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Middlesex
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
A dazzling triumph from the bestselling author of The Virgin Suicides--the astonishing tale of a gene that passes down through three generations of a Greek-American family and flowers in the body of a teenage girl.In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond clasmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively develops between them--along with Callie's failure to develop--leads Callie to suspect that she is not like other girls. In fact, she is not really a girl at all.The explanation for this shocking state of affairs takes us out of suburbia- back before the Detroit race riots of 1967, before the rise of the Motor City and Prohibition, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie's grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set in motion the metamorphosis that will turn Callie into a being both mythical and perfectly real: a hermaphrodite.Spanning eight decades--and one unusually awkward adolescence- Jeffrey Eugenides's long-awaited second novel is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire. It marks the fulfillment of a huge talent, named one of America's best young novelists by both Granta and The New Yorker.Middlesex is the winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
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TheKidUpstairs
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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#TLT #ThreeListThursday @dabbe

1. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
2. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

dabbe I'm making a list, checking it twice, and I'll make it available to all whether naughty or nice! 😂 Thanks for sharing. 💚💙💚 2w
45 likes1 comment
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Amiable
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Thanks for the tag, @Cuilin ! This is #MotivationalMonday Not Spotted Until Tuesday. 😬😀
1. Work, yoga, reading, TV. My typical winter-blah-month activities here in New England.
2. Re-reading the tagged book, plus “Breathless” by David Quammen
3. Inquisitive and skeptical

@Cupcake12

Cupcake12 I like your answers to no.3, have a great week x 2mo
31 likes1 comment
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Beatlefan129
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

I am sitting here in awe of what I just read. I was given this book in a swap years ago and it‘s been sitting on my shelf ever since because I never really felt excited to read it. Once I finally started however I fell in love with the narrator Calliope Stephanides immediately. The story that he weaved from his grandparents in Greece to his parents in Detroit to his transformation into Cal was epic, heartbreaking and gorgeous.

Scochrane26 This one has been on my tbr for years, too. 1y
TheBookHippie I love this book I reread it during lockdown 2020 and enjoyed it even more. 1y
CoffeeK8 One of my favorite books! 1y
HettyG This was such a beautiful book! I read it quite some time ago, it has always stayed with me. 1y
BkClubCare I can still feel the bridge scene! And I read it looooong time ago. 1y
100 likes5 comments
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rwmg
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Mehso-so

Recessive genes meet in a Greek family which emigrated to the US in the 1920s and produce an intersex child.

Interesting enough while I was actually reading it but I had very little urge to pick it up again after interruptions for food, sleep, family, etc. so it took a long time to get through.

smalldogs_bigbooks2419 This is one of those books I remember my mom reading when I was younger, but I had no idea what it was about. 1y
Ruthiella Yeah, I was also so-so about this book. Interesting for the Detroit history and Greek immigrant narrative, but the rest didn‘t really grab me. 1y
35 likes1 stack add2 comments
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rwmg
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.

---

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

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WorldsOkayestStepMom
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

An incredible generational novel! I loved the narration by Cal and his story.

Graywacke brings back memories. I really enjoyed this a long time ago. 2y
MrsMalaprop @Graywacke me too! Have wondered whether it would stand the test of time. Seems so with this review 😊👏. 2y
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WorldsOkayestStepMom
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Chunkster of a book! This is the second or third book this year that's over 500 pages for me.

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Cathyloves2read
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
Pickpick

I can see how this book won a Pulitzer Prize. It was so good! Thank you, MBC ON FACEBOOK, for making it this months read! The life lessons contained this story were numerous. The protagonist was such a strong person! The ending didn‘t disappoint. After reading this, the only thing the leaves me scratching my head is why did they name their son “chapter 11”? Did anyone who read this get that? I highly recommend this book!!

BarbF I just read this, and someone tore out the last page. 😳 Mine finished at the funeral where the first pew was reserved for Tessie and Chapter 11. Was there more to the book? It‘s not in my library system. 😢 2y
Cathyloves2read @BarbF I just screen shot the last few pages for you. Do you have an email I can send them to? 2y
13 likes2 comments
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kelseycoleburke
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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wilberforce Answering for BarbF please send to whatamom3@sbcglobal.net, and thankyou. 2y
10 likes1 comment
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kelseycoleburke
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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#Besomeone who avoids her responsibilities to read on a beach all day 😌 #julyjam @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I agree!! Beautiful 🌊 2y
Eggs Lucky you! Enjoy 😊 2y
18 likes2 comments
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kelseycoleburke
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Being on hold for a gazillion years has one upside I suppose 📞💁‍♀️

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Pia_hb
Middlesex (Revised) | Jeffrey Eugenides
Pickpick

A great novel about youth, identity, meaning of sex and family. Just wanted more and to know what actually happens to adult callie

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cant_i'm_booked
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

An engrossing read about a young girl who becomes a young man. Calliope Stephanides is born into a Greek Orthodox family in 1960s Detroit. Her immigrant grandparents, fleeing their Anatolian village after Ataturk's rise to power, and hiding a secret, are the start of an epic story that Calliope (now Cal) narrates, musing over the numerous factors (is it nature? is it environment?) that has shaped a very misunderstood aspect of human heredity.

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readingjedi
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Mehso-so

Am surprised/disappointed that I don't love this. Can appreciate writing is quality, it just doesn't speak to me. Structure-wise, I enjoyed the first half (the grandparents' journey from Turkey to US, experiences as immigrants) but then as the narrative turned to Cal the whole thing flagged & dragged & I was losing interest. Then, for a novel that went on for soooo long, the ending seemed rushed & left me unsatisfied. More in comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️

readingjedi Also, all the way through I felt like 'this has been done before'. Maybe 20 years ago when this was released the subject matter was more original but I can't help feeling this has been addressed elsewhere by now. 2y
readingjedi I also had a huge issue with the house being called Middlesex - just so clunky! 2y
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readingjedi
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Just getting into this one after a slow start. Was wondering how long it had been on my TBR list ... er, quite a while!!!

Sophronisba I remember loving this book when it first came out. 2y
AmyG I loved this, too. And I remember it being a slow start. It gets better. 2y
EvieBee Oooh. A beautiful book! 2y
perfectsinner Ah I read that in middle school! 2y
72 likes4 comments
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readingjedi
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Starting this one today. Lots of cover art variations for this one - I particularly like this one, the US first edition.

AmyG A favorite book of mine. Enjoy! It‘s so good. 2y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego This book is fantastic. 2y
Dragon Hope you like it as much as I did - I couldn‘t stop recommending it . 2y
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keepingupwiththepenguins
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

Middlesex is much more than a gender novel. Adam Begley described it as “a hybrid form, epic crossed with history, romance, comedy, tragedy” in his review for the New York Observer, and that‘s spot on. It‘s a big book, in length, depth, and breadth, and yet it‘s compelling and thoroughly readable. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/middlesex-jeffrey-eugenides/

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego This book is excellent. 2y
JanuarieTimewalker13 I LOVED this book. It‘s been about 13 years since I read it, but it deepened my understanding of gender assignment. 2y
50 likes2 comments
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Nicos
Middlesex (Revised) | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

Delightful

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LitTraveler
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Here is my January #bookspin list! A few are missing because they are ebooks and one is jammed in the back of my bookshelf and I didn‘t want to take it out. 🤣

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
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Bevita
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

What a crazy book. And to think I thought this story about a hermaphrodite with Turkish roots was about a boring town in New jersey or something. Certainly deserves its Pulitzer Prize.

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DivineDiana
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

Happy for two reasons:
1. I finished this book in time for Book Club.
2. I read another book from my TBR shelves.

Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, it is a family saga of an immigrant Greek family. My expectations were high. The buzz for this book was about the narrator,Calliope who is a hermaphrodite.
The majority of the book follows the story of Calliope‘s grandparents, and parents. I found that part the most interesting. ⬇️

DivineDiana The struggles of Calliope‘s discovery of gender, while informative, was not as developed. I felt sympathy for the characters, and despite the seriousness of the subject, it was delivered in a light hearted way. #familysaga #immigrantexperience (edited) 2y
Tove_Reads On my TBR. Own it. Maybe now is the time? 2y
DivineDiana @Tove_Reads Maybe.🤔 It was for me! 🙂 2y
rwmg It's no. 47 on my virtual TBR shelf. Maybe next year? 2y
DivineDiana @rwmg Sounds like a plan! 🙂 2y
60 likes5 comments
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DivineDiana
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Book Club read. Using a combination of audio and printed book to expedite my read. This strategy is more enjoyable(when it is possible) than reading a book on audio and a different printed book. I am always using both formats. Also thrilled because this has been on my shelves for way too long! #mttbr

EvieBee I read it the same way! I loved the narrator but also enjoyed reading on my own. Great book. 2y
DivineDiana @EvieBee Thank you for telling me! ❤️ 2y
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JoeMo
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

This was on by TBR pile for over a decade!🤗It took me a while to get into this tale, but each successive generation of the Stephanides clan pulled me deeper into the story. I would have loved less time being spent in the early days with Lefty and Desdemona and more time with Cal as a teen and young adult. The performance by Kristoffer Tabori in the audiobook edition was fantastic and helped keep me engaged especially in the early stages. 4/5

SamAnne Loved this one. 3y
30 likes1 comment
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jmtrivera
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides

DNF-ing. I know so many people love it, but I'm just not feeling it. Maybe another time.

February #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Sometimes a book just isn't the right fit!!! 3y
19 likes1 comment
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GidgetsTreasures75
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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3-3-21: My 23rd finished book of 2021! This is my second time reading this epic tale. This is the story of Calliope Stephanides and the 3 generations of her Greek-American family. The story travels from 1922 in Mount Olympus through the 60s in Detroit and finally the 70s in Grosse Point, Michigan. It‘s also a story about how Calliope becomes Cal. Lyrical and moving. Winner of the Pulitzer. I‘m so glad I re-read it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼📖#️⃣2️⃣3️⃣

bibliobliss Love Euginedes 3y
lynneamch Yes! Best first line ever! 3y
19 likes2 comments
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this_teacher_reads
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Can‘t put this one down. #sogood

AmyG Great book. 3y
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JoeMo
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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It‘s New Year‘s Day, the exciting day where I set reading goals for the whole year!🤓 I learned a long time ago that if I don‘t make lists, I end up reading a lot of crappy books over the course of a year. I‘m not saying these are all great titles, they‘re just the ones I hope to read. This may finally be the year I get around to Middlesex after a decade of procrastination!😂

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Minervasbutler
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
Pickpick


Narrated by Calliope /Cal, born intersex (a genetic anomaly, for which dark family secrets are revealed to be responsible), this is one of those generation-spanning epics which in tone reminded me somewhat of the Bellow of Augie March, or John Irving. Packed with memorable characters (dope-smoking grandfather Lefty was a particular favourite), funny, engrossing and moving.

Copwithabook I loved this book and recommend it all the time 3y
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Bookbroad
Middlesex (Revised) | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

There was almost a point in this book where I bailed, but something kept drawing me back. The first and last thirds are fantastic. I would have preferred more of a focus on cal and his growing sense of self, closing the gap between the end of the book and present day, but the family saga was super interesting, just not what I was really expecting or signed up for.

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redcookie
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
This post contains spoilers
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Le emozioni non possono essere descritte da singole parole. Io non credo in termini come "tristezza", "gioia" o "rimpianto". Mi piacerebbe avere una parola per definire "la tristezza ispirata dai ristoranti destinati al fallimento" come per "l'eccitazione che ti dà una stanza con il minibar". Non ho mai trovato le parole giuste per descrivere le vita e adesso che mi sono immerso nel racconto della mia storia personale ne ho più bisogno che mai.

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Jess861
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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I feel like the first sentence in this book says it all as to why I picked it for the hermit card of tarot takeover. Even though this book is as much a story about a Greek family and spans over a century (at least pretty close to it if I recall correctly) - it is as much a story about Cal and personal discovery.

#Tarottakeover #TheHermit

@ErinSueMreads @Meaw_catlady

Erinsuereads This has been on my tbr forever! 4y
Jess861 @ErinSueMreads - I really enjoyed the read. I know some didn't enjoy it as much as they thought they would because there is a large focus on family and not always on Cal but it is still one of my favourites! 4y
Erinsuereads I'll have to see if it's still on my shelf and check it out 4y
48 likes3 comments
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jennbee
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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1. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi, The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey
2. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
3. “I‘m the final clause in a periodic sentence and that sentence begins a long time ago, in another language, and you have to read it from the beginning to get to the end, which is my arrival.” -Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

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Ericalambbrown
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

This is the first Eugenides book I‘ve read. I am way late to the party, it seems. I really enjoyed this book. More a sprawling family saga than anything, I really enjoyed the depth of this complicated narrative. I will certainly look for his other work.

AmyG This is his best. 4y
Zoes_Human A brilliant novel. 4y
See All 8 Comments
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego I loved this book. 4y
Scochrane26 This has been in my tbr for years, & I still haven‘t gotten to it. Too many other books as distractions. 4y
Ericalambbrown @Scochrane26 I found this at our annual friends of the library sale, and I picked it up for $4. That catapulted it up the list during quarantine as I ran out of books 😂 4y
Clare-Dragonfly I really loved the family saga aspect of this book. 4y
Ericalambbrown @AmyG Good to know! Everyone seems to really dig The Virgin Suicides ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 4y
82 likes8 comments
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Cosmos_Moon
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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7/23 - grandma

#quotsyjuly20 @TK-421

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Cosmos_Moon
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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7/14 - humid

#quotsyjuly20 @TK-421

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Cosmos_Moon
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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7/13 - announce

#quotsyjuly20 @TK-421

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GatheringBooks
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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SamanthaMarie Living in Georgia, this quote really hits home haha! 4y
TK-421 Love this! 💙 4y
Cosmos_Moon I picked the same quote, but didn‘t see this first. Great book! 4y
50 likes3 comments
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sprainedbrain
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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#ManicMonday

📖 Middlesex by Eugenides
🖊 Madeline Miller & Kate Morton
🎥 Moulin Rouge
📺 Monty Python
🎤 Midland & My Chemical Romance
🎶 Mr. Brightside (The Killers) & Mess is Mine (Vance Joy)

Deblovestoread Love MCR...was going to see them in October 2020....now 2021 4y
AmyG Ahhhhhh....I forgot Monty Python!!! 4y
JoScho How the hell did I forget Mr. Brightside?!?🤦🏼‍♀️ 4y
45 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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AmyG
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Middlesex
Madeline Miller
Miracle on 34th Street
Metallica and Bob MOULD
Morning Dew - Grateful Dead

#ManicMonday #LetterM @JoScho

JoScho Thanks for playing Amy ♥️ 4y
KVanRead Loved Middlesex so much - can‘t believe it didn‘t come to mind!!! 4y
AmyG @KVanRead I looked at my bookshelf- and there it was! 4y
sprainedbrain Pardon me while I copy at least 2 of yours. 😂 4y
43 likes5 comments
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GatheringBooks
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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callielafleur Woah not used to seeing my name in a book quote. 4y
43 likes1 comment
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Rissreads
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

Thanks @MrsMalaprop for this recommendation.
I loved this family saga of three generations of Greeks and of Cal who started life as a girl but became a boy at 14yrs. Fantastic writing. I only wish it was longer as I would have loved to keep reading about Cal‘s life as a man.

SamAnne Loved it too! 4y
MrsMalaprop Oh yay!! Such an epic, engrossing, beautiful book 👏👏❤️. 4y
Jeg I remember I loved this enough to keep it. Another I could reread. 4y
47 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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CindyMyLifeIsLit
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was beautiful, the story was gripping (if a little weird, but I‘m a fan of weird). Believe it or not, the part I had the hardest time with was the original brother/sister relationship (no spoilers, so you know what I mean). How could they have thought it was okay?!? Other than that, I was really engaged in the characters. Very well-written!

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ElizaMarie
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Mehso-so

So. It‘s not that I hated the book. I enjoyed Cal‘s story but I felt it took forever to get there then sped through his story. I expected great things (as I read the Virgin Suicides and loved it) but got okay things? I‘m a bit disappointed

#bookishbingo #audiobookbingo

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ElizaMarie
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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Almost a bingo card full! I have one more book to read to complete the #WinterBookBingo ❤️❤️

-And I‘m about a third of the way through the last prompt

#WinterBingo #Challenge
@Honeybeegirl

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ElizaMarie
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides

So, I don't know about this book. I am super tempted to DNF it because I just don't get the appeal. I am trying though. I am about to start the Book2 part of it and I am still ehh... I don 't know what I really expected but... I feel like it isn't this!

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ElizaMarie
Middlesex: A Novel | Jeffrey Eugenides
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So I picked this one up because of my #20for20 goals and expiring Greece/Greek Culture etc. It looks super interesting and I have such high hopes for it! #NewYearNewYou