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Beck_42

Beck_42

Joined April 2017

Booknerd
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Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
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Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
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Beck_42
Pog | Padraig Kenny
Pickpick

A fantasy adventure that explores grief, and the ways it affects various people, and how joy and memory can help the grieving process. I enjoyed it a lot. Some aspects of the book were a little scary which I imagine would be appealing to 8-12 year olds. Would recommend.

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Beck_42
Extra Yarn | Mac Barnett
Pickpick

To me, the yarn represents love; the girl starts out by loving herself, and then finds she has more love for others. The more love she gives, the more she has to give. When someone tries to gain the love by force, without her consent, he finds there is no love there; but the girl is able to continue happily loving her world.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it but to me it seemed a perfect allegory for the abundance of love.

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Beck_42
Pickpick

GAH I loved this book SO MUCH. So freaking cute. I was sad when it finished. I loved the characterisation of Simon, a really believable and sympathetic young man. Very much recommend.

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Beck_42
Pickpick

I mean, it was good... But not my favourite John Green. Good to have a book that talks about mental health, in a realistic way. Somehow, though, it didn't spark feelings in me the way I expected.

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Beck_42
The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily | David Levithan, Rachel Cohn
Mehso-so

The first half of the book was a no for me. The second half picked up and was frothier and funnier. But for me, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares was a much cuter and more enjoyable read.

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Beck_42
Eleanor and Park | Rainbow Rowell
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Pickpick

A tentative pick... I loved the relationship between the two and the 80s setting, but... I would have liked more payoff at the end. More security, for the both of them. And to know that Eleanor, and her family, are all ok. I hope she met back up with Park, and I hope she was happy in the end. I was close to tears reading the ending. The other part, Eleanor's hone life, was tough to read, and I had to take breaks from the book. But it was worth it.

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Beck_42
Eleanor and Park | Rainbow Rowell
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I really need to go to bed but I can't stop reading. This book is giving me all the feels.

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Beck_42
The Hazel Wood | Melissa Albert
Mehso-so

The last third of this book was great, really well written, interesting, fun, and I enjoyed it immensely. The first two thirds were a slog. Something about the way it's written turned me off - kind of purple prosey. In hindsight it makes sense, given the ending, for me that style of writing didn't work for the grittier, more urban parts of the story.

1 like1 stack add
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Beck_42
Pickpick

Awesome book. Really enjoyed it. Creepy and disturbing, if you like that sort if thing.

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Beck_42
Lincoln in the Bardo | George Saunders
Pickpick

I loved this. I can't say anything more than what has already been said - innovative style, beautifully written, great character studies. I did especially like how the style of writing changed his each character, dependant not only on temperament but also on which historical period they lived or died. Really enjoyable read, I raced through it and was sad when it was over.

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Beck_42
Wonder | R J Palacio
Pickpick

Amazing book. Lives up to its reputation. I cried buckets nearly the whole way through. Loved it.

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Beck_42
A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini
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What should I read next?

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Beck_42
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Mehso-so

Can't say I enjoyed this book, but I did think it was a valuable experience reading it. Very skilfully written, it moves from the mundane to the utterly bizarre and unsettling, like a Japanese Twin Peaks. I enjoyed the weirdness but I personally don't always enjoy stories that are left with loose threads or too many questions left hanging - and this one's full of them. Maybe answers are there if you read into subtext, but my brain isn't up to it!

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Beck_42
Perdido Street Station | China Miville
Pickpick

I read this a couple of years ago but I find myself still thinking about it often... a haunting, scary, vibrant, arresting book full of amazing ideas, interesting and memorable characters, and an ending that genuinely surprised and stayed with me. At times challenging, but an absorbing read.

BruceWalken I should really read some of these 😁 7y
morgan_lionheart Yes, this is one of those books that has really stuck with me too. Have you read the others in the series? 7y
Beck_42 I haven't yet. Are they good? In a similar vein? 7y
5 likes3 comments
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Beck_42
Pyramids | Terry Pratchett
Pickpick

Very enjoyable read. Good fun. I am enjoying this Pratchett re-read that I seem to have got myself on. Some Discworld books I've read numerous times but this one I think I've only read once or twice - probably because it's a stand alone, and I really enjoy the Watch and witches novels partly because the characters are revisited and developed. Anyway. This was a fun read that I would recommend.

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Beck_42
The Dark Side Of The Sun | Terry Pratchett
Mehso-so

Interesting/strange sci-fi tale with a lot of high-concept ideas, but not a lot of plot. The search for Joker's World takes Dom on short visits to numerous locations across the galaxy. New characters, locations and concepts are introduced frequently throughout the book, even to the last couple of chapters, which I found very confusing. Interesting to see how Pterry's writing developed, but don't think I'll reread.

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Beck_42
How to Stop Time | Matt Haig
Mehso-so

Given the reviews this had, I expected more from it. It was a pleasant and interesting read, an enjoyable story, a charming romance, but not... ground-breaking. My favourite thing about this book was the acceptance that one may find more than one 'soul mate' in a lifetime. I also liked the character of Camille, although she seemed a little too good to be true. I also liked the characterisation of Shakespeare. A solid read, but didn't blow me away.

Nebklvr It probably helps when your lifetime is 5 times longer 7y
4 likes1 comment
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Beck_42
The Carpet People | Terry Pratchett
Mehso-so

It was fine. Very heavily Tolkien influenced, as Terry said himself. I feel like you can tell which bits were changed or added in the rewrite - and these were the more enjoyable bits. An interesting read, but not the razor sharp wit that exemplified Terry at his peak.

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Beck_42
Pickpick

Incredible book. I love Charlie. He is a beautiful and fascinating character. This book felt completely real to me. One of the best coming of age stories I've read.

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Beck_42
Station Eleven | Emily St John Mandel
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This book was so amazing. I don't think I've ever read a post apocalyptic book that's so hopeful. Incredible structure, interesting characters and a powerful, uplifting message about the power of art and human endeavour. I loved it so much.

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Beck_42
Franny and Zooey | Jerome D. Salinger
Panpan

I just didn't get into this. I think maybe I'm too old to be impressed by hipsters or existential angst.

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Beck_42
Paper Towns | John Green
Pickpick

I loved this book. It surprised me. The way it looked at tge voncepts of identity, and how we never truly know anyone, and how people present differently to different people, really hit home for me. I also loved the ending - I won't give it away, but it wasn't saccharine, and the worked really well for me. A really great coming of age story that looks at empathy and what it means to be friends.

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Beck_42
Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro
Mehso-so

I expected to like this a lot more than I did. In the end, I just didn't like any of the characters. I mean, that doesn't necessarily make for a bad book - take The Great Gatsby, for example - but I just found every character in this frustrating. I wanted to reach in there and slap them at times. The subject matter was interesting, and I wish it had focused more on the implications of using clones as organ donors, rather than the love triangle.

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Beck_42
Wuthering Heights | Emily Bront
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Pickpick

Finally finished! Took me several attempts to read the whole way through, but feel such a sense of achievement now. I have to say, I felt really sorry for Heathcliff. I went in prepared to hate him, but I just couldn't. Previously I believed he didn't love Catherine, but on reflection now I believe her loved her too much, that she was a core pillar to his life, and his reaction to losing her was actually fairly realistic.. .

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Beck_42
The Great Gatsby | Francis Scott Fitzgerald
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I feel like the coolest person who ever lived in this shirt. #outofprint #Gatsby

DimeryRene Yes! I have that shirt and the east and west egg necklace set. 💚 8y
4 likes1 comment
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Beck_42
The Great Gatsby | Francis Scott Fitzgerald
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Thinking about the Lorde song Green Light - is anyone else seeing it as a Gatsby reference? Or am I reading something into it that isn't intended to be there? #Gatsby #Lorde #greenlight

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Beck_42
American Gods | Neil Gaiman
Pickpick

This is an incredible book. A unique read. I read it several years ago and feel it would be interesting to re-read in light of the current heightening in tensions worldwide over issues of immigration.

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Beck_42
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Book haul from thrifting on Sunday. All this for under £10. 👍#thrifting #shelfie #preloved

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Beck_42
Wide Sargasso Sea | Jean Rhys
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From the intro: found my soulmate.

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Beck_42
The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood
Pickpick

Completely amazing. I was hooked on this from page one and stayed up way too late reading it. I haven't felt that way about a book for a long time. Themes of power, control, body autonomy, gender politics, identity but written in a way that make it completely relevant to the modern world. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Immediately I finished, I dropped it round for my mum to read. A fantastic, thought-provoking book.

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Beck_42
Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Mehso-so

I loved this book right up until the rape apology and paedophilia. Whilst reading I loved the style and some of the magical, evocative passages; but on reflection, apart from the problems mentioned above, I found the character of Fermina Daza mean, cold, selfish, and bitchy, and I found it hard to understand why the men fell so hard in love with her.

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Beck_42
The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood
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Hooked on this. So relevant right now.