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The Book of Strange New Things
The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel | Michel Faber
A monumental, genre-defying novel that David Mitchell calls "Michel Fabers second masterpiece," The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peters teachingshis Bible is their book of strange new things. But Peter is rattled when Beas letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Beas faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us. Marked by the same bravura storytelling and precise language that made The Crimson Petal and the White such an international success, The Book of Strange New Things is extraordinary, mesmerizing, and replete with emotional complexity and genuine pathos.From the Hardcover edition.
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Readerann
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This book is indeed a strange new thing. I like Faber‘s writing but my overall judgment is still unclear. I‘m 70% done and I think I know what‘s going to happen, but I hope it doesn‘t. 😗

Update: I‘d have to give it a so-so. After finishing, still not quite sure how I feel about it.

BkClubCare Had you heard that Faber wrote this while his wife was battling cancer? Knowing this colored how I perceived the marriage in the story. Fascinating stuff. 1y
Readerann @BkClubCare Oh wow - I didn‘t know that. That does indeed put a different spin on things! 1y
BkClubCare @Readerann - and even more so, with some distance from it. He just couldn‘t relate to her world, the lack of control, how time stops and reality is distorted— so many things to think about. 🤗 1y
14 likes3 comments
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BkClubCare
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Pickpick

Told the dogs they needed to pose with a book! But then, of course, I wasn‘t as ready as their quick enthusiasm. Barely managed to capture this. I wrote on gr, “Just a sad and bizarre story. I don‘t know what to think.” There ya have it.

#ScienceFiction #MissionaryWork #EndOfTimes #ToFavoritesfall2023 #Doubt #Love #Trust #DogsofLitsy #CandE

Readerann Your 2-sentence review hit the nail on the head for me. I finished it 2 days ago and just didn‘t know what to think or say about it! 1y
Readerann The pups! 🐶❤️❤️ 1y
44 likes2 comments
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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

I think I‘ll need to mull this over - slow going but thought provoking. Pastor Peter is sent to Oasis, a new colony in space to do missionary work amongst the “native” beings, leaving behind his wife. The separation proves to be more difficult than either imagined as world tragedies large & small occur back on earth. Thanks for gifting me this GORGEOUS edition @BarbaraBB photo: Blue Grotto, Capri

TrishB And a gorgeous pic ♥️ 1y
Megabooks Beautiful!! 1y
BarbaraBB Gorgeous pic indeed! I hope you had a wonderful time with M! 1y
84 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Cinfhen
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#VacationGoals
☀️ ✅
📚 ✅
🍹✅
Mt. Vesuvius ✅✅✅ it‘s really right there!!! Bummer you can‘t see it in my photo 😫 Loving this book @BarbaraBB I‘m sooo grateful you choose this one for my birthday 🩷

BarbaraBB So glad you do!! I hoped so!! And what a great photo and location. I think I took a pic there once too! 1y
IndoorDame What a breathtaking location! You can really feel the atmosphere. 1y
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 1y
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Megabooks Oh Cindy that‘s so lovely!! 💕💕🇮🇹 1y
Cinfhen This photo was in Sorrento @BarbaraBB @IndoorDame @dabbe @Megabooks the hotel was in such a gorgeous location set high on the cliffs ☀️💛☺️It‘s ridiculously beautiful 🤩 1y
Centique My “maybe for my 60th” Italy itinerary (yes i have it written down already 😂) has got Sorrento as a base for a few day trips. Can you please send me the name of this hotel? 🙌🙌 1y
Cinfhen Sorrento was the perfect base and our hotel was in such a GREAT LOCATION!!!! 💯 would recommend @Centique I hope you get there!!? It‘s GORGEOUS 🤩 how‘s your dad doing???? 1y
Centique @Cinfhen he is surprising us all by getting healthier and his mind is a little more settled. They dont think he‘ll walk unassisted again but hes doing some exercises with the physio so hopefully he can be able to stand from his chair and things like that 👍 1y
Cinfhen Wow! That‘s absolutely amazing 🙌🏻he‘s such a marvel 💙 @Centique I pray for your dad‘s continued health and recovery 1y
83 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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BkClubCare
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This book is one of four* that I hadn‘t yet read, of the 8** up for discussion in the gr TOB group‘s Tournament of Favorites. And this is the only one totally off my radar - I knew/know NOTHING and am now abt 30% in. Certainly compelling. I am afraid my eBook loan will expire so I added the Physical copy. #ToFavoritesFall23

* LaRose, Thousand Autumns JacobdeZoet, and Horse
** Tell Wolves I‘m Home, Circe, Great Believers, Hamnet

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JuliaTheBookNerd
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Title #WithNew#TemptingTitles ☔️🌸💜

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

Eggs Always enjoy gazing at your bookshelves 👌🏼👌🏼 2y
rwmg And boy, does it live up to it 2y
58 likes2 comments
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rwmg
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My #LetterB book for the #Alphabetgame

A wonderful book about a missionary to the planet Oasis that works as a SF story and also takes the main characters' faith and their emotional interactions seriously. It left me wanting to know what happened next for the Earthlings and the Oasans but I suspect a sequel would only spoil it. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing!! 2y
BarbaraBB I loved this book too! 2y
28 likes2 comments
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JuliaTheBookNerd
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This book was okay, not great but not bad either 😬

#BeginsWith 🥳📚 #Book 📖

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Cool cover 📚❤️ 3y
Eggs Well done 👍🏼 📚 3y
56 likes2 comments
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ItsAnotherJen
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Pickpick

I've never read anything by Michel Faber, but I'm now interested in trying something else he has written. I've never read anything quite like this. It's science fiction, with a big dose of religion thrown in. It's a big heavy book (500 pages) but I really wish there were another 200 pages. It ended too soon. What happened next? I really want to know what happens!
I enjoyed this weird strange book. Not sure if everyone would.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ruthiella All his books that I‘ve read (three so far) are incredibly different from each other. But all very worth reading IMO. 😀 4y
JamieArc Interesting! The tagged book gets a lot of love from those who‘ve read it (me included). It‘s a big book ans very different from this one, but worth your TBR! 4y
KatieB I remember loving this too. I bought the crimson petal and the white after reading it but it‘s still languishing on my shelf. Gosh that‘s a big book! 4y
ItsAnotherJen @JamieArc @KatieB That one is over 800 pages! 😳😳 I found a used copy and will add it to my tbr. The other one I was considering is Under the Skin. It's interesting that his books are so different from each other. It's also interesting how they get both strong positive and negative reviews. 4y
TheNeverendingTBR @ItsAnotherJen this one is so weird 😯 4y
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LeafingThroughLife
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It‘s good to be reading again after a work-caused reading drought. This is a strange story of a born again Christian serving as a missionary to an alien race. It‘s interesting and surreal and even at halfway through I‘m not sure I have any idea where it‘s going, but it feels like it‘s headed somewhere weird.

BarbaraBB I really enjoyed this one. It might be good to know that Faber wrote this while his wife was dying - if you didn‘t know this already. For me it added much to the story 💔 (edited) 4y
LeafingThroughLife @BarbaraBB That definitely casts it in a different light. 4y
ItsAnotherJen @BarbaraBB Oh wow. That does make me think of this book differently now. How sad. 😥 4y
BarbaraBB @ItsAnotherJen It does make a difference right 🥲? 4y
29 likes4 comments
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SammyKat
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Reading this for the fourth evening in a row. It's an easy book to fall into 📚 Everything feels genuine.

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shadowspeak17
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#3books that were gifted to me

I haven‘t read Invisible Cities yet, but the other two were good.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Pretty photo 📚🎁❤️ 4y
OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚🎁 4y
41 likes2 comments
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Minervasbutler
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Pickpick

Peter Leigh is selected by a mysterious corporation to take part in a mission to Oasis, whose native population have requested a missionary to teach them the Gospel. Peter is excited and flattered at being chosen, despite the pain of having to leave his beloved wife behind. What follows is a slowly unfolding narrative which asks profound questions about the nature of human love, religious faith and the future of the planet.

Ruthiella I‘ve read three novels from Faber and they‘ve all been so different but so good! 😀 4y
Minervasbutler @Ruthiella yep, me too. Agree. 4y
74 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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7/3 - sunburn #quotsyjuly20 @TK-421

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Cosmos_Moon_River
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7/2 - a day late... you could say, I “forgot” #quotsyjuly20 @TK-421

ItsAnotherJen This is the mental picture I needed when the Oasians were first described 4y
17 likes1 comment
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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Pickpick

Wow. I loved this. It took me a while to get through this June #bookspin, but I feel like every word was necessary. The words chosen from “the quarter million available in the English language” were arranged into a magnificent story. Could it have been told with only the few thousand available in the Oasan language? Can we all make a way to find what we‘re looking for? A way to say goodbye. Forgive. Amen.

TheAromaofBooks Great review!! 4y
17 likes1 comment
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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1. Overcast and humid ☁️
2. Tent, RV or cabin will do as long as I can step outside and be in the quiet of nature. About 2 weeks till the north woods of Wisconsin as long as no Covid restrictions spoil our plans 🤞🏕
3. Granger from the tagged book. She‘s an auxiliary character, but I feel like I relate to her and the south Louisiana air in the summer feels like it could be the planet Oasis 🌌
4. Relax with the family 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦

#friYAYintro

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Cosmos_Moon_River
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1. My patio or in the woods camping 🌳
2. A chocolate chip cake doughnut 🍩
3. Probably my current read, tagged, it is so strange and I love weirdo books 💙📖
4. 2 kitties and 2 sons 🐈🐈👦🏼👦🏼😂

#FriYAYintro
@4thhouseontheleft @howjessreads

vivastory That donut sounds amazing! I need to read the Faber, the edition I have is one of my favorites as far as designs 4y
Cosmos_Moon_River @vivastory I don‘t think you‘ll be disappointed. It is so good! 4y
vivastory Under the Skin is one of my favorite books of all time. I've been meaning to read more by Faber ever since I read it. 4y
Cosmos_Moon_River @vivastory Ooooo! This is the first book by Faber I‘ve read, but I‘d be interested in more... adding to my long list of TBRs (edited) 4y
8 likes4 comments
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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“I was going to say something,” he said.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

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Cosmos_Moon_River
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Really enjoying this book so far! Original and interesting science fiction. Interesting tidbit, each chapter name is the last line of that chapter... sort of foreshadowing. I kind of hate this cliche though. Hasn‘t our whole lives lead up to every moment? My whole life has been leading me to this moment sitting in bed reading The Book of Strange New Things 😇 goodnight!

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Texreader
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Kammbia1 Love this book. One of my favorites and best portrayals of a marriage I've read in a long time. 5y
rwmg I loved it as well 5y
BarbaraBB I agree again! 5y
TracyReadsBooks I have to agree with Mom, this is a very good book. Love her reviews! 5y
73 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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Updated #bookspin #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks will shift to an adjacent book if my read books are chosen 🤩📖📚

TheAromaofBooks Looks good!! You have some fun ones there! 5y
11 likes1 comment
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bookishdawg
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“Sometimes a statement of the bloody obvious was the only appropriate way forward. As if to give life ceremonious permission to proceed.”

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Kalalalatja
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In a maybe-not-so-distant #future we might end up in a situation like Peter - he is going as a missionary to a new planet to preach the word of the bible. At Earth he leaves his wife Bea, and slowly, and from a universe away, Peter learns how life on Earth has been changing in drastic ways. Will there even be a home for him to return to?

Also, this cover is so shiny, I can‘t even 😍

#MOvember

Sace Yes...very pretty cover. 5y
Cinfhen #coverCrush ❤️🤩 5y
BarbaraBB I enjoyed this book a lot! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 💛💛 5y
78 likes1 stack add4 comments
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SauerPatch
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shadowspeak17
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Nute My imagination is all over the place with how this cover art possibly relates to this story. 5y
40 likes1 comment
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Queerbeetleserin

Höchst interessant stellt sich die Frage ob Religion aus unsererWelt heraus bestand hat und meine ehrliche Meinung ist nein. Religion ist Teil unserer kultur und glaube ist die Wahrnehmung des unbegreiflichen um uns her als was immer wir das empfinden. Interessant aber leider langatmig verpackt
Ich habe etwas gespoilert und erfahren, dass die Dinge welche mich interessieren in diesem Buch nicht beantwortet werden. Daher breche ich das Hören ab.

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JuliaTheBookNerd
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I got out of work yesterday at 6pm, I‘ve been at work since 1am today and I have to be here until 4pm. Now I‘m trying to perk up with a little coffee ☕️ and reading 📖 #HospitalLife #ReadingKeepsMeAwake #CoffeeBecauseAdultingIsHard

#BookNerd 💙📚🤓

ShananigansReads Love that mug 6y
Redy2trvl Bless you!!! 6y
Books88 That mug!!! 6y
120 likes3 comments
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Kalalalatja
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From one Michel Faber book to another - just look at that shine ✨✨

Peter travels to a new planet as a missionairy, leaving his wife, Bea, at home. Communication is hard with no #TelephoneWire going through space, so it takes Peter quite some time to learn, that not all is well on Earth.

Faber‘s writing is stunning, but this book left me wanting something more.

#MusicalNewYear

KarenUK Now THAT is a gorgeous cover! 😍 6y
mreads Ohhh pretty 😍 6y
rockpools What a cover!! 6y
See All 11 Comments
emilyhaldi I bought this solely due to Crimson Petal... but the premise doesn‘t actually interest me 😆 6y
erzascarletbookgasm It glows! 😍 6y
vivastory I have this same edition. I need to read it 😬 6y
BarbaraBB It is really good, I think you‘ll like it too @emilyhaldi ❤️ 6y
Cinfhen Such a gorgeous cover 6y
emilyhaldi That‘s a good endorsement coming from you!! @BarbaraBB 6y
ferskner Gorgeous photograph! 6y
Kalalalatja @KarenUK @mreads @RachelO @erzascarletbookgasm @Cinfhen @ferskner it is a stunner 🤩 @emilyhaldi @vivastory it is a good book, but it didn‘t grab me the same way Crimson Petal did 🤷‍♀️ 6y
130 likes4 stack adds11 comments
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Queerbeetleserin

Ein Missionar und Astronaut : das wirft bei mir die Frage auf ob unsere Religion für andere Welten übertragbar ist. Mein Gefühl sagt das ist übergriffig. 1/10 habe ich gehört. Bin gespannt ob mich das Buch noch mehr fesselt oder ob ich abbrechen.

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lycomayflower
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A little bummed to have taken the Christmas tree down already, but very happy to have my reading spot back

DivineDiana Looks like you had it up early, so lots of time to enjoy! 🎄 6y
15 likes1 comment
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JLaurenceCohen

In this novel, Peter travels through space to evangelize aliens. Faber does two things incredibly well in this book. He conveys the difficulties of both long-distance relationships and cross-cultural missionary work. This novel gets pretty bleak, but is deeply moving.

6 likes1 stack add
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ClairesReads
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Today my mate surprised me with this sweet custom bookshelf complete with inbuilt lighting and now I feel like I‘ve achieved all I need to in life. What a mate!

JoyBlue Gorgeous! Enjoy! 6y
Texreader Wow! That‘s amazing! Love it! 6y
erzascarletbookgasm 🤩 wonderful 6y
See All 19 Comments
Lcsmcat Beautiful! 6y
Mitch That‘s soooooo nice! 6y
AceOnRoam That is stunning 😍😍😍 6y
AsYouWish That is gorgeous!!!! 6y
gradcat Omigod!! That is swank, swanky, swank! Color me green with envy!! Where did he find it...do you know? 6y
wanderinglynn Love the lighting! 💜📚 6y
squirrelbrain Amazing! ❤️ 6y
Tamra 😍 6y
mklong So pretty!! 6y
MrsMalaprop Oh that‘s beautiful. We are getting our new wall of shelves built on Thursday 👏📚❤️. 6y
BookaholicNatty Absolutely stunning!!!!!! 6y
Flaneurette Wow! Love it! 6y
Christine11 So beautiful! 😍 6y
readordierachel Lovely! 6y
Redwritinghood That‘s gorgeous! 😍😍 6y
GrilledCheeseSamurai 🤤🤤🤤 6y
63 likes19 comments
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nosferatu
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Pickpick

A pleasant mix of genres that somehow felt too accessible for its own sake, especially compared to Faber‘s amazing Under the Skin, which still haunts me to this day

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Queerbeetleserin

Es gibt eine bestimmte Erzählweise die Männern eigen ist. Bei diesen Buch wusste ich nicht ob es Mann oder Frau geschrieben hat, da ich es auf dem Crosstrainer zu hören begann.
Mir war sofort klar dass ist ein Männerbuch. Zwei Menschen müssen sich trennen, mich stört ein
bisschen das man nicht frühzeitig erfährt warum.

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MStew
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I can't wait to read this !I loved the flim under the skin that was based off his book!! And im also itching to read that as well!!😃

It's prolly best to go into this one blind, i have heard its intense and deep!

#scifi

TheNeverendingTBR Sounds good!! 😗 I forgot about Under the Skin, I'll need to watch that again; I really liked it! 😌😙 6y
MStew @trioxin_sematary it's my favorite 😘😍 6y
AmyG Thanks as I didn‘t know there was a movie. 6y
See All 12 Comments
shadowspeak17 This book is great! ❤️ 6y
MarthaG I read this with a book group a few years ago. We had a lot to talk about. I still think about this book and I‘d like to reread it soon. 6y
Dogearedcopy I read this two summers ago. It was intense, strange, and a little frightening in its own way. 6y
bookworm.krizia Wait there‘s a movie? 6y
BarbaraBB I didn‘t know about the movie either but I loved this book. 6y
MStew @AmyG , @bookworm.krizia @BarbaraBB yes the movie is so strange ! I love it 6y
MStew @MarthaG I can't wait to read it now!!😄 6y
MStew @Dogearedcopy now I'm moving it up on my tbr!😎 6y
doodlebug55 This is one of my favorites! 6y
126 likes3 stack adds12 comments
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TracyReadsBooks
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Pickpick

This genre defying book certainly makes for a thought-provoking, interesting read. Missionary Peter Leigh leaves his wife on Earth & travels to a distant planet to preach to the native population. As Peter revels in his calling & the work he is doing, his wife gets increasingly desperate—revealed in the letters she writes him—as environmental & political upheavals wreck havoc on Earth. Much to think about—faith, love, responsibility, self.

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TracyReadsBooks
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And now for something completely different...

daena I loved this book 6y
Mitch I really enjoyed this too. Great pick! 6y
27 likes2 comments
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Purrfectpages
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Jess7 🤗🤗 7y
46 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Ke633
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#emojimadness @Tiffy_Reads @JoeStalksBeck 🔭 When I think of looking at the night sky I think #vangogh and #stars

youneverarrived Gorgeous photo. 7y
37 likes1 comment
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BarbaraBB
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Peter, a missionary, sets out on a quest to take the word of God to the farthest corners of the galaxy. While he is #PrayingToTheAliens his wife stays on Earth where life spins out of control rapidly. Such a great read.

#NuYear

Kalalalatja Great pick! 👏 7y
TrishB Sounds really interesting 👍🏻 stacked 7y
Lacythebookworm Love this book! 😍 7y
batsy I'm so glad I bought this recently at a book sale 😊 7y
73 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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SauerPatch
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One of a couple Goodreads Deals worth noting today. I bought this audiobook a couple years ago and listened to it twice with in a fairly short amount of time, a year maybe, because it was so baffling to me. Across the board its reviews are "good but not great", at best. Have any of your read it? It was such a peculiar read, it stayed with me for quite some time.

AmyG Baffled is an understatement. I didn‘t get this book ...at all. 7y
6 likes1 comment
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Quinndm
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"He loved her. Surely somewhere in the universe, allowing for the laws of time and space and relativity, there must be a place where that could still be possible."

2 likes1 stack add
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shadowspeak17
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Being on different planets definitely strained Bea and Peter‘s #marriage .

#NotworthyNovember

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JacintaMCarter
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Mehso-so

#2017Book200
A pastor embarks on a mission to bring the word of God to the natives of a recently discovered planet. This takes him away from his wife and the world he's always known. At first, everything seems to be working out for him. But, of course, things soon start to go downhill and he finds himself struggling with his new parishioners, his co-workers, his wife, and his faith. Interesting, though a bit preachy at times.

AmyG I agree. Someone had told me it was amazing. So I kept reading and when I was done I though...huh? 7y
46 likes1 comment
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BooksForYears
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#PlayingFavorites

?THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS by Michel Faber (not entirely off Earth, but a back-and-forth of new planet as Earth falls apart)

?WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel

?WHITE TEETH by Zadie Smith

?THE ARGONAUTS by Maggie Smith

?JANE EYRE by Charlotte Brontë

?YOUR HEART IS A MUSCLE THE SIZE OF A FIST by Sunil Yapa

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shadowspeak17
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1. The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber
2. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
3. The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
4. Zlata‘s Diary: A Child‘s Life in Wartime Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic (I haven‘t read very many memoirs, but I remember liking this one in middle school.)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Does blood count?)

#playingfavorites