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The Afterlives
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
23 posts | 21 read | 34 to read
Ridiculously good (The New York Times) author Thomas Pierce's debut novel is a funny, poignant love story that answers the question: What happens after we die? (Lots of stuff, it turns out). Jim Byrd died. Technically. For a few minutes. The diagnosis: heart attack at age thirty. Revived with no memory of any tunnels, lights, or angels, Jim wonders what--if anything--awaits us on the other side. Then a ghost shows up. Maybe. Jim and his new wife, Annie, find themselves tangling with holograms, psychics, messages from the beyond, and a machine that connects the living and the dead. As Jim and Annie journey through history and fumble through faith, they confront the specter of loss that looms for anyone who dares to fall in love. Funny, fiercely original, and gracefully moving, The Afterlives will haunt you. In a good way.
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HettyG
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book!! Highly recommend the audio format, the performance and certain aspects of the audio were absolutely wonderful and effective! I‘m not sure about the ending, I kind of felt like the story kind of ran out of steam? But overall a wonderful story about grief, loss, death, and being human. 💜

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HettyG
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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This book wasn‘t billed as a scary book, I don‘t think?? But I have to tell you guys I‘m reading in audio format and…. I just got so freaked out I have chills and I got a bit tearful!? Now, I will grant you that I‘m a real wimp when it comes to scary things but still!!! Ok, I‘m taking a deep breath and unpausing….

HettyG Omg they keep repeating this thing it is SO CREEPY you guys 8mo
7 likes1 stack add1 comment
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TheRiehlDeal
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Day 10 - Drag Me To Hell

Jim Byrd is a 33 year old loan officer who wakes up with a high-tech defibrillator in his heart after going into cardiac arrest for a few minutes. After that, he begins to wonder if the world he's living in is real or if his brain is playing tricks on him.

#horrorseason
@Klou

Klou Wow, sounds interesting! 3y
17 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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BookmarkTavern
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Someone disapproves of where my attention currently is. #dogsoflitsy #Riley

wanderinglynn What a cutie! That‘s definitely the “pay attention to me!” look. I get that look a lot from my fur babies too! ❤️🐶 4y
rubyslippersreads “Am I going to have to chew on this book to get your attention?” 😂🐶 4y
diovival Ah, yes. The intense "make better decisions" stare. I am familiar. ? 4y
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SamAnne Oh, I know that look. 4y
PathfinderNicole I‘m very familiar with that look too 😂 4y
BookDragonNotWorm Mine has mastered giving epic side-eye. A stern admonishing to respect the pup and put the book down. 4y
81 likes6 comments
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BookmarkTavern
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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1 - 📗 tagged, 📕 Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire, 🎧 The Three Body Problem
2 - rounding up, The Deep by Rivers Solomon
3 - no summary on the back of the book, just frothy useless bit-reviews (AND STICKERS)

Better late than never 😂

@rachelsbrittain #weekendreads

TheAromaofBooks Totally agree with your peeve!!! Or sometimes it's the opposite: Here's a detailed summary of all the spoilers we could fit onto this back cover! 😂 4y
rachelsbrittain I really loved The Deep, too 4y
BookmarkTavern @TheAromaofBooks I cannot for the life of me remember which book, but years ago, I picked up a book and the inside jacket cover had a spoiler filled summary inside of that book AND THE SEQUEL! 4y
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BookmarkTavern @rachelsbrittain It was gorgeous! 4y
BreakingRad1977 Is the Three Body Problem as good as I hear it is? 4y
runswithscissors007 Yes! Looking forward to seeing what you think of the 3 body problem. 4y
TheAromaofBooks Seriously!??! What is WRONG with people?! Another book blogging friend of mine was telling me that she received an early copy of a Lisa Jewel thriller, can't remember which one, and the blurb literally said who died - AND IT WAS WRONG. Thankfully THAT got ironed out before the book went to publication! 4y
BookmarkTavern @BreakingRad1977 @runswithscissors007 I‘m really enjoying it so far! I had to wait for my hold to come back in and I‘m excited to finish it now! @TheAromaofBooks LOL OMG That‘s terrible! 😂 I‘m so glad it got fixed. 4y
47 likes8 comments
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ONH
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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“Still, too much happiness could be dangerous. Because whenever I felt too happy, inevitably I would begin to wonder if the happiness was real. If any of this was real.” 👻🔮🌼

Lovely, well-written intersection between a romance and meditations on death. Is the universe just a “pair of old pants, a bald patch on the knee?” Is there crossover between the material and immaterial? Are we really all here?

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The.Intentional.Reader
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Started this yesterday. A first novel that explores what, if anything, happens after we die. What‘s out there and waiting? Very well written and I‘m excited to see how it plays out

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valeriegeary
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Pickpick

I almost quit on this book. 10 pages in, I was looking around for something else to read, but decided to give it to page 50 at least, & boy am I glad I did! Smart & deeply affecting, a story that delves into our anxieties about death & what happens after, with a love story woven in. Vaguely reminiscent of The Time Traveller's Wife. If you love #litfic, this one's for you!!

"We are here for the heat. For the friction. For the difficult mess."

51 likes1 stack add
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valeriegeary
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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❤️❤️❤️

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valeriegeary
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Settling in for the night.

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valeriegeary
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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A sampling of my local library's most recent Lucky Day shelf! Which would you choose? #librarylove

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emilygatlin
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Signatures are fascinating. Ready to start this baby!

AlexGeorge That is a very silly signature. 6y
emilygatlin @AlexGeorge It's the extra squiggle on top. 🤔 6y
AlexGeorge Right?!? 6y
16 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Lauren.Archer
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
Pickpick

What an unexpected read. It was thought provoking and makes you take a look at what might happen when you die. Great read, and would highly recommend.

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Lauren.Archer
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Next up for this wonderful weekend!

mrozzz How are you liking it?? 6y
97 likes6 stack adds1 comment
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Christine
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Pickpick

Really liked this! Pierce‘s writing is lovely, and his characters felt very real (even as their world seemed super unreal by our standards). Despite a very different approach to the topic/setting/tone, elements of this book‘s portrayal of the life/afterlife relationship reminded of me of The Leftovers - not the book, which I haven‘t read, but the HBO series, which I recently bingewatched and LOVED - and that made me enjoy this book even more.

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Christine
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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According to our backyard, it is spring already...😮🌸 #audiogardening

CouronneDhiver Yay!!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽 6y
51 likes1 comment
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mauveandrosysky
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Pickpick

A smart, funny and imaginative work of speculative fiction written for those of us who battle the existential dread of knowing that one day we and everyone we love will die—those of us who don't have the comfort of a firm belief in any sort of afterlife. The technology aspects are intriguing and thoughtful, and the parts about marriage and love are insightful and relatable. Pierce took on an ambitious topic and handled it with deftness and heart.

Lauren.Archer Oh I just picked this up this weekend. Glad you liked it. 6y
30 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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mauveandrosysky
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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kamoorephoto
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Pickpick

I just finished the ARC for this, which releases next week, after it had been waiting for me to read for months, and I‘m basically speechless. I should‘ve read it as soon as I got it! It almost defies description but it can be described as sci-fi as well as a portrait of a marriage, and includes everything from ghosts to holograms, and questions what happens to us when we die with a good dose of humor! Full review http://bit.ly/AfterlivesReview

Cinfhen Nice review! I'm intrigued 😊 6y
kamoorephoto @Cinfhen Have a read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6y
kamoorephoto #PopSugar2018 (book about death/grief) (edited) 6y
51 likes7 stack adds3 comments
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KikiLovesBooks
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Pickpick

3.5 ⭐️ I wish this had two things: more developed, main characters; and a stronger ending. I love the premise of this novel and the style it‘s written in. A serious and fatal heart condition causes Jim to closely examine his own existence and the very meaning of life and what happens “after.” I wanted to know Jim and Annie much more than what I got here! Set in a near but imaginable future.

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kamoorephoto
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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“I‘ll just pop into Value Village and see if there are any good books...” aaaand I come out with FIVE. Well I had to because if you buy four, you get one free. So, #bookhaul! And three of them are ARCs! I‘m so happy because I had ‘Paradox Bound‘ as an e-galley so I‘m happy to have the real thing, can‘t wait to read Afterlives, and I STILL have yet to read ‘Ready Player One‘! All for $12!! SCORE.

Tamra Of course.......! 6y
AmandaL I really liked Kissing in America and Ready Player One! 6y
kamoorephoto Can‘t wait! @AmandaL did you read Warcross? There have been many comparisons made. But I loved that... 6y
AmandaL No I haven't read it! I'm adding it to my stock now. 6y
10 likes4 comments
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melissarochelle
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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Severus is trying to distract me from reading. But it isn't going to work because I need to know what this book is about.

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shutupsmalls
The Afterlives: A Novel | Thomas Pierce
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I'm really liking this one so far