi 0 to-read 4.40 2025 The Bright Years
author: Sarah Damoff
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Homeseeking 211025407 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780593712993.

An epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.

A single choice can define an entire life.

Haiwen is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in Los Angeles when he looks up and sees Suchi, his Suchi, for the first time in sixty years. To recently widowed Haiwen it feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back.

Suchi was seven when she first met Haiwen in their Shanghai neighborhood, drawn by the sound of his violin. Their childhood friendship blossomed into soul-deep love, but when Haiwen secretly enlisted in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft, she was left with just his violin and a note: Forgive me.

Homeseeking follows the separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts.

At once epic and intimate, Homeseeking is a story of family, sacrifice, and loyalty, and of the power of love to endure beyond distance, beyond time.]]> 512 Karissa Chen Rashi 0 to-read 4.24 2025 Homeseeking
author: Karissa Chen
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)]]> 62047992 The moving international sensation about new beginnings, human connection, and the joy of reading.

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover's paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.

Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.

When Takako's boyfriend reveals he's marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle's offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.

As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.]]> 150 Satoshi Yagisawa 0063278677 Rashi 4 3.67 2010 Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)
author: Satoshi Yagisawa
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Frankenstein: The 1818 Text 35031085 This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780143131847.

Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster.

This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.]]> 260 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 0143131842 Rashi 0 to-read 4.02 1818 Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1818
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State]]> 34346848 WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

In this intimate memoir of survival, a former captive of the Islamic State tells her harrowing and ultimately inspiring story.

Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon.

On August 15th, 2014, when Nadia was just twenty-one years old, this life ended. Islamic State militants massacred the people of her village, executing men who refused to convert to Islam and women too old to become sex slaves. Six of Nadia's brothers were killed, and her mother soon after, their bodies swept into mass graves. Nadia was taken to Mosul and forced, along with thousands of other Yazidi girls, into the ISIS slave trade.

Nadia would be held captive by several militants and repeatedly raped and beaten. Finally, she managed a narrow escape through the streets of Mosul, finding shelter in the home of a Sunni Muslim family whose eldest son risked his life to smuggle her to safety.

Today, Nadia's story - as a witness to the Islamic State's brutality, a survivor of rape, a refugee, a Yazidi - has forced the world to pay attention to an ongoing genocide. It is a call to action, a testament to the human will to survive, and a love letter to a lost country, a fragile community, and a family torn apart by war.]]> 13 Nadia Murad 0525493212 Rashi 0 to-read 4.45 2017 The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State
author: Nadia Murad
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sense and Sensibility 14935 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141439662

'The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!'

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

This edition includes explanatory notes, textual variants between the first and second editions, and Tony Tanner's introduction to the original Penguin Classic edition.]]> 409 Jane Austen 0141439661 Rashi 0 to-read 4.10 1811 Sense and Sensibility
author: Jane Austen
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1811
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Emma 6969 The newest edition is here. Another alternate cover can be found here.

Emma Woodhouse is one of Austen's most captivating and vivid characters. Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect.]]> 474 Jane Austen 0141439580 Rashi 0 to-read 4.05 1815 Emma
author: Jane Austen
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1815
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679783268]]> 279 Jane Austen 1441341706 Rashi 0 4.28 1813 Pride and Prejudice
author: Jane Austen
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1813
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: adult, classic, contemporary, romance, currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)]]> 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 Rashi 0 to-read 4.60 2023 The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)
author: James Islington
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles, #5)]]> 17334064
The immortal Magnus Bane is making the most of his time in the Roaring Twenties: He's settled into New York society and is thriving among the fashionable jazz set. And there is nowhere better to see and be seen than the glamorous Hotel Dumort, a glittering new addition to the Manhattan landscape. But a different type of glamour may be at play...]]> 61 Cassandra Clare 144249560X Rashi 0 to-read 3.79 The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles, #5)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.79
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) 43263680
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs� are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.]]> 461 Leigh Bardugo 1250313074 Rashi 0 to-read 4.00 2019 Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Only Good Indians 52180399 The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.]]> 305 Stephen Graham Jones 1982136456 Rashi 0 to-read 3.68 2020 The Only Good Indians
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)]]> 55077657 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250236210.

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?]]> 147 Becky Chambers Rashi 0 to-read 4.25 2021 A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Moonlight Shadow 8043651 48 Banana Yoshimoto 8858851056 Rashi 3 classic, contemporary 4.08 2012 Moonlight Shadow
author: Banana Yoshimoto
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/07
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: classic, contemporary
review:

]]> Kitchen 50144 Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, is an enchantingly original and deeply affecting book about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine of Kitchen, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, she is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who was once his father), Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale that recalls early Marguerite Duras. Kitchen and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.]]> 160 Banana Yoshimoto 0802142443 Rashi 4 3.91 1988 Kitchen
author: Banana Yoshimoto
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/07
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: contemporary, mental-health-awareness, young-adult
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches]]> 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 Rashi 3 4.04 2022 The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: contemporary, fantasy, lgbtq, mystery, romance, young-adult
review:

]]> UnOrdinary, Season 1 30650183
The world is not perfect. Learning to deal with its flaws is just a normal part of life. But there comes a point where these imperfections spawn a crushing realization... that something needs to change...]]> 155 NOT A BOOK Rashi 0 to-read 4.36 2016 UnOrdinary, Season 1
author: NOT A BOOK
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone]]> 29778634
“The Return to Monsterland� opens 'Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone,' a collection of twelve fabulist and genre-bending stories inspired by Japanese folklore, historical events, and pop culture. In “Rokurokubi�, a man who has the demonic ability to stretch his neck to incredible lengths tries to save a marriage built on secrets. The recently dead find their footing in “The Inn of the Dead’s Orientation for Being a Japanese Ghost�. In “Girl Zero�, a couple navigates the complexities of reviving their deceased daughter via the help of a shapeshifter. And, in the title story, a woman instigates a months-long dancing frenzy in a Tokyo where people don’t die but are simply reborn without their memories.

Every story in the collection turns to the fantastic, the mysticism of the past, and the absurdities of the future to illuminate the spaces we occupy when we, as individuals and as a society, are at our most vulnerable.]]> 166 Sequoia Nagamatsu 1625579446 Rashi 0 to-read 3.74 2016 Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone
author: Sequoia Nagamatsu
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gone for Good (Detective Annalisa Vega, #1)]]> 57062206 Gone For Good is the first in a new mystery series from award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen, featuring Detective Annalisa Vega, in which a cold case heats up.

The Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women, ritually binding them and leaving them for dead before penning them gruesome love letters in the local papers. Then he disappeared, and after twenty years with no trace of him, many believe that he's gone for good.

Not Grace Harper. A grocery store manager by day, at night Grace uses her snooping skills as part of an amateur sleuth group. She believes the Lovelorn Killer is still living in the same neighborhoods that he hunted in, and if she can figure out how he selected his victims, she will have the key to his identity.

Detective Annalisa Vega lost someone she loved to the killer. Now she's at a murder scene with the worst kind of déjà vu: Grace Harper lies bound and dead on the floor, surrounded by clues to the biggest murder case that Chicago homicide never solved. Annalisa has the chance to make it right and to heal her family, but first, she has to figure out what Grace knew―how to see a killer who may be standing right in front of you. This means tracing his steps back to her childhood, peering into dark corners she hadn't acknowledged before, and learning that despite everything the killer took, she has still so much more to lose.]]> 297 Joanna Schaffhausen 1250264618 Rashi 0 to-read 4.13 2021 Gone for Good (Detective Annalisa Vega, #1)
author: Joanna Schaffhausen
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Forest of Stolen Girls 56412880 Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep readers guessing until the last page.

1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene.

Years later, Detective Min—Hwani's father—learns that thirteen girls have recently disappeared from the same forest that nearly stole his daughters. He travels to their hometown on the island of Jeju to investigate� only to vanish as well.

Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol—Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago.]]> 384 June Hur 125022957X Rashi 0 to-read 3.95 2021 The Forest of Stolen Girls
author: June Hur
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Exhibit 177192267
At a lavish party in the hills outside of San Francisco, Jin Han meets Lidija Jung and nothing will ever be the same for either woman. A brilliant young photographer, Jin is at a crossroads in her work, in her marriage to her college love Philip, and in who she is and who she wants to be. Lidija is an alluring, injured world-class ballerina on hiatus from her ballet company under mysterious circumstances. Drawn to each other by their intense artistic drives, the two women talk all night.

Cracked open, Jin finds herself telling Lidija about an old familial curse, breaking a lifelong promise. She’s been told that if she doesn’t keep the curse a secret, she risks losing everything; death and ruin could lie ahead. As Jin and Lidija become more entangled, they realize they share more than the ferocity of their ambition, and begin to explore hidden desires. Something is ignited in Jin: her art, her body, and her sense of self irrevocably changed. But can she avoid the specter of the curse? Vital, bold, powerful, and deeply moving, Exhibit asks: how brightly can you burn before you light your life on fire?]]> 224 R.O. Kwon 0593190025 Rashi 0 to-read 3.13 2024 Exhibit
author: R.O. Kwon
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.13
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Enemy of My Dreams 212431571 In the last days of the Roman Empire a desperate princess and brutal Goth warlord forge a dangerous alliance.

Julia, only daughter of the emperor of Rome, lives a life of excess and freedom. Wine, philosophy and scandal—she revels in hedonism. But when her father dies and her teenage brother takes the throne, he will stop at nothing to seize control of both the empire and his wayward sister. And now Alaric of the Visigoths, a ferocious warrior who has battled Rome for years, has come to the capital to bargain for his homeland.

When Julia rebels against the marriage her brother has ordered her to accept, he responds by publicly punishing her lover in the Colosseum. Realizing how perilous her position is, Julia impulsively turns to Alaric—the empire’s sworn enemy, and the one man who can make Rome tremble—and engineers her own kidnapping. Julia, the Roman princess, forges an uneasy alliance with Alaric, the brutal warrior king, in an edgy, sexy cat-and-mouse game of attraction, defiance and lust.

â€�Enemy of My DreamsĚýis a romantic romp through the ashes of a dying empire.â€�
â€�Luna McNamara, author ofĚýPsyche and Eros

]]> 448 Jenny Williamson 1335080511 Rashi 0 to-read 3.68 Enemy of My Dreams
author: Jenny Williamson
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mexican Gothic 53152636
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And NoemĂ­, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]> 320 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 0525620788 Rashi 0 to-read 3.66 2020 Mexican Gothic
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Place Called Here 11094670 An alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.

Ever wondered where lost things go?

Ever since the day her classmate vanished, Sandy Shortt has been haunted by what happens when something � or someone � disappears. Finding has become her goal.

Jack Ruttle is desperate to find his younger brother who vanished into thin air a year ago. He spots an ad for Sandy's missing persons agency and is certain that she will answer his prayers and find his brother.

But then Sandy disappears too, stumbling upon a place that is a world away from the only one she has ever known. Now all she wants, more than anything, is to find her way home.

]]> 498 Cecelia Ahern Rashi 5 4.04 2006 A Place Called Here
author: Cecelia Ahern
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/14
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: read-in-2019, fantasy, favorites, mystery, young-adult
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow]]> 58784475 In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

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

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.]]> 401 Gabrielle Zevin 0735243344 Rashi 4 4.12 2022 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
author: Gabrielle Zevin
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/19
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves:
review:
The amount of love and hate i have for the book is entirely equivalent to how i wish to write my first book as well. With all flaws and mistakes and overdoing right in front of it. I hated and loved everything and lord, the end was devastating.
]]> No Longer Human 43909397 Mine has been a life of much shame. I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.

Plagued by a maddening anxiety, the terrible disconnect between his own concept of happiness and the joy of the rest of the world, Yozo Oba plays the clown in his dissolute life, holding up a mask for those around him as he spirals ever downward, locked arm-in-arm with death.

Osamu Dazai’s immortal—and supposedly autobiographical—work of Japanese literature, is perfectly adapted here into a manga by Junji Ito. The imagery wrenches open the text of the novel one line at a time to sublimate Yozo’s mental landscape into something even more delicate and grotesque. This is the ultimate in art by Ito, proof that nothing can surpass the terror of the human psyche.]]> 616 Junji Ito 1974707091 Rashi 4 4.28 2019 No Longer Human
author: Junji Ito
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/11
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories]]> 99300
Written from a feminist perspective, often focusing on the inferior status accorded to women by society, the tales include "turned," an ironic story with a startling twist, in which a husband seduces and impregnates a naĂŻve servant; "Cottagette," concerning the romance of a young artist and a man who's apparently too good to be true; "Mr. Peebles' Heart," a liberating tale of a fiftyish shopkeeper whose sister-in-law, a doctor, persuades him to take a solo trip to Europe, with revivifying results; "The Yellow Wallpaper"; and three other outstanding stories.

These charming tales are not only highly readable and full of humor and invention, but also offer ample food for thought about the social, economic, and personal relationship of men and women � and how they might be improved.

Collects:
—The Yellow Wallpaper
—Three Thanksgivings
—The Cottagette
—TłÜ°ů˛Ô±đ»ĺ
—Making a Change
—If I Were a Man
—Mr. Peebles' Heart]]> 129 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 0486298574 Rashi 5 classic 4.05 1892 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1892
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: classic
review:

]]> The Yellow Wall-Paper 286957
In a private journal, the woman records her growing obsession with the “horrid� wallpaper. Its strange pattern mutates in the moonlight, revealing what appears to be a human figure in the design. With nothing else to occupy her mind, the woman resolves to unlock the mystery of the wallpaper. Her quest, however, leads not to the truth, but into the darkest depths of madness.

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

First published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine.

Excerpt:
Out of another I get a lovely view of the bay and a little private wharf belonging to the estate. There is a beautiful shaded lane that runs down there from the house. I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try.]]> 62 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1558611584 Rashi 0 to-read 4.11 1892 The Yellow Wall-Paper
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1892
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Yellow Wallpaper (Bedford Cultural Editions)]]> 775616 400 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 0312132921 Rashi 0 to-read 4.07 The Yellow Wallpaper (Bedford Cultural Editions)
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Uprooted 22544764 “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.�

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows�everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.]]> 438 Naomi Novik 0804179034 Rashi 0 to-read 4.02 2015 Uprooted
author: Naomi Novik
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Song to Drown Rivers 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 Rashi 0 to-read 3.84 2024 A Song to Drown Rivers
author: Ann Liang
name: Rashi
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Assassin and the Healer (Throne of Glass, #0.2)]]> 18333581 40 Sarah J. Maas Rashi 4 4.21 2013 The Assassin and the Healer (Throne of Glass, #0.2)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/07
date added: 2024/08/18
shelves: read-in-2019, young-adult, dark
review:
this world needs more healers
]]> <![CDATA[The Floating World (The Floating World, #1)]]> 215149209 From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.

Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.

Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.

Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn't realize she's the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined...]]> 368 Axie Oh 1250853087 Rashi 0 to-read 4.15 2025 The Floating World (The Floating World, #1)
author: Axie Oh
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Sorcery of Thorns, #1.5)]]> 61272184 In this delightful sequel novella to the New York Times bestselling Sorcery of Thorns, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas must unravel the magical trap keeping them inside Thorn Manor in time for their Midwinter Ball!Elisabeth Scrivener is finally settling into her new life with sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn. Now that their demon companion Silas has returned, so has scrutiny from nosy reporters hungry for gossip about the city’s most powerful sorcerer and the librarian who stole his heart. But something strange is afoot at Thorn the estate’s wards, which are meant to keep their home safe, are acting up and forcibly trapping the Manor'� occupants inside. Surely it must be a coincidence that this happened just as Nathaniel and Elisabeth started getting closer to one another� With no access to the outside world, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas—along with their new maid Mercy—will have to work together to discover the source of the magic behind the malfunctioning wards before they’re due to host the city’s Midwinter Ball. Not an easy task when the house is filled with unexpected secrets, and all Elisabeth can think about is kissing Nathaniel in peace. But when it becomes clear that the house, influenced by the magic of Nathaniel’s ancestors, requires a price for its obedience, Elisabeth and Nathaniel will have to lean on their connection like never before to set things right.]]> 192 Margaret Rogerson 1665935626 Rashi 0 to-read 4.05 2023 Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Sorcery of Thorns, #1.5)
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns, #1)]]> 42201395
Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.]]> 456 Margaret Rogerson 1481497618 Rashi 4 4.03 2019 Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns, #1)
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Rashi
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/08
date added: 2024/07/08
shelves: fantasy, mystery, romance, young-adult
review:

]]>