Carol(ine)'s bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 13 Apr 2025 12:27:06 -0700 60 Carol(ine)'s bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Dark Souls. Redemption 1 212554929 192 Julien Blondel 8834928199 Carol(ine) 2 3.50 Dark Souls. Redemption 1
author: Julien Blondel
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:
now why did they give her a baller rangercore outfit in the concept art just to have her running around in a loincloth the whole time -_- (we all know why)
]]> <![CDATA[Witch King (The Rising World, #1)]]> 61885085 "You idiot. I'm the demon."
Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' Witch King...

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.

He’s not going to like the answers.]]> 415 Martha Wells 1250826799 Carol(ine) 4 3.60 2023 Witch King (The Rising World, #1)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> Horror Movie 200101541 A chilling twist on the “cursed filmâ€� genre from the bestselling author ofĚýThe Pallbearers Club ˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚýThe Cabin at the End of the World.

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part?ĚýOnly three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played “The Thin Kid� is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions � demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost?Ěý

Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film� that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.]]> 277 Paul Tremblay 0063070014 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.31 2024 Horror Movie
author: Paul Tremblay
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)]]> 37442 When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

]]> 406 Gregory Maguire 0060987103 Carol(ine) 0 currently-reading 3.52 1995 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)
author: Gregory Maguire
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> A Burglar's Guide to the City 22237142 Encompassing nearly 2,000 years of heists and tunnel jobs, break-ins and escapes, A Burglar's Guide to the City offers an unexpected blueprint to the criminal possibilities in the world all around us. You'll never see the city the same way again.

At the core of A Burglar's Guide to the City is an unexpected and thrilling insight: how any building transforms when seen through the eyes of someone hoping to break into it. Studying architecture the way a burglar would, Geoff Manaugh takes readers through walls, down elevator shafts, into panic rooms, up to the buried vaults of banks, and out across the rooftops of an unsuspecting city.

With the help of FBI Special Agents, reformed bank robbers, private security consultants, the L.A.P.D. Air Support Division, and architects past and present, the book dissects the built environment from both sides of the law. Whether picking padlocks or climbing the walls of high-rise apartments, finding gaps in a museum's surveillance routine or discussing home invasions in ancient Rome, A Burglar's Guide to the City has the tools, the tales, and the x-ray vision you need to see architecture as nothing more than an obstacle that can be outwitted and undercut.

Full of real-life heists-both spectacular and absurd-A Burglar's Guide to the City ensures readers will never enter a bank again without imagining how to loot the vault or walk down the street without planning the perfect getaway.]]> 296 Geoff Manaugh 0374117268 Carol(ine) 0 currently-reading 3.34 2015 A Burglar's Guide to the City
author: Geoff Manaugh
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Someone You Can Build a Nest In]]> 182506390 Discover this creepy, charming monster-slaying fantasy romance—from the perspective of the monster—by Nebula Award-winning debut author John Wiswell

Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love.

Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth.

However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she’s found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don’t think about love that way.

Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she’s about to confess, Homily reveals why she’s in the area: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?

Eating her girlfriend ľ±˛ő˛Ô’t an option. Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk.

And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.]]> 310 John Wiswell 0756418852 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Someone You Can Build a Nest In
author: John Wiswell
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: to-read
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]]> Several People Are Typing 54468020
Told entirely through clever and captivating Slack messages, this irresistible, relatable satire of both virtual work and contemporary life is The Office for a new world.

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

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

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

In a time when office paranoia and politics have followed us home, Calvin Kasulke is here to capture the surprising, absurd, and fully-relatable factors attacking our collective sanity…and give us hope that we can still find a human connection.]]> 256 Calvin Kasulke Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.63 2021 Several People Are Typing
author: Calvin Kasulke
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Employees 53780642 A workplace novel of the 22nd century

The near-distant future. Millions of kilometres from Earth.

The crew of the Six-Thousand ship consists of those who were born, and those who were created. Those who will die, and those who will not. When the ship takes on a number of strange objects from the planet New Discovery, the crew is perplexed to find itself becoming deeply attached to them, and human and humanoid employees alike find themselves longing for the same things: warmth and intimacy. Loved ones who have passed. Our shared, far-away Earth, which now only persists in memory.

Gradually, the crew members come to see themselves in a new light, and each employee is compelled to ask themselves whether their work can carry on as before � and what it means to be truly alive.

Structured as a series of witness statements compiled by a workplace commission, Ravn’s crackling prose is as chilling as it is moving, as exhilarating as it is foreboding. Wracked by all kinds of longing, The Employees probes into what it means to be human, emotionally and ontologically, while simultaneously delivering an overdue critique of a life governed by work and the logic of productivity.]]> 136 Olga Ravn Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.69 2018 The Employees
author: Olga Ravn
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Short Stay in Hell 13456414
In this haunting existential novella, author, philosopher, and ecologist Steven L. Peck explores a subversive vision of eternity, taking the reader on a journey through the afterlife of a world where everything everyone believed in turns out to be wrong.]]> 110 Steven L. Peck 098374842X Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.17 2011 A Short Stay in Hell
author: Steven L. Peck
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/03
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]]> Katabasis 210223811 Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.]]> 400 R.F. Kuang Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.12 2025 Katabasis
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Scythe & Sparrow (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #3)]]> 127616032 Discover the serial killer romance series everyone is talking about!From the no.1 New York Times bestselling author of the genre-breaking international TikTok sensation Butcher & Blackbird and Leather & Lark comes the final book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy - a friends-with-benefits dark romantic comedy.

Murder.

Mayhem.

And spice.

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiance and his derailed surgical career. It's a simpler head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the real circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she's not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with an injured leg, Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up.

***


Friends with benefits
Small town romance
Fish out of water
Forced proximity
Hurt/care
Touch her and die]]> 416 Brynne Weaver Carol(ine) 3 4.11 2025 Scythe & Sparrow (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #3)
author: Brynne Weaver
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)]]> 17934530 Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.

The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.]]> 195 Jeff VanderMeer 0374104093 Carol(ine) 4 3.79 2014 Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)
author: Jeff VanderMeer
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> At the Mountains of Madness 32767 At the Mountains of Madness. The deliberately told and increasingly chilling recollection of an Antarctic expedition's uncanny discoveries --and their encounter with an untold menace in the ruins of a lost civilization--is a milestone of macabre literature.

This Definitive Edition of At the Mountains of Madness (The Modern Library) also includes Lovecraft's long essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature."]]> 194 H.P. Lovecraft 0812974417 Carol(ine) 0 audiobook, dropped 3.86 1931 At the Mountains of Madness
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1931
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: audiobook, dropped
review:

]]> <![CDATA[What Stalks the Deep (Sworn Soldier, #3)]]> 222615926 The next novella in the New York Times bestselling Sworn Soldier series, featuring Alex Easton investigating the dark, mysterious depths of a coal mine in America

Alex Easton does not want to visit America.

They particularly do not want to visit an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia with a reputation for being haunted.

But when their old friend Dr. Denton summons them to help find his lost cousin—who went missing in that very mine—well, sometimes a sworn soldier has to do what a sworn soldier has to do...

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> T. Kingfisher 1250354935 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.67 2025 What Stalks the Deep (Sworn Soldier, #3)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/03
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]]> Project Hail Mary 54493401
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?]]> 476 Andy Weir 0593135202 Carol(ine) 0 audiobook, to-read 4.49 2021 Project Hail Mary
author: Andy Weir
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: audiobook, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss]]> 42372550
And here, braided into the overall narrative, Renkl offers observations on the world surrounding her suburban Nashville home. Ringing with rapture and heartache, these essays convey the dignity of bluebirds and rat snakes, monarch butterflies and native bees. As these two threads haunt and harmonize with each other, Renkl suggests that there is astonishment to be found in common things: in what seems ordinary, in what we all share. For in both worlds--the natural one and our own--"the shadow side of love is always loss, and grief is only love's own twin."

Illustrated by the author's brother, Billy Renkl, Late Migrations is an assured and memorable debut.]]> 231 Margaret Renkl 1571313788 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.30 2019 Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss
author: Margaret Renkl
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession]]> 62873378 One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first the story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser.

In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s strange world—unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them.

For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.

In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop—until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.

This is a riveting story of art, crime, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.]]> 224 Michael Finkel 0525657320 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.92 2023 The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
author: Michael Finkel
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> Baudolino 10507
Born a simple peasant in northern Italy, Baudolino has two major gifts-a talent for learning languages and a skill in telling lies. When still a boy he meets a foreign commander in the woods, charming him with his quick wit and lively mind. The commander-who proves to be Emperor Frederick Barbarossa-adopts Baudolino and sends him to the university in Paris, where he makes a number of fearless, adventurous friends.

Spurred on by myths and their own reveries, this merry band sets out in search of Prester John, a legendary priest-king said to rule over a vast kingdom in the East-a phantasmagorical land of strange creatures with eyes on their shoulders and mouths on their stomachs, of eunuchs, unicorns, and lovely maidens.

With dazzling digressions, outrageous tricks, extraordinary feeling, and vicarious reflections on our postmodern age, this is Eco the storyteller at his brilliant best.]]> 527 Umberto Eco 0156029065 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.79 2000 Baudolino
author: Umberto Eco
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> ±á´Ç°ů°ů´Ç°ů˛őłŮö°ů 13129925
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, ±á´Ç°ů°ů´Ç°ů˛őłŮö°ů is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, ±á´Ç°ů°ů´Ç°ů˛őłŮö°ů delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.

Designed by Andie Reid, cover photography by Christine Ferrara.]]> 248 Grady Hendrix 1594745269 Carol(ine) 3 3.64 2014 ±á´Ç°ů°ů´Ç°ů˛őłŮö°ů
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
review:
Fun, goofy horror in a neat visual package. I wish it had gotten a little weirder with the formatting and illustrations, but we can't all be Illuminae, okay? We can't all do a House of Leaves, [ 3. 75 ]
]]> The Hike 27833803 From the author of The Postmortal, a fantasy saga unlike any you’ve read before, weaving elements of folk tale and video game into a riveting, unforgettable adventure of what a man will endure to return to his family
Ěý
When Ben, a suburban family man, takes a business trip to rural Pennsylvania, he decides to spend the afternoon before his dinner meeting on a short hike. Once he sets out into the woods behind his hotel, he quickly comes to realize that the path he has chosen cannot be given up easily. With no choice but to move forward, Ben finds himself falling deeper and deeper into a world of man-eating giants, bizarre demons, and colossal insects.
Ěý
On a quest of epic, life-or-death proportions, Ben finds help comes in some of the most unexpected forms, including a profane crustacean and a variety of magical objects, tools, and potions. Desperate to return to his family, Ben is determined to track down the “Producer,� the creator of the world in which he is being held hostage and the only one who can free him from the path.
Ěý
At once bitingly funny and emotionally absorbing, Magary’s novel is a remarkably unique addition to the contemporary fantasy genre, one that draws as easily from the world of classic folk tales as it does from video games. In The Hike, Magary takes readers on a daring odyssey away from our day-to-day grind and transports them into an enthralling world propelled by heart, imagination, and survival.]]> 278 Drew Magary 0399563857 Carol(ine) 4 "There comes point in life when you've seen so much that hardly anything surprises you or bothers you, and that's a shitty moment. Wisdom is so terribly overrated."

I was not rocking with this book at the start. It felt Pointless, weird, wacky situations happening to a character I felt little connection to without saying much. It kept reminding me of the later Hitchhiker's Guide books (not a compliment), lacking purpose or any emotional resonance beyond "woah wasn't that weirdddd lol". Not bad to read, but mediocre and saved by the occasional funny line.

BUT!! Boy, did it bring me back in the second half!! I'm very guilty of dropping books the second I don't like them, but I'm so glad I stuck with this one. At some point, a flip switched and the dots started to connect and a solid tone finally came together. The purpose of The Path was still left ambiguous, but in a way that became intriguing rather than frustrating. It won me over with a giant lady and locked me in with the revelation of the crab. Give me a story about the Loops and the Cycles and Enduring Despite It All and I'm yours.

And the last page sealed the whole book with a kiss.]]> 3.96 2016 The Hike
author: Drew Magary
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves:
review:
"There comes point in life when you've seen so much that hardly anything surprises you or bothers you, and that's a shitty moment. Wisdom is so terribly overrated."


I was not rocking with this book at the start. It felt Pointless, weird, wacky situations happening to a character I felt little connection to without saying much. It kept reminding me of the later Hitchhiker's Guide books (not a compliment), lacking purpose or any emotional resonance beyond "woah wasn't that weirdddd lol". Not bad to read, but mediocre and saved by the occasional funny line.

BUT!! Boy, did it bring me back in the second half!! I'm very guilty of dropping books the second I don't like them, but I'm so glad I stuck with this one. At some point, a flip switched and the dots started to connect and a solid tone finally came together. The purpose of The Path was still left ambiguous, but in a way that became intriguing rather than frustrating. It won me over with a giant lady and locked me in with the revelation of the crab. Give me a story about the Loops and the Cycles and Enduring Despite It All and I'm yours.

And the last page sealed the whole book with a kiss.
]]> <![CDATA[The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)]]> 22733729
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family ľ±˛ő˛Ô’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.]]> 518 Becky Chambers 1500453307 Carol(ine) 0 currently-reading 4.15 2014 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Thornhedge 61884932 There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This ľ±˛ő˛Ô’t her story.

Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?

But nothing with fairies is ever simple.

Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…]]> 116 T. Kingfisher 1250244099 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.95 2023 Thornhedge
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![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 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.75 2023 The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> Piranesi 50202953
There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.]]> 272 Susanna Clarke 163557563X Carol(ine) 4 4.22 2020 Piranesi
author: Susanna Clarke
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Starless Night (Forgotten Realms: Legacy of the Drow, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #8)]]> 239102 I can find no answers in Mithril Hall....The apparent serenity of Drizzt Do'Urden, the brooding quiet, will show me nothing of the future designs of the drow. yet, for the sake of my friends, I must know those dark intentions. And so I fear that there remains only one place for me to look...

The Underdark. A place of brooding darkness, where no shadows exist, and where Drizzt Do'Urden does not wish to go. The noble dark elf must return there, though, must go back to find his friends in the gnome city of Blingdenstone, and on to Menzoberranzan, the city of drow. Only then can Drizzt discern what perils might reach out from that dark place to threaten his friends in Mithril Hall.

he finds allies where he least expects them and enemies he htough long gone. His scimitars slash at monsters too evil to reside under the sunlight of the surface world, while his inner strength wrestles with the tumult of emotions assaulting the noble drow when he looks once more on his dreaded homeland. All the while Drizzt must fend off the weight of guilt he carries for a dear friend lost to him forever.]]> 320 R.A. Salvatore 1560768800 Carol(ine) 3 4.14 1992 Starless Night (Forgotten Realms: Legacy of the Drow, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #8)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:

]]> Come Closer 220772
The new voice in Amanda's head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. Is she possessed by a demon, or is she simply insane?]]> 194 Sara Gran 0425210316 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.63 2003 Come Closer
author: Sara Gran
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)]]> 29236299
The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.]]> 659 Amie Kaufman 0553499165 Carol(ine) 4 4.41 2016 Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)
author: Amie Kaufman
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Hogfather 34532
Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...

Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...

The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too).

As they say: "You'd better watch out..."]]> 448 Terry Pratchett 0552154288 Carol(ine) 4 4.25 1996 Hogfather
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[House of Many Ways (Howl's Moving Castle, #3)]]> 2173611
By opening that door, Charmain has become responsible for not only the house, but for an extremely magical stray dog, a muddled young apprentice wizard, and a box of the king's most treasured documents. She has encountered a terrifying beast called a lubbock, irritated a clan of small blue creatures, and wound up smack in the middle of an urgent search. The king and his daughter are desperate to find the lost, fabled Elfgift—so desperate that they've even called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, can the Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer be far behind?

Of course, with that magical family involved, there's bound to be chaos—and unexpected revelations. No one will be more surprised than Charmain by what Howl and Sophie discover.]]> 404 Diana Wynne Jones 0061477958 Carol(ine) 0 to-read, owned-but-unread 4.05 2008 House of Many Ways (Howl's Moving Castle, #3)
author: Diana Wynne Jones
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read, owned-but-unread
review:

]]> Youth Group 180723893
Will Kay find her place in a world that’s so much more God-fearing and monster-fighting than what she’s used to? Will the Stone Mission youth group find common cause with their badass peers of other faiths? Or will a pack of small-time demons use Blights like Kay as the key to starting some real big trouble?]]> 256 Jordan Morris 1250789230 Carol(ine) 0 to-read, owned-but-unread 4.01 2024 Youth Group
author: Jordan Morris
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read, owned-but-unread
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In the House in the Dark of the Woods]]> 38496725 "Once upon a time there was and there wasn't a woman who went to the woods."

In this ingenious horror story set in colonial New England, a woman goes missing. Or not missing–perhaps she has fled, abandoned her family. Or perhaps she's been kidnapped, and set loose to wander in the dense woods of the north. Alone and possibly lost, she meets another woman in the forest. Then everything changes.

On a journey that will take her through a wolf-haunted wood, down a deep well, and onto a living ship made of human bones, our heroine is forced to confront her past and may find that the evil she flees has been inside her all along.

Eerie and disturbing, In the House in the Dark of the Woods is a novel of psychological horror and suspense told in Laird Hunt's acclaimed lyrical prose style. It is the story of a bewitching, a betrayal, a master huntress and her quarry. It is a story of anger, of repression, of revenge and redemption. It is a story of a haunting, one that forms the bedrock of American mythology, told in a vivid voice you will never forget.]]> 218 Laird Hunt 0316411051 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.33 2018 In the House in the Dark of the Woods
author: Laird Hunt
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The London SĂ©ance Society 61109069
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves�
]]> 352 Sarah Penner 0778387119 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.46 2023 The London SĂ©ance Society
author: Sarah Penner
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)]]> 65211701 Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it ľ±˛ő˛Ô’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast.

Yeah, this plan is... not going to work.]]> 245 Martha Wells 1250826977 Carol(ine) 4 4.19 2023 System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6)]]> 53205854 No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

Again!]]> 168 Martha Wells 1250765374 Carol(ine) 3 4.25 2021 Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)]]> 52381770
It worries about the fragile human crew who've grown to trust it, but only where no one can see.

It tells itself that they're only a professional obligation, but when they're captured and an old friend from the past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.

Drastic action it is, then.

]]> 350 Martha Wells 1250229863 Carol(ine) 5 4.44 2020 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)]]> 35519109
Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?

And what will become of it when it’s caught?]]> 163 Martha Wells Carol(ine) 3 4.38 2018 Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/21
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
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]]> Saturday 5015
Later, as Perowne makes his way through London streets filled with hundreds of thousands of anti-war protestors, a minor car accident brings him into a confrontation with Baxter, a fidgety, aggressive young man, on the edge of violence. To Perowne's professional eye, there appears to be something profoundly wrong with him. But it is not until Baxter makes a sudden appearance as the Perowne family gathers for a reunion, that Henry's fears seem about to be realised.]]> 289 Ian McEwan 1400076196 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.64 2005 Saturday
author: Ian McEwan
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Legacy (Forgotten Realms: Legacy of the Drow, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #7)]]> 227454
But Drizzt did not achieve this state of peace without leaving powerful enemies in his wake. Lloth, the dreaded Spider Queen deity of the evil dark elves, counts herself among them and has vowed to end the drow's days of pleasant security.]]> 352 R.A. Salvatore 0786939842 Carol(ine) 5 4.21 1992 The Legacy (Forgotten Realms: Legacy of the Drow, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #7)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/18
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves:
review:

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

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

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

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.]]> 339 Kaliane Bradley 1668045141 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.54 2024 The Ministry of Time
author: Kaliane Bradley
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)]]> 51190882
Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.

At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.

Librarian Note: Older cover of B07VH6Y4JD.]]> 119 Nghi Vo Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.91 2020 The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)
author: Nghi Vo
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Six Deaths of the Saint (Into Shadow, #3)]]> 62991463
Always mindful of the debt she owes, the girl finds her worth as a weapon in the hand of the Prince. Her victories make him a king, then an emperor. The bards sing her name and her enemies fear it. But the war never ends and the cost keeps rising—how many times will she repeat her own story?]]> 31 Alix E. Harrow 166250957X Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.32 2022 The Six Deaths of the Saint (Into Shadow, #3)
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier, #2)]]> 127306440
Retired soldier Alex Easton returns in a horrifying new adventure.

After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine, but instead, as a favor to Angus and Miss Potter, they find themself heading to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp forests of their home country, Gallacia.

In theory, one can find relaxation in even the coldest and dampest of Gallacian autumns, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton knows better than to put too much stock in local superstitions, but they can tell that something is not quite right in their home. . . or in their dreams.]]> 151 T. Kingfisher 1250830850 Carol(ine) 5 3.78 2024 What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier, #2)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)]]> 58724626 From the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruravia.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.]]> 165 T. Kingfisher 1250830753 Carol(ine) 5 3.86 2022 What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves:
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]]> Flowers for Algernon 18373 Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, the powerful, classic story about a man who receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.
Ěý
Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence � a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.

As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance, until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?]]> 311 Daniel Keyes 015603008X Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.19 1966 Flowers for Algernon
author: Daniel Keyes
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1966
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sunbringer (Fallen Gods, #2) 124941442 Godkiller in this thrilling sequel to the #1 internationally bestselling fantasy debut, where Kissen and her companions must navigate lands of gods and demons to unravel a dark truth at the heart of their world.

Professional godkiller Kissen and her companions—young noble Inara and knight Elogast—return in a winding adventure in a world overflowing with magic, beauty, and danger.]]> 370 Hannah Kaner 0008521514 Carol(ine) 0 dropped 3.88 2024 Sunbringer (Fallen Gods, #2)
author: Hannah Kaner
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Halfling's Gem (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale, #3; The Legend of Drizzt, #6)]]> 68396 352 R.A. Salvatore 0786938250 Carol(ine) 5 4.19 1990 The Halfling's Gem (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale, #3; The Legend of Drizzt, #6)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Streams of Silver (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #5)]]> 66692
Bruenor the dwarf, Wulfgar the barbarian, Regis the halfling, and Drizzt the dark elf fight monsters and magic on their way to Mithril Hall, centuries-old birthplace of Bruenor and his dwarven ancestors.

Faced with racism, Drizzt contemplates returning to the lightless underworld city and murderous lifestyle he abandoned. Wulfgar begins to overcome his tribes's aversion for magic. And Regis runs from a deadly assassin, who, allied with evil wizards, is bent on the companions' destruction. all fo Bruenor's dreams, and the survival of his party, hinge upon the actions of one brave young woman.

Streams of Silver is R.A. Salvatore's second book in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, based on the FORGOTTEN REALMS fantasy setting.]]> 342 R.A. Salvatore 088038672X Carol(ine) 4 As A dNd pLaYeR- âťď¸Ź 4.17 1989 Streams of Silver (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #5)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/29
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves:
review:
As A dNd pLaYeR- âťď¸Ź
]]> <![CDATA[Sojourn (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #3; Legend of Drizzt, #3)]]> 66695 320 R.A. Salvatore 1560760478 Carol(ine) 5 4.22 1991 Sojourn (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #3; Legend of Drizzt, #3)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Exile (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #2)]]> 66678 343 R.A. Salvatore 0786939834 Carol(ine) 5 4.24 1990 Exile (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #2)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/19
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Homeland (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #1)]]> 50027 Discover the origin story of one of the greatest heroes of the Realms—Drizzt Do’Urden—in this thrilling first installment of the Dark Elf Trilogy

Drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden, first introduced in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, quickly became one of the fantasy genre’s standout characters. With Homeland, Salvatore pulls back the curtain to reveal the startling tale of how this hero came to be—how this one lone drow walked out of the shadowy depths of the Underdark; how he left behind an evil society and a family that wanted him dead.

As the third son of Mother Malice and weaponmaster Zaknafein, Drizzt Do’Urden is meant to be sacrificed to Lolth, the evil Spider Queen, per drow tradition. But with the unexpected death of his older brother, young Drizzt is spared—and, as a result, further ostracized by his family. As Drizzt grows older, developing his swordsmanship skills and studying at the Academy, he begins to realize that his idea of good and evil does not match up with those of his fellow drow. Can Drizzt stay true to himself in a such an unforgiving, unprincipled world?

Homeland is the first book in the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Legend of Drizzt series.]]> 343 R.A. Salvatore Carol(ine) 4 4.26 1990 Homeland (Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #1)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/16
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Crystal Shard (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #4)]]> 66693 344 R.A. Salvatore 0786942460 Carol(ine) 4
Fantasy for fantasy's sake and I eat it up shamelessly]]> 4.13 1988 The Crystal Shard (Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #4)
author: R.A. Salvatore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/15
date added: 2024/10/15
shelves:
review:
I can't leave a review more succinct or accurate than my fellow goodreads user Alexander's "I will not apologize for enjoying this slop"

Fantasy for fantasy's sake and I eat it up shamelessly
]]> House of Leaves 24800
Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story—of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.]]> 710 Mark Z. Danielewski Carol(ine) 0 4.11 2000 House of Leaves
author: Mark Z. Danielewski
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: owned-but-unread, currently-reading
review:

]]> Very Good Hats 60916737 The first picture book by bestselling novelist Emma Straub, this joyous and inventive read-aloud will inspire kids to see ordinary objects in a whole new way.

Some people think hats are fancy things you can buy at a dressy store, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. In this book, acorns and raspberries are snug hats for your fingers, and an empty pudding cup is a good hat for a stuffed bear. Pajama pants make dangly hats, books can be dramatic hats, and bubbles make very fine hats as well (if temporary). Readers will be delighted to discover that anything can be a hat if you believe it is. Hats are everywhere you look!]]> 32 Emma Straub 059352943X Carol(ine) 0 storytime-ideas 4.02 2023 Very Good Hats
author: Emma Straub
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: storytime-ideas
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art of Dead Space: Designing a Nightmare]]> 9869864
Dead Space is a world unlike any other. The talented team of artists and designers has spent an enormous amount of time and energy constructing a look and feel new to the sci-fi and horror genres. It is their talent and passion that fill these pages and make the Dead Space game a fresh, exciting, and terrifying experience.]]> 96 Electronic Arts 0811866122 Carol(ine) 4 4.37 2008 The Art of Dead Space: Designing a Nightmare
author: Electronic Arts
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Even Though I Knew the End 59807975
An exiled auspex who sold her soul to save her brother's life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can't resist―the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves.

To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago's most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.]]> 136 C.L. Polk 1250849454 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.80 2022 Even Though I Knew the End
author: C.L. Polk
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scorched Grace (Sister Holiday Mystery #1)]]> 60610668 Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test in this debut crime novel.

When Saint Sebastian's School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding community are thrust into chaos. Unsatisfied with the officials' response, sardonic and headstrong Sister Holiday becomes determined to unveil the mysterious attacker herself and return her home and sanctuary to its former peace. Her investigation leads down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets in the sticky, oppressive New Orleans heat, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way.

Sister Holiday is more faithful than most, but she's no saint. To piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must first reckon with the sins of her checkered past-and neither task will be easy.

An exciting start to Margot Douaihy's bold series for Gillian Flynn Books that breathes new life into the hard-boiled genre, Scorched Grace is a fast-paced and punchy whodunnit that will keep readers guessing until the very end.]]> 320 Margot Douaihy 1638930244 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.17 2023 Scorched Grace (Sister Holiday Mystery #1)
author: Margot Douaihy
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Home Is Where the Bodies Are 194020321
After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm’s length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn’t been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.

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

Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.]]> 256 Jeneva Rose Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.77 2024 Home Is Where the Bodies Are
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror]]> 43801611 The award-winning and critically-acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales—both never-before-published in print—that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition.

Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.

A brilliant mix of the psychological and supernatural, blending the acute insight of Roberto Bolaño and the eerie imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. Centered on the journal of a poet-in-exile and his failed attempts at translating a maddening text, it is told by a young woman trying to come to grips with a country that nearly devoured itself.

In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South—which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself.

Breathtaking and haunting, A Lush and Seething Hell is a terrifying and exhilarating journey into the darkness, an odyssey into the deepest reaches of ourselves that compels us to confront secrets best left hidden.]]> 368 John Hornor Jacobs 0062880829 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.76 2019 A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror
author: John Hornor Jacobs
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)]]> 23395680
The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra � who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents � including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more � Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.]]> 608 Amie Kaufman 0553499114 Carol(ine) 5
AIDAN's narration is the show stopper, no competition. It's absolutely haunting to see the world through AIDAN's "eyes" and the humanization of it as the logical aspects of it start to fail made me feel crazy. Forever thinking about "Am I not merciful?"

My only, only gripe is a bit of a sadistic one. I wish Ezra wouldve stayed dead. ONLY because the initial twist about his survival was so jarring- one of my favorite parts of the whole book despite the fact Ezra was one of my favorites. It was jaw-dropping! I was scandalized! AIDAN played us all for 100+ pages! And then... it was another psyche-out. Ezra's return was very sweet, very deserved, LOVE that guy. But it also took away from just how good AIDANs betrayal earlier in the book was.]]> 4.23 2015 Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)
author: Amie Kaufman
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2024/08/19
shelves:
review:
A visually stunning and chill-inducing book. The experience of turning the page to something beautiful and/or horrific with the power of typography is something I haven't seen to this degree before. Spooky, scary, tragic, and insane.

AIDAN's narration is the show stopper, no competition. It's absolutely haunting to see the world through AIDAN's "eyes" and the humanization of it as the logical aspects of it start to fail made me feel crazy. Forever thinking about "Am I not merciful?"

My only, only gripe is a bit of a sadistic one. I wish Ezra wouldve stayed dead. ONLY because the initial twist about his survival was so jarring- one of my favorite parts of the whole book despite the fact Ezra was one of my favorites. It was jaw-dropping! I was scandalized! AIDAN played us all for 100+ pages! And then... it was another psyche-out. Ezra's return was very sweet, very deserved, LOVE that guy. But it also took away from just how good AIDANs betrayal earlier in the book was.
]]> Episode Thirteen 61030527 From the macabre mind of Bram Stoker Award nominated author Craig DiLouie, Episode Thirteen is a heart pounding novel of horror and psychological suspense that takes a ghost hunting reality TV crew into a world they could never have imagined possible. A beautiful Russian doll of a story... Episode Thirteen hooks you, creeps you out, and then it overwhelms you. It's House of Leaves meets Haunting of Hill House, in all the best possible ways. -- Peter Clines, NYT bestselling author of The Broken Room


Fade to Black is the newest hit ghost hunting reality TV show. Led by husband and wife team Matt and Claire Kirklin, it delivers weekly hauntings investigated by a dedicated team of ghost hunting experts. Episode Thirteen takes them to every ghost hunter's holy grail: the Paranormal Research Foundation. This brooding, derelict mansion holds secrets and clues about bizarre experiments that took place there in the 1970s. It's also famously haunted, and the team hopes their scientific techniques and high tech gear will prove it. But as the house begins to reveal itself to them, proof of an afterlife might not be everything Matt dreamed of. A story told in broken pieces, in tapes, journals, and correspondence, this is the story of Episode Thirteen -- and how everything went terribly, horribly wrong.


An epistolary descent into a living nightmare . . . well-written and genuinely unsettling. Fans of paranormal documentaries, ghost-hunting shows, and found-footage horror will lose their minds over this one. - Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Kin]]> 433 Craig DiLouie 0316443107 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.46 2023 Episode Thirteen
author: Craig DiLouie
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sister, Maiden, Monster 60784461 Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder.

To survive they must evolve.

A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.

Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?

Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.

Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.

Inspired by her Bram Stoker Award-winning story “Magdala Amygdala,� Lucy A. Snyder delivers a cosmic tale about the planet’s disastrous transformation ... and what we become after.]]> 265 Lucy A. Snyder 1250825652 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.55 2023 Sister, Maiden, Monster
author: Lucy A. Snyder
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)]]> 35519101
And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.

]]> 158 Martha Wells 1250191785 Carol(ine) 4 4.21 2018 Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves:
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]]> Reincarnation Blues 33571217 A magically inspiring tale of a man who is reincarnated through many lifetimes so that he can be with his one true love: Death herself.

What if you could live forever—but without your one true love? Reincarnation Blues is the story of a man who has been reincarnated nearly 10,000 times, in search of the secret to immortality so that he can be with his beloved, the incarnation of Death. Neil Gaiman meets Kurt Vonnegut in this darkly whimsical, hilariously profound, and wildly imaginative comedy of the secrets of life and love. Transporting us from ancient India to outer space to Renaissance Italy to the present day, is a journey through time, space, and the human heart.]]> 374 Michael Poore 0399178481 Carol(ine) 0 owned-but-unread, to-read 3.86 2017 Reincarnation Blues
author: Michael Poore
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: owned-but-unread, to-read
review:

]]> Undercover (Into Shadow, #5) 62991424
A fresh-faced newcomer arrives in an isolated, gang-run town and soon finds herself taking a job nobody else wants: bodyguard to a ghoul. Not just your average mindless, half-rotted shuffler, though. Lucille is a dancer who can still put on her own lipstick and whose shows are half burlesque, half gladiator match. But the stranger is no stranger to this particular ghoul. Both women are undercover in their own way. And both have something to lose if their connection comes to light.]]> 59 Tamsyn Muir 1662509456 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.99 2022 Undercover (Into Shadow, #5)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Goldfinch 17333223
Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.]]> 771 Donna Tartt 0316055433 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.94 2013 The Goldfinch
author: Donna Tartt
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Chain-Gang All-Stars 61190770
Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences.

Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means.]]> 367 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 0593317335 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.13 2023 Chain-Gang All-Stars
author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Middle of the Night 199026522 In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood.

The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.

Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul de sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?

The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed monsters roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate.

The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place—be it quiet forest or suburban street—is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.]]> 367 Riley Sager 0593472373 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.66 2024 Middle of the Night
author: Riley Sager
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)]]> 36223860 alternate cover for ISBN 9781250186928

It has a dark past � one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot." But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.

Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A� stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks.]]> 158 Martha Wells Carol(ine) 4 4.23 2018 Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/18
date added: 2024/07/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Camp Damascus 61884782 A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down.

They’ll scare you straight to hell.

Welcome to Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold.

Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed “most effective� gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy.]]> 246 Chuck Tingle 1250874629 Carol(ine) 5 3.90 2023 Camp Damascus
author: Chuck Tingle
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
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]]> Tender Is the Flesh 49090884
His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.� Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he’s given a a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.]]> 209 Agustina Bazterrica 1982150920 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.76 2017 Tender Is the Flesh
author: Agustina Bazterrica
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)]]> 32758901 "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety ľ±˛ő˛Ô’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied â€droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.â€� Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.]]> 144 Martha Wells Carol(ine) 4 4.11 2017 All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)
author: Martha Wells
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/10
date added: 2024/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Soul Music (Discworld, #16; Death, #3)]]> 34502 288 Terry Pratchett 057506689X Carol(ine) 4 4.05 1994 Soul Music (Discworld, #16; Death, #3)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/08
date added: 2024/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> Night Film 18770398
For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova's dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova's eerie, hypnotic world. The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more.]]> 640 Marisha Pessl 0812979788 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.78 2013 Night Film
author: Marisha Pessl
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Genesis of Misery 59808142 An immersive, electrifying space-fantasy from Neon Yang, author of The Black Tides of Heaven, full of high-tech space battles and political machinations, starring a queer and diverse array of pilots, princesses, and prophetic heirs.

This is the story of Misery Nomaki (she/they) � a nobody from a nowhere mining planet who possesses the rare stone-working powers of a saint. Unfortunately, these saint-like abilities also manifest in those succumbing to voidmadness, like that which killed Misery’s mother. Knowing they aren’t a saint but praying they aren’t voidmad, Misery keeps quiet about their power for years, while dreaming and scheming up ways off their Forge-forsaken planet.

But when the voice of an angel, or a very convincing delusion, leads Misery to the center of the Empire, they find themself trapped between two powerful and dangerous factions, each hoping to use Misery to win a terrible war.

Still waiting to be convinced of their own divinity and secretly training with a crew of outlaws and outcasts, Misery grows close to a rebel royal, Lady Alodia Lightning, who may know something of saints and prophecy herself. The voice that guides Misery grows bolder by the day, and it seems the madness is catching…]]> 419 Neon Yang 1250788978 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.38 2022 The Genesis of Misery
author: Neon Yang
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain]]> 30965666 If you could travel back into the past, the period from 1660 to 1700 would make one of the most exciting destinations in history. Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London; bawdy comedy and the libertine court of Charles II; Christopher Wren in architecture, Henry Purcell in music and Isaac Newton in science � The Civil War is over and a magnificent new era has begun.

But what was life really like in Restoration Britain? What would you wear, where would you stay and what would you eat? How much should you pay for one of those elaborate wigs? Should you trust a physician who advises you to drink fresh cow’s urine to cure your gout? And why are you unlikely to get a fair trial in court?

Although the Restoration set out to return peace and order to Britain after the upheaval created by the civil wars and Cromwell’s Commonwealth, these were truly revolutionary decades. Rapid change in all areas of life made people question long-held views and beliefs. Most of all, this is a time when religion and superstition were beginning to give way to a rational and scientific outlook on the world.

This third volume in the bestselling series of Time Traveller’s Guides tells you everything you’d need to know as a prospective traveller to seventeenth-century Britain.]]> 464 Ian Mortimer 1847923046 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.22 2017 The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain
author: Ian Mortimer
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century]]> 6555228
In this compelling volume, Medieval history expert Mortimer (The Fears of Henry IV) transports readers to jolly, squalid old England for a thorough survey of everyday 14th century life. Going beyond the "nasty, brutish and short" of it, Mortimer's immersive visitor's-guide approach to popular history gives readers a seamless sense of being there. The population is young-"Half of the population is aged twenty-one or less"-but incredibly diverse. The idea that social classes were distinct and few-fighters, prayers, and farmers-gets exploded in Mortimer's examination society and the Medieval character, including everything from humor and juggling to mariners to doctors. Mortimer even argues, convincingly, over relative standards of hygiene ("to regard a medieval kitchen as 'dirty' because it has not been wiped down with modern detergent is to apply our own standards inappropriately"). He also looks at the role of period's four greatest writers of the time , and reveals the horrors of contemporary medicine (with terrifying descriptions of the plague) and law (the outskirts of every town were decorated with the hanged corpses of minor criminals). Mortimer's toungue-in-cheek vistor's guide is an impressive accomplishment, turning 600 years of history transparent to give 21st century audiences a clear view on Medieval life.]]> 342 Ian Mortimer 1439112894 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.06 2008 The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
author: Ian Mortimer
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Color Out of Space 18330117 25 H.P. Lovecraft 1443427063 Carol(ine) 4 audiobook 4.09 The Color Out of Space
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: audiobook
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)]]> 13642
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.]]> 183 Ursula K. Le Guin Carol(ine) 5 4.02 1968 A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1968
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/04
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Devil House 57693663
Now, he is a true crime writer, with one grisly success--and movie adaptation--to his name, along with a series of subsequent lesser efforts that have paid the bills but not much more. But now he is being offered the chance for the big break: To move into the house--what the locals call "The Devil House"--in which a briefly notorious pair of murders occurred, apparently the work of disaffected 1980s teens. He begins his research with diligence and enthusiasm, but soon the story leads him into a puzzle he never expected--back into his own work and what it means, back to the very core of what he does and who he is.]]> 403 John Darnielle 0374212236 Carol(ine) 3 3.21 2022 Devil House
author: John Darnielle
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/20
date added: 2024/05/20
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy, #1)]]> 50608676
Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a nose," people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.

Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written an adventure that's also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf explores the fundamentals of truths, the limits of power, the excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all.]]> 640 Marlon James 0735220182 Carol(ine) 0 owned-but-unread, to-read 3.47 2019 Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy, #1)
author: Marlon James
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/28
shelves: owned-but-unread, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color]]> 61273437 The stunning follow-up to the multiple-award-winning anthology of SFF by people of colour

Octavia E. Butler said, “There’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.�

New Suns 2 brings you fresh visions of the strange, the unexpected, the shocking—breakthrough stories, stories shining with emerging truths, stories that pierce stale preconceptions with their beauty and bravery. Like the first New Suns anthology (winner of the World Fantasy, Locus, IGNYTE, and British Fantasy awards), this book liberates writers of many races to tell us tales no one has ever told.

Many things come in twos: dualities, binaries, halves, and alternates. Twos are found throughout New Suns 2, in eighteen science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories revealing daring futures, hidden pasts, and present-day worlds filled with unmapped wonders.

Including stories by Daniel H. Wilson, K. Tempest Bradford, Darcie Little Badger, Geetanjali Vandemark, John Chu, Nghi Vo, Tananarive Due, Alex Jennings, Karin Lowachee, Saad Hossain, Hiromi Goto, Minsoo Kang, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, Malka Older, Kathleen Alcalá, Christopher Caldwell and Jaymee Goh with a foreword by Walter Mosley and an afterword by Dr. Grace Dillon.]]> 352 Nisi Shawl 1786188589 Carol(ine) 0 dropped 3.93 2023 New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color
author: Nisi Shawl
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/05
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> Starling House 65213595 A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can't stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.]]> 320 Alix E. Harrow 1250799058 Carol(ine) 0 owned-but-unread, to-read 3.77 2023 Starling House
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/18
shelves: owned-but-unread, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)]]> 58662507
The zombies are coming back.

And all Nona wants is a birthday party.

In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona's not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body, and she's afraid she might have to give it back.

The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.

And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face...]]> 480 Tamsyn Muir 1250854113 Carol(ine) 5 4.36 2022 Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/15
date added: 2024/03/15
shelves:
review:

]]> D.V. 98047 216 Diana Vreeland 0306812630 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.99 1984 D.V.
author: Diana Vreeland
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Motherless Brooklyn 328854 Motherless Brooklyn is a brilliantly original homage to the classic detective novel by one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation.]]> 311 Jonathan Lethem 0345803396 Carol(ine) 0 owned-but-unread, to-read 3.86 1999 Motherless Brooklyn
author: Jonathan Lethem
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/09
shelves: owned-but-unread, to-read
review:

]]> The Fortress of Solitude 9799 Motherless Brooklyn, a daring, riotous, sweeping novel that spins the tale of two friends and their adventures in late 20th-century America.

This is the story of two boys, Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude. They live in Brooklyn and are friends and neighbours; but since Dylan is white and Mingus is black, their friendship is not simple.

This is the story of 1970s America, a time when the simplest decisions—what music you listen to, whether to speak to the kid in the seat next to you, whether to give up your lunch money—are laden with potential political, social and racial disaster. This is also the story of 1990s America, when nobody cared anymore.

This is the story of what would happen if two teenaged boys obsessed with comic book heroes actually had superpowers: they would screw up their lives.]]> 528 Jonathan Lethem 0571219357 Carol(ine) 0 owned-but-unread, to-read 3.85 2003 The Fortress of Solitude
author: Jonathan Lethem
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/09
shelves: owned-but-unread, to-read
review:

]]> Godkiller (Fallen Gods, #1) 61244268
Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, they must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favour.

Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning � something is rotting at the heart of their world, and only they can be the ones to stop it.]]> 304 Hannah Kaner 0008521468 Carol(ine) 4
Not the most outstanding book (I hope the pacing improves with the next one), but a good start! Plus, the cover is gorgeous and the reason I picked it up, so, bonus points.]]> 3.85 2023 Godkiller (Fallen Gods, #1)
author: Hannah Kaner
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/04
date added: 2024/03/06
shelves:
review:
What I wouldn't give for goodreads to let me rate things between 3 and 4 stars. Godkiller was a solid 3.75! The characters are what really carry this book (not a bad thing- I'm a sucker for stories in love with their own characters). I didn't expect the switching perspectives and was a little hesitant at first since I tend to choose favorites and disregard the others. But Godkiller managed to beat my bias and I found myself investing in every side of the story! Each character had a compelling perspective and each one was charming in their own way. I'm excited to see where this series goes :)

Not the most outstanding book (I hope the pacing improves with the next one), but a good start! Plus, the cover is gorgeous and the reason I picked it up, so, bonus points.
]]> <![CDATA[Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)]]> 39325105 Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor's haunted space station.

She answered the Emperor's call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.

In victory, her world has turned to ash.

After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman's shoulders.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath � but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.

Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor's Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?]]> 512 Tamsyn Muir 1250313228 Carol(ine) 5
Alongside the rollercoaster of a plot, Tamsyn Muir's juxtaposition between comedy and tragedy continues in this book and still hits me from both sides just as hard. It's so unserious but I can't stop thinking about it. One big, beautiful, horrific joke �

tl;dr top ten books that make you want to start running in circles like a feral animal]]> 4.30 2020 Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/04
date added: 2024/03/06
shelves:
review:
What a wild way to write a sequel. I fell in love with the somewhat obfuscating way Gideon the Ninth told its lore and story, but I was completely knocked out by the insanity of Harrow the Ninth's mystery. Harrow and the mysterious narrator(s..?) have you questioning YOUR sanity as well as theirs and its impossible to put down until you figure out just whats going on- which will, of course, leave you feeling even more insane. I love it.

Alongside the rollercoaster of a plot, Tamsyn Muir's juxtaposition between comedy and tragedy continues in this book and still hits me from both sides just as hard. It's so unserious but I can't stop thinking about it. One big, beautiful, horrific joke �

tl;dr top ten books that make you want to start running in circles like a feral animal
]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1)]]> 61294937 Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.

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

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

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.]]> 483 Shannon Chakraborty Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.25 2023 The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1)
author: Shannon Chakraborty
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)]]> 42036538
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.]]> 448 Tamsyn Muir 1250313198 Carol(ine) 5
This book is written earnestly and shamlessly. The worldbuilding and characters are written with just as much passion as the humor. It's hard to balance that without downplaying one or the other for fear of being too 'cringe'. But Gideon the Ninth doesn't care- it's fun, it's edgy, it's goofy, it's goth, it's gross, etc etc. I loved it.]]> 4.19 2019 Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/22
date added: 2024/02/23
shelves:
review:
I absolutely devoured this book. The worldbuilding and aesthetic were both so bizarre and fascinating, but the weird mesh of genres and tones was the most intriguing part to me. It was so refreshing to read a book with such an intense sci-fi/fantasy/horror plot that takes itself so unseriously. The whiplash between body horror and tragedy to yet another "that's what she said" joke was just delightful. I figured the silliness of it would distract from the plot, but it really just made for a lot of fun alongside all the necromancy and murder and gore.

This book is written earnestly and shamlessly. The worldbuilding and characters are written with just as much passion as the humor. It's hard to balance that without downplaying one or the other for fear of being too 'cringe'. But Gideon the Ninth doesn't care- it's fun, it's edgy, it's goofy, it's goth, it's gross, etc etc. I loved it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary]]> 193544124
The Oxford English Dictionary is one of mankind’s greatest achievements, and yet, curiously, its creators are almost never considered. Who were the people behind this unprecedented book? As Sarah Ogilvie reveals, they include three murderers, a collector of pornography, the daughter of Karl Marx, a president of Yale, a radical suffragette, a vicar who was later found dead in the cupboard of his chapel, an inventor of the first American subway, a female anti-slavery activist in Philadelphia . . . and thousands of others.Ěý

Of deep transgenerational and broad appeal, a thrilling literary detective story that, for the first time, unravels the mystery of the endlessly fascinating contributors the world over who, for over seventy years, helped to codify the way we read and write and speak. It was the greatest crowdsourcing endeavor in human history, the Wikipedia of its time. Ěý

The Dictionary People is a celebration of words, language, and people, whose eccentricities and obsessions, triumphs, and failures enriched the English language.]]> 368 Sarah Ogilvie 0593536401 Carol(ine) 0 dropped 3.81 2023 The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary
author: Sarah Ogilvie
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/19
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler]]> 39026990
With this book as your guide, you'll survive--and thrive--in any period in Earth's history. Bestselling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North shows you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted--from first principles. This illustrated manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up. Deeply researched, irreverent, and significantly more fun than being eaten by a saber-toothed tiger, How to Invent Everything will make you smarter, more competent, and completely prepared to become the most important and influential person ever.]]> 437 Ryan North 073522014X Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.16 2018 How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler
author: Ryan North
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Librarian of Crooked Lane (Glass Library, #1)]]> 60054210
Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she’s descended from magicians, she’s skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she’s just an ordinary girl who loves books. She seeks the truth from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won’t be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.

War hero Gabe is gifted with wealth, a loving family, and an incredible amount of luck that saw him survive four harrowing years of a brutal war without injury. But not all injuries are visible. Burying himself in his work as a consultant for Scotland Yard, Gabe is going through the motions as he investigates the theft of a magician-made painting. But his life changes when he unwittingly gets Sylvia dismissed from her job and places her in danger.

After securing her new employment in a library housing the world’s greatest collection of books about magic, Gabe and Sylvia’s lives become intwined as they work together to find both the painting and the truth about Sylvia’s past before powerful people can stop them.

But sometimes the past is better left buried…]]> 284 C.J. Archer 1922554200 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 3.84 2022 The Librarian of Crooked Lane (Glass Library, #1)
author: C.J. Archer
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)]]> 20518872 472 Liu Cixin Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.08 2006 The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)
author: Liu Cixin
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)]]> 10836728
So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, The Rook is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.]]> 504 Daniel O'Malley 0316098795 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.10 2012 The Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)
author: Daniel O'Malley
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Will Power (Hawthorne Saga, #2)]]> 7416110
At first Will does whatever he can to try to squirm into their good graces, but just when his efforts are feeling totally futile, he begins to wonder if these too-perfect courtiers and warriors have anything to offer beyond their glamour and their burning hatred of the goblins.ĚýBut is there any recourse forĚýWill and his friends once it turns out that the humans who are sheltering them may notĚýbe on the right side ofĚýtheir eternal conflict?

Will Power is a funny and fleet-footedĚýstand-alone fantasyĚýfeaturingĚýthe charactersĚýreaders grew to love in Act of Will in an all-new adventure about the danger of first impressions.]]> 320 A.J. Hartley 0765321254 Carol(ine) 3 3.64 2010 Will Power (Hawthorne Saga, #2)
author: A.J. Hartley
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/23
date added: 2024/01/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Narrow Road Between Desires (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #0.6)]]> 157265081
From dawn to midnight over the course of a single day, follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes and sneaks, dancing into trouble and back out again with uncanny grace.

The Narrow Road Between Desires is Bast's story. In it he traces the old ways of making and breaking, following his heart even when doing so goes against his better judgement.

After all, what good is caution if it keeps him from danger and delight?]]> 240 Patrick Rothfuss 0756419182 Carol(ine) 4 4.01 2023 The Narrow Road Between Desires (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #0.6)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/21
date added: 2024/01/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Post Captain (Aubrey & Maturin, #2)]]> 53410075 480 Patrick O'Brian 0393541592 Carol(ine) 0 dropped 4.20 1972 Post Captain (Aubrey & Maturin, #2)
author: Patrick O'Brian
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1972
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/18
shelves: dropped
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder]]> 61714633 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on the Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.

But then . . . six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death--for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann's recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O'Brian, his portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.]]> 331 David Grann 0385534264 Carol(ine) 0 to-read 4.14 2023 The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
author: David Grann
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/18
shelves: to-read
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 Carol(ine) 5
The fantastical elements- or I could say element, singular, does not create an entirely unimaginable, out-of-this-world, mystical setting, but I don't think that was the point. This is primarily historical fiction that also has a magic system based on etymology, it doesnt need to be any more. The fantasy aspect exists to emphasize the power and complex history of language, giving such intangible concepts something concrete. Even then, the futility to grasp such concepts is constantly referenced and this attempt only exaggerates the paradox of language and tangible rigidity.

Tl;dr this book is fantastic and linguistics is already magical on its own]]> 4.17 2022 Babel
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Carol(ine)
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/13
date added: 2024/01/18
shelves:
review:
I've seen critique that this book is just an excuse for Kuang to show off scholarly achievement. And to that, I say Yeah It Rules. It's such an interesting way to present historical and linguistic knowledge and tricks you into reading an excerpt from some thesis paper in-between plot points. The footnotes alone are full of whiplash between the fantasy setting and real-world references, both written in the same manner and treated with the same weight, drawing you into this world.

The fantastical elements- or I could say element, singular, does not create an entirely unimaginable, out-of-this-world, mystical setting, but I don't think that was the point. This is primarily historical fiction that also has a magic system based on etymology, it doesnt need to be any more. The fantasy aspect exists to emphasize the power and complex history of language, giving such intangible concepts something concrete. Even then, the futility to grasp such concepts is constantly referenced and this attempt only exaggerates the paradox of language and tangible rigidity.

Tl;dr this book is fantastic and linguistics is already magical on its own
]]>