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Time Machine: H.G. Wells' Groundbreaking Time Travel Tale, Classic Science Fiction
Time Machine: H.G. Wells' Groundbreaking Time Travel Tale, Classic Science Fiction | H G Wells
Written by visionary H. G. Wells in 1894, The Time Machine is the seminal time travel tale, having spawned an entire genre of fiction and having inspired thousands of books, movies, and dreams. This classic novella marks the first use of the term time machine, and it portrays the first journey through time in a device that can be controlled precisely by its operator. The Time Machine was written as a serial in New Review magazine between 1894 and 1895, granting Wells the sum of $100 and the world a new dimension in which to dream.
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psalva
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

A worthwhile reread. Judging by this Scholastic edition, the last time I read this was probably middle school. In this read I was struck by the metaphor of class division. I also found myself contemplating history, its preservation, its fleeting nature, its destruction. As bleak as that sounds, I didn‘t find this a depressing read- its philosophical interest was second to the entertainment factor. ⬇️

psalva There were some dry descriptive passages, but overall I found this an inventive story which sparked my imagination. #victober (edited) 2mo
17 likes1 comment
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psalva
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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“If only I had thought of a Kodak! I could have flashed that glimpse of the Underworld in a second, and examined it at leisure.”

This sentence sent me down an internet rabbit hole researching the timeline of photographic innovation. I did a double take when I saw the brand Kodak treated like a household name. The company was incorporated in 1892, just three years before the publication of the tagged. Wild!

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ShaaM
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Pickpick

My first read of HG Wells ! Well Not excellent not bad

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Burpito
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
Panpan

Pretty crap honestlt

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BookMaven9
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️Wells is way better than Verne in terms of storytelling. Been a favorite story of mine since childhood. I was pretty entertained and ideas were WOW! Definitely imaginative for the times. My complaint was the lack of warmth or relationships of any kind. But overall enjoyed. And yes, this is a photo of my very own Time Machine commissioned by an artist i met at a convention.

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SanjanaGhosh
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Mehso-so

Starting the week right!

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bresch95
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
Mehso-so

It is now clear to me that H.G. Wells was very ahead of his time. This is such a cool story and it is crazy to think it is over 120 years old. I found it a little hard to read and follow at times, with how the story moves and the 19th century English, but I pushed through that little disconnect. I am glad I did, because my mind is quite blown.

7 likes1 stack add
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rwmg
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

The creation of a subgenre, if not a genre. The tale does suffer a bit from over-familiarity - this must be my fourth or fifth reading and if I remember rightly I've seen the film version at least twice. Having said that, it can still be recognised as an achievement.

28 likes1 stack add
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rwmg
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Eggs
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

“Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.” ― H.G. Wells, The Time Machine.

Written in 1895, Wells conceived of time travel which became the basis for books, movies, and tv shows ever since. This reminds me of the Magic Time Machine, a bizarre but fun, restaurant in downtown Austin in the early 1980s.

#Pantone2023
#RushAThon Day 24

DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 1y
dabbe LOVED this book! 💚🩷💚 1y
Eggs @DieAReader 🤗🤗 1y
See All 6 Comments
Eggs @dabbe 💙🤍🩵 1y
Andrew65 A true classic. Well done 👏👏👏 1y
Eggs @Andrew65 🙌🏻👍🏼 1y
59 likes6 comments
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HeyT
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Panpan

My copy only had 141 pages and it took me weeks to finish this because it should have been titled Mansplaining: The Novel. Combine that with sub textual pedophilia and I was just not into this at all. I probably should have bailed but it's on a list that I want to say I 100% completed so that wasn't an option.

HeyT This was my DoubleSpin for March @TheAromaofBooks 1y
TheAromaofBooks Oh dear, at least it's checked off now!! 1y
28 likes2 comments
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HeyT
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Okay so I'm having a hard time getting through this one and my copy is only 141 pages long. So far it feels like I am reading Mansplaining: The Novel and it feels like there's low key some subtextual pedophilia. And of course, the casual racist asides. I think I'm going to have to take this in small doses as I read something else of much better quality concurrently.

HeyT I was uncomfortable enough that I used my last six Hoopla credits for the month to reborrow all the Murderbot audiobooks again. (I already listened to them last month lol.) 1y
The_Book_Ninja I do love to tackle the occasional classic but I‘m invariably disappointed by racist tropes and misogyny 1y
21 likes2 comments
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HeyT
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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#BookReport
Had another excellent reading week. Finished two heavy books this week and my commute audiobook. I did end up listening outside of the car because I became so invested.

#WeeklyForecast
Goal this week is to finish Time Machine and make headway into Speed of Dark. I would really like to commit to 111 pages a day but I'm not sure if that's too ambitious or not.

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Rachel52
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Mehso-so

Finished my book for this month's #BookSpin.

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
7 likes1 comment
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Rachel52
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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I have next week off work, my plans mostly consist of reading The Time Machine for June #BookSpin, then re-reading The Crooked Kingdom and eating way too much chocolate ice-cream! 📚🍫🍦

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HeyT
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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#BookReport
I honestly don't think I read much at all this week. I was mostly trying to figure out what I was going to read. The good news is I think I figured out what I will read next.

#WeeklyForecast
My goal this week is to make headway into the LotR and finish Time Machine.

RamsFan1963 I read Pump Six. I don't know if "enjoy" is the right word to use, but I did find it rather disturbing and it definitely left an impression on me. 2y
16 likes1 comment
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Enchanted_Bibliophile
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

3✨

Quite the adventure!
H.G Wells's idea of the future is dark, scary, and sad I'm glad I only got to visit it briefly. The social stratification he explores is nerve-racking and made me think just how easy it could come to pass

#Classic
@Clwojick #Pantone2023 #BlazingYellow #GrayedJade

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Daisey
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Mehso-so

This is another early science fiction book that just hasn‘t seemed to age well. It was an ok short listen, but I was not at all invested or impressed. #audiobook

This is my March #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown book, and in reading about its inclusion on the #1001books list, I was interested by how it was compared to News from Nowhere which I was not impressed by either.

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Robotswithpersonality
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Mehso-so

One would think with a classic this well known I couldn't suffer from 'should have read the synopsis' letdown, but oh, I very much am .
Honestly more than a century of literature and other media meditating on the idea of time travel has probably spoiled me for the place this holds in the pantheon in early sci fi. It feels like the rough draft for a novel I'd like to read, after many revisions and some expansions. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? There's a kernel of a fascinating analogy/cautionary tale about class structure and existing political and economic systems, seemingly pushing a perhaps naively optimistic Communist agenda; the relative dangers of basing a society on expectation of certain human traits as desirable; there's tidbits about the nature of time as a dimension and how one might travel, and I'll be honest, I was expecting something drier based on such discussions than the sci fi pulp action that bulked out two-thirds of the story, and in retrospect, would have preferred more discussion and speculation and less action. 2y
Robotswithpersonality 3/? Recommend accidentally getting the large print edition from your library, something about seeing those words blown up the twice their average size per page makes nineteenth century English more approachable. 2y
Robotswithpersonality Fellow vegans prepare for that same 'ol cognitive dissonance: the Time Traveler befriends a sentient species and abhors their being food for another sentient species specifically described as monstrous, going so far as to relate it to cannibalism, and the very first thing he wants wehn he gets back is lamb (mutton). 🤷🏼‍♂️ 2y
See All 6 Comments
Robotswithpersonality Discussion of distinctions between the 'savage or an animal' and the 'civilized man' by page 6, 😬 which upon closer inspection seems to boil down to 'because privilege', definitely outdated terms in use. 2y
Robotswithpersonality Probably someone or many someones have described this as a colonizer narrative, (come to think of it, how many adventure stories of the nineteenth century were about some white guy having a good time shoving his way into another people's lands, looking for treasure or excitement?) 😑 Dude arrives in a time/world not his own, disdains to judge the locals by anything but his own standards, the standards of a particular time rather than culture/place, sets shit on fire, kills a number of people/gets one killed and then leaves without any kind of responsibility taken for his impact. 2y
Robotswithpersonality Not a fan of: the subjugation of nature being the proposed end goal of human civilization; the insistence that conflict is necessary for strength, energy, intelligence; that procreative/protective drive is required to form intimate bonds; or the binary of strong and weak that gets put forth as a value judgement.

⚠️ Period typical racism
2y
7 likes6 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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So even in the narrator's perfect world there's a class divide and a parasitical wealthy elite? Dude, dream BIGGER.

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Robotswithpersonality
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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I don't care if the museum is a ruin from the far future, graffiti-ing the religious/cultural artifacts is just rude. 🙎🏼‍♂️

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Robotswithpersonality
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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"For I am naturally inventive, as you know." ?
Happy Dance! Always original to the dancer.

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Robotswithpersonality
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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An excellent use for pockets.

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Robotswithpersonality
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Today's scratched-my-brain-just-right sentence.

5 likes1 stack add
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lauraisntwilder
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

I read this because my son read it for summer reading and he wanted to discuss it. I like any book that gets him that interested!

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yoavshai
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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#BookCoverChallenge
Day 205.
Here I will note 365 books (or as many as I will have before I get tired) that have shaped my taste in literature. No explanations, no reviews. Just the cover of the book.
I do not challenge anyone. You are all welcome to take part.

6 likes1 stack add
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wanderinglynn
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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#two4tuesday

1. As fascinating as it would be to go see various points & times in history, I think I‘d prefer to go see the future.

2. Love HG Wells

Thanks for the tag Lisa! 😘

TheSpineView You're welcome! I want to see the future too! Thanks for playing! 3y
56 likes1 stack add1 comment
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LostInSpace
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Mehso-so

Short and okay read, didn‘t enthral me.

Bit dated, bit random, not much attention to detail. Interesting story premise if it had been elaborated on.

Zoes_Human Same for me. 3y
33 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Deifio
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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The bunnies are enjoying their grass in the shade. And I'm reading papers dealing with the themes from The Time Machine.

#petsoflitsy

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Deifio
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

Read it again for my Late Victorian Literature class. It's as good as I remembered. This is my third read of it

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rwmg
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

The creation of a subgenre, if not a genre. The tale does suffer a bit from over-familiarity - this must be my third or fourth reading and if I remember rightly I've seen the film version at least twice. On those grounds I might only give it a So-So. But as an achievement it deserves a Pick.

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rwmg
The Time Machine | H. G. Wells
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review
CRoddy
Pickpick

Great book! Took me a long time for such a small book but there was so much to take in it took a while

Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂 4y
4 likes1 comment
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Bookgirl
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

My son is taking a sci-fi lit class and I realized I had never finished this classic. The writing is not the most exciting but the story is wonderful. Plus, it was eye-opening to realize this is really the birth of all time travel stories (those that involve time machines). The idea of how humanity devolves is interesting also...easy to still see why some think we are doomed to destroy ourselves. Meanwhile, it‘s still winter here in Michigan. 😭🥶

RavenLovelyReads That flower is beautiful!! 4y
39 likes1 comment
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Deifio
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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New books for my "Late Victorian Literature" class at university. I really like the Tess edition, looks pretty! The tagged book is also on the class itinerary, but hasn't arrived yet.

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Argon
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

I watched the 60s movie version a number of years ago, but just read the original novella. It was brilliant, I love H.G. Wells! Made me think about how our world has changed since Wells‘s time (c. 1895) and how our society might be in the future. Though, perhaps a nearer future than 802,701 CE! A must-read for anyone who likes science or classic fiction.
10/10

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Vee_Bookish
The Time Machine | H. G. Wells
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Mehso-so

It was racist, classist and a little pedophilic, on top of being written by an anti-semitic author, so yeah. Guess it was okay, I liked the ending.

Redfae My dad & sister told me to check H G Wells out but not sure I will lol. Sometimes I wonder if they know me. 4y
15 likes1 comment
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TheNeverendingTBR
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

Every one of his books I've read I've really enjoyed, and there's no exception with The Time Machine.

His stories I find were fast-paced, plot-driven and pioneering.

I also find that the ones I've read have been unique plots with not much character development and fast-paced writing that leaves you wanting more.

He sets out these basic plots of, alien invasion, time travel and invisibility which are timeless and can be expanded upon.

4/5》

RaeLovesToRead I like this one. We read it for Waterstones sci fi book club years ago when it was still going. 4y
eeclayton I find his stories really memorable too, in spite of being rather quick reads. 4y
TheNeverendingTBR @RaeLovesToRead I really liked this one but it was certainly the most brief ones of his I've read; The Invisible Man remains my favourite of his! 👻 4y
TheNeverendingTBR @eeclayton Yes, I find that they give out a general idea of something incredible but lack in the details. 4y
116 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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MaggieCarr
The Time Machine | H.g.wells
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Panpan

Science fiction isn't my go-to genre but read the abridged version of The Time Machine as a means to complete a task for the 2020 Read Harder Challenge by Book Riot. I find it hard to give an accurate review when I know so much of the text is missing, shortened.

26 likes2 stack adds
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BarkingMadRead
The Time Machine | H. G. Wells
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36 likes1 stack add
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BarkingMadRead
The Time Machine | H. G. Wells
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Finished my #doublebookspin nothing like waiting until the last minute. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks also a #crushtherush book, #TBR

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4y
30 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Auntynanny
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Pickpick

I'm glad I finally read this one. It was interesting to read the first time travel novel after reading so many newer ones. I enjoyed his other stories in it as well.

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Twainy
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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I love book mail! Thank you BookOutlet! Only Hellraisers has a dust cover, the hardcover is a replica of the dust cover, cool end papers AND red sprayed edges (content is fun if you like 80‘s heavy metal). The Time Machine has a raised title with copper foil accents, copper colored sprayed edges & is illustrated etc. AC/DC because AC/DC! 😁 Every album. Album by Album. 🖤 Nancy Drew because I have a 6 year old niece & my old books look like crap.

20 likes1 stack add
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mollyrotondo
The Time Machine | H.g.wells
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I cannot get over how much this book is so complex. It criticizes both communism and capitalism and the villain and hero in the story isn‘t as easy to determine as you‘d think. I honestly do not like The Time Traveller. I was amble to read this in one day on Saturday for #24b4monday

Andrew65 Well done! 👏👏👏 (edited) 5y
33 likes1 comment
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Skeeterisme
The Time Machine | H.G. Wells
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Mehso-so

Thought I would enjoy a full cast adaptation of this story. Not sure I did...

Catherine_Willoughby Must finally read this book 5y
45 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Bigcountry15
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Mehso-so

The Time Traveler devises his Machine and goes far into the future. Far enough for Wells to cast his vision of what the future of man (and future of the solar system) will look like. An interesting quick read.

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fandom_hellspawn99
The Time Machine | H.g.wells
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Pickpick

Well this made me sad for reasons I'm not going into 😭 but I still loved this strange and slightly philosophical in a way book! 4/5🌟

This will go down as my T for Title #LitsyAtoZ #ReadingChallenge @BookishMarginalia