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Things We Lost in the Fire
Things We Lost in the Fire: Stories | Mariana Enriquez
An arresting collection of short stories, reminiscent of Shirley Jackson and Julio Cortazar, by an exciting new international talent. From the Hardcover edition.
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AbstractMonica
Pickpick

If you have a strong stomach, and like strange and unusual stories.. this is a good one. I like how blunt Mariana Enriquez is with her writing. There were a handful of stories I loved more. I think my favorite was The Dirty Kid. Also, Adela‘s House is based off Our Share of Night which was a nice little surprise.

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jack777
Pickpick

So disturbing and interesting. Added a real weird light to my time in BA. Every single one was so engrossing.

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TheEllieMo
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

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Cinfhen
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#DoubleDip #Booked2023 #ShortStoryCollection #ReadingTheAmericas23 #Argentina Im really enjoying this collection of twisted stories- each containing a trace of horror, set in a contemporary Argentina. Themes of poverty, mental illness, displacement and marital discord seem to be a common link so far.

Librarybelle Sounds interesting! 14mo
Reggie I shocked you‘re reading this. I loved this collection and her new book that just came out is amazing. 14mo
Cinfhen I will DEFINITELY look for her new book @Reggie im not a fan of horror or short stories but this collection was brilliant!!! I wish a few of these stories would be made into full length novels. 14mo
Megabooks I have this sitting on my shelf and totally forgot the Argentina connection! 14mo
Cinfhen Your gonna love this collection @Megabooks it‘s a great pick for Argentina 🇦🇷 @Librarybelle you definitely get a sense of place!!! 14mo
67 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Cazxxx
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Panpan

I thought I was going to love this but from the authors use of disability and disfigurement to animal abuse, fat phobia and outdated terms for trans people this is a huge no from me

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Nebklvr
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Panpan

Just no. From the way disability and disfigurement were used to the animal cruelty, just no. The Author writes well but her stories leave a horrid aftertaste.

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AnneCecilie
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Pickpick

A short story collection. Most of the stories are set in Buenos Aires. About rich and poor. Mostly about women. Several have twists at the end and some are quite dark.

The last story which is the title of the collection left an impression, about women setting themselves on fire.

#foodandlit #Argentina

Texreader Yikes! 2y
76 likes1 comment
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Emilymdxn
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Pickpick

Very dark but absolutely excellent short stories. I can see why a lot of reviewers said it wasn‘t what they were expecting from a horror collection but I liked how it was old school, beautifully written, conceptual magic realist horror. I don‘t think anyone writes about death as well as Mariana Enriquez.

BarbaraBB That does sound intens. And intriguing! 2y
70 likes6 stack adds1 comment
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pilardib

So far I'm really enjoying this collection of short stories. I was expecting a completely different kind of "horror" but I'm pleasantly surprised!

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Bookzombie
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Pickpick

This collection of short stories is dark, gritty and unsettling, but so good. Argentina‘s past and present are a large part of the stories. I can‘t wait to read her new collection even as I‘m still thinking about these stories. #Screamathon

@Reggie Thank you so much for sending this one to me. I‘m sure I will go back and read them again. 🙂

Reggie Yay, Margie, I‘m so glad you liked them. You know what comes to me when I see a van is that story with the 4 girls in the back of the van and how one of their bf‘s would drive it crazy while they would be thrown around in the back, for fun! For fun!!!! Lol 3y
42 likes1 comment
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Michael_Gee
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So two exciting things happened last night. One, our horror book club met in-person for the 1st time since March 2020 to discuss this book! It was supposed to be 90 & humid but was 80 & humid so, bearable. Everyone loved this collection. It‘s great. So much to talk about. Really not a bad story in it, which is amazing. Second, we found this sweet kitten in our yard!

Nute Very exciting news about your book club. My irl book club considered having our August meeting in-person, but some members were still uncomfortable so we are delaying the reunion until much later in the year. Sweet sweet kitty!😻 A new family member now? 3y
RaeLovesToRead Kitten!!!! ❤🥰🥰🥰 3y
Michael_Gee @Nute It was great to see them and meet some folks who joined post-pandemic! And the kitten is precious, but we are really hoping to find her people or someone who would love her (we have three older cats and an old dog). Until then we‘re holding on to her! 😻 3y
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LeahBergen Ohhhhhh! 🥰🥰 3y
Reggie Awww to the cat. And I loved the story about the polluted river and the two boys who were killed by the crooked cops and only one comes out of it alive but is a monster? 3y
Cathythoughts 2 very exciting things indeed 💫💫 3y
batsy Awww 😍 3y
Michael_Gee @Reggie Yeah! That was my favorite story the first time I read the collection. Very Lovecraftian. This time my favorite was The Neighbor‘s Courtyard, where the depressed social worker finds out her neighbor is keeping a child (?) captive. So scary. 3y
Centique Ohhhh she‘s a teeny thing. 😍 3y
Michael_Gee @Centique She is! It‘s been awhile since I‘ve been around a kitten. So so cute and so much energy! Last night I played with her for an hour and only then did I exhaust her. It was so precious when she curled up next to me to sleep. 3y
33 likes11 comments
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Angitron
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Mehso-so

This was a well-written collection of stories, but I failed to connect with many of them for some reason. I could feel them slipping from my memory only hours after finishing them.

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ImperfectCJ
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Pickpick

I enjoyed reading these creepy stories of people disappearing or changing form or acting under someone else's will, but I don't know if they'll stick with me, at least not in specifics. That seems like it might be part of the point, though, how some violence becomes community property, in a way. Part of the air we breathe or the water we drink, it becomes part of us without our being aware of it.

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ImperfectCJ
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Four weeks and two days since they came home with us, and I'm getting closer to having a reading buddy. (She's also thinking about attacking my feet under the quilt, but I'm not going to focus on that part.)

Ruthiella 😻😻😻 3y
wanderinglynn ❤️🐱 so cute! 3y
UwannaPublishme Adorable! 😸❤️ 3y
Texreader Awww! Closer! 3y
71 likes4 comments
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ImperfectCJ
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Whoever had this library book before me appears to have had a run-in with an arachnid. Poor little arachnid. :-(

Elizabeth2 Ick! 😬🕷 3y
wanderinglynn 😢 poor little arachnid 🕷 3y
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Tamra 😑 Lately every reference to arachnid makes me think of the pic of a wolf spider that a man allegedly allowed to live in his house. 🥺 (edited) 3y
ImperfectCJ @Tamra I usually think of scorpions (glad I didn't find one of those in the book!), but wolf spiders always remind me of my friend who made the mistake of smacking one that turned out to be carrying hundreds of babies on her back. 3y
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Awww, poor friend! 😢 3y
Tamra @ImperfectCJ 😱😱😱😱 3y
59 likes7 comments
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Juzupis
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Juzupis This book blew me away. Spectacular dark fiction short stories. Every single story made an impression. 3y
4 likes1 stack add1 comment
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beaconhillbooks
Bailedbailed

Just not in the right mood for this - if you like slightly spooky stories this is for you.

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Coueriamb
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#Intergrateyourshelf

Again, late but! This one I‘ve actually read!! YAY!

I read this a year or so back and had no idea it was translated fiction. It‘s a good short story collection that I‘d recommend if you like magical realism and a little bit of horror, both direct and creeping dread.

ChasingOm I really loved this collection! 4y
4 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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TheKidUpstairs
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Eggs Eye-catching cover! 4y
Reggie This book was soooooo good!!! 4y
62 likes2 comments
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Reggie
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Pickpick

This was great. One of the best all round horror short story collections I‘ve read. There‘s really not a weak one in the bunch. This is translated from Spanish and is Mariana Enriquez‘s horror valentine to everything Argentina. Its culture, its politics, its land, its history, its people. From haunted houses, to environmental monsters, to the hikikomori, to ritual sacrifice, every one of them feels fresh (or rotted) through this Argentinian lens.

vivastory Uh, yes please! You're flying through your books! 🙌📚🤘📚 4y
Reggie @vivastory lol, no. Small Game Hunting took almost all day yesterday. Mental note: books over 400 pgs are not ideal for readathons. This book, though, was amazing. The translator for this book was the same for Fever Dream and what she writes in here on her translators note is just amazing. You can tell the huge amount of respect she has for Enriquez‘s work. 4y
Nute I didn‘t think that I wanted to read this, but now I do! 4y
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vivastory I hear ya about the 400 pages. I spent most of yesterday with the Octavia Butler. I think I might have this one on my shelves, I'll have to look around later 4y
ravenlee I‘ve learned that I do better in readathons with shorter books, or reading chunks of a bigger book interspersed with more digestible, bite-size reads. 4y
batsy Great review! I've been wanting to read this for so long, ugh! When will I, lol 😭 4y
Reggie @ravenlee I know better but the two almost chunkster a were calling my name. Lol 4y
Reggie @Nute they‘re very atmospheric and gothic. There is some gore so just be prepared. I hope you like it if you read it. 4y
Reggie @batsy Lol, I don‘t know, but you‘re in for a treat!!! 🍭 4y
ravenlee Sometimes you pick the book, sometimes the book picks you. 😆 4y
ephemeralwaltz Ughh I just finished this and the last story about women and the fires was so good 😭😭😭 I really liked her other collection as well which is out in English in January 2021 :) 3y
Reggie @ephemeralwaltz I really liked those stories. And I can‘t wait for the new one in 2021. Hopefully she‘ll start my year off right. 3y
77 likes4 stack adds12 comments
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Reggie
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As if the pollution itself wasn‘t horrific enough, she went and wrote this scary story centered around this river about two boys from the slums beaten by crooked cops and then thrown into the river. One comes out but only weeks later....

squirrelbrain I included this river in my dissertation when I did my Spanish degree a few years ago - I wrote about ‘water inequality‘ in the Spanish-speaking world. Stacked the book - thanks! 4y
Reggie @Squirrel yeah, in this story the main character‘s father talks about how he used to work for a farm and they would just throw all the offal in the river and something about how all the pollution eats the oxygen in it so it‘s not well at all. 4y
52 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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TheReadingCompanion
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Pickpick

If you haven‘t read Mariana Enrique‘s collection of literary gothic horror set in Argentina you are missing out! It is the best book I have read all year, an utterly gripping and layered collection. I must reread it in Spanish. I cannot wait to read more by her.

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TheReadingCompanion
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Definitely read this if you like horror or literary fiction! It‘s amazing.

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aeeklund
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Hello #groupl for #round7 of #lmpbc! Here are a few works in translation I‘ve been eyeing for a while. The tagged book is a collection of short stories; Memory Police is nominated for the National Book Award this year; the other two have been hanging around my TBR for a long time because they sound really interesting. Let me know your thoughts; I‘ve tagged the others below. Excited for this round! @rachelm @lele1432 @Carolyn11215

See All 8 Comments
Carolyn11215 The Memory Police sounds amazing! 5y
rachelm Ditto Memory Police! 5y
KT1432 I was thinking of doing Things We Lost in the Fire as an option myself, so I'm really interested in that one! But Memory Police sound amazing as well! 5y
aeeklund @lele1432 You could still pick Things We Lost in the Fire, if you want! I‘ll go for Memory Police. (Cc: @Carolyn11215 & @rachelm ) 5y
KT1432 Sounds good!! 5y
26 likes8 comments
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mdemanatee
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Rereading this on audio for book club because I am in the middle of another book I am enjoying and don‘t want to pause. Also as I count this as one of my favorite shot story collections of the last five years or so I figure I can always throw more money at it and I am interested in how it translates to audio.

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decembersveryown
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Jumping to another collection and wow, the first story, “The Dirty Kid” is unsettling! I definitely can see how it‘s compared to Shirley Jackson! The writing is definitely captivating.

I‘ll be reading Mariana Enriquez‘ book in both English and Spanish and having just read the first one in English, I‘ll now be reading it in Spanish. I‘ll then switch the order for the second and read it in Spanish first and establish a pattern from there. 😅📚🤓

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Bookish.SAM
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Pickpick

Ran through most of it on a Sunday afternoon. Loved it all, which is rarely the case for me with a short story collection. There were creepy and gory tales and mingled in, horrors that can befall those living in rough, poverty stricken areas. The stories definitely had an impact. Loved the Argentinian backdrop. Shouldn‘t have read ‘The Neighbour‘s Courtyard‘ before bed 😱
Would 100% recommend, as long as you‘re Ok with the macabre.

39 likes1 stack add
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IuliaC
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A wonderul twelve story collection capturing the Argentinian spirits folklore at the border of gothic fantasy

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sofiaga
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2018 was a rollercoaster and I sort of disappeared from social media. I really enjoy Litsy recommendations so I plan to share more of my reads this year. Argentinan author Mariana Enriquez is my first pick for 2019

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cocomass
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I took this selfie Wednesday morning. You can see the smoke from the fires is obscuring what is usually a beautiful view of the San Francisco skyline. Since then it‘s actually gotten worse—this morning all I could see was the beacon at the top of the Salesforce Tower.

This is a #friyayintro post but also a reminder the fires are ongoing. Some ideas on how to help: https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/how-to-help-california-wildfires-1203026928/

Bookishgal71 We are in Palo Alto and we can see the smoke in the air here, too. 😩 5y
riversong153 So sorry CA is going through this 5y
BarbaraBB So sorry for you. 💜 5y
See All 13 Comments
MicheleinPhilly Ugh. I don‘t even want to “like” this photo. It‘s so heartbreaking. 😞 5y
JSW I just cancelled my weekend plans up there. It‘s bad in Santa Cruz but not at this level yet. 😞😷 5y
squirrelbrain So awful for you, stay safe ❤️ 5y
BooksForEmpathy Hiiii. So smokey that schools are canceled. It‘s really bad in the mission too. Really devastating. And it will just keep happening, too. 5y
Megabooks 💜💜💜 5y
GypsyKat My heart breaks for everyone affected by this. Stay safe! 💙 5y
CoffeeNBooks I am soooo sorry everyone in CA is having to deal with this!! So sad! 5y
sprainedbrain So heartbreaking. I wish I could do more for you all! ❤️ 5y
derr.liz Downtown looked post-apocalyptic today. Scary times. Planning to stay indoors reading all weekend to avoid the smoky air as much as possible! 😷🌉❤️ 5y
Chelleo Thanks for the link! Stay safe. (edited) 5y
60 likes13 comments
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Laughterhp
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Pickpick

This book is weird. I‘m not a huge fan of short stories, but I was able to get sucked into these. It‘s said that fans of Shirley Jackson and Kelly Link would like this book. A lot of these stories were about every day terrors with gothic horror thrown in. Every story had a very weird element.

#pop18 - Book with song lyrics (the title is a Bastille song)
#readharderchallenge - genre book of translation
#readingwomenchallenge - Translated book

53 likes4 stack adds
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Laughterhp
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So, I‘ve been trying to participate in #13in3 this weekend. I‘ve gotten almost 5 hours of reading in for Friday and Saturday.

I‘ve been switching between these 2 books. I‘m not a huge fan of short stories, but I‘ve been able to get into these.

Also, I love that Night Film has “webpages” and pictures and stuff throughout the book.

Samplergal That‘s a great total so far. 5y
47 likes1 comment
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Laughterhp
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Here‘s my #LibraryBookHaul - I have 22 books I have to read before the end of the year to finish almost all of my challenges!

Plus all the other books I want/need to read for my book clubs!

Luckily most of these look small, so hopefully I‘ll get through them quickly!

mreads For some reason The Pinks caught my eye, looks interesting. 5y
Laughterhp @mreads It‘s my Western pick for the Read Harder Challenge. Its about the first women Pinkerton agents. 5y
39 likes2 comments
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ohyeahthatgirl
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Happy Women in Translation month! The tagged book is one of my favorite translated works and the other is next on my TBR. Both are surreal, unsettling short story collections and also feminist as fuck. #witmonth #weirdatlast

ohyeahthatgirl This is the other book. 6y
30 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Andrea4
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Pickpick

#audiobook #shortstories
Another fantastically creepy short story collection by a female author! This Argentinian holds nothing back in her collection, except, IMO, what might be considered "resolved" endings and I LOVE it!!
These stories, as the title may suggest, are filled with disappearances; things that once were and are now not and conversely, things that once were not and are again.
Oooh ~~~chills~~~

Ingerella Sound very intriguing! 6y
25 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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translationspod
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Pickpick

The first official episode is now out. In which I am talking with my wife about the Argentinian short story collection Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez (translated by Megan McDowell) #WomenInTranslation

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Michael_Gee
Pickpick

Genuinely disturbing and frightening. Nothing is off limits to Enriquez, and while the suspense and supernatural elements were creepy, what really disturbs is the reality of some of the everyday horrors she describes and how we are immured to them. Loved this collection! Will read again.

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ofbooksandme
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1. Harry Potter
2. Between The Handmaid's Tale and Things we lost in the fire (by Mariana Enriquez)
3. Black Jack Randall. And I thought I couldn't hate him more but then Tobias Meneziez came along.
4. Twilight or 50 shades. But I guess those are not really goodrated (?)
@JenLovesBooksRN

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Knowledgelost
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Pickpick

My pick for best book of 2017. This collection of short stories is just sublime.

5 likes1 stack add
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Lacythebookworm
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Happy Tuesday! I‘m loving these short stories - a little dark and creepy, but amazing nonetheless. Three left so I should finish up today.

Cinfhen I thought I‘d stack this already....I‘m sort of intrigued by this one 6y
Lacythebookworm @Cinfhen I love the anticipation of each new story! I can‘t wait to see where she will take it and the Argentinian setting is perfect 👌 6y
Cinfhen Good to know ! Thanks😁 6y
DimeryRene Love the mug! 6y
Lacythebookworm @DimeryRene Thank you! 😊 6y
101 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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cocomass
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I spent the holiday with my relatives in Sonoma County, California. Many of you probably know this community was ravaged by fires just last month; some of my most loved ones were affected, having lost homes and all of their possessions. Yet, on Thanksgiving, we were truly thankful. Thankful for family. Thankful for resilience. Sonoma is forever strong.

#HappyThanksgiving #cousins #SonomaStrong

BooksForEmpathy ❤️❤️❤️. 6y
Cinfhen 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🙌🏻to family (edited) 6y
AmyG Happy Thanksgiving to you. What a lovely picture. I am happy your family is well. ❤️ 6y
Nute Life can be tough. Family and good friends are definitely the key for getting through hard times. Many prayers for your family and all the folks residing in Sonoma County. 6y
42 likes5 comments
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cocomass
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Pickpick

I loved this super creepy, highly feminist collection of horror stories in translation. They‘re definitely not for the squeamish, but I know some will stick with me for a long time. 4.5/5 stars

(As a side note, it was super weird that the reader for this #audiobook was the same as Rebecca Solnit‘s Hope in the Dark, which I listened to this year as well. VERY different subject matter 😂)

#screamathon #hoopla

AmyG I had no idea this was a book of horror stories. 6y
gibblr I didn't know they were creepy horror stories either. Will bump up on my list now! 6y
cocomass @amyg @gibblr neither did I! I put it on my TBR earlier this year and came back to because of its festive cover. Turned out to be a great choice for an October read ☺️ 6y
25 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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cocomass
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Listening to these scary #shortstories for #screamathon. 😱

16 likes2 stack adds
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v_cuev
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Pickpick

When I picked this book up I had no idea so many of these stories were in the horror genre. I enjoyed them a lot and many gave me the creeps. I might try to reread this at some point in Spanish.

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pocketmermaid
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Finally started this today! I've had the galley forever.

46 likes2 stack adds
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charl08
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If you like your short stories creepy... (from the translator's afterword).

40 likes1 stack add
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BooksForYears
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#FallIntoBooks Day 7 - South American Writers

A few of my favorite South American authors: Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia), Alejandro Zambra (Chile), and Mariana Enriquez (Argentina).

GondorGirl That background fabric (or whatever it is) is AMAZING! 💟 7y
BooksForYears @GondorGirl Thanks! The fabric *may* be my weekend-lounge sweatpants 😎 7y
GondorGirl @BooksForYears That makes it even better! 😂 7y
Zelma The fact that the llamas are pants is even better! 😍 7y
95 likes4 comments
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sofiaga
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So I went back to the Book Fair today, but only because one of my favorite indie bookstores got this book today. The review by @thereadingwomen podcast convinced me that I had to read it and I am lucky and get to read Maria Henriquez in her native Spanish language.

thereadingwomen So lucky to be able to read it in its original language! 7y
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thereadingwomen
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This quote from the title story "Things We Lost in the Fire." We spent some time unpacking this story and it's themes. Check it out on Ep. 28

readingwomenpodcast.com/episode-directory/

72 likes4 stack adds
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Caterina
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The dog (Pippin) and I are taking some self-care time on the couch with some #audiostitching. He is very pleased. 😊 #dogsoflitsy #bostonterriersoflitsy

Alfoster Nice!👏👏👏👏😍 7y
drokka Looks like it's nearly done 😀 7y
TheLibrarian Looks great! 7y
Rachbb3 Pretty! 7y
Wife 😍 7y
56 likes5 comments