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clairabellasmella

clairabellasmella

Joined August 2016

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Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Counternarratives by John Keene
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clairabellasmella
And the Mountains Echoed | Khaled Hosseini
Pickpick

Not as good as Kite Runner but hey, it's hard to measure up to one of my all time faves. Hosseini is a wonderful storyteller as always

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clairabellasmella
A Little Life: A Novel | Hanya Yanagihara
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Bailedbailed

Let me say that the writing in this book is absolutely gorgeous. It's compelling and honest without being self-indulgent. But, unpopular opinion: just 100 pages shy of finishing this 800-page monster, I had to bail. It's exhausting, depressing, and in the end, just too damn long, to the point where I knew I wasn't finishing because I WANTED to do so but because I'd already made it that far. All who dare pick up this book, best of luck to you 👏

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clairabellasmella
The Complete Persepolis | Marjane Satrapi
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Pickpick

A dynamic memoir about growing up during wartime in Iran. Would recommend 🙃

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clairabellasmella
The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

So good! Refreshing to read a war novel focused on the female experience. Had a good #uglycry 😭😭😭

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clairabellasmella
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

Giovanni's Room blew me away. Although it's renowned for its portrayal of sexuality, at its core, it was about love, hate, desire, and the idea of "finding oneself." Moving and tragic. This book should be required reading for everyone! ?????

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clairabellasmella
Bailedbailed

I appreciate the concept of showing how seemingly small actions can have a profound effect on someone else's life, however, as someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, I had to bail after about 100 pages. The premise of blaming others for a suicide, to me, is a very damaging idea.

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clairabellasmella
A Man Called Ove: A Novel | Fredrik Backman
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Pickpick

Giggles and ugly cries. ???

"People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had."

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clairabellasmella
The Night Circus | Erin Morgenstern
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Mehso-so

I wanted so badly to get into it, and I did like those things about it that I generally love about debut novels - ambitious in scope and a showcase of the writer's rawest talents. However, it just took a little too long to develop, causing the stakes to feel not *quite* high enough and the romance not *quite* compelling enough, lost in some overwrought descriptions and tropes ("follow your dreams, Bailey," "wonderful coalescence")

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clairabellasmella
The Magicians: A Novel | Lev Grossman
Bailedbailed

Boy, bye. I'm heartbroken I picked this up after finding it in the "employee recommendations" section of Barnes & Noble. *sigh* They're usually so trustworthy. Bye Quentin, you misogynistic, whiny special snowflake and the ripoff world you inhabit ?

annahenke I was not a fan either. 8y
6 likes1 comment
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clairabellasmella
Pickpick

This book was what I needed in order to understand today's political climate - an author who explores the deep right from a place of empathy and awareness of her own liberal biases. I still don't agree with conservatives, but that's also not the point. We have to make an effort to understand and hear each other better if there's any hope for unifying 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

WordWaller I just bought this for the same reason!! 8y
6 likes1 comment
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clairabellasmella
Uprooted | Naomi Novik
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Pickpick

I don't think I've blown through a book so voraciously in years. It almost lost me in clichés at the beginning (our heroine is plain and clumsy, boooo) but it totally delivered. Not a perfect book, but it was fun, Agnieszka was likable, and I love books where magical characters still make plenty of mistakes and bad calls. Bonus points for some damn hot scenes ?

6 likes1 stack add
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clairabellasmella
Uprooted | Naomi Novik
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Because sometimes you've gotta pick a book by its cover art 👌

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clairabellasmella
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"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun." #greatfirstlines #booktober

14 likes1 stack add
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clairabellasmella
The Road | Cormac McCarthy
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The leaves are officially turning and the temperature is dropping here in Iowa. Therefore, this calls for a spooky book. The library was out of all the best Stephen King, but hey, I'll take The Road. #scaretober #booktober

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clairabellasmella
A Wrinkle in Time | Madeleine L'Engle
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I always loved Meg Murry and her mom. Sciencey females with big hearts and in Meg's case, a big ol' mouth 🙃

2 likes1 stack add
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clairabellasmella
An Untamed State | Roxane Gay
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Pickpick

At times, maybe a little cliched, I'll admit. But yet it felt so necessary - Gay's portrayal of rape and post traumatic stress is not the glamorized trope that we see all too often see in movies and TV, and for that I am grateful. Plus, I got to see her speak in Iowa City this week and Roxane Gay is QUEEN, people!

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clairabellasmella
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After getting into a heated debate with a deeply religious friend yesterday, it only felt right to start this baby next. Krakauer is one of my favorites in nonfiction, I'm stoked to read his reporting on Mormonism and true crime events

3 likes2 stack adds
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clairabellasmella
Dry: A Memoir | Augusten Burroughs
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Pickpick

I take all drinking memoirs with a grain of salt (who can really remember all that much from a given bender?) but at it's core, it's a funny, moving, and occasionally heartbreaking account of love and loss. Speaks to the inner Void, for sure