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AshleyHoss820

AshleyHoss820

Joined November 2016

I‘m tall…for a Hobbit. She/her. INTJ. Enneagram 5, with a 6 wing. Nebraska, 🇺🇸. 1,001 Books List Adventurer.
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Young Trless by Robert Musil
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1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
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AshleyHoss820
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March‘s #BookSpin list! An extra day in February and we still flew by it like a fence post on the interstate. Happy Reading, fellow BookSpinners! ☺️

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3w
28 likes1 comment
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AshleyHoss820
Fatal February | Barbara Levenson
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School started again and I lost my doggone brain…February‘s #BookSpin list 🎶Second verse, same as the first🎶 Happy reading, everyone! ☺️🧡 📚

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2mo
29 likes1 comment
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AshleyHoss820
The Bridges of Madison County | Robert James Waller
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Mehso-so

Lordt. I was ranting about this book to my husband and he said the movie was good. 🙄🤣 Well, yeah, Eastwood‘s in it. The dialogue was obnoxious (“My God, your power” Girl, no.) if I read that he was “a leopard that rode in on a comet” ONE MORE TIME. The author 100% wrote himself as the main male character. She looked down her nose at the Iowans (all they want out of life is to farm and raise families. Okay? And?) I get it. Shes lonely. 👇🏻

AshleyHoss820 Life didn‘t quite turn out how she wanted it. It is really sad when you get cornered by your choices and no one should feel trapped. I really, REALLY wanted to like this one. I really did. I just felt their 4-day love affair pushed my boundaries of disbelief too far. 2mo
Clare-Dragonfly “A leopard that rode in on a comet” definitely seems like a description you should only use once 😂 2mo
AshleyHoss820 @Clare-Dragonfly Also, the overuse of “I‘m the last cowboy” or “I‘m the last of my evolutionary branch.” I get it. You think you‘re cool. 🙄😂 2mo
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

This book is so silly and gross. I loved it. I brought this home from the library. My daughter (15) said, “Wait! When you said Dog Man, I thought you were talking about some weird fantasy novel, not THESE! These are low-key really funny.” I agree. I was even making my husband look at panels that made me laugh audibly. Just good fun. My favorite bit was: *ring ring* Hello? There‘s been a jail break! Where? At the jail! Oh. So dumb. 🤣🤣🤣

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AshleyHoss820
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Mehso-so

First, I know I‘m not the target audience. Second, I get it. Middle-schoolers and the personal fable (main character energy), people are flawed, etc. I absolutely see why kids would dig this series. I just really struggled with this. There were parts that were funny, but mostly I was like, “Wow. You‘re a real d-bag…” I won‘t dissuade anyone from liking/reading them, I just didn‘t connect with this.

Daisey Completely get this review. I get why kids love them, and I also love my own fluff sometimes. Yet, I also want them to read better stuff along with this. 2mo
AshleyHoss820 @Daisey There were just so many problematic things for me. I agree with you. I both get it and don‘t get it. And I‘m not one of those readers who needs a big moral lesson or likable characters, but dang…😂🤣 2mo
31 likes2 comments
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AshleyHoss820
The Thirteen Problems | Agatha Christie
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Pickpick

I‘ve never read Miss Marple, so I thought I‘d take advantage of this Nebraska Blizzard season and get a start. I love these little mysteries and Miss Marple reminded me of Father Brown. I genuinely love trying to solve the puzzle and being outwitted by Dame Agatha every time. Even if I figure out part of the mystery, I never unravel every bit.

LittlePixels My daughter is working her way through Agatha Christie right now, and she loves Hercule Poirot so much that she‘s loathe to even try any of the Miss Marple novels. I think she feels like it‘s a betrayal or something. 🤣 2mo
AshleyHoss820 @LittlePixels I have to be honest, I was doing the same thing! 😂🤣 I love Hercule and his mustaches and little grey cells! But honestly, I think I could dig Miss Marple too! 2mo
LittlePixels @AshleyHoss820 I‘ll have to tell my daughter she isn‘t alone. 😄 And maybe convince her to give Miss Marple a try… 2mo
AshleyHoss820 @littlepixels Definitely! I‘ve only read one Miss Marple, but she‘s a sly lady! 2mo
40 likes4 comments
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AshleyHoss820
Wolf-speaker | Tamora Pierce
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Pickpick

I know some on GR felt this one was slower than the first, but I think that worked in its favor. Daine is gaining powers, learning her magic. If it were rushed it would feel cheap. Daine & Numair uncover a plot that threatens more than the throne, but all of Tortall. When Daine and Numair separate, and a magic barrier soon makes that separation against their will, Daine must work with the People in ways she hasn‘t before. Will they be in time?

AshleyHoss820 The photo is from 8tracks.com, but I don‘t know who the artist is! 2mo
31 likes1 comment
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AshleyHoss820
Alexander's Bridge | Willa Cather
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Pickpick

Bartley Alexander is larger-than-life and it‘s destroying him. He‘s restless and hates that about himself, yet he can‘t stop it. Happily married, yet continuing an affair. Alexander is living not a double-life, but a triple one. Work Alexander, Home Alexander, In-Pursuit-of-Youth Alexander. The various cables of his life are threatening to pull him asunder, just like his bridges. What will become of this man who is too full of life? #ABCChallenge

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AshleyHoss820
Barabbas | Par Lagerkvist
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Pickpick

Pontius Pilate offered the people a choice (to keep his own hands clean): The Messiah or Barabbas. Pilate was sure no one wanted to free Barabbas, but he was wrong. No one talks about how this substitution affected Barabbas. What made him worth this 2nd chance? What if he just can‘t make himself believe? I love this short search for identity. Excellent read. 239/1,001 #1001Books December‘s #TBRTarot: author whose last name begins w/ “L”

CBee Awesome 👏🏻 2mo
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AshleyHoss820
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After much finagling, I settled on a perpetual list for #BookSpin 2024! I added more prompts to give me more options. I also added some of my bookshelves from GoodReads to really force me to chip away at that TBR! Happy Reading Year, everyone! ☺️☺️☺️

BarbaraBB Happy new year 🎈 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB Happy New Year to you too! 🎉☺️ 3mo
30 likes2 comments
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AshleyHoss820
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This was my December Double #BookSpin, but I‘m going to have to pick this one up another time. I don‘t want to mark it as DNF. I don‘t wanna ruin its stats. It‘s definitely me, not the book. Happy New Year, everyone! Happy Reading in 2024! Thank you for hosting again, Sarah!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Sometimes it's just not the right time for a book!! 3mo
27 likes2 comments
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AshleyHoss820
Dolores Claiborne | Stephen King
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Pickpick

🎶 HE HAD IT COMIN‘! HE HAD IT COMIN‘! 🎶 This was a good outing by King. This isn‘t horror, but it‘s terrifying all the same. The ways we hurt each other, the ways we save the ones we love. #TBRTarot A book dedicated to Mum/Mom (I ransacked my books until I found one. 🤣)

CBee Awesome 👏🏻 3mo
37 likes1 comment
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AshleyHoss820
Wild Magic | Tamora Pierce
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Pickpick

I mentioned to my friend that I needed a palette cleanser after finishing this last semester. She got so excited and told me all about this series she had read and loved as a young girl. When someone‘s eyes light up when discussing a book, you read that book. I am SO glad I did. Strong female characters, good world-building, the magic made sense. I loved the dialogue. A young girl who can talk to animals!? Middle-school-me would‘ve swooned! ☺️

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AshleyHoss820
Day of the Triffids | John Wyndham
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Pickpick

I loved this one. It‘s terrifying because it takes such a practical view of what would happen when the world ends. The Triffids are, of course, terrifying, but it‘s the survival that‘s daunting too. One night, green lights are seen all over the world. The next day, any one who saw the lights is now blind. The Triffids are lurking, waiting. Can society rebuild? 238/1,001 #1001Books #TBRTarot Choose a Book Which Has 5 Words in the Title

BarbaraBB This was so scary! 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB It really was! I kept thinking, my gosh, what would I do!? 😱 3mo
BarbaraBB Yes! I remember loving this one too: 3mo
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CBee Sounds scary for sure! 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @CBee It‘s so interesting because there‘s nothing gory, but the Triffids and the descriptions of a world after society collapses were so realistic! 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB I can‘t wait to read that one! I read Chocky last year, I think, and loved it too! Wyndham must just be my jam! 😂 (edited) 3mo
CBee @AshleyHoss820 those stories can sometimes be the most frightening because they could likely happen 😳 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @CBee Yes!! So true!! 3mo
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

I‘m not the biggest fan of poetry, but this is an excellent overview for Victorian poetry. The editors of Broadview always add helpful notes and intros in their anthologies that help make the works more accessible to a modern audience. #TBRTarot Choose a Book Which Has the Word “And” in the Title.

CBee 👏🏻👏🏻 3mo
33 likes1 comment
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

A short story? novella? about a monk and his back-and-forth feelings about the hangman‘s daughter. A hangman‘s family was reviled by the townspeople, due to the nature of the job. They weren‘t allowed to be buried on consecrated ground, for instance. This book was so much more than I expected. December #BookSpin prompt: Litsy/GoodReads TBR

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 3mo
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AshleyHoss820
The Real World | Kerry Ferris, Jill Stein
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Pickpick

I took an intro to sociology class this last semester to stay full-time, and I really enjoyed it. It made me think about things in new ways, which, at my age, is always a bonus. ☺️ I found this textbook readable.

tokorowilliamwallace Sociology is fun to dabble in and find at the library for interesting and important discussions. Do you read sociology outside of class, too? 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @tokorowilliamwallace You know, I haven‘t, but I would be open to it! 3mo
tokorowilliamwallace @AshleyHoss820 There's so many cool and interesting subjects, topics of social conversation out there to read about. I like nonfiction for audiobook and radio segments where I can learn something or hear discussions, too. 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @tokorowilliamwallace I do listen to a lot of podcasts. One of my favorites is Ologies with Ali Ward. It‘s probably not necessarily sociology, but I found the episode on Thanatology to be very interesting, especially thinking about how different people handle death and dying. 3mo
tokorowilliamwallace @AshleyHoss820 Oh yeah, that's cool, another way to do it and listen. I've heard about this one, but don't really listen to podcasts. I'll see if I'm subscribed in case I'm in the mood on a walk or something. 3mo
31 likes5 comments
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

I read this a year ago, for fun, and just finished it for Victorian Lit class. Still freaking hilarious And scathingly witty. There are so many quotable one-liners. Do yourself a favor and enjoy a reading of this one.

Clare-Dragonfly Have you seen the movie with Judi Dench? 😂 It‘s brilliantly done! 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @Clare-Dragonfly We started it in class yesterday! We‘ve been dying! I would LOVE to see this on stage! 4mo
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

A soft pick, but I think it‘s still worth the time since it‘s one of the first detective novels. I kept thinking I had it right, then I got super duper confused, then it turned out I *was* right…mostly…Anyway, it‘s a ride, for sure. They got paid by the word at this point, and it was published serially, so take that into account. Also, Wilkie‘s mom died while he was writing this and it affected the narrative. 237/1,001 #1001Books #TBRTarot

dabbe I liked this one, but I LOVED THE WOMAN IN WHITE. 🩵❄️🩵 4mo
batsy I liked this quite a bit, but it does have a bit of an episodic feel (and confusion) to it. 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @dabbe I‘m excited to read that one!! 4mo
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AshleyHoss820 @batsy We all felt the same way. Collins had a LOT going on in his personal life, plus the serial nature where he was just writing off a section to meet deadlines meant he wasn‘t super consistent and had painted himself into a corner more than once. 😂 We read the Oxford World Classic edition and it had a lot of info in the notes section! ☺️ 4mo
dabbe @AshleyHoss820 🤩🤩🤩 4mo
AshleyHoss820 #TBRTarot prompt: Choose a Book Which Begins with a Prologue 3mo
CBee Awesome 👏🏻 3mo
36 likes7 comments
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AshleyHoss820
Cranford | Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
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Pickpick

You have GOT to read this! It is so sweet and funny! The town of Cranford is basically an Amazonian village if the Amazons had been little old ladies. I freaking loved this story! 236/1,001 #1001Books Double #BookSpin for November: #52BookClub (City Name in the Title)

Clare-Dragonfly This book is delightful! I got my IRL book club to read it after enjoying it with the #Pemberlittens 😄 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @Clare-Dragonfly Oh my gosh, I love that!! Have you watched the BBC show with Dane Judi Dench? We watched the first episode for class and I just adored it! 4mo
Clare-Dragonfly I haven‘t but I‘d like to! I‘m sure it‘s great! 4mo
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batsy It's a delight! ❤️ 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @batsy That‘s the perfect word for this! We read it after The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, so it was super refreshing! 😂 4mo
TheAromaofBooks I almost didn't read this one because I did NOT enjoy North and South, which is supposed to be Gaskell's best work. But I found Cranford to be honestly delightful and enjoyed the whole thing. 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks I was back and forth with North and South. I appreciated it, but I didn‘t love it. This fun little novel was so refreshing!! Not to be dramatic, but I would die for the ladies of Cranford! 🤣☺️ 3mo
TheAromaofBooks I literally wanted to move there and gossip with EVERYONE 😂 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks Oh my gosh, YEEEEEESSSS!!!! 3mo
30 likes9 comments
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

Battered Woman Syndrome. Lack of autonomy for women (gender inequality). Social isolation and class distinctions. The effect of alcoholism, not just on the alcoholic, but the ripple effect as well. This is a relevant work of fiction and I think Anne was more in tune with the world than she gets credit. (Read up on their brother Branwell.) This is worth the read. 235/1,001 #1001Books November #BookSpin Litsy/GR TBR #TBRTarot Person on the Cover

dabbe I loved this even more than WUTHERING HEIGHTS and “maybe“ JANE EYRE. 🩵❄️🩵 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @dabbe This is an unpopular opinion, and I feel bad about it, but I HATE Wuthering Heights. 😂 But I agree, I found this so relatable and culturally relevant, despite the years that have passed. ☺️ 4mo
dabbe @AshleyHoss820 So what if it's unpopular? 🤩 When I read it in my teens, I loved it. I wanted a boyfriend just like Heathcliff. 😳 How dumb was I? When I read it just a few years back, I still loved the description of the moors, but I hated Cathy and Heathcliff. 😆 I'm with ya, sista! 🤩😍🤗 4mo
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AshleyHoss820 @dabbe I can totally see why someone like Heathcliff would be appealing when you‘re young, though! It seems so romantic, but as an adult? I was like, this is *incredibly* toxic, right? 😂🤣 I will agree with the prose, though. Stunning writing, unhinged characters. ☺️🤣 4mo
batsy Loved this book! And I used to hate WH but a recent reread made me see it in a different light 😆 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @batsy I love that! It‘s always nice when we revisit something and get a better experience with it! (That was me with The Bell Jar. Read it at 16 and again at 30. Completely different reactions! I understood it far more as an adult.) Unfortunately for me, I‘ve read WH 4 separate times for different reasons and I still can‘t stand it. 😕 My sister loves it, so I really did try! 4mo
TheAromaofBooks I read this last year and couldn't believe how much I got into it, considering I have NOT enjoyed any other Bronte effort 😂 While a little long and a bit melodramatic at times, overall I really respected Helen for her determination to stick to her beliefs instead of taking the easy way out. Gil was a bit 🙄🙄🙄 but you'll have that haha I didn't exactly enjoy this book, but I respected it. 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks I feel the same way! I was dreading it a bit, but I really was invested in everyone! The amount of times I yelled, “poison his oatmeal, babes!” (About Arthur) made my classmates want to get shirts made…😂🤣 3mo
TheAromaofBooks For REAL though! 😂 3mo
CBee Love the conversations about this ⬆️ 😂 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @CBee 😂☺️ It‘s why I love it here! People who get it! 🤣 3mo
CBee @AshleyHoss820 btw I would totally buy the t-shirt 😂😂 3mo
AshleyHoss820 @CBee 🤣🤣🤣 We were also going to make “Justice for Bertha” shirts after reading Jane Eyre! We had a whole side-gig planned out! 🤣😂 3mo
37 likes13 comments
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

Whenever a book/author is popular, I go into it with much trepidation. This time, I was not disappointed. I never had firm footing (indeed no one in the novel did either) and I was delightfully surprised by the twists and turns. I kept thinking I had it down, then the floor would drop out from under me. Really well done.

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AshleyHoss820
The Secret Garden 100th Anniversary | Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Pickpick

There is so much going on in this delightful Victorian children‘s novel! Class distinctions, hybridity, gender distinctions…but I have always found it a lovely little story about the power of friendship and positive thinking. Mary‘s parents die of cholera in India. She is sent back to England to live with an uncle she‘s never met. A garden that has been locked-up for 10 years is waiting to work its magic on the manor‘s inhabitants.

kelli7990 I enjoyed this book. I‘m glad I had a chance to read it this year. 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @kelli7990 I‘m glad you did too! It‘s one of those children‘s novels that never loses its magic! ☺️🧡 4mo
batsy One of my faves! 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @batsy Mine too! I had not read it since I was a kid, and it stood the test of time! ☺️ 4mo
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

Sometimes your brain needs a break, so I got this from the library. My daughter (15) saw it on the table, gasped, and lovingly held it. She looked at me and said, “My childhood!!” I think that‘s all the review a classic like this needs.

TheKidUpstairs Perfect. I love this one. I have a tattoo of the candle from The Invitation on my wrist 💓💓💓 4mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheKidUpstairs That is such a cool idea! I love tattoos that are nuanced like that! It‘s one of those, “if you know you know” tats. And you get to see people‘s eyes light up when they get it! ☺️ 4mo
31 likes2 comments
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AshleyHoss820
December | Robyn Brode
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My final #BookSpin list for 2023!!! 😱😱😱 I can‘t wait to spend my holiday time reading! Thank you, Sarah, for all the work you do! This is my favorite challenge!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 4mo
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AshleyHoss820
Novemberschokolade: Roman | Ulrike Sosnitza
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My list for November‘s #BookSpin! I‘m really hoping to get some good reading time over the holiday breaks! ☺️ 🦃

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So pretty 🧡 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you!! ☺️☺️☺️ 5mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 5mo
AshleyHoss820 Future Me: BS: #9, DBS: #17 5mo
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AshleyHoss820
The Woman of Colour | Lyndon J. Dominique
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Pickpick

Another read for Victorian Lit. This book was published anonymously in 1808. The fact that the main protagonist is a woman of color is amazing. There are still some problematic issues, of course, but more texts from marginalized voices are being recovered. That‘s pretty neat! #TBRTarot Which has a Picture on the Side

CBee 😊😊😊 5mo
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

I know these books are ridiculous and can be formulaic. However, they can be fun, silly, and a comfort read. I will say, though, that the boxer in this one is too much for me and I often skip some of the details. 😕 I love Grandma Mazur. Double #BookSpin for September #BarnesNobleChallenge One You‘ve Already Read

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Sometimes it's just nice to revisit a series with characters you already know and love!! 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks I always say, popcorn fiction is still important! Sometimes you get tired of a 7-course meal and you just want a snack! ☺️ 5mo
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AshleyHoss820
Jane Eyre | Charlotte Bront
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What more can I add about a classic? I can tell you that I read this for my Victorian Lit class and we roasted Rochester on the daily. 😂 234/1,001 #BookSpin for September #FlourishAndBlott Set/Written Before 2000 #TBRTarot Which Has a Person‘s Name in the Title #RoryGilmoreChallenge

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 6mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks I am SO sorry for flooding your notifications! BookSpin is the only challenge I actually stick to! ☺️🧡 6mo
Clare-Dragonfly Rochester deserves to be roasted 🔥 5mo
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TheAromaofBooks No worries, I'm excited to see what all you have gotten into!! 😁 5mo
CBee Awesome 👏🏻 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @Clare-Dragonfly I mean, Bertha thought so too, but I get it…🤣🤣🤣 5mo
Clare-Dragonfly Bertha did nothing wrong 😂🔥😂🔥🔪 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @clare-dragonfly I want to make a Justice for Bertha hoodie! 😂 5mo
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

What if androids were made so well, you didn‘t even know they were an android? What if simply being an android were illegal, punishable by death on-sight? What if all the rich folk peaced out and left earth to the rest of us? Can we ever really define what makes us human? This book covers a lot of territory, so it can get in its own way at times, but it‘s a thought-provoking work all the same. 233/1,001 #1001Books #FlourishAndBlotts Set After 2001

AshleyHoss820 Double #BookSpin for August 6mo
TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 6mo
32 likes2 comments
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AshleyHoss820
Cain | Jos Saramago
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What if the story you know is completely wrong. What if Cain, because of his mark, lived outside the rules, outside of time. What if Cain & God had a theological argument that spanned centuries? This is one of those novels I wish I could read again for the first time. 232/1,001 #1001Books #BookSpin for August #Pop23 A Modern Retelling of a Classic (I‘m stretching it a little, but hey. It‘s my challenge. 😄) #TBRTarot 4th in from Left of Bookshelf

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 6mo
CBee You‘re catching up 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @CBee Slowly but surely! 😂☺️ 5mo
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CBee @AshleyHoss820 I meant to mention that I definitely think this book fits for a modern take on a classic. 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @cbee Thank you! I thought, well, you don‘t get more classic than the first murderer in the Bible! 😄 5mo
CBee @AshleyHoss820 exactly! The original classic 😂😂 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @CBee 🤣🤣🤣 5mo
Bookwomble Who was the barber in the Garden of Eden? They did good work! 💇 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @Bookwomble Right!? So fresh! The swoops! 🤣🤣 5mo
31 likes9 comments
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

Corpses are being drained of all their blood all over the city and Darren starts to question how well he really knows Mr. Crepsley. The mystery is far worse than he suspected. Another page-turner. ☺️ (I haven‘t read the manga, but it looks fun!)

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AshleyHoss820
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This was pretty decent! It‘s hard to fool me, which is why no one likes to watch murder mysteries with me. This book had me spinning in circles. I couldn‘t trust my instincts, even when my instincts turned out to be right, I was STILL thinking I was chasing a red herring. This is 7th in the Harry Hole detective series, but that didn‘t affect the reading. July‘s #BookSpin #BarnesNobleChallenge About a Murder

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! 6mo
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

This is just a page-turner of a series! Darren is learning some hard truths about what it means to be a vampire and the prices you must pay to be one. We get more characters to know and love in this volume. June‘s Double #BookSpin #FlourishAndBlotts Includes a Magical Creature

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AshleyHoss820
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I bought part of the series, years ago, at a garage sale. The lady said her son devoured them when younger, but he was headed to college in the fall. He came out and smiled as I talked to him about the books. I have to say, the hype is deserved. Spooky, mysterious, fun. I‘m looking forward to the rest. June‘s #BookSpin #52BookClub: Includes a Funeral

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 6mo
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AshleyHoss820
Halloweenland | Al Sarrantonio
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I‘m also late to the party with my October #BookSpin, but since it‘s the same all year, I‘m sure no one is bovvered. ☺️ 🎃

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 6mo
21 likes1 comment
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AshleyHoss820
Septemberlyran: dikter | Edith Sdergran
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I DIDN‘T POST MY SEPTEMBER #BOOKSPIN LIST!? Ugh. This has been one heck of a year. Nothing changed on my list, but still…

Clare-Dragonfly But you still have to post the cute graphic! 🍂😂 6mo
TheAromaofBooks You know what I always say... never too late to BookSpin!! 😂 6mo
AshleyHoss820 @Clare-Dragonfly You know it!! 😂😂😂 6mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks Thank goodness! I‘m a hot mess this fall semester! 😅😂 6mo
19 likes4 comments
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AshleyHoss820
Alive! | Loren D. Estleman
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Bailedbailed

I never bail, so… Bella Lugosi‘s screen test as Frankenstein!? A murder mystery!? Sounds good, right? Valentino, the protagonist, is such a pain to be around. Referring to Detective Yellowfern as “the Indian” put me off, but I kept reading (benefit of the doubt & all). Halfway through, he meets a person w/ albinism and says “or whatever they like to be called these days. ‘Genetic freak‘ wasn‘t it.” Um, it never was? ✌🏻 I can spend my time better.

AshleyHoss820 Not to mention I didn‘t care about one single character. The mystery wasn‘t even intriguing enough to keep me interested. Plus, his girlfriend couldn‘t even go to a 2-day conference FOR HER JOB without him getting whiny and suspecting her of porking her colleagues. Gross. 7mo
Clare-Dragonfly 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻 7mo
AshleyHoss820 @Clare-Dragonfly Exactly. Just a trail of red flags I didn‘t want to follow anymore. 7mo
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AshleyHoss820
Second Nature | Alice Hoffman
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Mehso-so

I want to preface this by saying I will 100% read Alice Hoffman again. I loved the premise: man raised by wolves found, Wolf Man meets girl, girl sneaks him out of hospital, teaches him how to be “civilized,” we learn who the real savages are. But…This book was just going in so many different directions, it did itself no favors. I don‘t even like being critical because she writes so beautifully. I‘ll say this: animals are better than humans. 😂☺️

AshleyHoss820 July‘s Double #BookSpin #FlourishAndBlotts Written by a Female Author 6mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 6mo
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AshleyHoss820
Augustus | Allan Massie
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August is approaching and it feels unreal! Here‘s my #Bookspin for the month!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 8mo
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AshleyHoss820
Beartown: A Novel | Fredrik Backman
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Pickpick

I have mixed feelings about this book. But I‘ll give it a pick since I fought my desire to bail. It‘s a good story, a devastating story. It‘s a slow burn (maybe a little too slow at times ☺️), but I think the complex relationships and storylines deserve that. Sometimes we make something (sports/grades) too important and we lose sight of what actually matters: human beings. May‘s Double #BookSpin

AshleyHoss820 #FlourishAndBlott: Involving a Sport 8mo
TheAromaofBooks I had mixed feelings about this one as well. 8mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks That makes me feel better! ☺️ 8mo
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AshleyHoss820
White Noise | Don DeLillo
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Pickpick

This book is hilarious and terrifying. It‘s brilliant and absolute nonsense. I freaking LOVED it. Jack and Babette (4th wife, 5th marriage) and their blended family experience a toxic event, but it represents the larger mass of white noise that is constantly surrounding us. My #bookspin for February (🫣) #BarnesNobleChallenge: #NationalBookAwardWinner AND 🥁 231/1,001 #1001Books ALSO, Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig movie adaptation? I‘m in.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 8mo
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AshleyHoss820
The Only Good Indians | Stephen Graham Jones
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Pickpick

This is a baller book! I was reading everywhere. At the table, in the car, while my Mom was trying to talk to me about the sweet discounts at the grocery store. I could NOT put this down. I haven‘t seen suspense done this well in a while! If you‘re a horror fan, you need this one. It lost me just a *little* at the end, but this is going down as a favorite. Much like the elk in this narrative, this novel sticks with you. My April #BookSpin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 9mo
34 likes1 comment
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AshleyHoss820
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Mehso-so

I‘m always late to the party… I‘ll be honest, I‘m not always the best with satire. I enjoyed this and then I hit a certain plot device with Elgin‘s admin and I felt like it became too goofy. I loved Bernadette‘s relationship with her daughter. I liked the setup of the narrative. I just almost DNF‘d about 3/4 of the way through and muscled my way to the end. 😕 One more book of Mount TBR, though. ☺️ May #BookSpin #52BookClub #ABookAboutSecrets

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 6mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks Thank you! I had to change some things around to fit the prompts, but I‘m getting caught up! ☺️ 6mo
TheAromaofBooks Sometimes you just have to make a challenge work for you!! 5mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks Absolutely! It‘s part of the fun! ☺️ 5mo
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AshleyHoss820
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July is the last full month of freedom before my kids and I must return to school (one more year, for me! Sorry kids!). So it‘s a bittersweet month. I can‘t believe how fast this year is flying by. As my dad says, “The days are long, but the years are short.” Here‘s my #BookSpin list for the last bit of sweet summer freedom! ☺️

BarbaraBB Enjoy that last month ❤️ 9mo
AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB The weather here has been mercifully mild, so we are trying to make the most of it!! ☺️🧡 9mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 9mo
34 likes3 comments
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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

WHY AM I NOT SEEING THIS BOOK EVERYWHERE!? I could not put this collection down; I finished it in one setting. Never have I been so entirely enmeshed & absorbed in a book since J.D. Salinger‘s Nine Stories. The narrative voice diversity. 2nd person narratives done flawlessly. The absolute beautiful, mad humanity. If this book isn‘t being taught in creative writing classes, or literature courses, they‘re wrong. I will never shut up about this book

BarbaraBB Great review. I loved it too! 9mo
AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB Yay!! Thank you! It was so, so good! ☺️ 9mo
JamieArc I remember seeing it talked about a lot when it first came out. Unfortunately, I can‘t quite remember it. Maybe I should do a reread. 9mo
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AshleyHoss820 @JamieArc That makes me happy! I just want it to get the recognition it deserves! 😄☺️ 9mo
AshleyHoss820 This was my Double #BookSpin for April! 9mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 9mo
AshleyHoss820 @TheAromaofBooks Slow and steady wins the race! ☺️😄 9mo
45 likes3 stack adds7 comments
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AshleyHoss820
Moonglow | Michael Chabon
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Pickpick

I love when books catch the complexity of being human. Memory is weird, no one is 100% good or bad, our relationships are complicated. A grandfather is dying and in that last week, his meds loosen his usually still tongue. His grandson, Mike Chabon, is there to record the torn bits of memory that fall loose and piece them together. I adored this & can‘t wait to read more. I would like to look up his wife, Ayelet Waldman b/c they are too cute. ☺️

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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

Zora Neale Hurston was not just a great literary voice, she was an intelligent one. She understood just how important Cudjo/Kossola‘s story was to history. He had clear memories of his life in Africa, and of the Middle Passage. He had seen so much heartbreak and loss. It‘s a frustrating read. He just wanted to go home. I‘m including this picture with his granddaughters, Mary & Martha, because you could tell how much joy they brought him.

34 likes1 stack add
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AshleyHoss820
The Loved One | Evelyn Waugh
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Pickpick

This book is so silly! A pet mortician gets tangled up with a cosmetician at a funeral home (for humans), who is also kinda mixed up with a much-respected mortician (whose home life is…different…) I don‘t have many warm fuzzies about the funeral industry, so I found this little satire quite funny. I think it takes some jabs at the film industry too, for good measure. I found this at a Little Free Library and thought, “Why not?” Fun little find. ☺️

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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

There is so much I could say, but it will fall flat. This is a moving novel about the Vietnam war, but it‘s so much more than that. It‘s so deeply human. The things we do and why we do them, even if it doesn‘t really make sense. This is a must-read. 230/1,001 #1001Books

BarbaraBB I read and enjoyed this one too but my favorite is 9mo
AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB Oo! I‘m stacking that! Thank you! I picked up this book in a Little Free Library! ☺️ I think I‘ll enjoy O‘Brien‘s work. 9mo
BarbaraBB That one sounds great too! 9mo
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