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The Brief History of the Dead
The Brief History of the Dead | Kevin Brockmeier
37 posts | 57 read | 164 to read
From Kevin Brockmeier, one of this generation's most inventive young writers, comes a striking new novel about death, life, and the mysterious place in between. The City is inhabited by those who have departed Earth but are still remembered by the living. They will reside in this afterlife until they are completely forgotten. But the City is shrinking, and the residents clearing out. Some of the holdouts, like Luka Sims, who produces the Citys only newspaper, are wondering what exactly is going on. Others, like Coleman Kinzler, believe it is the beginning of the end. Meanwhile, Laura Byrd is trapped in an Antarctic research station, her supplies are running low, her radio finds only static, and the power is failing. With little choice, Laura sets out across the ice to look for help, but time is running out. Kevin Brockmeier alternates these two storylines to create a lyrical and haunting story about love, loss and the power of memory.
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review
Jari-chan
Brief History of the Dead | Kevin Brockmeier
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Mehso-so

Between a Pick and a So-So.
Pick because it gave me some new ideas to think about, and I liked the settings the author chose. Also, involvement of Coca-Cola 😆
So-So because Brockmeier could've made more out of this. Giving it more depth, more thought. Really trying to answer some questions, instead of only staying on the surface.

@TheAromaofBooks #BookSpinBingo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4y
22 likes1 comment
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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📖 Oddly, 2020 started with a book about the extinction of humans from a virus... the tagged.

📚 Nicholas Sparks, Every Breath finished the year.

📖 Now reading Rob Reid, After On - near futuristic novel of Silicon Valley and a strange takeover of social media.

#Goodbye2020
@ShyBookOwl

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Cosmos_Moon_River
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1. https://youtu.be/jFwB5ayV0vQ
2. I love the contrasting voices, female vocals and rock n roll
3. Won a new $1.2 M grant from EPA for an air quality program I manage! I can‘t share more cause it‘s not official until all the contract paperwork is done & signed 🤩 And had a zoom conference with old college friends for hours tonight. Happy Thursday!

#ThankfulThursday
@Soytoosaucy @Squidget @Sunraven @Eggs

Eggs Thanks for tagging me ❣️ 4y
Soytoosaucy Omg wow I never heard this song or artists before, but this song is good! 4y
Cosmos_Moon_River @eggs thanks for playing along this week 😁
@Soytoosaucy (I love your handle by the way) I love this band! They have some other really great songs, too. I'm surprised they're not more mainstream.
4y
19 likes3 comments
review
LibraryCin
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Mehso-so

I was ready to rate this 3.5 stars (good), but I dropped it right at the end. I mostly preferred following Laura‘s story in Antarctica to the chapters following the various people in the “dead” city. But, the last chapter following Laura was just... weird, I thought

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Cosmos_Moon_River
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Pickpick

An imaginative story of a version of life after death, the extinction of humans, being the last person on earth.

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Lreads
Brief History of the Dead | Kevin Brockmeier
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Day1 #7Days7Covers #CoverCrush #Day1
Post a cover you love each day for 7 days. No explanation needed. Tag someone new every day.
Thanks to @SW-T for the tag.
Would you like to play @VioletBramble

SW-T Loved the book and its cover! 😊😊 5y
VioletBramble Thank for the tag @QuietlyLaura. I‘ll have to check my shelves for good covers when I get home. 5y
Avanders Oh yes, I quite liked this one! 5y
44 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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toofondofbooks
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Pickpick

This book has been on my TBR radar for years. It is a very interesting original story for sure. I think it is one that will stay with you simply bc it is such a different book. It wasn't amazing or mind blowing, but a nice change of pace I guess.

24 likes1 stack add
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toofondofbooks
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I love this puzzle! Famous couples throughout literature. It had unique pieces too so it was a bit of a challenge. #audiopuzzling

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LifeInPages
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@TheWordJar sorry the post is a day late. Thank you so much for everything! I'm posting another picture of what I couldn't fit in this one soon. Idk how you knew bout my sweet spot for butterflies and journaling but thank you so much! XD
@BookishMarginalia
#summersantagoespostal
P.s. is there anyway to upload more than 1 pic at time on Litsy? I've been trying to figure it out and having no luck.

BookishMarginalia No, there‘s no way to post more than one pic at a time. Multiple posts is it. 5y
TheWordJar Gals you likes everything! Happy summer! 🦋 5y
12 likes2 comments
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imyril
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#RRSciFiMonth Day 11: Lest we forget

Today‘s catch up is all about loss and memory. The dead live in a city of no boundaries. But it‘s shrinking; the people are disappearing. What links them to Laura, isolated in the Antarctic when a global catastrophe occurs?

I loved this book (my bookclub hated me for picking it I think) - lyrical, tragic, but celebrating the unexpected connections we forge in life. A+ apocalypse

3 likes1 stack add
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razmanda
Brief History of the Dead | Kevin Brockmeier
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Escaped the city and went to my grandmother‘s farm this afternoon. A little snow and a lot of quiet as I reread this haunting book.

bookwrm526 Don‘t let her teach the munchkin how to kill anything!!!! 7y
razmanda @bookwrm526 we‘re not leaving them alone together. 😂🐓😂 7y
monalyisha So beautiful! 😍 7y
bookwrm526 @razmanda 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👩🏻‍🌾🐔 7y
37 likes4 comments
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rwmg
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Pickpick

Beautiful, magical, but I have so many questions about life in the City.

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rwmg
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rwmg
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rwmg
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Expandingbookshelf
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When you stumble across an old favorite in your local library and realize that TBR pile be damned, it is time for a reread! 🤓📚📚📚

I will never actually make it through my TBR list, will I?

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Seshat
Brief History of the Dead | Kevin Brockmeier
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#nuyear #day12 #idieyoudie This picture I found online reminded me of this elegant little book about the end of all things and memory. @Cinfhen @TrishB

Cinfhen Great image and book sounds fantastic #stacked (edited) 7y
Cathythoughts It really is a great image ! Echoing @Cinfhen 7y
TrishB Love the pic 💜 7y
30 likes3 comments
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Blair_Reads
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It rained and now it‘s coooooooold outside ❄️ 🤗 I am loving these snuggles 🐶

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love your mug!! 7y
bedandabook Everything matches - your nails, mug, book, blanket and even your dog! Lovely picture. 7y
cathysaid Puppy love 💕🐶❤️ 7y
85 likes3 comments
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Blair_Reads
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I love thinking about luck in this way...

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Blair_Reads
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🙀🙀 I was listening to All The Backlist and @Liberty recommend this book and I thought while 🚗...I swear I bought that book at a sale a long time ago bc the cover and title sounded interesting. I checked immediately upon getting home and I have it!!! Since I‘m sick in bed (*cough* library chair *cough*) how more perfect could this book find be?

brendanmleonard I love that cover! 7y
Soubhiville Yep, that‘s an amazing cover! 7y
TheWordJar Oh man...I read this book years ago and parts of it still float into my consciousness every now and again. I really enjoyed it. (But it took me forever to pick it up initially because that cover super freaked me out, and frankly I didn't want to have to look at it too long!) 7y
kspenmoll Feel better! 7y
69 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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Seshat
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk Is this good? It's been on my radar. 7y
Seshat I really enjoyed it, @TobeyTheScavengerMonk 7y
31 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Sweettartlaura
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This is just such a beautiful lovely story that deserves all the attention it can get. And a movie of this would be PERFECT. The possibilities for the sets of The City, in contrast to Laura's quest for survival in Antartica, just offers up unparalleled cinematic beauty. Somebody need to make this happen, because #thisshouldbeamovie .
#seasonsreadings2016
@RealLifeReading

33 likes2 stack adds
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Seshat
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33 likes2 stack adds
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Seshat
Brief History of the Dead | Kevin Brockmeier
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31 likes1 stack add
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Seshat
Brief History of the Dead | Kevin Brockmeier
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"Her sense of time had broken apart into two equal halves and fallen away from her like the shell of a walnut."

7 likes2 stack adds
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ForestAvenuePress
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Every once in a while my husband reads a book I recommend and then buys copies for his friends.

MemoirsForMe 😄😄😄 8y
Sweettartlaura I recommend this one a lot 😊 8y
18 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
MorganNotMegan
Mehso-so

Interesting concept, but it does move slower than expected. If you like literature with an interesting underlying premise, you'll love this book. The audiobook was a pretty great listen on my commute, but it is a slower story as it profiles characters and their interactions.

22 likes3 stack adds
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Litsy
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Pickpick

It's #Recommendsday! What are you recommending? "The City is a place where the dead reside, and as long as there is someone still alive on Earth who remembers them, there they stay - until a deadly virus wipes out the planet's population, except for Laura Byrd, a scientist working alone in the Antarctic. Now the only people left in the City are people Laura remembers. Really cool premise, right?!? I love this book with my whole heart." - @Liberty

MrBook Very cool. Added 😊👍🏻. 8y
Cinfhen Sounds awesome🤓 8y
[DELETED] 2232195534 That cover! Quite something! Adding this one to my list!! 8y
See All 13 Comments
JanuarieTimewalker13 Sounds intriguing!!! 8y
BekahB I've had this for a couple years and haven't even cracked it open yet. Anne Kingman from Books on the Nightstand raved about it more than once. Time for me to read it! 😀 8y
Laura317 This looks so cool! 8y
Flaneurette I love this book sooo much. It is filled with beautiful sentences and ideas. It is very elegiac and contemplative- highly recommend also! 8y
AmberJoy This sounds interesting and scary cause I don't remember a lot of things/people 8y
Reviewsbylola I read this probably a decade ago. Sad to say I barely remember it. 😞 8y
Sweettartlaura I recommend this book regularly - it's a GREAT read ❤️📚 8y
BibliOphelia I've had this in my TBR case for ages...must bump up! 8y
mjdowens This is one is now on my TBR and just moved to the top! 8y
Marissa1 Sounds intriguing! 8y
163 likes113 stack adds13 comments
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DennisJacobRosenfeld
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My previous copy had a really beautiful cover, but it fell apart after several re-readings. When I ordered a new copy at my local bookstore I forgot to make sure which cover I got. This cover doesn't work for me at all, it does the book a great disservice. For the first time in many years I'm re-reading to see if my past infatuation with the book was warranted

Sweettartlaura And??? Did you like it as much? 8y
DennisJacobRosenfeld @Sweettartlaura I did! It is a beautiful book. 8y
Sweettartlaura It is 😌😍📚. I still recommend it fairly often. Maybe I'll suggest it for a book club pick...🤔 8y
DennisJacobRosenfeld @Sweettartlaura I think it would be a perfect choice 😊His other novels are also worthy of book club talks. 8y
11 likes4 comments
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JWarren
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Mehso-so

The book faces a major problem, and it's the same problem that many projects by Damon Lindeloff face: when we as an audience are given a complex and interesting puzzle, we want to find out more about the puzzle, not spend our time getting to know characters. A character-driven novel about a super complex and interesting afterlife concept with a fascinating structure creates a problem.
Maybe get this one on Audible.

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ForestAvenuePress
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I'm away from my bookcases today so this photo will have to do for @Liberty's Fun Friday Photo. A breathtaking ending to a stunning and imaginative novel.

13 likes1 stack add
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Mamashep
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Been wanting to read this for more than 6 years. Tag tells me I've owned it for more than four years. Finally starting it today!

MyBookLife Thank you for the tip, it sounds great!! 8y
18 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Sweettartlaura
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One of my favorite books ever - I just recommended it again yesterday.

3 likes4 stack adds