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MamaGina

MamaGina

Joined May 2016

“We live and breathe words. It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone.” (Cassandra Clare)
review
MamaGina
The Hunter: A Novel | Tana French
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“She saw clearly that she would never get a chance like this again, so she took it. Cal‘s heart is a heavy relentless force in his chest, making it hard to breathe. When he worried that Trey‘s childhood had left cracks in her, he had it wrong. Those aren‘t cracks, those are fault lines.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cathythoughts Stacked 👍🏻♥️ 1w
19 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MamaGina
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“I think New York was the perfect place for Toby to live because it was maybe the only place he would never run out of new restaurants. With Finn you had places. Horn & Hardart, The Cloisters. Places we went back to so many times that they started to feel like home. Toby was loose. Attached to nothing. Except maybe to Finn. That's what I started to figure out. Without Finn, Toby was like a kite with nobody holding the string.“
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tamra I really enjoyed this and bought a paper copy to read again. 😁 2w
28 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MamaGina
Stone Blind: A Novel | Natalie Haynes
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“They will defend her, if they can,” said Athene quickly. “She is much loved.”
“Why would they love a monster?” asked Perseus.
“Who are you to decide who is worthy of love?” said Hermes….”and who are you to decide who is a monster?”
“She called them monsters” said Perseus, pointing at Athene.
“No, I didn‘t, I called them dangerous creatures…You‘re the one who thinks anything that doesn‘t look like you must be a monster.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reggie I told myself I will only read Madeline Miller retellings but then you put this up. Stacked. 1mo
23 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MamaGina
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“If you keep talking like that you‘ll end up with no husband to love you. Alone in that house you want to buy so badly, surrounded by books and cats.” I snort and cast my eyes on the steeple of a cathedral that reminds me of home. He may think this is some great threat to me but….there are worse things. I see him looking at me out of the corner of his eye and I turn to him and give him a bright smile.
“Love is fickle. Books are eternal.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
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“Sunanda‘s whispered words were haunting—and all too realistic. Suddenly, Perveen hated the world they lived in—where men could violate women with impunity because they knew women were too ashamed to report them.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
Stone Blind: A Novel | Natalie Haynes
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Just starting this title, a retelling of the story of Medusa…definitely seems promising! 📖

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MamaGina
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“How will he do it? Part of her would like to ask him this. The knife in a dark corridor? His hands about her throat? A tumble from a horse made to look like an accident? She has no doubt that all of these would fall within his repertoire. It had better be done well….her father is not someone who will take a lenient view of his daughter‘s murder.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
Case Histories: A Novel | Kate Atkinson
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“The plot thickens,” he said, and wished he hadn‘t said that because it sounded like something from a bad detective novel. “I think we have a suspect.” That didn‘t sound much better. “My house has just exploded, by the way.” At least that was novel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ruthiella Love this book (and series!)❤️ 2mo
JanuarieTimewalker13 I love Jackson Brody…I hope I have that right! 1mo
20 likes1 stack add2 comments
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MamaGina
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Pickpick

“The point is, Billy, that Duchess is full of energy and enthusiasm and good intentions too. But sometimes, his energy and enthusiasm get in the way of his good intentions, and when that happens the consequences often fall on someone else.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
Homecoming | Kate Morton
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Finally getting my reading life back on track and happy to have read 3 books in January!!! Looks like February will be a busy reading month too … 6/10 of my library holds came in today, isn‘t that always the way?!? 😸

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MamaGina
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Thank you lovely Litsy friends for your kind messages on my last post…Litsy has always been and continues to be such a supportive and caring place to be!!! I want to recommend this title for gift giving. My granddaughter loves it! She becomes fascinated by one thing after another (right now it‘s sharks lol) and I imagine she‘ll look up her latest interests in this volume for years to come. Highly recommend!!! :)

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MamaGina
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Omg, just looked at my Litsy and my last post was 6 months ago! What the heck!! The main reason is because I‘ve been in a major reading slump due to depression. As many of you dealing with depression and/or anxiety issues know, it often leads to struggles with focus and concentration. Anyway, I hope you are thriving and enjoying your books! In other news, my favorite person. my granddaughter, turned 3 on Sunday. Where does the time go??!!??

Chrissyreadit ❤️ 8mo
Gissy Happy belated birthday to her🎂🥳💖I hope you feel better soon. Go out, spend time with those who support you, share with them and if the symptoms worsen, seek professional help. We are here for you😘❤️❤️❤️ 8mo
Suet624 I'm sorry it's been tough. Nice to see you here now and how wonderful to get a picture of your sweet granddaughter. 8mo
See All 7 Comments
Librarybelle ❤️ 8mo
Ruthiella Wow! She‘s so big now. Time flies . Hope you are doing better now. Litsy will be here when you are ready, so take your time. ❤️ 8mo
Lizpixie I know exactly how you feel. Here‘s hoping for a better end to the year for both of us!♥️ 8mo
Lizpixie And Happy Birthday to your granddaughter! She‘s adorable. My 2 grandsons turn 9 & 2 respectively in Aug & Sept!🎉🎈🎁🎂 8mo
17 likes7 comments
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MamaGina
Readers and Reading | Andrew Bennett
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My daughter-in-law recently sent me these special bookmarks that I will treasure always…

DivineDiana Very special! ❤️ 1y
Reggie Awwww 1y
LeahBergen They‘re gorgeous! 1y
24 likes3 comments
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MamaGina
The Sentence | Louise Erdrich
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I‘ve been avoiding books that include Covid but was finally able to get brave and trust this author, a particular favorite of mine, to handle the topic and it‘s ramifications for her characters with grace. This story also takes place in Minneapolis in the wake of the murder of George Floyd but in Erdrich‘s hands nothing becomes maudlin or preachy, the narrative of the lives of extraordinarily ordinary people just becomes comforting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

mcctrish I have this in a pile 2y
30 likes1 comment
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MamaGina
Deadly Election | Lindsey Davis
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I continue to enjoy this series and its funny, fiery protagonist, Flavia Albia. I‘m also enjoying the evolution of her relationship with her love interest, as well as the fleshing out of some of the minor characters from the previous books. Definitely recommend visiting Ancient Rome with these books for an enjoyable afternoon. 📕💕

22 likes1 stack add
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MamaGina
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💖💖💖

Gissy Happy Birthday!🎂🎉🥳 2y
17 likes1 comment
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MamaGina
The Siren of Sussex | Mimi Matthews
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I enjoyed this romance, it was just what I needed to get me out of my reading slump…Ahmad and Evie were just lovely to root for and I‘m looking forward to the next in this Belles of London series…Favorite Quote: “It‘s lately seemed to me that we ladies are dropped into a churning sea and forbidden from revealing that we know how to swim.”⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
The Siren of Sussex | Mimi Matthews

“Evelyn entered the shop alone. She was at once assailed by the scent of fresh ink, paper and new leather bindings. A delicious fragrance. She breathed it in, feeling at once both excited and oddly at peace. For a reader, a bookshop was rather like a church.”

17 likes1 stack add
blurb
MamaGina
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I‘ve recently identified a new category of books in my reading life…the “I know this is a good book but it‘s overwhelming me to read it right now” category. Real life issues are interfering with my attention span; gone are the days where I‘d sit down and read for hours. Yesterday I gave up on a 700 page book at 40% because of its length but also because it‘s book one of a trilogy. Anyone else experiencing real life affecting reading life??

Lizpixie 🙋🏻‍♀️ Feels like I‘m losing my mind sometimes. 2y
KCofKaysville @MamaGina A while back I was going to read Marlon James' trilogy, but the first book was too much for me! Don't mind large books if they are more nonfiction and very interesting, but otherwise it's overwhelming! 2y
LiteraryinLawrence Yes, I completely relate to this! 2y
Prairiegirl_reading My attention span definitely says no to 700 pages. I haven‘t even attempted a chunkster this year. 2y
MicheleinPhilly 100%. I‘ve held off on reading so many books I‘m anticipating because my attention span and concentration levels have been pretty crap lately. Definitely relying a lot on comfort reads. 2y
23 likes5 comments
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MamaGina
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At first glance, you might be tempted to think of this as a cozy mystery. But after having read a couple of the more recent titles in this series and deciding to go back to the beginning with this one, I‘d say the only cozy aspects are the descriptions of food and the rural French setting. The mystery itself is gritty and morally challenging for our hero and the first in a very very good series. Oui! 🇫🇷
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

18 likes1 stack add
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MamaGina
Hamnet | Maggie O'Farrell
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FYI: CURRENTLY ON SALE FOR YOUR KINDLE $2.99 🇺🇸

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MamaGina
The Maid | Nita Prose
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I enjoyed being in Molly‘s world for awhile. Through her first person narrative You, the Reader, understand things she does not but, at the same time, she often takes your breath away with her insight, especially where it relates to how others perceive her. Like others I‘m not a huge fan of the reveal in the epilogue, it felt unsupported by the rest of the story and as if the author just couldn‘t let us enjoy a happy unambiguous ending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
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Had such a lovely visit with my son, DIL and granddaughter last month. Must admit that so far she seems to share my love of Art more than my love of Reading…I had several toys here for her to play with during her visit and her absolutely favorite things were the coloring book and crayons. 🧒🏻🖍 ❤️

EvieBee What a cutie! 2y
mabell Intense concentration! ❤️ 2y
Cathythoughts Gorgeous girl 🥰 2y
24 likes3 comments
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MamaGina
The Illumination of Ursula Flight | Anna-Marie Crowhurst
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Picked this one for the Cover…Stayed for the Story ✍️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bklover Beautiful cover!! 2y
25 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MamaGina
Five Decembers | James Kestrel
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As a teenager I loved hard boiled detective fiction. The policemen of McBain‘s 87th Precinct, Travis McGee, Lew Archer all intrigued me just as their predecessors like Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe. When I saw the old school cover and premise of Five Decembers I added it to my TBR. When it won the Edgar, I started reading. Is it good? Let‘s just say Hammett, Chandler and both MacDonalds would be very impressed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EvieBee I‘m currently reading this and it‘s soooooo good! Just the thing to pull me out of a slump. 13mo
29 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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MamaGina
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I‘m beginning to think I have a penchant for historical novels featuring women in unconventional roles. This series featuring Charlotte Holmes and Mrs Watson solving mysteries and tangling with the so far elusive Moriarty is very good. I‘ll be continuing, especially considering not one but two surprises I did not come close to guessing. I love when an author makes me gasp! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

26 likes1 stack add
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MamaGina
A Visit to Grammy's House | Isabel Pfister
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Someone sweet is coming to visit me in May! 🧒🏻💕

AmyG Adorable! I am going to visit my grandson in May. Hooray-us! 2y
MamaGina @AmyG 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 2y
BookBabe Yay! So sweet 🥰 2y
27 likes3 comments
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MamaGina
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Beautiful 🥺

(From Good News Movement via Instagram)

SRWCF That's cool! 2y
24 likes1 comment
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MamaGina
Girl in Disguise | Greer Macallister
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I‘ve been struggling to read lately, just lots on my mind, but downloading this title I purchased years ago was a good jump start to getting back into my books. This author did an excellent job taking the compelling story of real life Pinkerton agent Kate Warne and making it her own. She seamlessly integrates the few known facts about Warne and develops a believable story of dedication, love, loss, bravery and page-turning intensity. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

22 likes1 stack add
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MamaGina
Silent Parade | Keigo Higashino
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Seems fitting that my current read is far as far can be from me on this World Book Day! 🌎 📖 ❤️

#WorldBookDay

EvieBee Yay! I liked this one. 2y
22 likes1 comment
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MamaGina
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My advice if you‘d like to murder someone…
Don‘t move to Coopers Chase, the home of Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim and Joyce, aka The Thursday Murder Club.
You will be caught, probably because they are way smarter than you and you will underestimate them.
Such a delightful series! My hope is that Mr. Osman will write many many more of their adventures for me to reread in my dotage. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina

Joyce reminds me of Rose on Golden Girls. #ripbettywhite #WeekendReading

“Every time I walk into a bedroom these days someone has been shot. I was going to plump up the pillows in the spare room earlier but got cold feet.”

“MI5 know who I am now, though, so that‘s one for the Christmas newsletter.”

“I still haven‘t quite worked out how my Instagram works, which is very frustrating, as GreatJoy69 now has over 200 private messages.”

Ruthiella That last one! 😂 I don‘t think my mother will get it. 2y
MamaGina @Ruthiella I love the subtle humor this author uses throughout. Joyce is having trouble coming up with a username and decides to use GreatJoy, a nickname from when she was younger. Then when it won‘t work with her own birth year, she decides to use her daughter‘s. I hope there are many more adventures in this series to come, it‘s such fun! 2y
23 likes2 comments
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MamaGina
Unwanted Dead | chris lloyd
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“I felt a lid shift. A lid that I‘d pulled over me after the effects of one war, only to find that another war was trying to prise it off again. I knew I had to hold onto it for as long as I could.”This intense look at the initial days of the Paris Occupation through the eyes of damaged & conflicted Detective Eddie Giral was excellent. Lloyd expertly uses words to give dimension to every character;You, like Giral, don‘t know who to trust. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
Unwanted Dead | chris lloyd
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There‘s a type of historical fiction I‘ve been fascinated by, one I‘ve never actually seen identified as a trope or sub genre. I first became aware of the idea watching the British tv drama Foyle‘s War which features murders being solved during WWII. PI Bernie Gunther does the same in 1930‘s Germany and The Last Policeman trilogy has an ordinary detective solving a murder despite the end of the world countdown clock ticking (cont…) #WeekendReading

MamaGina Crimes must still be solved, despite events swirling in the background. I‘m now reading The Unwanted Dead where the murders of four refugees must be solved as the German Occupation of Paris begins. I have high hopes, it won the HWA Gold Crown Award. 2y
14 likes4 comments
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MamaGina
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Am I the only one who takes a ridiculous amount of time to decide what to read next? Seriously, I‘d be half way through my next read if I didn‘t spend so much time looking at all the books on my shelves and reading apps trying to decide. Yep, I‘m a mood reader who sometimes can‘t decide what mood I‘m in even! 😜 I envy those of you who regularly create TBR piles and stick to them! 📚❤️

Tamra I am a mood reader so I plan nothing! 😅 Sometimes I know what I really want to read next if I‘m excited about something. But yes, it can take while. Usually I spend more time reading about books and adding to my TBR! 2y
28 likes1 comment
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MamaGina
The Shadows of Men | Abir Mukherjee
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The 5th installment in this series continues the adventures of Imperial Police Force Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee in 1920‘s Calcutta, India. Their relationship has evolved until a strong bond has developed, constantly challenged by the moral and political issues always near the surface during the British occupation of India. It is their relationship, more even than the mysteries they solve, that make this series stand out ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
The Shadows of Men | Abir Mukherjee
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Reading the newest addition in the Wyndham & Banerjee mystery series and it‘s excellent so far (about 25% in) because for the first time some of the action is narrated by Sergeant Banerjee. This comment made me lol:
“Sam would have cautioned me against trusting her…forgetting the many, many occasions where he had believed a woman more on the strength of her perfume than of her statement.” Such a good series! 🤓
#WeekendReading

23 likes2 comments
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MamaGina
Himself: A Novel | Jess Kidd
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Wow. Sometimes you put a book down and think “that was a great story”. Himself is indeed a great story, but my biggest takeaway is “What an incredibly talented writer!” Jess Kidd puts together prose magically. Every word, every turn of phrase, every page is wonderful. I‘ll be reading her backlist and everything she publishes from here on out. Highly recommend Himself. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CaitlinR LOVED this book. I also enjoyed her Things In Jars. 2y
MamaGina @CaitlinR I‘ve read that one too, loved the 👻 2y
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MamaGina
Himself: A Novel | Jess Kidd
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Finished Americanah earlier today, so decided to head from Nigeria to Ireland for my next read. HIMSELF has been on my kindle for a long time and I loved THINGS IN JARS so I have high hopes for this title…the description certainly ticks lots of my reading boxes!
#WeekendReading

Andrew65 I need to read Americanah. (edited) 2y
Kimzey Himself has been on my TBR list also. Look forward to hearing how you like it. 2y
16 likes2 comments
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MamaGina
Americanah | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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This is a pick for me even though I can‘t say I loved this book. I found it compelling to see the US through the eyes of a Nigerian woman, especially her experiences and observations on race and gender. The writing is excellent and Adichie seamlessly takes the narrative back and forth between the two main characters. It wasn‘t until I finished that I realized I just didn‘t like Ifemelu. She was selfish, lacked empathy and had a superior ⬇️

MamaGina attitude throughout. That‘s okay though, I don‘t think the author wrote her to be likeable. Her friends called her out several times for being judgmental too. Even Ifemelu herself recognized it…”She did not understand what it was but there was something wrong with her. A hunger, a restlessness. An incomplete knowledge of herself.” I will read more of Adichie. Maybe I‘ll fall in love with another protagonist another day. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2y
31 likes1 comment
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MamaGina
Americanah | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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My weekend read illustrates something I love about reading: Despite having nothing in common with the characters in a book, there is so much that we all share in the human experience no matter our ethnicity, race, age, country of origin, place or time we live in now…I‘m making a concerted effort in 2022 to read authors who take me completely out of my own life experiences and Americanah is an excellent start.
#WeekendReading

Andrew65 I need to read this. 2y
CBee I have this and need to read it too! I like your goal 😁♥️ 2y
Ruthiella Excellent point. The points of view from people different from me is one of the many reasons I love reading. 2y
27 likes3 comments
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MamaGina
1979 | Val McDermid
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I‘ve been adding my reads to my Goodreads account all year but it was just a few days ago I realized I‘d read 49 books. So, of course, I decided to read just one more to hit 50. This first in a new series by this prolific writer was good, I enjoyed it, but it would have been much better if the book blurb hadn‘t revealed a spoiler about the death of a main character that occurs well into the tale. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy New Year, All 🥳

Ruthiella Happy New Year! 🥳🥂 2y
Bookzombie Happy New Year!🎆 2y
23 likes2 comments
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MamaGina
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Interesting article on downsizing, especially your books!

https://www.nextavenue.org/the-perils-of-downsizing/?utm_source=Next+Avenue+Emai...

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MamaGina
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Merry Christmas to All My Litsy Friends! You Are A Gift in My Life! Advice for 2022? Eat the Cookies!!! 🍪🎄🧒🏻❤️💚❤️

Cathythoughts Good advice ! Lovely picture x Happy Christmas 2y
Bookzombie Merry Christmas!🎄 2y
22 likes2 comments
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MamaGina
The Seeker: The Seeker 1 | S. G. MacLean
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This first in a five part series featuring The Seeker, head of the Guard protecting Oliver Cromwell, is compared to the Sansome series and aptly so, although it is set 100 years after the time of that other Cromwell and his infamous king. I expected to enjoy the mystery and intrigue of this tale and it‘s enigmatic antihero but was unprepared for the beauty of the writing. The author she has a gorgeous way with prose! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ruthiella Excellent. I‘ll check it out for sure. I really enjoyed the Shardlake books. 2y
25 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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MamaGina
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I hardly ever do this but Razorblade Tears was so good that I immediately went back and started this previous work. This man can WRITE! His prose is electric and precise like literary surgery. He gets every sense involved so you see, smell and taste the action. He is a gifted storyteller. I hope he will also be a prolific one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
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Wow. I‘m just going to let the tears streaming down my face and the fact that I spent the last 25% of this book with my hand over my mouth and eyes wide open stand as my review…Wow…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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MamaGina
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The second installment in what is quickly becoming a favorite series. Flavia Albia is an immensely pleasing and fascinating character: I simply love being in her head and heart as she navigates Roman society and defies all the conventions that society tries to put onto her. Happy to know I have a few more in the series to look forward to! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

rwmg Have you read her first series about Falco, Flavia Alba's adoptive father? 2y
BookNAround I just read the first Flavia Alba mystery and quite enjoyed it. 2y
MamaGina @rwmg I haven‘t, but I understand there are about 20 of them! I think I will give them a try too. The things Flavia says about he and his wife make me want to know more about them. 2y
rwmg The Jupiter Myth (Falco 13) tells the story of how Falco and Helena came to adopt Flavia 2y
MamaGina @rwmg Thank you for telling me that, I will definitely want to read that one! 2y
20 likes1 stack add5 comments
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MamaGina
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No Words … 👨🏻‍🦰🧒🏻 📕 💕

tpixie Precious 2y
AmyG Too cute! 2y
15 likes3 comments
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MamaGina
Grammy Loves You! | Sally Helmick North
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One thing they don‘t tell you about becoming a grandmother. Your heart will simply swell out of your chest with love and pride when you see Your child with His Child.👨🏻‍🦰🧒🏻🧡

Prairiegirl_reading Adorable!!! 2y
robinb Oh, those smiles!! 😊❤️ 2y
Reggie Please, the adorableness is too much!! ❤️ 2y
EvieBee 😍😍 2y
Nute So lovely! 2y
28 likes5 comments