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Fall On Your Knees
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Piper family is steeped in secrets, lies, and unspoken truths. At the eye of the storm is one secret that threatens to shake their lives -- even destroy them. Set on stormy Cape Breton Island off Nova Scotia, Fall on Your Knees is an internationally acclaimed multigenerational saga that chronicles the lives of four unforgettable sisters. Theirs is a world filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love. Compellingly written, by turns menacingly dark and hilariously funny, this is an epic tale of five generations of sin, guilt, and redemption.
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TheKidUpstairs
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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The Women's Prize longlists have delivered some of my favourite reads over the past couple years. So, inspired by @vivastory and the #BookerDozen, I decided to look back at my top twelve reads from the history of the Women's/Orange Prize (Longlists, Shortlists, and Winners). Feel free to play along!

Margaret Atwood - Alias Grace
Ann Patchett - Bel Canto
Nicole Krauss - The History of Love
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun

👇

TheKidUpstairs Madeline Miller - Song of Achilles
Hannah Kent - Burial Rites
Pat Barker - The Silence of the Girls
Louise Kennedy - Trespasses
Becky Chambers - Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Jhumpa Lahiri - The Namesake
Ann-Marie MacDonald - Fall on Your Knees
2mo
TheKidUpstairs Tomorrow, maybe the Giller for a good dose of #CanLit? 2mo
See All 15 Comments
TheBookHippie The History of Love one of my all time favs! 2mo
BarbaraBB Another great list! I have to find an overview of all nominated books but that shouldn‘t be too much of a problem! 2mo
BarbaraBB How weird that we don‘t have any similarities (just posted my #womensdozen)! 2mo
TheKidUpstairs @BarbaraBB true. Speaks to the strength of the selection! My original list was about 40 books to narrow down to these 12. 2mo
ShelleyBooksie Fall on your knees - what a book! Bell Canto has been on my shelf.for several years but I've not picked.it up 2mo
Chelsea.Poole I love these lists! Some here I haven‘t read so I‘ll have to add to my ever-growing list 😆 I also have really enjoyed several of your selections, namely 2mo
TheKidUpstairs @ShelleyBooksie I've been meaning to do a re-read of Fall on Your Knees since I saw the stage adaptation in Toronto last year. Such an exquisite gut-punch of a novel. And Bel Canto was my first Patchett, I fell in love with it. It was always my favourite of hers (but Tom Lake just may have passed it - it was as near to perfect as a book can get, IMO) 2mo
TheKidUpstairs @Chelsea.Poole Ah, the joys of a never-ending, ever-growing TBR! 2mo
Ruthiella Great idea! 2mo
vivastory This was such a great idea! 2mo
CarolynM Great idea. I will get on to it🙂 2mo
ShelleyBooksie I'm listening to Tom Lake on audio right now (my first Patchett). Meryl Streeps voice is an amazing narrator. 2mo
75 likes15 comments
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mcctrish
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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I read this book 25? years ago and it has remained in my Top 10 Reads ever since. Alisa Palmer & Hannah Moscovitch (with AMM‘s blessing) have adapted it to stage. The play is in two parts, we saw Part 1: Family Tree last night and will see Part 2: The Diary tonight ( it‘s only running for 5 nights in London ON) It is so good! How clever, creative and imaginative are these women to attempt and succeed bringing to life my favourite book ❤️

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TheKidUpstairs
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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#DailyChallenge #MarchMadness

Happy World Theatre Day, everyone!

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend part one of the adaptation of Ann-Marie McDonald's Fall on Your Knees. It was one of the most beautiful, effective pieces of theatre I've seen. Ever.

@Andrew65 @DieAReader

PurpleyPumpkin I had no idea that this book was turned into a play! I‘ll have to get around to reading this one. It‘s been on my tbr for forever! 12mo
DieAReader 💕💕💕 12mo
TheKidUpstairs @PurpleyPumpkin it's so good, but be prepared for the emotional Rollercoaster! 12mo
PurpleyPumpkin 😬 12mo
Andrew65 Sounds brilliant. 12mo
49 likes5 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Fall on Your Knees on the stage, from a group of creators including Alisa Palmer and Hannah Moskovitch?!?! This is freakin' exciting news!!

https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/epic-novel-to-become-two-night-play-co-p...

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BusyBookmark
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Pickpick

This book was an emotional roller coaster ride with a very complicated family. I adored it on audio. #oprahsbookclub

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Cuilin
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Happy Victoria Day to those that celebrate. 🇨🇦 My quick research says it was initially to celebrate Queen V‘s birthday.
This tagged book is a great story set in #Canada #MagicalMay @Eggs

Eggs Sounds like a great story 👏🏻👏🏻 4y
29 likes1 comment
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Michael_Gee
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
Pickpick

This is the story of how four sisters, beautiful, repressed, wild, and saintly, each in her turn (am I describing the March sisters?!) choose to live their lives amidst the toxic influence of a man who has a pathological desire to prey on those he can easily control. The poetic writing keeps the soap opera events from feeling exploitative.

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arubabookwoman
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Heading to the hospital bright and early Monday a.m. for knee replacement surgery. Will only be in the hospital overnight, but I‘ve heard the recovery can take a long time. These are the library books I‘ll have with me to (hopefully) read over the next week.

crazyspine I wish you a speedy recovery 4y
KT1432 I hope recovery goes well for you and that you heal as soon as possible! 4y
sprainedbrain I hope recovery is quick and easy for you! 4y
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BookNAround Hoping you have a successful surgery and an uncomplicated recovery. 4y
Daisey Wishing you a smooth surgery and recovery! (edited) 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Oof. May the surgery and recovery go as well as possible. 4y
Tonton Hope everything goes smoothly! 4y
BarbaraBB Wishing you all the best. I will need one someday too, but here they try to postpone it until you‘re old. I hope recovery will go quick and I loved The Man who Saw Everything and At Dusk 😘 4y
batsy Best wishes for the surgery and may your recovery be swift & smooth 💐💜 4y
Liz_M Good luck with he surgery and the new knee! 4y
MicheleinPhilly Will be keeping you in my thoughts. You‘ve got this! 🤜🏼🤛🏼 4y
kspenmoll So glad you love to read!!!‘ 4y
29 likes13 comments
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LaraS
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald

It's a long silence but far from empty.

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Michael_Gee
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald

“[...] a real and beautiful voice delicately rends the chest, discovers the heart, and holds it beating against a stainless edge until you long to be pierced utterly. For the voice is everything you do not remember. Everything you should not be able to live without and yet, tragically, do.”

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Scarlett_ohara
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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#AprilReads: I read 7 books this month!
4 were written by women: 2 Jodi Picoult, 1 Darcy Coates and 1 Ann-Marie Macdonald
I listened to the audiobook of "Fall on your knees" which I absolutely loved.

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TrishB
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Pickpick

Somewhere between a pick and a so-so for me as I feel like I‘ve been battered by every trauma ever that a family could go through!
I nearly bailed at about 90 pages as the story wasn‘t pulling me in - then, wham, it gets you and then there is just so much story!!
Those poor girls 💔

Pricel101 I read this when it was first published and I had a young family. I was blown away at the time, but completely get your review now. Oh the trauma 😪 those girls endured. 5y
TrishB @Pricel101 sometimes I was shouting in my head - no, no- when all the trauma was piling up! 5y
ShelleyBooksie What a book! I had to read fluff for a month after I finished it. I have been lucky enough to meet this author and she is lovely! 5y
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BarbaraBB It sounds horrible, to be honest 😉 5y
Coleen I don‘t remember many details about this book, but wasn‘t there something with an oven? 🤭 5y
TrishB @ShelleyBooksie I probably could have done with fluff! 5y
TrishB @BarbaraBB it‘s pretty bleak 😔 5y
TrishB @Coleen there certainly is! 5y
Cathythoughts Interesting review... I‘m not sure if I really want to read it , or not 🤔 5y
TrishB @Cathythoughts it‘s a tough read! 5y
Pricel101 @ShelleyBooksie @BarbaraBB @Cathythoughts it‘s hard to read. Yet one of those books so well written you have to stop and catch your breath at times 🙏📚 5y
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TrishB
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Train reading. Travelling back from friends daughters wedding....tired....but lovely day ❤️

Cinfhen How nice 5y
Melissa_J I loved this book! 5y
Cathythoughts You had a lovely day out so ♥️👍🏻 5y
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KarynGood Such a good book! 5y
CoffeeAndABook Train reading is the best!!! 💺📖☕️ 5y
TrishB @Melissa_J the first 90 or so pages weren‘t doing it for me, then wham!! 5y
TrishB @KarynGood enjoying it now 👍🏻 5y
TrishB @CoffeeAndABook it is 👍🏻 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen @Cathythoughts it was a lovely day ❤️ 5y
123 likes9 comments
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Centique
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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#timbittunes #theweight

Drawing a long bow here but if you‘re carrying a heavy weight you might fall on your knees right? I read the tagged book when it was an Oprah Book Club pick. And @Reggie ? I think this might be the second most disturbing book I‘ve ever read - and you‘ve read my most disturbing book! 😂 The reveal in this book is burned in my brain. Feels like great historical fiction and then DARK and TWISTED.
I‘ll spoiler tag a TW below.

Centique TW for child abuse and birth trauma 5y
Cinfhen I will not peek, I will not peek, I will not peek.... 5y
Centique @Cinfhen 😂😂 I think you might want to avoid this one btw 5y
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Cinfhen Hahahahaha.....now I REALLY want to peek!!!!!!!!! 5y
Reggie Well you and Oprah haven‘t been wrong yet, so stacked. Lol, also, the review before this said it broke her heart 300 times. How can I not stack that? 5y
TrishB Your review sounded great so I went to have a look on Amazon and brought this in June 2012 🤷‍♀️ maybe I need to read now!! 5y
Centique @TrishB 😂 oh how funny. I hope you like it. I kind of loved AND hated it 😳 5y
TrishB It‘s a good job amazon does this otherwise I‘d probably have multiple copies of books! 5y
Cathythoughts I seem to have this one stacked already ✅. I love a saga ... and your review is great ♥️ 5y
Cathythoughts Plus I love the title ♥️ (edited) 5y
Centique @Cathythoughts @trishb if anyone gets upset or squicky about this book it wasn‘t my fault ok! 😂😂 5y
TrishB No blame! 😁 5y
TheKidUpstairs I love this book. And you're right, it moves along line a great historical family story and then suddenly throws that twist at you like a punch to the gut. 5y
Chrissyreadit @TrishB yes- I‘ve gone to look for a book on Amazon only to discover I already had it a few too many times. 5y
TrishB @Chrissyreadit glad it‘s not just me! 5y
TrishB Oh god that birth😱😱 just finished and totally agree...loved and hated.....nearly bailed but carried on! 5y
Centique @TrishB traumatising isn‘t it? 😱😱 And the image of that father rocking his daughter in the rocking chair was so creepy - still makes me shudder! 5y
TrishB Yes several times I was screwing my eyes up trying to read faster at the really bad bits!! 5y
Djspens So I'm interested in knowing what your most disturbed book is! That's my thing! 5y
Centique @Djspens oh well you might enjoy this then! It‘s 5y
Djspens @Centique lol I read some reviews of it, people either loved it or hated it. Looks like I better add to my TBR list. I'm in a dark mood lately. 5y
72 likes5 stack adds21 comments
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quietjenn
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Making a very concerted effort to not spend all of my lunch break at my desk. It's a smart move. So was picking up the paperback (and thus slightly more portable version of) this, which I finally started and am loving.

Booknerd2 I read it years ago. So good and totally twisted. 5y
65 likes6 stack adds1 comment
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Pickpick

What to say about this devastating masterpiece? It's the 2nd time I've read it, and while the 1st time was hard, I think re-reading is perhaps worse, because I knew the horrible incest/rape was coming. I don't know how she writes beautifully about such dark things, telling the intergenerational story of this fucked up family. The voice actor does an incredible job. If you can stomach it, this is a masterpiece, as I said. But fuck is it ever dark.

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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What I really want is a book in which Kathleen and Rose live happily ever after in NYC and have fabulous music careers. What can't I have that??

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bookworm.krizia
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Panpan

😕🤢😕😢

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Did some audiobooking and forest bathing on my lunchbreak! This adaptation of the novel is fabulous so far.

ReadingEnvy Ooh I bet this is a good outdoors read! 6y
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian @ReadingEnvy Yes very atmospheric! 6y
49 likes1 stack add2 comments
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Starting this audiobook of the Canadian epic novel. I first read it about ten years ago and I'm excited to revisit it in a different format!

Betty When I read this book, I noticed the children were born the same years as my mother and her sisters. 6y
LeahBergen I loved this when I read it (way back when it was released). ❤️ 6y
25 likes3 comments
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Jessreads27
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Pickpick

So amazing. One of those books I grabbed at the book sale, started reading thinking “this may be boring, but whatever I‘ll get through it” and it turned out to be beautiful, raw, and one I‘ll be thinking about for a long time. Sad it‘s over.

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Lcsmcat
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Cinfhen Sounds really good 😊 7y
Lcsmcat @Cinfhen I absolutely ❤️❤️❤️ this book! I highly recommend it. 7y
Reviewsbylola I barely remember this one but I know I loved it. It's probably been almost 20 years since I've read it! 7y
30 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Soubhiville
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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This has been sitting on my TBR shelf for at least 4 years. In my effort to whittle down my stacks, I'm finally going to read it! I picked it from a box of books a friend was giving away because of the Nova Scotia setting (I have ancestors from NS). Anyone enjoy it?
@Liberty #weekendgiveaway

rabbitprincess One of my friends did (she is a big Ann-Marie Macdonald fan). 7y
shawnmooney I loved it! 7y
ReadingEnvy Me? It lives on my cold weather island shelf for all time. 7y
52 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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JacintaMCarter
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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One of my favorite #family sagas. #JubilantJuly

Suet624 Oh boy. That was a great book. Read it years ago! 7y
50 likes1 stack add1 comment
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JacintaMCarter
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Lcsmcat
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
This post contains spoilers
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Pickpick

Why had I not heard of this book? I got it at a library book sale, and I'm kind of glad I went into it blind. I had no idea where it was headed, and although it could easily be titled "Everyone Dies" it wasn't a depressing book. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. #litsyAtoZ #letterF @BookishMarginalia

Lindy It's one of my favourites. 😊 7y
Betty I thoroughly enjoyed this .... the years of the girls' births were the same as my mother's and her sisters' birth years. Read this at my Aunt's home when Mother and I visited -- now mother and all her sisters and brothers are gone. 7y
LeahBergen I loved this one! 7y
11 likes3 comments
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Lcsmcat
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Lily has understood everything in the happy death prayer except for one word. "What's a viaticum?" "It's a holy word for clean underwear."

Nat_Reads This is one of my most favorite and most gifted books! 7y
18 likes1 comment
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Lcsmcat
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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This novel takes place on Cape Breton Island, so it's surrounded by a #bodyofwater. #maybookflowers @RealLifeReading

RealLifeReading Yes such a good read! 7y
27 likes1 comment
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Lcsmcat
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Starting this today. It's one of my finds from the library book sale, and it's my #letterF for #LitsyAtoZ. @BookishMarginalia

HannaPolkadots Just read this, and liked it so much! Hope you will enjoy it as well - happy reading 😁 7y
edb.esq I love library book sales! 7y
25 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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HannaPolkadots
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Pickpick

In many ways a great read, I liked that I had no idea where the story was going.

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Lindy
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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#samebookdifferentcover Same photo of a woman. Small font versus large font.

@RealLifeReading

ApoptyGina69 I loved this book! I have an altogether different cover on my copy. 7y
46 likes1 comment
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Lindy
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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I fell hard for Fall On Your Knees, back in the day. I missed those characters when the novel was finished. The Way the Crow Flies was okay, but with Adult Onset, MacDonald had me by the heart all over again. This time, it seemed like she was writing my own life, as it might have been. #CanadianAuthors #lgbt #queerlit

Spiderfelt I loved the autdiobook. The characters' voices were so clear. They really came alive in the story. 7y
ReadingEnvy I loved Fall back when I read it. It is part of my cold weather island collection I think. 7y
Lindy @Spiderfelt My sweetheart and I took turns reading the whole book aloud to each other. While the book was in progress, we discussed the characters as if they were real people. 7y
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Lindy @ReadingEnvy An entire shelving category "cold weather island"? I like that that kind of book sortation! 7y
Bibliogeekery Gorgeous picture of some beloved #queerbooks. I loved all the of them for different reasons! 7y
Lindy @ReadingEnvy 😊😊😊 7y
52 likes4 stack adds7 comments
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JacqMac
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Just a few of my favorite #CommonwealthAuthors #MarchIntoReading

CherylC I absolutely loved that book! 7y
LeahBergen 👍🏼 7y
Andrew65 Heart and Soul is one of my favourite Maeve Binchy books. 7y
Jaimelire We have similar taste in books! 7y
55 likes4 comments
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Bibliogeekery
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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CherylDeFranceschi 👍🏻 7y
72 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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meltedsquirrel
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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The base thrift store gave me something to add to my Found In Books photo series. It's so much harder to find things to add in here in Japan.

LeahBergen Aww! 7y
Suet624 This book....I read it years ago but the feeling of it lingers within me. 7y
20 likes1 stack add2 comments
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KVanRead
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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#photoadaynov16 #publishedinthe90s #publishedinthe1990s CanCon edition. Some of my 90's favorites. ❤️🇨🇦📚❤️ @RealLifeReading

mllemay Ann-Marie 💜💜💜 7y
LeahBergen I loved them ALL. 😂 7y
merelybookish Love this! 7y
See All 10 Comments
Marchpane Alias Grace is fantastic! 7y
TheCanuckReader Fall on your knees was set in my home town. 7y
KVanRead @LeahBergen Me too 😊 7y
KVanRead @TheCanuckReader Cool! My husband's from the Annapolis Valley. 7y
Kitta Mrs Mistry was my high school English teacher, and I read A fine balance after I realized it was written by her husband. Fantastic book. 7y
KVanRead @Kitta That's so cool. It's one of my all time favorites. 7y
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twohectobooks
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
Pickpick

Family saga set on Cape Breton, as depressing as CanLit has ever been. Veers toward luridness but saved by spectacular lyrical writing and excellent characters.

shawnmooney I loved this one! 7y
2 likes1 comment
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Belles
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Bookmarks don't last long in Spikes domain. Everything is toy to the gentleman. Check out this chapters title. The whole world is this cat's cradle.

11 likes1 stack add
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twohectobooks
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Just started this today and I'm having a very hard time putting it down.

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Jenken1998
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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I checked out the actual book and had a heck of a time reading it.. I quit. I decided to give it another try as an audiobook.. I feel like I've been listening to it for 32 months. I think I'm liking it.. It's just keeps going and going and going😬

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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#augustphotochallenge #alltimefavebooks Of course it's impossible to list All of them 😁 but these are the ones I consistently rattle off when asked what my favourites are. Missing from the picture are two of my ultimate faves: The Prince of Tides (Pat Conroy) and A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving), and always go on top of this list of 5. 💕

paige84 The Hour I First Believed has been on my bookshelf for several months and I haven't had time to pick it up yet. I love Wally Lamb though. 8y
[DELETED] 2232195534 The only one I've read from your list of 5 is Prince Of Tides. I may have at least 3 of the others. So, I should definitely read them? 😀 8y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders Definitely both @kaysreadinglife & @Ashley.Paige !! (Wally Lamb's could also go with the Siblings augustbookchallenge coming up.) I need to re-read all of these!! 8y
49 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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Literati86
Fall On Your Knees | Ann-Marie MacDonald
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"She's no lady. Her songs are all unbelievably unhappy or lewd. It's called Blues. She sings about sore feet, sexual relations, baked goods, killing your lover, being broke, men called Daddy, women who dress like men, working, praying for rain. Jail and trains. Whiskey and morphine."

youngish-adult I've read this book so many times! One of my few re-reads 8y
SarahKay I adore this book! 8y
13 likes3 stack adds2 comments