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Paradise
Paradise | Toni Morrison
"Rumors had been whispered for more than a year. Outrages that had been accumulating all along took shape as evidence. A mother was knocked down the stairs by her cold-eyed daughter. Four damaged infants were born in one family. Daughters refused to get out of bed. Brides disappeared on their honeymoons. Two brothers shot each other on New Year's Day. Trips to Demby for VD shots common. And what went on at the Oven these days was not to be believed . . . The proof they had been collecting since the terrible discovery in the spring could not be denied: the one thing that connected all these catastrophes was in the Convent. And in the Convent were those women."In Paradise--her first novel since she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature--Toni Morrison gives us a bravura performance. As the book begins deep in Oklahoma early one morning in 1976, nine men from Ruby (pop. 360), in defense of "the one all-black town worth the pain," assault the nearby Convent and the women in it. From the town's ancestral origins in 1890 to the fateful day of the assault, Paradise tells the story of a people ever mindful of the relationship between their spectacular history and a void "Out There . . . where random and organized evil erupted when and where it chose." Richly imagined and elegantly composed, Paradise weaves a powerful mystery.
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BkClubCare
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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I‘m on a Morrison kick! Found this on a used book shelf at the back of a funky store in downtown Gunnison CO. #BelovedTrilogyPart3 #tbr

Ruthiella Nice! I‘m determined to collect all her books too, but only when I happen upon them in used bookstores. 7mo
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - and it is helpful to know what exactly to look for. I was trying to find Jazz. 7mo
Ruthiella I found it in Montana. If I find it again, I‘ll buy it a send it to you! 😀 7mo
See All 9 Comments
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - thanks! But I need to read it for bookclub on Wednesday Sept 27!! 7mo
Ruthiella @BkClubCare I probably won‘t find it time then 😜 Doesn‘t your library have a copy? I know you said the audio is abridged (boo!) but surely they have a hard copy? (edited) 7mo
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - um, yes. But the library will not want me to highlight and underline their book, methinks. LOL 7mo
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - I do know that a local used bookstore has (had?!) a copy but I wasn‘t able to get there before leaving on our trip. I didn‘t want to deprive another possible purchaser. 😇 7mo
Ruthiella I never write in books-not since college at least. But I know others like to annotate. 👍 7mo
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - actually it is more of having my own copy and not worrying abt returning the library book. I don‘t make a habit of marking books unless it is a cookbook. 7mo
48 likes9 comments
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thereflectiveflaneur
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Pickpick

My 'challenge' this year is to... “Re-Read“! I began where it all begun for me! When I was seventeen, I read 'Paradise' and it made me want to be a Literature teacher! 36 years on... I am still in awe of this magnificent text. It is amazing! It demands you pay attention chronologically. The narrative is sweeping, yet exactI Stunning! Persist and pursue this marvellous text as it is, truly, paradise!

9 likes1 stack add
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Pickpick

And this brings my year of Toni Morrison reading to a close.
This is in her style, lyrical, raw, filled with complex characters and often a harsh world. I very much enjoyed all of her books.

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CuriousG
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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#Paradise is a shelf full of Toni Morrison ❤📚❤ #tonimorrison

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bnp
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Can't figure out what to start next, this should give me some options.

See @Andrew65 s post for more info
#FabulousFebruary readathon

Andrew65 Great to have you with us, good luck 😊👍 Thanks for reposting 😁 (edited) 3y
7 likes1 comment
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KVanRead
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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ChasingOm Wow. ❤️ 4y
KVanRead @ChasingOm I know, right?! 4y
27 likes2 comments
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KVanRead
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Pickpick

I‘m surprised with the low Litsy rating for this because I absolutely loved it. So powerful. So engrossing. Covers an often overlooked part of US history while exploring racism/colorism/feminism/capitalism/generation gap & their intersections & tensions all with a page turning plot and Morrison‘s jaw dropping prose and fascinating characters. At its heart a novel about reconciling with the past in order to be free. 5🌟
#DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo

KVanRead Oh and #LordByron is in his own little Paradise right there. #DogsofLitsy 4y
Julsmarshall I love this too! 4y
KVanRead @Julsmarshall Yay! That‘s nice to know😊 I thought it was so good! 4y
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Tanisha_A I have read only 2 of her books - The Bluest Eye, and Love. Both of which I found brilliant! So much thought in her characters, aside from all the social issues she raises. 4y
triplem80 This is one of my all-time favorite books! 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 4y
KVanRead @Tanisha_A I loved the Bluest Eye . Haven‘t read Love yet - adding it 😊 4y
KVanRead @triplem80 I‘m so glad I finally read it! 4y
45 likes9 comments
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Johanna414
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Mehso-so

I think I would have appreciated this story much more in print... there were just too many characters and jumps in timelines for me to keep track of on audio. If I‘d had a paper copy I could have reoriented myself as needed. I might have to revisit it someday

33 likes1 stack add
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Kshakal
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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I have discovered you don‘t have to go far from home to discover paradise! #paradise #boundtogetherjune @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Ruthiella So pretty! ❤️ 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 💗💗 4y
OriginalCyn620 Gorgeous! 💚 4y
32 likes3 comments
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Billypar
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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#7days7books
Day 3
Seven books that made a deep impression and changed me.

Tagging @Liz_M if you want to join in.

vivastory Is this your favorite Morrison? Also, did you read the Fran Lebowitz interview? 😂😂😂 4y
Billypar @vivastory It had been my favorite Morrison, but I finally read Beloved last year and I think those two are tied for my favorite (and that's without having read Bluest Eye or Song of Solomon yet..). I hadn't read the interview but I just did... great stuff! The whole thing was funny- I didn't know of Fran Lebowitz but going to look up some of her writing now.. 4y
44 likes2 comments
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Emilymdxn
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Mehso-so

I enjoyed this, it wasn‘t my favourite Morrison but then that was probably partly my mindset finding it difficult to focus on reading in the middle of such a stressful time. I found the plot harder to follow and connect with than the other ones of hers I‘ve read but then I guess not every one can be my fave. I‘d like to come back to it when I‘m less stressed and worried

#stayhome24in48

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WorldsOkayestStepMom
Paradise | Toni Morrison
Bailedbailed

I've been so stressed lately that I haven't been able to enjoy things. I think that made it harder for me to remember what had already happened in the book, and I just couldn't focus while reading it.

Trashcanman I hope today is kinder and that your stress abaits. Xx 4y
Megabooks I‘m sorry. 4y
41 likes4 comments
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Geenie
Paradise | Toni Morrison

“Unique and isolated, his was a town justifiably pleased with itself. It neither had nor needed a jail. No criminal had ever come from his town.” 🤣🤣🤣

20 likes1 stack add
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Geenie
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Blind date with a book display at the library I should have taken a pic of it. This is the book I picked and inside is a book I already own but have not read 😂.

Sunraven Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something. 😆 4y
Geenie 🤣 ikr @Sunraven 4y
24 likes2 comments
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GatheringBooks
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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#RedRoseSeptember Day 18: My #MerseyParadise is right here right now as we are “where the drownings are” as we literally drown in boxes and boxes of stuff we brought from Singapore. Meanwhile, the bookses are here! They are all here!! The babies just arrived yesterday.

arlenefinnigan Happy moving! 5y
Cinfhen Woohoo 🥳 🎉 good luck with the unboxing 5y
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LeahBergen I thought this was a book order at first. 😂😂 5y
JacqMac Yay! 5y
Crazeedi Yay, they arrived! So happy for you 5y
59 likes6 comments
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JulietReads
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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I need this. 🧚‍♀️

EH2018 Me too! 😍 5y
Ruthiella Right! Me too!😀 5y
63 likes2 comments
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dxmy
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Went to the second hand shop with my sister today and scored these 2 books for only €3! Always nice when I find books in those shops, since it's mostly all Dutch books

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JenniferP
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Pickpick

Paradise is a beautifully written, tragic novel centering around a conflict between an insular town and a nearby but separate house of misfit women. As always, Morrison‘s writing is poetic, profound, and emotional. I think this is one of her best. #tonimorrison

Kammbia1 I just started reading this one a couple of days ago. 4y
JenniferP @Kammbia1 hope you enjoy! 4y
22 likes1 stack add2 comments
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alisonrose
Paradise | Toni Morrison
Pickpick

This one is not easy to wrap your mind around, due to the structure and the vast array of characters and the allusive storytelling. I admit I‘m not totally sure about everything that happened. But even with all of that, I was still so taken with the story, and of course the writing is stunning. You may not like all of the women in this book but you end up on their side anyway, against the men seeking to destroy them in more ways than one. 4/5 ⭐️

Kammbia1 I just started reading this one a few days ago. Thanks for your review. 4y
38 likes1 comment
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alisonrose
Paradise | Toni Morrison

How exquisitely human was the wish for permanent happiness, and how thin human imagination became trying to achieve it.

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alisonrose
Paradise | Toni Morrison

The sky was behaving like a showgirl: exchanging its pale melancholy mornings for sporty ribbons of color in the evening. A mineral scent was in the air, sweeping down from some Genesis time when volcanoes stirred and lava cooled quickly under relentless wind. Wind that scoured cold stone, then sculpted it and, finally, crumbled it to the bits rock hounds love.

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alisonrose
Paradise | Toni Morrison

From the table where she sat admiring her busy hands, the radio absence spread out. A quiet, secret fire breathing itself and exhaling the sounds of its increase: the crack of shells, the tick of nut meat tossed in the bowl, cooking utensils in eternal adjustment, insect whisper, the argue of long grass, the faraway cough of cornstalks.

Ericalambbrown My lord, this lady knew how to use words. I‘m so grateful we had her as long as we did. 😢 5y
26 likes1 comment
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alisonrose
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Thankful that I got this one from my parents for my birthday so that it was waiting for me on my TBR shelves #RIP 💔 #nowreading

Emilymdxn I need this one! I want to reread Beloved as soon as I‘m done with the man booker longlist 5y
44 likes1 comment
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megnews
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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LyndseyReads A fav for me, too. Can‘t wait for the Morrison documentary that‘s coming! 5y
megnews @LyndseyReads I work in Lorain, the city Morrison grew up in, the setting for The Bluest Eye. I will be watching it there next weekend. Can‘t wait!! 5y
OriginalCyn620 ❤️❤️❤️ 5y
Eggs Nice choice! 5y
47 likes1 stack add4 comments
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EadieB
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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OriginalCyn620 😎📚🎶 5y
48 likes1 comment
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LiterRohde
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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“The visionary language of the doomed reaches heights of linguistic ardor with which language of the blessed and saved cannot compete.”

#StarTrekSummerJune | 13: #Paradise

📷: Made with Typorama

Megabooks I feel like I should read this book. 5y
LiterRohde @Megabooks After reading the summary and excerpts from the book, I put it on my TBR. I‘m not sure why it only has 42% on Litsy. 5y
54 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Samplergal
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Yep. Perfect paradise. Reading and beach breezes. #maymadness

aprilpohren Looks like Heaven!! 5y
AmyG That‘s lovely. 5y
kspenmoll Beautiful blues! 5y
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BooknerdsLife Awww paradise indeed!! 😱😍😍 5y
BarbaraBB Gorgeous! Where are you? 5y
Cathythoughts Beautiful 5y
Blaire That looks wonderful! (edited) 5y
Samplergal Waaaaay out in the boonies near Cabo. 2 hours from civilization and it was wonderful. I‘ve never been in such a beautiful spot. @BarbaraBB (edited) 5y
125 likes8 comments
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Plaidsticks
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Mehso-so

Struggling with digital books these days. I wanted to like this, but I think I missed a lot because I read it sporadic fits and starts. Will more than likely go back and re-read at another time.

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masofia
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Pickpick

An intergenerational drama that is artful and haunting. This story of an isolated patriarchal town shows how, despite noble goals, patriarchy, capitalism, and colorism are the mechanisms of our own societal demise. Even the structure of the novel and its fluid handling of time feels poetic.

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JLaurenceCohen
Paradise | Toni Morrison

Paradise has an all-time great opening line: "They shot the white girl first." The novel tells the stories of myriad characters, from twin brothers who helped found an all-black town to a woman with mysterious healing powers to a progressive minister to a series of runaways. Morrison examines what happens when the oppressed gain power and how patriarchal communities doom themselves.

23 likes1 stack add
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StellaDz
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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It‘s been a goal to have a book nook in my home. Well, that goal has finally been realized. A DIY with my parents! 😍😍😍😍

Sace It's beautiful 😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️😍😍😍 5y
StellaDz @RestlessFickleBookHoarder thanks so much! I‘m excited to start filling those shelves! 5y
CoverToCoverGirl Oh wow! 😍 5y
rather_be_reading awesome! 5y
StellaDz @rather_be_reading thanks! The shelves are slowly filling but I‘m enjoying my new hermit spot!! ❤️❤️ 5y
18 likes5 comments
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Ddzmini
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Found this on FB was quoted as a perfect room but take all the furniture out but the couch add a hammock and it would be a bedroom paradise 😋📖📚📚📚

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Great idea! 6y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Oooo! Library ladder 😍 6y
Tamra As a very short person, it gives me anxiety about not reasonably being able to reach the books up high! Even with the ladder! (edited) 6y
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umbrellagirl This reminds me of the library in Beauty and the Beast. 6y
Ddzmini @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I know a paradise of a room right 😋 6y
Ddzmini @Tamra I‘m 5‘2” 👀😳 6y
Ddzmini @umbrellagirl yes only a little smaller huh 6y
Tessy I agree about a hammock 6y
Ddzmini @Tessy yes with the window open a nice breeze flowing through or it‘s raining outside 📖😋 awe I can dream about it now 😋 6y
79 likes10 comments
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Billypar
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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You might look at these challenging authors and conclude #sheaintworthit But.....you'd be wrong... totally worth it 😉
#HeatofJuly @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen

Cinfhen Nicely done ✅ 😉👍🏻 6y
BarbaraBB I loved Orlando but couldn‘t get through The Golden Notebook...! 6y
Cathythoughts Toni Morrison ❤️💔💔 6y
53 likes3 comments
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goodbyefrancie
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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So this happened today. I know I just walked around with my jaw dropped to the floor. Seriously beautiful.

RinaBrahmbhattBarot Amazing! I want to go there :) 6y
Eyelit 😍 6y
IamIamIam It's an amazing place!!!! I imagine that's what heaven smells like! 😍 6y
See All 11 Comments
Graywacke Beautiful picture, tough book 6y
GripLitGrl 😍😍 6y
goodbyefrancie @MyBookSwapClub It's beautiful. Definitely go if you can. 6y
JazzFeathers Been there couple of times. Pity you're never there alone. Sigh... 6y
RinaBrahmbhattBarot @goodbyefrancie need to plan and I'll ~ one fine day :) 6y
rustoryhuf Please, oh please tell me where this is...need to buy tickets to get there, wherever it is ♥️♥️♥️ 6y
goodbyefrancie @rustoryhuf It's at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. You should go! 6y
rustoryhuf @goodbyefrancie hubby and I are planning a motorcycle trip across Ireland for our 30th anniversary. This will be my requested stop ❤️ 6y
80 likes11 comments
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CuriousG
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Following up my last post and being grateful for the little things, I should also say that finding a hardcover copy of this gem for only $3 ... pretty darn awesome 💚💚💚 I think I'm up to 3 different copies of this one now #donttellthehubs #sorrynotsorry #hedoesntuselitsy #secretissafe

13 likes2 stack adds
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PagesOfKate
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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"They shoot the white girl first"
#PlotTwist on the first line of page one! Morrison really makes you consider the racecraft at work in U.S. society.
@Mdargusch @emilyhaldi @Reviewsbylola @Cinfhen

Reviewsbylola This is one of hers I haven‘t read yet. 6y
emilyhaldi I haven't read any Morrison 😬 but I probably should! This one sounds good 👍🏻 6y
RaimeyGallant Interesting. 6y
Mdargusch That opening line! Your photo and that book cover are 👌🏼too! 6y
72 likes9 stack adds4 comments
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huntersmom1977
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Mehso-so

I love Toni but this book was so hard to follow. I found myself having to read the same page over to comprehend the story line.

Booknerd2 I tried it years ago and decided it was too smart for me. I was soooo confused. 6y
huntersmom1977 @Booknerd2 Good to hear I‘m not alone 😊 6y
12 likes1 stack add2 comments
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dariazeoli
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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I can hear Maya Angelou‘s voice in my head as I read her first memoir. I wish I‘d known to appreciate her writing when I first became acquainted with it, but I was newly 14 when she read the inaugural poem in 1993.

I‘m struggling with Paradise. There are so many characters, and each chapter is dense. I feel as though it‘s a better book than I am a reader.

Sweettartlaura I hate when a book is better than I am a reader 😕 6y
45 likes1 comment
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SaraBeagle
Paradise | Toni Morrison

Working on my challenge lists for 2018 as a means to distract myself from my book buying ban (1 month in, 1 to go!). I‘ve got most of the #192019challenge picked out. About half will also work for #MtTBR and a good number of #LitsyAtoZ are also covered. I almost feel like that‘s cheating, but I‘ll go with great planning. 😁

BookishMarginalia Planning is key! (Though I admit I‘m haphazard at best 🤷🏻‍♀️) 6y
20 likes1 comment
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bookworm.krizia
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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bookworm.krizia
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Mehso-so

🙂🙂

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Jas16
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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elkeOriginal Nice mix! 7y
rachellayown Great stack!!! 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Wonderful pile! 7y
60 likes3 comments
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BrownGirlReading
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Fave First Line - Toni Morrison was on a mission with this first line, which is intriguing, audacious, and poignant. It's one of the last of her 2 novels I have left to read along with Love. #biblioplhileworldmaychallenge #paradise #thequeen #readsoullit #blacklit

BellaBookNook Embarrassingly I have to admit I have not read any of her books but I will have to rectify that soon. Love the scarf in your picture. 7y
BrownGirlReading @BellaBookNook No need to be embarrassed. There are so many good books out there and we unfortunately don't get a chance to get to all of them. However I'd definitely recommend You starting with Song of Solomon or The Bluest Eye (my favorite). Thanks! That's one of my favorite scarves because I can style it in so many ways. #wraplife 😃 7y
BellaBookNook 😀Thanks. I do think many years ago pre-kids and marriage I read The Bluest Eyes. So I guess I've read one. Will have to add Song of Solomon to my ever growing TBR. 7y
12 likes4 comments
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Billypar
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Read this a few months ago and it instantly became one of my all-time favorites- thought it would be perfect for today's #Rockinmay. About so many things but its depiction of small town life is vivid and nuanced-- examines the forces that bind the town members together and what divides them. @Cinfhen

Cinfhen Great review~ sounds like a must read! Thanks for posting & sharing 😊stacked! 7y
GatheringBooks i have to read more of her novels! 7y
Billypar @Cinfhen @GatheringBooks I'm still young in my Toni Morrison fandom but she's fantastic as far as I'm concerned. Reading Jazz now and enjoying that one too. 7y
6 likes1 stack add3 comments
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HLouiseM
Paradise | Toni Morrison
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Adventures in the sunshine...