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#192025
review
Liz_M
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Pickpick

And I thought the book tagged in the comments was bleak. This has most of the same plot points – family tragedy, religion, poverty -- mixed with an older protagonist and therefore adds exploitative and unhealthy sexual behavior, all wrapped in a light stream-of-consciousness delivery. And yet, with all these elements that should keep me at a distance, should make it nearly unreadable, I never avoided picking it and cried many times while reading.

BarbaraBB Great review. Both so bleak but I enjoyed (not the correct word) Discomfort much more than this one. 6d
Liz_M @BarbaraBB the prose was more straight-forward in Discomfort, for sure. 6d
30 likes4 comments
review
BarbaraJean
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Pickpick

I love the Wayward Children series so much, and this latest book didn‘t disappoint. I ached over Nadya‘s our-world story and loved her underwater portal world (and ached again over the ending). I‘m constantly impressed by how deftly McGuire weaves into her fantasy worlds huge topics like adoption and ableism, in ways that illuminate and universalize the experiences of diverse characters.

This was my 2025 pick for #192025.

Librarybelle Yay!! 7d
45 likes1 comment
review
BarbaraJean
Going Postal | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

Still working my way through belated reviews…this goes back to early February for the #OokBOokClub.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, from the characters to the satire to the fact that it had CHAPTERS.* And the reappearance of characters from The Truth. And golems! There‘s so much more substance to the characters here (I‘m looking at you, Rincewind), which gave more depth to the story overall—and its satire of government was maybe a little too ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …relatable right now, with quotes like:

“Steal five dollars and you‘re a common thief. Steal thousands and you‘re either the government or a hero.”
“Sometimes the truth is arrived at by adding all the little lies together and deducting them from the totality of what is known.”
“What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.” ⤵️
7d
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d):
*I love Terry Pratchett, but his aversion to chapters has been a mild annoyance thus far. The lack of chapters somehow has the opposite effect from what I assume Pratchett was aiming at—it‘s harder for me to sink into the book when I don‘t have clear units of content to anticipate. My brain wants those clear divisions.

Also also: this was my 2004 pick for the #192025 challenge with @librarybelle!
(edited) 7d
Librarybelle Excellent!! 7d
willaful I also noticed the wonderful CHAPTERS and was wondering if they're part of why this book is so popular! 6d
julesG I think Rob wrote something about the chapters in his biography of Terry. I'll check and come back (though later, just got out of bed it's 6am here) 6d
36 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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#BookSpin list for April (even though I haven‘t even started my BookSpin or #DoubleSpin from March yet 😬)

Lots of challenge/buddy read picks on this list, with #192025, #ChristiesCapers, #OokBOokClub, and my own #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and #50x50. But it also stays pretty close to my physical TBR—which is ostensibly my goal with BookSpin! Looking forward to the numbers next week!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! The Man in the Brown Suit is one of my favorite Christie books, even though (because??) it's completely ridiculous 😂 Is All Creatures Great and Small a buddy read? I love those books so much!! 7d
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks All Creatures is on my list for #192025, and so is The Man in the Brown Suit, for that matter (with a nice #ChristiesCapers overlap)! I've never read either and both feel like fun & cozy reads, which I need more and more these days. 7d
29 likes2 comments
review
kwmg40
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Pickpick

This was the first book I've read from the Superintendent Wycliffe series and it was a weak pick for me. The mystery was just OK but I did enjoy the cozy seaside setting and Wycliffe's character, so I'm willing to try more books in the series.

#192025 #1978 @Librarybelle
#gottacatchemall (Eevee: Read a book you own) @PuddleJumper

Librarybelle I‘m not familiar with this. I may have to check it out! 1w
44 likes1 comment
review
merelybookish
Street of Riches | Gabrielle Roy
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Pickpick

Loved!
Roy was a successful mid-century 🇨🇦 writer. Her novel Tin Flute still gets assigned in Canlit classes but otherwise her reputation has dimmed. Which, it turns out, is a shame because this is wonderful! A semi-autobiographical collection of linked stories told from the perspective of a young girl growing up in a large French family in Manitoba. Nothing flashy. Just lovely, rich insights into the complexity of people through innocent eyes.

merelybookish I pulled this off my shelf for the #192025 challenge. So glad I did!! @Librarybelle 1w
Sace I just ordered a copy from ThriftBooks. When I googled the author, I saw that some consider her “the Canadian Willa Cather”. I generally dislike comparisons like this, but I am a fan of Cather. 1w
Librarybelle This sounds good! 1w
See All 8 Comments
merelybookish @Sace Interesting! She's from the prairies so I guess that fits. Also her style is unadorned like Cather's so it's not totally inaccurate. I will be excited to hear what you think!! Also, be forewarned that it does contain some ideas about race (the first story is called The Two Negros) that are not okay. 1w
Sace That comes with the territory when reading older books. 1w
Suet624 Sounds like one I would enjoy. Stacked! 3d
merelybookish @Suet624 I think you'd enjoy it too!! 3d
kwmg40 Another fan of Gabrielle Roy here. I've not read Street of Riches but I really liked Where Nests the Water Hen, also set in Manitoba. 12h
60 likes3 stack adds8 comments
review
BarbaraJean
The Secret Adversary | Agatha Christie
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Pickpick

Another belated review… this was the #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3 pick for February.

I was excited to read this because I hadn‘t read any of the Tommy & Tuppence books before, and it was such fun—in spite of the more improbable & unrealistic aspects of the plot! Both Tommy & Tuppence annoyed me a little at times, but I did enjoy their youthful energy and banter—as well as seeing Agatha Christie write younger protagonists. ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) I loved their ingenuity as they navigated various predicaments independently of each other. Tuppence had her own strengths and contributions in unraveling the mystery, instead of just being a throwaway token female in the duo. I look forward to reading more Tommy & Tuppence in the future!

This was also my 1922 pick for the #192025 challenge.
1w
Librarybelle Yay!! 1w
dabbe You old bean! 🤩🤣🤩 1w
BarbaraJean @dabbe 😂 I love that expression so much—really need to find ways to work it into my daily life 😆 1w
dabbe @BarbaraJean IKR? I adored this book! 🤩🤣🤗 1w
41 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Girl, Interrupted | Susanna Kaysen
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Mehso-so

Memoir from the author about 2 years in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s. It was a quick read so I finished it but was left feeling a bit nonplussed. I don't feel that I got any insight about the author at all, & I agree with another reviewer who says it all just feels rather empty. Most readers seemed to really like this one but whatever they saw, I just didn't connect with it. 2.5⭐

Librarybelle I‘ve seen the movie but not read the book! 2w
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 2w
Ruthiella I liked this a lot-found it interesting, especially to compare with the movie. 2w
31 likes4 comments
review
Maggie4483
Brave New World | Aldous Huxley
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Pickpick

You can‘t have the good without the bad.

This was my book for 1932 for the #192025 challenge.