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quietlycuriouskate

quietlycuriouskate

Joined May 2017

review
quietlycuriouskate
The Dream Hotel | Laila Lalami
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Pickpick

I'll rate it a pick for the scare value (the consequences of trading privacy and freedom for convenience under surveillance capitalism) and for daring to have a not especially sympathetic MC. But, oh, did it drag... right up until it got wind of the finish line, towards which it fairly galloped!

Maybe I've got the peri-menopausal rage-tinted spectacles on again, but isn't it also about how this economic culture depends on unpaid female labour?

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quietlycuriouskate
Dylan Thomas: A New Life | Andrew Lycett
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I'm back from a week in Pembrokeshire (my happy place) 🌅
St. David's cathedral had a secondhand book sale: I found this. Didn't have my reading glasses with me that day so couldn't tell exactly what I'd found. I just recognised it was DT. 😄
(Also, I was evidently on a mission to collect every piece of sea glass that was on the beach!)

squirrelbrain Pretty glass! 💚🩵💙 6d
Suet624 Both the sea glass and the book are great finds. 6d
29 likes2 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
A Little Trickerie | Rosanna Pike
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Pickpick

Tibb Ingleby! This is a naughty, warm-hearted, angry-in-the-right-places book about found family and also has the strongest narrative voice I've encountered in some while. I am well satisfied! ☺️

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quietlycuriouskate
The Great Passion | James Runcie
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Pickpick

Before anyone gets hot under the collar, the Passion in question is Bach's St Matthew (and music more generally). 🙂
I love Bach and, completely unreasonably, expected reading this book to feel like listening to his music. Well... it wasn't that, although the rehearsing and first performance of the StMP was truly evocative. Otherwise it tends towards overlong and has saggy-middle-syndrome. JSB comes across as tiresome but I loved all the context.

review
quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

Oh, this horrible book! I don't mean it is poorly written: I mean that reading it troubled me, partly because I am a woman who has chosen a plant-based diet but mostly because of the disturbing behaviour Yeong-hye experiences at the hands of the other characters.
(Note to self: best stop joking about wanting chloroplasts so I can photosynthesise. I love my food; I just get fed up of the daily catering duty.)

BiblioLitten This was truly horrible(in the best way)! 3w
34 likes1 comment
review
quietlycuriouskate
Girl Meets Boy | Ali Smith
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Pickpick

It's Ali Smith so, as far as Classical retellings go, there was a little more going on than the standard fare.
I enjoyed revisiting Ovid's gender-fluid tale of Iphis and Ianthe: kind of wish I could've had Ali Smith's take on it during my teens.

sarahbarnes I loved this one. 💕 4w
35 likes1 comment
review
quietlycuriouskate
Cloud Atlas | David Mitchell
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Pickpick

An interesting read, for sure, but I enjoyed the idea of it more than the experience, which was of serial task-switching in novel form and therefore left me feeling rattled. Much as I hate being slapped round the face with the obvious, the connections between the six different narratives/genres were tenuous to say the least. And yet.... something about it makes me want to rate it a pick, though I'm in no great rush to read another of his books. 🤷

ErikasMindfulShelf I liked The Bone Clocks more than this one. 1mo
sarahbarnes I read this years ago and remember really liking it…but then I didn‘t like either of his other books I read after it. 1mo
38 likes2 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
The Tidal Zone | Sarah Moss
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Pickpick

Another fantastic book from Sarah Moss (which I put off reading for ages, for superstitious reasons).
I love her fierce intelligence, and her insight into what makes families tick.
I've seen reviews elsewhere complaining of its being another book by her about "woke middle class people". (Yeah, and Jane Austen just writes about marriage, right?)
It's about parents being faced with the mortality of a child.

sarahbarnes I already have this stacked! I love her writing. 2mo
37 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
quietlycuriouskate
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Oh dear, I think we might have a problem here.
She's talking about the SNS and PNS (sympathetic and para-sympathetic nervous systems) except it sounds like she is saying "penis", which results in startling clauses such as "women with a dominant penis...". And it comes up a lot! (Oh God, now even that innocuous sentence is loaded with Freudian subtext! ?)

Texreader Whoopsy!! 🤣 2mo
squirrelbrain 🤣🤣🤣 2mo
See All 6 Comments
Suet624 😂😂 2mo
GingerAntics Oh boy 😂 2mo
CarolynM 😂😂😂 2mo
32 likes6 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
Dante: A Life | Alessandro Barbero
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Pickpick

(Photo is my journal, with one of the fabulous Dante stickers my daughter made for me. ❤️)
I enjoyed this meticulous book's painstaking sifting of all the extant sources for the facts of Dante's life. Look elsewhere for discussion of his works: this is strictly biographically-focused. Personally, I appreciated being given some context for the creation of his extraordinary Divine Comedy. (Turns out he didn't beam down from outer space/Paradiso! 😄)

TheBookHippie ♥️ 2mo
34 likes1 comment
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quietlycuriouskate
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Mehso-so

I did The Artist's Way 30 years ago (!) & have revisited a couple of times since. This book is a coda to that, not an alternative. Unlike TAW, I didn't follow the chapters as a weekly course: I don't think there was sufficient material to merit doing so.

Her dismissive attitude towards mental illness rubbed me up the wrong way. Creativity helps but is NOT a standalone cure! (Let's not get into how creative pursuits can lead to deep dark places.)

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quietlycuriouskate
Apples Never Fall | Liane Moriarty
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Mehso-so

Read for library's book group. I don't know how the library service chooses its monthly books but I wish they'd give us something I can really get my teeth into. This was ok, but over-long. Actually I think it's one of those rare occasions when I would have preferred the TV series. I was interested enough to want to see how the story panned out, but never really cared for the characters. As for that ending! 🤨

Caroline2 Yeah agreed. Way too long winded. This is defo a case of very successful author doesn‘t need editing any more!!! 🙄 2mo
34 likes1 comment
blurb
quietlycuriouskate
Matson Library | Gloucester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (Library)
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Saturday #libraryhaul
That is all. 🙂

review
quietlycuriouskate
North Woods | Daniel Mason
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Pickpick

I loved this wonderful book (and not just on account of the lusty beetles, fabulous though they were)! ❤️
It could so easily have felt episodic but each new inhabitant left their own mark whilst inheriting all that had gone before.
I found the notion of Robert's films surprisingly moving. And the final chapter just felt... right.

squirrelbrain Great review! I‘ve had this for a while but haven‘t read it yet. 3mo
Reggie I loved how to tonally fluid this was. It went from sad to horrific to intriguing and mysterious to funny. It was a lot of things, all wonderful. 3mo
Caroline2 Oh I‘ve had this in tbr for ages. Sounds like I need to move it up the pile. 👍 thanks for the recommendation. 3mo
47 likes3 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
Dante: A Life | Alessandro Barbero
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Oh hello, Dante; is that you again?
Apparently this is how Venus retrograde is manifesting in my life, courtesy of BorrowBox. 😄

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quietlycuriouskate
Anything is Possible | Elizabeth Strout
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Pickpick

The Elizabeth Strout and Kimberly Farr audiobook dream-team has done it again!
These books make me think more kindly towards people.

sarahbarnes Agreed! I just finished listening to this one recently and loved it. ♥️ 3mo
37 likes1 comment
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quietlycuriouskate
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Mehso-so

Claire Fuller is a hit-and-miss author for me.
It's not the book's fault I wasn't really in the mood for a pandemic story. However, it felt like three books cobbled together: a memoir of Neffy's earlier life, mostly in Greece; Station Eleven; and one of the recent crop of octopus books.
It had interesting things to say about grief, guilt and a desire to escape to the past rather than face present horrors. I'm not sure it succeeded in saying them.

TrishB This was a miss for me too! 3mo
Caroline2 That‘s a shame. I liked this one but yeah, you have to be in the mood for a pandemic novel. (I wouldn‘t want to read it now!) but I really liked the idea of visiting old memories. 3mo
38 likes2 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

Read for my library's book group.
Packhorse librarians in 1930s Kentucky: what's not to love? (I was half expecting the library service to launch a volunteer recruitment drive on the back of this. 😆).
I enjoyed it, especially the growing friendships between the women. I did think a major plot point was superfluous, though, and I greatly prefer my characters to have nuance, rather than be straight-up goodies/baddies (all the more so these days).

Caroline2 Agreed! The characters were a bit two dimensional weren‘t they. 3mo
41 likes1 comment
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quietlycuriouskate
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma | Claire Dederer
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Pickpick

It's no spoiler to reveal that there's no handy graph with great art on the X axis and monstrosity on the Y axis. What it does have is an ample selection of ethical chew-toys. She discusses themes such as: who gets to be considered a genius? How do we ascribe monstrosity differently to male and female artists? Who the hell is included in "we" anyway? To what extent does "our" individual, subjective judgement have any meaning? I liked it a lot.

GingerAntics This sounds like an intriguing mental exercise. 3mo
Caroline2 Oh I have this on my kindle. Sounds like I need to move it up the pile. 👍 3mo
quietlycuriouskate @GingerAntics @Caroline2 It's good! Be warned, though: I was expecting the onslaught of male, predominantly sexual, violence. However I was struck by the references to Trump's previous presidency, in that we had little idea how that would prove to be just the warm-up act for his current monstrous behaviour. 3mo
See All 6 Comments
GingerAntics @quietlycuriouskate how innocent we were, just 4 years ago. 3mo
sarahbarnes Oof. Great review. 3mo
44 likes1 stack add6 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
Beowulf | Anonymous
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Pickpick

Well, this was stirring stuff! It makes some of Uhtred of Bebbanburg's escapades look like a church fête!
There's no getting away from its being a matter of masculine heroics in the extreme; part of me wanted to find it all a bit ridiculous on that account. However, I was audio-drawing and more than once I realised my pen had been hovering motionless over the paper for some minutes. Audio is *definitely* the way to go with this.

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quietlycuriouskate
Matson Library | Gloucester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (Library)
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Library #bookhaul
My InstantPot has long since been promoted from appliance to sous chef.
I've not made much use of the slow cooker function, though. (The air fryer is a new venture: so far it's at risk of becoming known as "the potato machine".)

TheBookHippie 😂👩🏻‍🍳 4mo
40 likes1 comment
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quietlycuriouskate
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Mehso-so

She does a fine job of setting out her stall, that between the ages of 8 and 40 or so we're effectively hijacked by biology and culture and that midlife is an opportunity to become our true selves. However I found I don't subscribe to the myths about ageing that she assumes are universal, so it wasn't nearly the paradigm shift that was promised. And while she's good on excavating one's authentic dreams, the realising of them is more problematic.

quietlycuriouskate For instance, suggesting we outsource the "life stuff" that feels like a chore. And how am I to pay for that? With chickpeas? 4mo
TheBookHippie 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I have fresh eggs that might get me somewhere… 4mo
Caroline2 Chickpeas 😂 I‘ve heard the exchange rate for chickpeas at the mo is favourable though. 👍 I know what you mean, I feel like I‘ve read a lot about rich women “changing their lives” lately. They completely underestimate how difficult it is for the rest of us!!! 4mo
34 likes3 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

I am so glad I discovered Beth Kempton (via Instagram, of all places)!
She comes across as a thoughtful, genuine and generous person and her books reflect this. This one's accompanying podcast is a great listen, too, and her website offers various supportive freebies (meditations, a writing group workbook...)

I am actually starting to think about writing again (I haven't been able to write since I completed my poetry book a couple of years ago).

TheBookHippie How lovely! 4mo
LoverOfLearning Hope you find the joy in writing again! How cool! 4mo
BarbaraBB That would be fantastic! I hope you will get back to it. 4mo
Cathythoughts That‘s exciting, I hope you write ❤️ 4mo
44 likes1 stack add4 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

Not my usual fair; in fact, had it not been Kyle Gray I would have dismissed it out of hand. I like and trust Kyle: for all his woo-woo he generally comes across as level-headed. From where I'm standing, though, this book is faaaaar out and some of the concepts and vocabulary made me distinctly uncomfortable. On the other hand, some parts made sense of things I've experienced. (I'll just think of them as spirit teachers and take it from there.)

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quietlycuriouskate
Lucy by the Sea: A Novel | Elizabeth Strout
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Pickpick

God, I love how she tells a story!
Without intending to, I ended up reading back-to-back pandemic books. The other was for library book group and had all the close-quartered sameness of that time. In contrast, ES delivers another of her quiet books and lets its rich and capacious interiority sing out.

BarbaraBB I loved this one so much! 4mo
squirrelbrain I think this is my favourite Lucy book, despite it being pandemic-y. 4mo
Cathythoughts Looking forward to it ❤️ 4mo
44 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
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Mehso-so

Read for my library's book group.
If I were pitching this I'd say it's a cross between Nina Stibbe's "Love, Nina" and Hazel Prior's "Away With The Penguins".
It's not bad, but for me it was too samey throughout, in terms of both tone and pace. And then it doesn't end so much as stop. ?

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quietlycuriouskate
Once There Were Wolves | Charlotte McConaghy
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Thank you, @Caroline2 😙
I loved her Migrations (in a bleak moody kind of way!) so am looking forward to Wolves.
The Camus is nothing if not pertinent!

Caroline2 Yay. I‘m glad you like them and I‘m so sorry they‘re late. Xx 4mo
38 likes1 comment
review
quietlycuriouskate
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Mehso-so

I have finally completed the #bookerprize longlist!
I wish I could say I finished on a high but, alas.... ? This had its moments but, goodness, did it test my patience! Many of the "events" happen off the page, in the great chunks of time between chapters, which makes the languorous prose / long-windedness (depending on how fed up I was) all the more frustrating. And I really could have done without that epilogue.

quietlycuriouskate And after 400+ pages I still don't get why Gaston and Lucienne's marriage was meant to be such an epic love. Because they held hands a lot? 🤷 4mo
Ruthiella Congratulations on reading the entire list! 4mo
kspenmoll Congrats on completing the list! 4mo
JenP Congrats on finishing it. This was probably one of my least favorites on the list. 4mo
Cathythoughts Well done , that‘s a lot of reading. ♥️ 4mo
43 likes5 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
Untitled | Anonymous
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My birthday book haul, from the weekend: I'm a happy woman! ☺️
Thank you @squirrelbrain and @TrishB for "Rivers" and "Decembers". I've had my eye on those for a while.

squirrelbrain You‘re welcome! That‘s a great haul! ❤️ 4mo
Ruthiella It‘s color coordinated! 💙 4mo
TrishB A lovely set of books ❤️ 4mo
Caroline2 Argh! Kate! I am so sorry I forgot your birthday this year! 🤦‍♀️ I hope you had a lovely day and a belated bday book is on its way…! Xx (ps. I lovedddd Fifteen wild Decembers!! ❤️) 4mo
quietlycuriouskate No worries @Caroline2 . And now I have another book to anticipate ☺️ 4mo
45 likes5 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
Shards of Earth | Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Pickpick

Truth be told, it lacks the resonance of his Children Of Time trilogy. Instead there are multiple fight scenes, or maybe a kind of Goldberg Variations on the first fight scene. However, I grew to love the crew, and it took my mind off "world events".
If you don't go in expecting an existential crisis (despite its theme of the destruction of worlds bearing sentient life) but just buckle up and go with it, I think you'll enjoy the ride.

quietlycuriouskate At 458 pages, this is a bitsy chunkster for #chunksterchallenge2025 @Amiable 5mo
quietlycuriouskate *I mistyped that: it's actually 548 pages. #chunksterchallenge2025 @Amiable 🙂 5mo
Amiable That works! 😀 Great job! 5mo
TieDyeDude This is an author that I think I'd really enjoy. I've only read a couple novellas/short stories, but everything I hear about his other work sounds right up my alley! 5mo
quietlycuriouskate @TieDyeDude Oh, I think you'd love them! 🙂 4mo
44 likes5 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
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https://open.spotify.com/track/2cMcZgAIZS0ZafdW1MDYKU?si=qO2rbsPCSg2DiMb8QNxifg

Just leaving this here, for anyone who needs it today.

Suet624 Thank you. 5mo
BarbaraBB 🩷 5mo
Ruthiella ❤️ 5mo
squirrelbrain ❤️❤️❤️ 5mo
Lcsmcat ❤️❤️❤️ Elly Ameling‘s recording is particularly good. 5mo
33 likes5 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
Matson Library | Gloucester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (Library)
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#libraryhaul ☺️
Marmalade is the next library group book.
The Messud is my final #bookerprizelonglist title.
The Tchaikovsky is by way of treating myself after showing up for a social activity. 😉

Caroline2 Be interested@to hear what you think of the Messud 5mo
31 likes1 comment
review
quietlycuriouskate
Headshot: A Novel | Rita Bullwinkel
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Mehso-so

#bookerprizelonglist
My run of ho-hum books continues. ?
It took me to a world I would never have thought to enter otherwise, so I'm grateful for that, and the opening chapter/fight was interesting... but thereafter it proved to be a one-trick pony, until we reach the Space Odyssey-esque ending (wtf was that about?!). Nor do I buy the "competitively hitting seven bells out of eachother as a metaphor for girls maturing into womanhood" angle. Meh.

TrishB I don‘t think I‘ll bother! 5mo
JenP I felt the same way 5mo
Magpiegem Thanks for this review, I‘ve heard some people raving about it but I was struggling to see how it wouldn‘t be a one trick pony. My TBR is so long it‘s good to be able to find a reason not to add another! 5mo
quietlycuriouskate @Magpiegem You're welcome! I don't regret reading it but, by the same token, I'm glad it was a quick read and can now get on to something that I will hopefully enjoy more. 🙂 5mo
Readerann I enjoyed it, but also am glad it wasn‘t longer - and the ending… 🤔 5mo
43 likes5 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
Creation Lake: A Novel | Rachel Kushner
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Mehso-so

Readable but I'm perplexed by its making the #bookerprizeshortlist
Sadie's like a generic greetings card: attractive front, blank inside. It's problematic when we spend the entire time in her head as it renders the other characters and events flat, too.
She does make some sharp observations of people at times, so why did she find Bruno (a ten-a-penny boring old fart) beguiling?!
A couple of times it almost became thrilling but then decided not to.

BarbaraBB Almost 🤣 5mo
Tamra I really don‘t have much interest. 🤷🏾‍♀️ 5mo
TheBookHippie She‘s written much better books 🫣 5mo
See All 6 Comments
Christine Well your review is very entertaining, at least! 😁 5mo
Caroline2 Great review. I‘m so curious about this one but I might wait for a kindle deal. 5mo
quietlycuriouskate @Caroline2 Let's put it this way: I'm glad mine was a library book. 5mo
43 likes6 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
The Premonition | Banana Yoshimoto
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Mehso-so

My first book of 2025!
I loved the melancholic, dreamy vibe but it did make the abrupt revelation of Yaiyo's past somewhat jarring: I seem to have had more difficulty assimilating it than she herself did.
And I think if you are going to introduce a taboo relationship (or two!) then it really needs to be given more space and depth if the reader is to have any response besides wanting to push it away.

rachaich I felt exactly the same!
5mo
40 likes1 comment
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quietlycuriouskate
The Offing | Benjamin Myers
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Pickpick

My 100th, and final, book of 2024.
I enjoyed the evocation of time and place very much, so it's a pick, but truthfully I never quite warmed to either Robert or Dulcie (and was unmoved by Romy's story, possibly because it was told at a further remove). It's a personal thing but I was riled by Robert's horizons being broadened by a toff: as if that world is the real world and all other experience a poor deviation from or distortion of that reality.

Amiable What a gorgeous cover! 5mo
Rissreadswithcats This cover is stunning! 💙🩵 5mo
36 likes2 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
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Panpan

Amateurish.
The core concepts strike me as sound and deserving of serious contemplation (and application!) but the whistle-stop tour we're given of these takes up only 50% of the book. The second half launches into surface-level self help territory, as we're told how to set up and maintain an exercise regime, how to make healthy food choices, how to talk to our spouse so as not to escalate conflict etc. It's just weird and uncomfortable. 😣

review
quietlycuriouskate
The Pagan Lord | Bernard Cornwell
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Pickpick

This year's installment of my annual Last Kingdom fest. ☺️
Are the stories getting formulaic by now? Pretty much, yeah.
Is Uhtred a posturing self-mythologiser? I'd say he matches the description, yes.
Did I thoroughly enjoy these past few days in his company? Absolutely!

Ruthiella I‘m hopefully 🤞 going to read the first book in January. 5mo
31 likes1 comment
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quietlycuriouskate
Untitled | Unknown
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Merry Christmas, dear Littens, to all who celebrate. 🎄🎁📚
To those who do not, I wish you the best of Wednesdays. ☺️

Suet624 Same to you!! 6mo
AmyG Merry Christmas 🎄 6mo
tpixie Merry Christmas 🎁🎄📕 6mo
See All 7 Comments
Ruthiella Happy Holidays! 🎄 6mo
BarbaraBB Happy holidays 💝 6mo
LeahBergen Merry Christmas! 6mo
CarolynM 🎄💕 6mo
35 likes7 comments
blurb
quietlycuriouskate
The Pagan Lord | Bernard Cornwell
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👋 *waving at Uhtred from my sofa and a thousand years' distance*

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quietlycuriouskate
The Pagan Lord | Bernard Cornwell
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Happy solstice to all who celebrate! ☀️
There's fruit cake, oranges, nuts, Uhtred of Bebbanburg... what more can you ask?
(Uhtred would prefer fewer books and more ale. 🙄)

TheBookHippie Happy Solstice!!!! 6mo
kspenmoll Happy Solstice! Beautiful sunset tonight here in CT! 6mo
sarahbarnes Happy solstice! ❄️ 6mo
30 likes3 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Pickpick

A drugs-related kidnapping of a young lad: not a book I'd have picked up, were it not for its #bookerprize longlisting.
I enjoyed the characterisation (poor Dev, especially, and hapless Doll, and prematurely adult Nicky). There's something feels not quite complete about it though, and it could do with one more edit: not least to clear up the nonsensical imagery I kept tripping over (eg. the appearance of a distant building compared to an aspirin).

review
quietlycuriouskate
Water | John Boyne
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Pickpick

Oh, this was good! Actually, I think it's the best of his that I've read, partly because he has a defter touch with the foreshadowing here than in some others. I enjoyed the telling of this from the wife's point of view and her anguish re questioning her complicity/"stupidity".
I want to read "Earth" now!

quietlycuriouskate JB clearly does not subscribe to the "save the cat" school of storytelling. Not sure why the poor cat had to die; as an emblem of toxic masculinity, perhaps? That's an unfair burden to put on the blameless creature, if so! 6mo
squirrelbrain I‘ve read Earth and Fire and they‘re not *quite* as good as this, but still fabulous. 6mo
Cathythoughts Nice review 👍🏻 I enjoyed this one too. 6mo
Caroline2 Oh I‘ve got this on my kindle, sounds like I need to move it up the list. 👍 6mo
34 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
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The storm is mostly passed, the tree is up and, for reasons unknown, I'm after reading Tennyson. 🤷

review
quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

#bookerprizelonglist (Yes, I'm still making slow progress through the longlist ?)

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this much. Given the subject matter, I imagined it would be rather "tough" in a blokeish way: the book it would have been had Mustafa been the narrator, perhaps. As it was, I found it surprisingly tender. I felt for Khaled, whose life seems permanently provisional despite 30 years of staying put.

I'd have shortlisted it.

squirrelbrain It was on my shortlist. And, like you, I didn‘t imagine I would like it. 6mo
JamieArc I had the same thoughts. It was a nice surprise for me. 6mo
Cathythoughts Nice review, I have this one. I must get to it 👍🏻😁 6mo
Caroline2 Yes! I‘ve been reluctant to get this one too as I thought it would be blokey but everyone keeps saying how fab it is so I guess I‘ll have to read it now. 😂 6mo
40 likes4 comments
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quietlycuriouskate
Untitled | Unknown
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Shamelessly not even pretending to be book-related: I just wanted to show you the surprise gift of an advent calendar my daughter gave me. I smile every time I see it! 😀 ❤️ 🦕🦖

Tamra Cute! 6mo
Suet624 Love it! 6mo
Caroline2 Ah that‘s so cute, bless her! What a lovely idea! 🥰 (edited) 6mo
28 likes3 comments
review
quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

Fascinating book! A rich buffet for word-nerds, a collection of essays on e.g: ASL; the rules of Icelandic naming; the Manx language; details of translating Les Murray's poetry into French; Esperanto; the grammar and syntax of phone-speech; the work of Georges Perec (appropriately excluding the letter "e"); and his own synaesthetic language of number.
(I'm considering the possibility that I have a crush on Daniel Tammet's mind at this point. ?)

30 likes2 stack adds
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quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

This maps the intersection between a life built from books, feminism, disputed childhood neglect and female (self) control.
I have close, albeit second-hand, experience of a near fatal eating disorder so this was a tough listen throughout: be warned! (Also, briefly, for suicide ideation.) If you're a fan of her novels, I think you won't want to miss this. I found it compelling, for which credit must also go to narrator, Morven Christie.

30 likes1 stack add
review
quietlycuriouskate
The Safekeep | Yael van der Wouden
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Pickpick

Oh, this was seriously good! It's a powerful story on a subject I don't recall reading about before. I very much enjoyed the characterisation of Isabel and Eva and, oh my, the tension generated throughout as it becomes clear what is actually going on here. Actually I think it would have been my personal #bookerprize winner, were it not for the generous amount of 🌶️ , which i just don't like.

Amor4Libros This was one of my favorite books this year! ❤️ 7mo
BarbaraBB I am glad you read it and I feel the same way 🤍 7mo
sarahbarnes Loved this one so much, too. It would‘ve been my pick for the Booker of the ones I read. 7mo
Cathythoughts Great review. I loved it ! But , yes , too much sex information. (edited) 7mo
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review
quietlycuriouskate
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Pickpick

Heigh ho, here we go for another turn around the relief-grief-rage cycle! Turns out there's a significant overlap between cPTSD and the autism spectrum (not surprised). This is a reassuring and potentially empowering book, in that the approach comprises things you can do for yourself, without requiring professional support. I've tweaked my journalling/meditation practice to include her methods. So far so good but it's early days yet.

quietlycuriouskate It's a personal thing but I don't like the term "re-regulated". Sounds too much like toe-ing someone else's line: regulations are imposed from outside. I prefer "recalibrated" which feels more like tuning my system to its own optimal settings. 7mo
TheBookHippie OMG if one more person tells me talk therapy … or meds… just NO. I like recalibrated. It sounds way better. 7mo
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TheBookHippie @quietlycuriouskate generally it‘s because they read my medical chart. Has nothing to do with me or what I‘m even at the doctor for. 7mo
Kerrbearlib @quietlycuriouskate I love that - recalibrated! 7mo
Kerrbearlib I have ADHD & cPTSD. There are lot of overlaps between them too. I recently started Anna‘s daily journaling practice & have noticed improvements in my life. I‘m less anxious and don‘t get upset as easily. My house is neater too, which for me is a huge deal. I‘m looking forward to reading her book. 7mo
quietlycuriouskate @Kerrbearlib That's great that the journalling practice is working for you. I notice that acknowledging the fear underlying my other emotional responses leads to my feeling less at the mercy of "stuff": it seems counter-intuitive in that way. 7mo
Bookwomble ❤️‍🩹 7mo
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