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Howard_L
Larry McMurtry: A Life | Tracy Daugherty
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For me the novel is character creation. Style is nice, plot is nice, structure is okay, social significance is okay, symbolism worms its way in, timeliness is okay too, but unless the characters convince and live the book‘s got no chance

Texreader Ah so interesting given his amazing characters in Lonesome Dove! 3mo
CatMS I am such a fan of Larry McMurtry. When I think of him my mind always goes to "Leaving Cheyenne" which is a favorite of mine. 2mo
46 likes2 comments
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Howard_L
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so far, for dated science fiction, it‘s not terrible…

39 likes1 stack add
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Howard_L
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Maybe barbacoa tacos can motivate me through the tedium of “Under the Volcano”…

tpixie Yum!! do you have an easy to send recipe? 1y
Ruthiella Oof. I used sheer willpower to get through that book. 1y
SamAnne Dang, I keep thinking about reading this one. Think it will stay on the shelf for awhile. 1y
Howard_L @SamAnne it‘s powerful and beautifully written. Now that I‘ve finished, I‘m glad to have read it. This is one I may actually revisit 1y
49 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Howard_L
Grant | Ron Chernow
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This is a long read at nearly 1000 pages. I‘m still working on it but it‘s a great biography about an extraordinary man who hasn‘t been fully appreciated by history. I learned a lot about the Civil War and have added several of the cited works to my TBR list.

wanderinglynn I have Chernow‘s bio of Washington on my TBR. 2y
SweetP1967 This was one of my favorite reads last year. He was definitely under appreciated. 2y
58 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Howard_L
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Worth a read! Dave is always entertaining and fans of Scream, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and everyone else will enjoy this. He‘s a relatable, likable guy with lots of stories to tell.

68 likes1 stack add
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Howard_L
Crossroads: A Novel | Jonathan Franzen
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This is much more engaging and compelling than The Corrections, which I wasn‘t as enthusiastic about as the critics apparently were. I hesitated to begin another of his novels but find myself enjoying the story of all the crossroads encountered by the family of Russ Hildebrandt, associate pastor of First Reformed Church in a Chicago suburb in the early seventies.

DrexEdit This #chunkster is on my list for 2022! 2y
Megabooks I‘ll definitely read the sequel. 2y
48 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

Great book! Detailed and well written so that it almost reads like a novel as it chronicles the story behind OxyContin and how the prominent Sackler family helped create the opioid epidemic through their avarice and selfishness.

SamAnne I am reading and listening to this one right now and it is so engrossing. The family, the underbelly of the art/museum world, the genesis of drug advertising, the opioid crisis, etc. 3y
Suet624 They were relentless! I really enjoyed this author‘s other book too 3y
76 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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Howard_L
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I enjoy magical realism when it‘s done well and couldn‘t pass up a good US-Mexican border story!

45 likes1 stack add
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Howard_L
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Saturday

jpj7474 How is this? I've been meaning to read. 3y
Howard_L It was good, probably even more so to a real Stephen King fan. I‘m late to the game but enjoyed the several of his I‘ve read recently. 3y
SolaRaynor Super good book with writing advice a writer can easily use. 2y
68 likes3 comments
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Howard_L
Hercule Poirot's Christmas | Agatha Christie
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Howard_L
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Today is World AIDS Day 2020. (Dec. 1)
Just a coincidence I‘m reading this book that deals largely with the devastating impact of AIDS on a group of friends in Chicago in the early 80‘s at the onset of the pandemic. So far, it‘s a great book that I‘d highly recommend.

Scochrane26 This has been my favorite book this year. 3y
Tiffiney I absolutely loved that book! One of the best I've read in a long time. 3y
58 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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Howard_L
El Eclipse | Augusto Monterroso
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“Augusto Monterroso is perhaps most famous for his short story 'The Dinosaur' The complete story is 'Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí. (When s/he woke up, the dinosaur was still there)' .“

https://www.themodernnovel.org/americas/latin-america/guatemala/monterroso/

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Howard_L
My Life in France | Julia Child, Alex Prud'homme
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Pickpick

A rare autobiography where I like the person less after reading the book. I wasn‘t crazy about the writing style in general. It lacked substance and depth. I was disappointed in her cavalier attitude about her fathers passing and his portrayal overall. Also her ‘contratemps‘ with friends. Her love for her husband appeared genuine but he seemed to have been dumped in a nursing home toward the end, his and the books. Good food notes.

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Howard_L
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Pickpick

Thoroughly enjoyed The Alice Network! I love WWII and espionage already and this spanned both World Wars and involved a network of heroic female spies as well as a fast paced plot that brings it all together.

ATB This is the best book I read last year!!! 4y
81 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

An entertaining and educational presentation of John Maynard Keynes and his economic school of thought that is profoundly relevant in today's troubled and pessimistic times.

63 likes2 stack adds
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Howard_L
Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata
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Pickpick


An odd but clever, short novel about a socially awkward Japanese woman who is a reliable, enthusiastic worker in a convenience store where she uses the store manual as a guide for life and copies fashion, speech, and emotion from coworkers. Some reviewers felt bad for her at the end after she tried out a false construct of ‘normalcy‘. I appreciated that she was content with, rather than resigned to, who she is and how she lives her life.

89 likes3 stack adds
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Howard_L
One Hundred Years of Solitude | Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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7 books that left a lasting impression
#7books7days
#Day10

myellenbee That was a kind of hard book to read bot worth the effort. 4y
56 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Howard_L
The Old Man and the Sea | Ernest Miller Hemingway
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7 books that left a lasting impression
#7books7days
#Day9

Taylor Classic 4y
59 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Howard_L
In Cold Blood | Truman Capote
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#7books7days
#Day8 7 books that left a lasting impression

70 likes2 stack adds
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Howard_L
The Grapes of Wrath | John Steinbeck
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7 books that left a lasting impression

#7books7days
#Day7

UnabridgedPod I taught this book for many years!! I just love Steinbeck (I think East of Eden is my favorite). 4y
BookwormM @UnabridgedPod East of Eden is my favourite 4y
UnabridgedPod @BookwormM It‘s so wonderful! It wasn‘t right for every student, but I had some who read it and decided it was their favorite book ever. 😀 4y
PurpleTulipGirl I had to read this in college. My class got so caught up in trying to pick out metaphors that my professor finally said, “Sometimes a turtle crossing the road is just a turtle crossing the road.” 4y
67 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Howard_L
Death of Artemio Cruz | Carlos Fuentes
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#7books7days
#Day6 7 books that left a lasting impression

46 likes1 stack add
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Howard_L
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#7books7days
#Day5 7 books that left a lasting impression

Joanne1 This was one of mine too. 4y
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Howard_L
Gilead | Marilynne Robinson
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#7books7days
#Day4 7 books that left a lasting impression

Joanne1 Great choice. 4y
58 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Howard_L
Ordinary Grace: A Novel | William Kent Krueger
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#7books7days
#Day3 7 books that left a lasting impression

MynameisSnow I loved this book so much. I read it a few years back and meant to read more books by this author but as of yet, I‘ve not. Have you? 4y
Howard_L No but they are on my TBR list! 4y
48 likes2 comments
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Howard_L
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#7days7books: 7 books that have left a lasting impression

KristiAhlers It is on my bookshelf to be read! May pull this one down next! 4y
Ruthiella This is the third time I‘ve seen this title chosen for this prompt. I picked Hotel New Hampshire because that was the book that kickstarted my real love for Irving. 4y
Chab256 Also one of my picks! ❤️ 4y
Kimzey A good one! ❤️ 4y
64 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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Howard_L
Another Country | James A Baldwin
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#7days7books: 7 books that have left a lasting impression

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Howard_L
The Turn of the Screw | Henry James
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THE story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to say that it was the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child.

Chab256 Great first line, but overall it was only so-so for me... 4y
Howard_L I agree 4y
52 likes2 comments
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Howard_L
Night Fire | Michael Connelly
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Pickpick

Enjoyed spending time with old friends Connelly and Det. Harry Bosch although Bosch was more likeable before he quit drinking. Since then he‘s increasingly self-righteous and antagonistic. Luckily he teams up with his half brother attorney Mickey Haller, “The Lincoln Lawyer”, and Det. Renee Ballard, also somewhat of an odd duck and outcast within the LAPD. The plot is multifaceted and fast paced and probably Connelly‘s best work in recent years.

Twainy Long time fan. Agree with the drinking,. Titus Welliver (Bosch in the tv show) does a great job narrating some of the newer books. 4y
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

A good read. Similar to Defending Jacob but told from the point of view of each of the main characters chronologically. One picks up where the previous narrator left off. They do not alternate. It flowed much better than that sounds. I enjoy these Swedish thrillers!

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Howard_L
Ask Again, Yes: A Novel | Mary Beth Keane
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This isn‘t bad but at a third of the way through I‘m hoping it gets better. A bit laborious to this point.

MissAimz_55 It gets better in my opinion 4y
Howard_L It did get better. Although there was something I didn‘t like about the tempo and flow of the writing, the plot was great and had some unexpected turns as it neared the end. 4y
63 likes2 comments
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Howard_L
iPhone for Dummies | Edward C Baig, Bob LeVitus

Anyone know if there‘s a way to enlarge the photos on Litsy posts on an iPhone? I‘d love to be able to swipe outward or double tap and read the tiny text in the photos people take of their current reads... #litsyhelp #litsywelcomewagon

Hazel2019 Been wondering the same thing...I just end up taking a screen shot and enlarging that but that‘s not a book way 😕 4y
wanderinglynn I don‘t think there is. 4y
runswithscissors007 @Hazel2019 I do the same.... come to think of it I would prob free up some space if I deleted some of those! Lol! 4y
See All 7 Comments
Megabooks I do the same @Hazel2019 4y
scowler1 Screenshot is the only way, about time they updated this app I think. 4y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🥳 4y
C.M.Jones_Artist Is anyone having trouble uploading pictures? All of mine turn into a black screen. 1y
36 likes7 comments
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

A gripping tale of violence, treachery, fear and perseverance in N Korea that follows the life of an orphan who is conscripted for military service and more. An incredible book I likely wouldn‘t have read based on mainstream reviews and plot summaries but for the Great American Read nudging me out of my comfort zone and literary prejudices.

OwenBanner One of my all time favorites. Really had no idea where it was going to go 4y
72 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Howard_L
This Is Where It Ends | Marieke Nijkamp
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Pickpick

A tragically powerful and disturbing account of a school shooting told primarily through the eyes of four students located both inside and outside the school as it happens. It reads like a tense thriller but more painfully so.

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Howard_L
The Giver | Lois Lowry
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“IT WAS ALMOST December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.” #firstlinefridays

ShyBookOwl 💗 4y
52 likes1 comment
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

Read this while spending a Saturday waiting at a high school academic decathlon. It was a quick read and surprisingly good. I knew that the main character, an elderly maintenance man, dies and meets five people in heaven but I didn‘t think that sounded particularly interesting. It was spiritual and introspective but not overtly religious or secular. The story of a rather average life held up rather well. Maybe there‘s hope for all of us.

S3V3N The movie is good too. It's rare to find a movie that does the book justice, but I feel this one did an excellent job. 4y
Howard_L @BeaG thanks, I‘ll watch for it on cable! 4y
Texreader I loved this book. Glad you did,too. And great review. I agree: I didn‘t think it sounded all that interesting but I found it so powerful! 4y
hebadaisy I read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch and it was a very good book, and I'm excited to read this one. Thanks for your review.🌷 4y
Nute I read this book because of how much I enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie by the same author. I was blown away by the powerful storytelling in both of these slim books. I felt like they were of a gift or a reminder of the preciousness of compassionate empathetic living. 4y
78 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

Read this while spending a Saturday waiting at a high school academic decathlon. It was a quick read and surprisingly good. I knew that the main character, an elderly maintenance man, dies and meets five people in heaven but I didn‘t think that sounded particularly interesting. It was spiritual and introspective but not overtly religious or secular. The story of a rather average life held up rather well. Maybe there‘s hope for all of us.

33 likes2 stack adds
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Howard_L
The Stand | Stephen King
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Pickpick

Finally finished this behemoth! I truly enjoyed it although had I known that it was the 1300 page version, I just might have passed. This is not my usual genre but not my first Stephen King either. I can't judge whether this is his magnum opus or not but it is a masterful tale of a modern day armageddon involving survivors of an accidentally released man-made plague in an epic war of good and evil ostensibly for the future of the human race...

TrishB One of my fave books 👍🏻 4y
Howard_L @TrishB so which of his do you recommend next? Think I read Cujo and Christine years ago, they were ok....how about 11/22/63? I like the premise... 4y
Bibliophile861 This is on my TBR list but I also have the 1300 page version so maybe I‘ll read it when I‘m recovery once I have my knee replaced 4y
See All 9 Comments
Bibliophile861 @Howard_L sorry to butt in but 11.22.63 is brilliant and was my first Stephen King book 4y
ljuliel I second 11-22-63 4y
TrishB Agree!! @ljuliel @Bibliophile861 a good read. For horror I would recommend Salem‘s Lot and Needful Things. 4y
ljuliel Salem‘s Lot was the first of his I read. Back when I wore bell bottoms. I don‘t remember a thing about it because it‘s been SO many years. 😮. I‘m getting O L D. 👵🏻 @TrishB (edited) 4y
TrishB @ljuliel I know that feeling! 4y
Howard_L @Bibliophile861 thanks I think I‘ll try that soon 4y
78 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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Howard_L
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This is great so far and an enjoyable, informative read written in a relatable, non-scholarly voice. #NFNov #NonfictionNovember

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Howard_L
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I borrowed this from our public library and love the fact that someone was compelled to correct the spelling of Anahuac. Great read btw.

ljuliel One of my favorites. 😊 4y
56 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

“In fact it was nine billionaires...possessed as much wealth as the bottom half of humanity (3.6 billion people)”
“Somehow in being efficient and being clever and being productive, people thought they had the license to just stop thinking about the human beings and the well-being of everybody else in the system”
“The young and the helped, mostly black and brown, repeatedly dance for their donors”
“Generosity is not a substitute for justice”.

SamAnne An illuminating book for sure. 4y
63 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

I read this as a stepping stone to Montaigne. I hesitated to jump right into the essays of a 16th century French nobleman and Renaissance philosopher. This inspires me to read on and points to several translations, biographies, and monographs. It was also my introduction to Michael Perry, a talented and funny writer, who humorously evaluates his life through Montaigne‘s essays.

Lcsmcat Sounds interesting. Stacked. 4y
BookNAround I love his other books but I‘m on the fence whether I want to read this one or not. 4y
57 likes6 stack adds2 comments
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Howard_L
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Mehso-so

A solid work on the conception of the ghetto from it‘s ancient origins through WWII to the present, particularly focused on how it relates to the plight and status of African Americans as seen through the work and writings of a handful of notable social scientists. My interest waned somewhat about halfway but I plodded through.

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Howard_L
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Howard_L
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Pickpick

A thoroughly enjoyable review of hundreds of opening lines, or paragraphs, from novels of fiction. It was fun to read this over time for a short while each day. It‘s given me much to add to my TBR list!

57 likes2 stack adds
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Howard_L
The Wife Between Us | Sarah Pekkanen, Greer Hendricks
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Hoping this is as good as the reviews claim...

Kaila-ann It wasn‘t earth shattering but it was fast paced and enjoyable (in my opinion). 4y
Howard_L @Kaila-ann Yes, I agree. it wasn't great but a solid 'pretty good“. 4y
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Howard_L
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Mehso-so

Less of a book than a critical essay at just under one hundred pages. I‘m a Hiaasen fan and even agree with his criticisms of Disney‘s greed and overly sanitized experiences as well as it‘s detrimental effect on the environment in general and the state of Florida in particular. However, I missed the biting humor and character development through which he usually makes his case. Give me Skink anytime.

60 likes1 stack add
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Howard_L
Things Fall Apart | Chinua Achebe
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Pickpick

In browsing various online reading lists, I saw this on President Obama‘s and knowing it was one of the top 100 on the Great American Read, decided to check it out. I‘m glad I did.

BookieBiker Ooooh we have similar reading tastes- looking forward to finding new reads based on your posts! 5y
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Howard_L
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Good Morning! Nice to see what Overdrive delivered from the library overnight.

erzascarletbookgasm One of my favourite AC. The BBC adaptation is good too. 👍 5y
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Howard_L
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Buechersuechtling The slogan of the ALA is definitely true. I know, I got one since the age of five, I‘d say. I wasn‘t able to read yet but all the audio dramas they had. 😍 I very well remember to have bagged my father every second weekend to go with me to the library with me so that I could get new ear-feed. 5y
49 likes1 comment
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Howard_L
Atlas Shrugged | Ayn Rand
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There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. -John Rogers

RamsFan1963 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 5y
Lady_Tigana_20 🤣 I sadly know way too many people like that. 5y
CarolynM Funny, but probably true😂 5y
BookieBiker It took this 40-something year old a few weeks to get through The Fountainhead. I have Atlas Shrugged (and Lord of the Rings, incidentally) on my shelf unread 😳. Perhaps I should get them read. 5y
61 likes2 stack adds4 comments