Litsy

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I really like the premise of this book. Who doesn‘t yearn for a magical bookshop where the book chooses you?! The bookshop also cultivated lasting friendships between unlikely characters. A good summer evening read. Book #65 in 2025⭐️⭐️⭐️

9 likes

limada

Wreck the Halls: A Novel | Tessa Bailey

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Starting the Christmas reads off with some spice. I don't know how, but i wasn't prepared for the spiciness but I didn't hate it. It wasn't really very Christmassy, except for the climax being christmas Eve. #65-2024

6 likes

Allthebookclubs

The Rom-Commers: A Novel | Katherine Center

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What a fun book, but that‘s no surprise because KC is one of my favorite authors. Very funny, witty banter, and passion-no, it‘s not spicy- it‘s about feeling the passion someone else has for something through writing. I really really like how Katherine Center tells stories. Book #65 in 2024

8 likes

bookaholic1

Outfox | Sandra Brown

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#65
Enjoyable

27 likes

Allthebookclubs

Missing Parts | Lucinda Berry

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David‘s anger made me so darn mad, his deep anger makes no sense. The trauma Celeste carried is awful and her reaction is understandable. Robyn disgusts me, best friends don‘t do what she did. Ugh. I liked this story, but what she went through is disturbing and I‘m filled with so much anger after reading this. Book #65 in 2023

5 likes

Danay

Where the Sky Begins | Rhys Bowen

23 #65 At first I thought I wasn‘t gonna like this one. But it turned around and I liked it very much. It‘s just a sweet little book.

Eggs I do like R. Bowen! 2y

Danay Me too! She is one of my faves. This book started a little slow for me but I became invested in the main character very quickly. And when the mystery started to come into play it became very interesting. 2y

3 likes1 stack add2 comments

BarbaraJean

Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings | Mary Henley Rubio

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead Discussion - Gift of Wings part 1 (post 3 of 4)

Rubio often mentions that LMM copied out her journals starting in 1919, assuming that during that process, Montgomery edited and “shaped” her journals with an eye toward future readers.

Does this affect your view of LMM as a reliable source on her own life?
What do you think of how Rubio reads between the lines of LMM‘s journals and other writings?

rubyslippersreads, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean This does affect my view of LMM as a reliable narrator in her journals, but that also doesn't feel as problematic to me as I think Rubio makes it out to be. By nature, a first-person account is biased—and the unreliable narrator is one of the things that fascinates me most about first-person narratives. Nobody can be unbiased about themselves! But I don't like the way Rubio inserts her own speculations into LMM's journals. ⬇ 2y

BarbaraJean I think Rubio gave herself too much license to downplay what she thought was unimportant (even if LMM emphasized it) and to emphasize what served her interpretation of LMM (even if support was largely absent in the journals or other sources). I just didn't see a strong basis for her saying that Ewan's love fueled the creation of Anne (or that he inspired Gilbert and Matthew!) or that Smith's admiration helped bring about the writing of Emily. 🙄
2y

TheAromaofBooks I guess I complained about these things on earlier posts 😂 but yes, exactly!! I was genuinely confused by how much emphasis Rubio puts on Edwin Smith especially, despite the fact that Maud specifically does NOT mention him. Yes, this could mean that he was so important that she didn't want to talk about him, but it could ALSO mean that... he wasn't that important?? 2y

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lauraisntwilder I think young Anne would have cut out a lot of embarrassing scrapes from her own narrative. I don't think it makes her unreliable, but I also don't think it's wrong to speculate what the omitted items mean in a greater context. Were they removed because they're not important or because they hurt the narrative? I think it's fine to speculate -- so long as those speculations are labeled as such. 2y

lauraisntwilder As for Ewan and Edwin, I think it's interesting that Rubio points out in her notes (Leaskdale Years #65) that Emily was dedicated to Maud's pen pal George MacMillan. She never dedicated a book to Ewan or Edwin 2y

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Exactly - I think if Rubio had used softer terms, like “might“ instead of “must,“ I wouldn't have been so frustrated with the speculating. And I had that same thought about LMM's book dedications, that if Ewan & Edwin had been such inspirations in her work, why did she never dedicate a book to either one? However, she does dedicate Anne of Ingleside to “W.G.P.“ - understood to be Will Pritchard. But Rubio glosses over Will! 2y

lauraisntwilder @BarbaraJean Oh, of course Will got a dedication! I was a little surprised that he was such a minor figure in this bio and such an important character in Maud. I think it would've been nice if she'd made the distinction of when something was in an earlier journal and omitted later, when possible. She's definitely opinionated! 2y

16 likes7 comments

Kris10H

Upgrade: A Novel | Blake Crouch

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Book #65
4.5/5
I don't read much Sci-fi, but Crouch's novels really grip me, with his ideas of multiverses, genetic tampering, and morality. This one did not disappoint.

8 likes

bookaholic1

Recursion | Blake Crouch

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#65
Can you imagine...would you want to?
Not me..

The.Great.Catsby This book blew my mind away. Omg. 3y

bookaholic1 @The.Great.Catsby yes..it was a different kind of read 3y

28 likes2 comments

Danay

The German Heiress | Anika Scott

22 #65 Usually a WW2 story has clearly defined heroes, heroines and villains. The Allies=good. German=bad. This novel delves into the gray areas. Not everything is black and white. Good people can get caught up in bad things. A good premise but I wasn‘t overly attached to any character in the book. Not even the protagonist. Maybe all the gray marred the likability. In spite of that still a good read.

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