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MommyWantsToReadHerBook

MommyWantsToReadHerBook

Joined September 2016

Mom, translator, editor, always reading something. https://www.goodreads.com/Salome_Smith 🇿🇦
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Pigs in Heaven: Novel, A | Barbara Kingsolver
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I have a day off after a horrible few weeks, and tomorrow is a public holiday because we won the Rugby World Cup (only in South Africa!) so I'm enjoying a bit of time with my girls. Sadly the water slide at this park with a shallow pool is broken, but they're stull having fun.

marleed I hope today makes up just a bit for the past few weeks. 3mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Have a great day!! 3mo
Jeg Enjoy your time off and things will get better. 🤞🤞 3mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Jeg 💜💜💜 3mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @marleed thank you, it was lovely 💜 3mo
37 likes1 stack add5 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

This was a really good read. At times I felt desperately sad for her, and, depressingly, I could relate a little to her mental health struggle. I realised I knew shockingly little about her life and death, and the author's investigation was fascinating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Balibee146 I read this 20 odd years ago and remember it was very good and feeling similar. 4mo
40 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

Another excellent Litsy recommendation that I thoroughly enjoyed. I would not have fared well on any expedition into the Amazon 😂

Tamra This was a fun, albeit tragic, read! 5mo
35 likes1 comment
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
The Promise | Damon Galgut
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I hope I can blame being in survival mode in 2021 for missing this Booker winner entirely. I got to see the play based on the book last night and it was absolutely amazing. A brilliant commentary on South Africa's complicated history.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Labor Day | Joyce Maynard
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Pickpick

I saw the movie for the first time a few months ago and I loved the book. Just beautiful.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Loved this one 💚 6mo
36 likes1 comment
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

This was wonderful! I learned a ton and really enjoyed the journey through all the different theories of how the Polynesians came to be. My absolute favourite part was the description of the journey by traditional navigational techniques and the young Hawaiian guy that learned how to do it in his own way, using his gut. There is just so so much we don't know or understand about human intuition and ways of sensing things. A highly recommended read.

47 likes2 stack adds
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Bridge to Terabithia | Katherine Paterson
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Pickpick

I was browsing Scribd for something light yesterday and thought hmmm, this is such a classic and I've never read it. Joke's on me because I did, possibly in translation - I remember the mom being from Georgia, because I didn't understand US states yet and thought it was Georgia next to Russia 😂😂😂 And I remember the sister wearing a see-through blouse to church. A sweet Sunday reread. I didn't know the book was based on a real girl who died.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Watership Down | Richard Adams
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Pickpick

Now I, too, have read this wonderful classic. This edition, which I got secondhand from someone, has a box it slots into, although even despite that the dust cover is terribly torn.

I became fully immersed and emotionally involved in this world and loved it.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook I didn't know that it contained stories about a trickster rabbit, which would unfortunately put Adams in the same camp of "uncle Remus" and Beatrice Potter - using stories from Africa and disguising them as European. However the one terribly dark story is perhaps quite unique? I don't know enough about the subject. 6mo
Jeg I met him once when he came to Perth. He signed a book for me. Not this one . He was sitting in a little bookshop in a suburb here called Midland. No one there except him and the owner. I did talk with him but I can‘t remember what we spoke about. But I do remember he was a very gentle man and a gentleman. 6mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Jeg that's a very cool story! 6mo
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Blueberry @Jeg How cool! I wonder if he knew yet how loved and famous his book would be. 🩵 6mo
Blueberry @MommyWantsToReadHerBook I wouldn't really call any of the characters 'a trickster rabbit'. Or that it's a story originating from African fables. Have you read it? It's a wonderful story. 6mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook The character of El-Ahairah (not Hazel or Blueberry or any of the characters in the real story) is a trickster 6mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Blueberry these trickster rabbit stories came from West Africa with the slaves. And then some guy (I forget his name) wrote them up as "Uncle Remus" 6mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Blueberry are you asking if I read Watership Down? That's why I posted this review..... 6mo
jlhammar Lovely edition. I remember loving this when we read it in school. 6mo
50 likes9 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

One thing I don't like about many non-fiction books is that they sometimes carry you along because the subject is interesting, not because the writing is stellar.

Anyway, even though the writing was a bit bland sometimes, I really did enjoy this one. I have a friend who was an Vietnamese orphan who was adopted by a US couple and though I don't know enough details, of course the description of Operation Babylift made me think of her so much.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook I think these women were incredibly adventurous and brave and it really was a tremendously interesting look into how women's roles in various spheres changed over the years. 7mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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I may be the only weirdo who gets hung up on details like these. Did they give them actual powdered milk, not formula? How old were these babies? What had they been fed if not milk? So many questions 😅

Clare-Dragonfly That is confusing! I know in the 20th century there have been plenty of times and places when babies were fed cream or cow‘s milk (goat‘s milk is better for babies), but half strength milk, presumably the rest water? That sounds extremely inadequate. And indeed, what else could they have been eating?! 7mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Clare-Dragonfly I know, right, and dangerous if the babies were very very small. At least it was only for the duration of the flight, one hopes 🙂 7mo
Clare-Dragonfly One hopes! What is the context here? Why is the plane full of babies? 7mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook Oh they were evacuating Vietnamese orphans to the US, hundreds and hundreds of them, on commercial flights. 7mo
24 likes1 stack add4 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Untitled | Untitled
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I moved house on Monday (owner is selling the place I was renting) and I have to admit to throwing out old notebooks quite ruthlessly. I just feel so much has changed in my whole outlook on life+I want to look forward - plus I love my new place but it doesn't have tons of storage space.

Anyway I found a notebook earlier in which I wrote on the first page:

Books often work like a key to unknown rooms in one's own castle.

I wonder who wrote it 💜

Cinfhen Good luck with your move💜The flowers are STUNNING!!!!! 7mo
Bklover Your flowers are gorgeous! Hope you love your new home I did a recent purging of papers, notebooks, etc and it feels wonderful! 7mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Cinfhen and @Bklover I actually used a pic someone sent me in a birthday message today to brighten up my post 🙂 7mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook Thank you for the lovely wishes - it's been an emotional week x 7mo
SilversReviews Enjoy your new home. Love that saying, but not sure who wrote it. Gorgeous flowers. 7mo
dabbe I think it was Kafka who wrote a variation of your lovely quote. Hope you're comfy and settled into your new home soon. 💙🖤🩵

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/322035-many-a-book-is-like-a-key-to-unknown-cha...
7mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @dabbe thanks so much, and thanks for locating the quote (the origins of the wording I have will be forever unknown) 7mo
dabbe @MommyWantsToReadHerBook TBH, I prefer yours anyway. 🤩🤗😍 7mo
45 likes9 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A Likely Story: A Novel | Leigh McMullan Abramson
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I liked the premise from a Litsy review and found it on Scribd but I just can't. The writing reminds me of the terrible novella I'm trying to translate - using the characters's names too much, each sentence not bad in any specific way I can pinpoint, just... Mediocre.

BiblioLitten More like an unlikely story 🙃 8mo
44 likes1 comment
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Map of Salt and Stars | Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
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Pickpick

I had a lot of issues with the writing but I still recommend it. My favourite parts were the ancient storyline based on real-life characters, Al-Idrisi and King Roger and the map and "planisphere" that Al-Idrisi created for the king. I learned a lot: I had never known that Ceuta existed - a tiny piece of Spain in Morocco! I got really tired of the characters saying profound things to each other all the time but the story as a whole is lovely.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Map of Salt and Stars | Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

Oh I'm a critical old thing but though I'm enjoying it, there's too much happening in this book. A narrator with synaesthesia AND a love for stones/gems AND the map theme (which by the way hasn't been explained yet at all - how does someone make a living in 2011 by making maps by hand? What are they maps of?). I just think the flowery elements could have been reduced.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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I decided I couldn't go one more day without getting my car washed but the time wasted in the queue - I just want to cry! I should be at home, working 😢 A book and a coffee while I wait though.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Cloud Cuckoo Land | Anthony Doerr
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Thanks for the tag @Klou!

1. Cloud Cuckoo Land (sorry @BarbaraJean I thought I read it last year but it was my first for 2023)
2. A Symphony of Echoes
3. Covenant of Water - Abraham Verghese
4. I have no idea 😂
5. The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern - slogging through and not loving it
6....

MommyWantsToReadHerBook 7. Uzma Aslam Khan
8. Not sure!
9. Cloud Cuckoo Land, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
10. Symphony of Echoes I guess
11. The Starless Sea
12. Would really like to read Demon Copperhead and Covenant of Water. And I think there's a newish Kate Atkinson out there too.
9mo
BarbaraJean It's hard to remember which year a book lands in sometimes! Cloud Cuckoo Land definitely is on my list... but maybe I need to get around to reading All the Light We Cannot See first. I want to read Demon Copperhead and Covenant of Water as well. Demon Copperhead is sitting on my library holds list and will probably arrive when I don't have room for such a long book! 8mo
30 likes2 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
You Are Not Entitled To Be Rude | Saskia Brits, Nadja Botha

Oh my word, this is rather funny. It only occurred to me now to search for this book in the database - oddly though, the editor is listed as the author although you can see the name of the actual author on the pic. So I'm translating this.... But I'm having such a hard time with the writing! It's so bad, not sure what she paid the editor for unless she disregarded what they told her.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook There is for example a child that is called a toddler, who eats baby food in a high chair and gurgles, and goes to kindergarten. All these things can't possibly be true. Uuuurgh send survival vibes my way as I try to finish this translation in the next few months. 9mo
Clare-Dragonfly Is it set in the US? I know in Australia “kindy” is a different age than US (though I can‘t recall what age). The book sounds frustrating! Good luck! 9mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Clare-Dragonfly yes it's set in the US, in New York. But the author is South African so just don't even ask 😭 9mo
25 likes3 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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I wonder how many people have read Dame Agatha's books over the years when life has been too hard to cope with. Taking a break from my cold house to take a highly overheated walk in the bot gardens. That's our winter for you.

Jeg I‘m with you. Miss Marple has seen me through some hard times. 9mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Pickpick

This was really a remarkable book and I have a huge author crush on Uzma Aslam Khan right now - the subjects of her writing are unique, her prose is exquisite and she makes you see the world with slightly different eyes. It wasn't an easy read for me emotionally but truly worth it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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My girls are on holiday with their dad for TWO WEEKS and the evenings are long. I seem to once again be reading something bloody depressing when I'm not in a good state of mind, but I ran out of ACs I felt like rereading so here we are. Maybe I'm getting a little better at reading about suffering. Maybe the characters' suffering makes me grateful I'm not living on a prison island and my life is good even when it's hard.

Suet624 Ugh. That's hard. I've been through this too. I'm sorry. 9mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
The Big Four | Agatha Christie
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Good old chauvinistic Agatha Christie 😂

CSeydel Well, Hastings 9mo
Jeg Perhaps a woman of her times. Though she does surprise me. 9mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @CSeydel yes you're right, would have been better phrasing 9mo
CSeydel @Jeg she often has characters say things like that to illustrate how certain types of people thought. 9mo
32 likes4 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
All Over Creation | Ruth Ozeki
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Mehso-so

This was a random library choice and I finished it because I'm stubborn, but it had its faults: too long, I couldn't stand the one main character and her shitty choices, and when a writer gets basic facts completely wrong, like thinking that human babies are born blind (🤯), that really pisses me off. I'm completely anti GMO. so that part was fine and done okay, just quite dated by now.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
The Tale of Peter Rabbit | Beatrix Potter
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Oh, so hideously old and beyond all hope of attractiveness!

Suet624 😳🤪😀 10mo
Aimeesue 😂😂😂 10mo
43 likes2 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Looking for something to read while my children play by (in) the ponds in the Botanical Gardens. What the fuck is going on with Scribd? Books I just saved and was literally saving for another day have disappeared, audio books the children want to listen to are forever only available at the end of the month, but then in some cases also leaving Scribd soon. It used to be a lifeline of reading material and now there's nothing.

Jenken1998 they do that. I am not sure why. Scribd says it has something to do with agreements with publishers. I personally think it has something to do with keeping you subscribed for another month. If you watch the books will become available AFTER your next billing date. I also read that they are impossible to unsubscribe from. That you will get billed long after you should. I don't know about that thought because I haven't tried yet. 10mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Jenken1998 thanks. Haha yeah maybe next month there will be something again. Dammit. And the girls are so into their books and listen to them over and over so it's hard to pause my subscription - have done so successfully in the past (not fully unsubscribed though) 10mo
Cathythoughts Beautiful pic 💕 10mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Cathythoughts thanks so much 💜 10mo
Cinfhen Agreed, sometimes Scribd can really screw you 🤪 10mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Thinner than Skin | Uzma Aslam Khan
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Pickpick

This book was wonderful, unique, beautiful, terrible. It certainly didn't turn out remotely as I imagined it would. The writing is masterful. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Islam, Pakistan/Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan etc or just for the beauty and something completely different.

Bookwomble Sounds fascinating. Added to the never-ending TBR! 😒⛰️📚⛰️ 10mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Clock Dance | Anne Tyler
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Pickpick

It had been quite a while since I last read an Anne Tyler and I really enjoyed this one. Some parts depressed me, feeling triggered by my fears over how my children will look back on their childhood, but I loved the way the character developed and found her place later in life. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
The Wasted Vigil | Nadeem Aslam
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Pickpick

This book found me in the library and it really was beautifully written. It was an ironic read in that I don't do well with descriptions of pain and torture - my word, it makes a Khaled Hosseini novel look like walk in the park. Other than most of the novels set in Afghanistan that I've read, this goes much more sweepingly into the last few decades in Afghanistan, all the espionage around the time of the Soviet occupation, all very interesting.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Properties of Thirst | Marianne Wiggins
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Pickpick

I'd never heard of the author and can't remember now how I stumbled on the book. But it was beautiful! Here and there a character or a description was a bit overdone for me but mostly I loved the gorgeous tumble of words, disregard for grammar in places, beautiful, sumptuous writing. The afterword by her daughter on the hard work that went into finishing the novel after her mother's stroke was extremely moving. Highly recommended read ⭐⭐⭐⭐

BookNAround Her book Evidence of Things Unseen was beautiful so I bought this one but haven‘t read it yet. 11mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @BookNAround I really want to find her other books now! 11mo
lynneamch I've been waiting for this one. Saw her speak and loved this other one of hers 8mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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I usually love Bill Bryson but I'm not so sure about this one. So far he has shown a complete lack of familiarity with the translation industry and machine translation. I'm 99.9% certain his 12 dense, unintelligible pages about Italy were MT. And this is total gibberish - the name is Xhosa, I wouldn't say anyone belongs to the Xhosa tribe (Xhosa people, rather) and I'm asking my one colleague if that word is right. Not super impressed.

ravenlee I found this one rambling and off the mark. Definitely not his best. 12mo
Clare-Dragonfly I tried to read this book and hated it. He seems to take the attitude that English is a widespread language due to inherent superior qualities in the language, not colonialism. 12mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Clare-Dragonfly yeah and the way he keeps saying "other languages can't do this" when they totally can. I've never known him to be so sloppy - but maybe he always has been and I just didn't realise it ? 12mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook The word in the quote is supposed to be "ndlebezakho". If this fact is so garbled, why should we trust anything else? 12mo
Susanita I enjoyed A Walk in the Woods even though at times he was rather snotty, but I think I‘ll skip this one. For an accessible book by an actual linguist, try 12mo
BarbaraJean Oh dear. I have a copy of this that I haven‘t read yet. Maybe I won‘t bother! Bryson is very hit or miss with me. Sounds like this one will be a miss. (edited) 11mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @BarbaraJean yeah I think you can miss this. I was so disappointed as I've generally been a big fan 11mo
31 likes7 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

This is not an light read but I still loved it. I had never known about the situation in Kashmir or about the incredible atrocities committed by Hindu nationalists. I had to skip one passage entirely as I can't cope with torture. But there was also so much else woven into this book, so much beauty and love. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Someone sent me a video of an interview with Gabor Maté and although I still want to read his book on trauma turning into physical illness in the body, this book on Scribd caught my eye as the interview focused on psychedelics. I've always been incredibly judgemental about any kind of drugs and now this book is blowing my mind. It's not a quick read but absolutely fascinating so far.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

I was in a bit of a reading slump and selected this from among the free books on the kindle. He had an incredible experience and the most amazing luck, but a lot of the book in unbelievably sad. I feel so sad thinking of everyone who has died trying to get to Europe, everyone who has gotten stuck in Libya or Morocco or being homeless and without skills once they reached their destination.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook I'm sad for all the women who tried to leave and ended up in prostitution. I'm sad that Ousman grew up illiterate in the 21st century. I'm sad that his NGO can help some children, but he can't change Ghana's economy. There is so much suffering and most of us just have it so easy. A good book to read if you want to feel grateful for e dry meal and every hot shower again, grateful for your education and your job. 13mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook *every meal. 13mo
Suet624 💕💕💕 13mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Infinite Country: A Novel | Patricia Engel
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Pickpick

I liked it but I didn't absolutely love it. Especially in the last part of the book, when it switched narrators and then ended with that, I found it a bit disjointed. The content is moving even if the writing isn't always stellar. ⭐⭐⭐

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Euphoria | Lily King
Pickpick

⭐⭐⭐⭐ As other Littens have commented, the connection with Margaret Mead makes it fascinating and makes me want to read some of her books. The writing is beautiful and excellent and I'm a sucker for a relatable love story. The 1930s attitudes to the people they lived with didn't bother me, because it WAS the 1930s. Recommended!

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Euphoria | Lily King
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So far I'm enjoying this completely random find on Libby. I'm hoping it continues strong!

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Peter Pan | J.M. Barrie
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Mehso-so

I never read Peter Pan before or knew the story except for the vaguest ideas. It was the favourite book of the narrator in All my Mothers and I thought I would finally read it today.

Mostly I found it very depressing and quite racist, and the fantasy really strange. Some of the writing is beautiful, I'll give it that. All in all I find it interesting that it became such a classic.

BarbaraJean My husband HATES the Disney version/musical and calls Peter Pan “the little asshole.” 😂 I own the book but haven‘t read it, and have always been curious about it (apparently not curious enough to read it!). Your review piques my curiosity even more, even though it sounds like it won‘t be a favorite! Maybe I‘ll pull it off the shelf so I‘ll SEE it and actually read it sooner rather than later. (edited) 14mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @BarbaraJean I suppose now I can at least say I've read it. Neverland is just such a strange and rather depressing place, Tinker Bell is unpleasant - how Disney ever decided to do something with it boggles the mind 🙂 It's a quick read at least 13mo
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
All My Mothers | Joanna Glen
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Pickpick

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I think I most enjoyed the child's voice in the beginning of the book, but of course she had to grow up. Pros: I liked the emotional honesty. The setting of Córdoba was beautiful and beautifully done. Cons: I can't help feeling that there was one tragedy too many. I also think that for a book about mothers, it doesn't explore the ways that relationship often looks nothing like this idealisation. A lovely book, despite the caveats, I promise!

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Cloud Cuckoo Land | Anthony Doerr
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Pickpick

I couldn't put this down! At times it absolutely broke my heart but I couldn't stop reading. I love this man's writing. Beautiful, thoughtful, just wonderful. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jeg It‘s on my TBR shelf. My gift from book club Xmas. The person who gave it has raved about it for sometime. Might just read it next. 1y
Megabooks 💯💯💯💯 1y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Jeg you won't regret it! 1y
Jeg I‘ve nearly finished 1y
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Cloud Cuckoo Land | Anthony Doerr
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I had a good long walk through parts of the Botanical Gardens I didn't know existed, and now coffee and my amazing book.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Born a Crime | Trevor Noah
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Pickpick

I'm glad I finally read this. I haven't really been following what he's up to but of course he continues to be a South African we love and whose success we're proud of. He does an amazing job of describing the hustle in the townships and the near impossibility of pulling yourself up out of that world. I also found his views on crime very enlightening - white South Africans can be so judgemental and racist about crime, so black and white.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook I couldn't stop reading - it was sad, it was funny, it was shocking. Highly recommended ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1y
DivineDiana I loved this book! He narrates the audio, and it is fantastic! 🙂 14mo
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @DivineDiana I had/have the audio as my free credit from Audible, but I just never managed to listen to it. I'm sure it must be good though - my loss! 14mo
44 likes3 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Born a Crime | Trevor Noah
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Late to the party... That's me. But really enjoying this.

This is so true!!

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Gold Diggers: A Novel | Sanjena Sathian
Pickpick

Forgot to review this. It's not a five-star read and especially towards the end I didn't always enjoy the writing as much. I don't know whether the whole ambition theme succeeded in the end. But overall, it was an enjoyable read that kept me reading. ⭐⭐⭐ and a half

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

I learned so much from this book that I never knew! I gasped in shock many times and was completely engrossed. The human toll really was incredible.

Highly recommended to anyone that wants to understand one more corner of the world a bit better. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SamAnne And even if a reader did not have the topic at the top of the list, it will engross them. So well written! 1y
48 likes2 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Gold Diggers: A Novel | Sanjena Sathian
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I'm not the biggest fan of magicky stuff but I'm glad I picked this up! Hell, when is the subtext of every single Litsy post not going to be "I need something to engage, comfort and distract me during a horrible emotional time"? I really appreciate authors that can pull off a non-realistic premise, and her writing is good, with just a few tiny wobbles here and there.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Instructions for a Heatwave | Maggie O'Farrell
Pickpick

I loved this! Each character had these layers that kept tripping up my first impressions of them and I loved how it went deeper and deeper. She manages to be funny and profound. Very enjoyable and meaningful for me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Instructions for a Heatwave | Maggie O'Farrell
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Picked this up at the farmer's market this morning. I'm having a bit of a panic about feeling like there is so little left that I want to read on Scribd and so much I want to read that's not on there. Alternatives include buying more (secondhand) print books and rereading some stuff on my shelves. Oh and earning lots of money for new print or Kindle books 🤪

RebelReader What‘s on your wish list? Perhaps I can help? I don‘t have as many as I used to, but I‘m willing to pass along any I have that you may want. 😃 1y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @RebelReader that's so sweet. But it would be an international parcel! On my list is the last 2 Becky Chambers, the new Kate Atkinson, more Agatha Raisin, some Matt Haig, Murakami... I've definitely been so spoiled in the past by Littens but it's a huge ask and I'm not sure I trust our pathetic postal service. 1y
RebelReader I don‘t have any of these, but I will keep an eye out for them in my scavenging. 😃 1y
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Donkerdrif | Deon Meyer
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Pickpick

I usually love Meyer's books and since I caught up with all his old work, I eagerly anticipate every new one. This was just okay, however. I don't know, maybe I feel like it's all too easy for him now. The banter between the main characters, the referencing of actual South African events, the perfectly executed Cape way of speaking. I just had a hard time escaping into it, which is pretty much the whole point. I enjoyed the ending, at least! ⭐⭐⭐

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Pickpick

I loved this. It wasn't always a fun read but I'm blessed to not have experienced loss of this kind. Others may find it upsetting, I'm sure. As always, her historical writing is amazingly detailed and exquisitely executed.

megnews This is one of my favorite books. 1y
DivineDiana On my TBR shelves for too long. Hopefully in 2023! 🤞🏻 1y
45 likes3 comments
review
MommyWantsToReadHerBook
The Echo Maker: A Novel | Richard Powers
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Pickpick

I finished this a few weeks ago and never posted. It took me a while to digest. At times it made me unbelievably depressed but I also couldn't stop reading. I think he went a little far in giving his character a rare neurological syndrome and having had his dad die of an incredibly rare condition... But be that as it may. I'd like to try something else by Powers.

SamAnne This has been on my TBR list for a long time. Thanks for the review. 1y
SamAnne The Overstory is one of the best books I‘ve read in the past decade. Really enjoyed Bewilderment as well. 1y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @SamAnne thanks for the recs. Really want to read Overstory but a bit confined to Scribd offerings 1y
39 likes3 comments