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StarTopic Books |ST| Now You're Reading with POWER

1upmuffin

Sand Pounder
Community Liaison
Hey, you know what makes you really cool? Cooler than cool? Reading books!

Why should I read books? Because books make you think, and thinking is awesome. They tell you amazing stories, bring you to fantastical worlds, and let you meet diverse and interesting characters. They also help you write better and help you increase your vocab. I Also think writing just makes you a more interesting and knowledgeable person overall. Also, it's scientifically proven that people who read books regularly are SEXIER than their non-reading counterparts.

"But 1upmuffin", you ask disgracefully, "I think reading is for chumps, what book is for me?"

I chuckle, "You misguided person, I will show you the way." (THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU ASK FOR BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS)

Currently reading: Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Anthropocene Reviewed.

My favorite books I've read in 2021: (not ordered)

1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson:
Shirley Jackson is more well known for The Haunting of Hill House but this one stuck with me a lot more. It's a creepy tale of two sisters who live in a creepy house with their uncle, and the rest of their family is dead (read to find out more....).

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: I've been meaning to read this forever, I've liked Steinbecks shorter works but just started digging into his longer works. While it's a tragic book, there's also a lot of levity and kindness to be found here.

3. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin: This is a book about a boy named John (based on the author) who grew up with an abusive preacher father. The story spends different parts of the book focusing on different members of John's family. It's a dense read, but very fascinating view into the lives of these characters and their relationship with religion and themselves.


Here's the part where I pass it to you, fellow reader or aspiring reader! What have you been reading? What is stopping you from reading and how can I, 1upmuffin help? Do you need a recommendation, ask me or your fellow readers here!
 
this would have been a great post for the thread :mad:
I can't get on board with Grapes of Wrath lol. I struggled to finish it. But I think Steinbeck is just not for me.

I uh... unfortunately haven't read a novel in a long while. I believe the last thing I read was No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. It's a very uncomfortable read on its own due to the themes of abuse, despair, and nihilism. Even more so due to being loosely auto-biographical and with the knowledge that Dazai committed suicide about a month after the last part of it was published. It's an excellent book, but it's hard to recommend.
 
I can get behind this.

Currently reading: Sherlock Holmes (currently The Sign of Four)- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Read this year:
The War for Late Night- Bill Carter
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant- Drew Hayes
Underqualified Advice- Drew Hayes

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Midnight Library- Matt Haig
Bones of the Past- Drew Hayes

Forging Hephasteus- Drew Hayes
Super Powerds Series- Dre Hayes

Started but am on hiatus with:
Axiom's End- Lindsay Ellis
The Invisible Hook- Peter T. Leeson

*Bolded stories are new reads, nonbolded are rereads.

Favorite so far? Well, the Great Gatsby is probably my favorite, or one of my favorite, novels, but I read it regularly. Pretty obvious from that list I like Drew Hayes quite a bit, and ended up liking Fred more than I expected after putting off reading it for so long. The Midnight Library was probably the most interested new, stand alone read.
 
My favorite genre is mystery or detective mystery, I have read books like The Analyst or The Broken Window, so any recommendations would be very welcome!
 
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I've been doing a bad job of reading this year, but I got really into the Ninth series last year and am super excited for more. That's Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth as of right now.

I'm currently reading Gaiman's Norse Mythology, but again, doing a bad job of it.
 
I've been doing a bad job of reading this year, but I got really into the Ninth series last year and am super excited for more. That's Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth as of right now.

I'm currently reading Gaiman's Norse Mythology, but again, doing a bad job of it.

I feel your pain, I fell off the reading train so badly recently. I've been reading the same two books for months...

xoxo,
muffin~
sent from my personal computer
 
I've been doing a bad job of reading this year, but I got really into the Ninth series last year and am super excited for more. That's Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth as of right now.

I'm currently reading Gaiman's Norse Mythology, but again, doing a bad job of it.
Gaiman is my favorite author, and I adore his Norse Mythology. I’ve read it in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook form. Neil reading his own books is always so delightful.
 
I recently started the third book of the First Law Trilogy.

So far, the whole triology has been excellent. I'm listening to the audio books and they make commuting so much more pleasant.

Before reading them I had heard that Logan Ninefingers was a cool characters, which turns out to be correct imo, but the true standout is friggin Sand Dan Glokta. He is marvellous and THE standout for me so far.
 
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I just reached my 50 book goal for the year. Right now I'm reading Roadside Picnic in preparation of Waypoint Plus' STALKER 101 this month, and after that I'll be starting The Only Good Indians to kick off my #spooktober reads. I've also been reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 12 chapters at a time since March, fantastic book.

Non-fiction wise, I've been reading a lot of socialist/anti-capitalist literature.

Some highlights from this year so far (no particular order).

Fiction:
Under the Whispering Door - T.J. Klune
Jade War - Fonda Lee
The Chosen and the Beautiful - Nghi Vo
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within - Becky Chambers
A Desolation Called Peace - Arkady Martine

Non-fiction:
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective - Keeanga Taylor
How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America - Sara Sinclair
The End of Policing - Alex S. Vitale
Lost in Work: Escaping Capitalism - Amelia Horgan
 
Gaiman is my favorite author, and I adore his Norse Mythology. I’ve read it in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook form. Neil reading his own books is always so delightful.
I've been working through his list (very) slowly. I really love his prose and sense of timing. Good Omens was a slow burn that I didn't realize how much I enjoyed until well after I finished it. American Gods, on the other hand, I devoured in a few days. He's a great writer.
 
I've been working through his list (very) slowly. I really love his prose and sense of timing. Good Omens was a slow burn that I didn't realize how much I enjoyed until well after I finished it. American Gods, on the other hand, I devoured in a few days. He's a great writer.
Highly recommend Anansi Boys, it’s an indirect sequel to American Gods, and has a much more comedic tone to it. The Audiobook is especially good.
 
I’m mostly into horror novels, mangas and comics, and mystery.
Currently reading through variations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (my October/Halloween ritual).
I need to start on my Legend of Zelda manga set series, but I don’t want to open the package. XD
 
Speaking of audiobooks, you guys can actually follow the story if you listen to them while doing other stuff? I often drift off what I'm hearing even in podcasts
I think sometimes I follow them better than if I were physically reading. It's easy for me to start thinking of something else while reading and not really absorb anything, but I usually listen to audiobooks when I'm driving or doing something more passive. In fact, for more dry material I've found it's easier to digest in audio format than it is in written, which has helped me get through things like histories or older literature.
 
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Speaking of audiobooks, you guys can actually follow the story if you listen to them while doing other stuff? I often drift off what I'm hearing even in podcasts
It depends, I can focus on podcasts pretty well most of the time, but Audiobooks seem harder for some reason. I've heard some great ones though as my mom used to listen to audiobooks in the car a lot. A good reader makes a huge difference.

xoxo,
muffin~
 
Currently reading a horror novel from the 30s called The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck that's quite fun. Looking for more spooky book recommendations for this most terrifying of months.
 
I've been not reading lately, but want to. I'd use my PC/desktop to read mainly so maybe like Kindle for PC.

So the genres I want to get recs on are...

  • horror
  • mystery and detective
  • thriller
  • fantasy
  • young adult fiction
  • true crime
 
I am a subscriber to Library of America (and a member as well). They make some of the finest books around, specifically America-facing content. I will share some of my collection and I can post regularly about new volumes I receive on a semi-monthly basis (about every 3 weeks).
 
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I've been not reading lately, but want to. I'd use my PC/desktop to read mainly so maybe like Kindle for PC.

So the genres I want to get recs on are...

  • horror
  • mystery and detective
  • thriller
  • fantasy
  • young adult fiction
  • true crime
Well, I've got a rec that fits all of these (except true crime) called Gideon the Ninth.
 
Speaking of Shirley Jackson, I’m going to reread The Haunting of Hill House for spooky season. Also planning to reread Dune. The last time I read it was in high school and that was…. multiple decades ago. Excuse me while I crumble into dust like a poorly preserved mummy

edit: I enjoyed Gideon the Ninth and would second that rec.
e2: kinda want to do a big Jackson read. I‘ve never read her whole catalog.
 
Hill House is so good. Read it last year and was pleasantly surprised by how gay it was.
Also, good luck with Dune, it can be hard to get into, but totally worth it.
 
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About halfway through The Only Good Indians. I'm not the kind of reader that has ever gotten spooked reading a horror book, but this has managed to make me cringe (in a good way) a couple times. CW for graphic descriptions of animal violence and gore including dogs. The writing is compelling, the novel's structure is interesting (it has some swerves in terms of framing/perspective that have been good at refreshing my attention and kept me reading) and it creates a very good sense of space I feel.
 
Currently reading a horror novel from the 30s called The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck that's quite fun. Looking for more spooky book recommendations for this most terrifying of months.
Speaking of spooky October books. I recently read You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann. It’s a wonderful little novella that takes minor inspiration from House of Leaves and The Shining.

A screenwriter takes his wife and young daughter out to an AirBnB in the mountains to work on his latest script. He starts to notice that the house is subtly “off” in strange ways as his life starts to unravel.

It’s terrifically creepy in the best way. And since it’s so short, it can be read in about an hour or two. Highly recommended.
 
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I've been not reading lately, but want to. I'd use my PC/desktop to read mainly so maybe like Kindle for PC.

So the genres I want to get recs on are...

  • horror
  • mystery and detective
  • thriller
  • fantasy
  • young adult fiction
  • true crime

Hmm, for horror I'll rec the one I mentioned in my recent reads, We Have Always Lived in the Castle. For young adult, I really like John Green, a lot of his stuff can be formulaic but I think Turtles All the way Down is an especially good one.

Speaking of Shirley Jackson, I’m going to reread The Haunting of Hill House for spooky season. Also planning to reread Dune. The last time I read it was in high school and that was…. multiple decades ago. Excuse me while I crumble into dust like a poorly preserved mummy

edit: I enjoyed Gideon the Ninth and would second that rec.
e2: kinda want to do a big Jackson read. I‘ve never read her whole catalog.

I want to read the rest of Shirley Jacksons books too, I've only read the two so far. I bet there's a few more gems in there.

______________________

For my own reading update, I finally finished Narnia 3: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and now I'm focusing on Anthropocene reviewed and may add another book, maybe Plato's The Republic or Player Piano.
 
Hmm, for horror I'll rec the one I mentioned in my recent reads, We Have Always Lived in the Castle. For young adult, I really like John Green, a lot of his stuff can be formulaic but I think Turtles All the way Down is an especially good one.



I want to read the rest of Shirley Jacksons books too, I've only read the two so far. I bet there's a few more gems in there.

______________________

For my own reading update, I finally finished Narnia 3: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and now I'm focusing on Anthropocene reviewed and may add another book, maybe Plato's The Republic or Player Piano.
I would definitely recommend checking out Player Piano when you get a chance. The subject and themes feel pretty timely right now.
 
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I set my 2021 reading challenge to 12 books, I’ve already completed it and I’m now reading my 13th book of the year! I’m quite happy about that!

I’ve been reading more and more over the last ~10 years, but I really picked it up within the last ~5 years. My love for reading started in University when I purchased my first eReaders. That’s what got me into reading, funnily enough! I’ve also pre-ordered the new Kindle Paperwhite so I’m looking forward to the warm light features.

I’m currently reading The Hundread Years’ War on Palestine By Rashid Khalidi.

This is what I’ve read this year, if anyone was curious:
  1. The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
  2. I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
  3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
  4. Recursion by Blake Crouch
  5. Foundation #1 by Isaac Asimov
  6. Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive #2.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  7. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
  8. Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
  9. Yearbook by Seth Rogen
  10. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
  11. The Rage of Dragons (The Burning #1) by Evan Winter
  12. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Looking forward to seeing what others are reading to see if I can poach from what you all have read!
 
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I've been into 20th century fiction for the past few months after getting tired of reading history. Highlights are not very original but I liked them anyway:

  • American Pastoral by Philip Roth
  • White Noise by Don DeLillo

Both, aside from being well written, gave me a good view into the alienation of modern society. I read another Philip Roth book (Goodbye, Columbus) and will pick more up. I like him.

Currently I am reading The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago. It's a retelling of Jesus' life that changes several things and is very introspective. It's not a religious book (in fact it caused Saramago to be exiled by the Church) but instead just a good story of someone finding their way in the world.
 
I'm about a 1/3 of the way through The Count of Monte Cristo(like 400 pages lol), and it kicks so much ass. Nothing like a good revenge story.
 
I can get behind this.

Currently reading: Sherlock Holmes (currently The Sign of Four)- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Read this year:
The War for Late Night- Bill Carter
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant- Drew Hayes
Underqualified Advice- Drew Hayes

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Midnight Library- Matt Haig
Bones of the Past- Drew Hayes

Forging Hephasteus- Drew Hayes
Super Powerds Series- Dre Hayes

Started but am on hiatus with:
Axiom's End- Lindsay Ellis
The Invisible Hook- Peter T. Leeson

*Bolded stories are new reads, nonbolded are rereads.

Favorite so far? Well, the Great Gatsby is probably my favorite, or one of my favorite, novels, but I read it regularly. Pretty obvious from that list I like Drew Hayes quite a bit, and ended up liking Fred more than I expected after putting off reading it for so long. The Midnight Library was probably the most interested new, stand alone read.
Big fan of Drew as well. Read most of his stuff, but haven’t looked into Fred yet. Maybe I should.
 
Big fan of Drew as well. Read most of his stuff, but haven’t looked into Fred yet. Maybe I should.
It’s got the charm and humor of his other books, I’m not sure why I held off so long. A similar thing happened with Super Powereds, which I ended up really liking.
 
Cheers. Added it to the backlog. Got a few others to check off first. Currently reading Monster Hunter International, book 6/7.
 
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I'm trying to cut down my time wasting and get back in to reading a lot more. It's been a long time since I've read anything proper and I'm getting sick of sitting in front of a screen all day and I've been neglecting my Kindle because of it. So I went and bought a whole pile of books I've been wanting to catch up on forever.

TXpLMur.jpeg


I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? a long time ago everything after that are new books I've recently gotten. I've read The Three-Body Problem and Hyperion so far, I'm currently reading Jurassic Park while also going through Berserk Deluxe Volume 5.
These should keep me busy for quite some time.
 
I totally came in here and said I would share my LoA collection and totally didn't. I still intend to do that!

I am currently moving my personal library from the basement to the living room, so been rather busy and the library is not yet presentable.
 
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American Science Fiction: Four Classic Novels 1960-1966

The latest Library of America volume they are sending me in my subscription.

Flowers for Algernon is a classic I haven't read all the way through, but am very familiar with. I am excited to look into the other books I am not as familiar with. First volume in a two volume collection. I have the previous Science Fiction of the 1950s two-volume set.
 
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Finally managed to get through the 2013 translation of The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar. Equal parts funny and an absolute drag to get through. It's one of these books that just makes all my other reading suffer. I enjoyed it but I'm also very glad to to be done at last. I'll need a palate cleanser so I picked up le Carré's A Murder of Quality.
 
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Lately I’ve been catching up on fantasy authors’ outputs from years when I had no library card. Spent some time reading whatever is available [digitally] from Patricia Wrede, but one series just hasn’t done it for me. I think it’s the Lyra novels but I’m not looking at one, this second - I can’t even remember if I finished reading the 4th one. Granted, this was a series she wrote a LONG time ago, but when a book makes so little impression that I’m not sure I completed it, that’s pretty…average.
 
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I finished reading The Hundread Years’ War on Palestine By Rashid Khalidi about 2 days ago. It's a fantastic book that summarizes a lot of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, while also criticizing other Arab nations for their inaction, and the failures of Palestinian leadership. I highly recommend it.

I'm now reading Human Acts by Han Kang, which I was quite excited for.
 
Currently reading 'The Dust' in Brian Evenson's ' A Collapse of Horses' collection and it is pretty intense. Really knows how to dial up tension.
 
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It’s got the charm and humor of his other books, I’m not sure why I held off so long. A similar thing happened with Super Powereds, which I ended up really liking.

Just finished book 1, and it was fun. A light read with a bunch of episodes, made for easy reading sessions. Felt a bit like the first season of a tv-series. I’ll be sure to get to book 2 at some point.

Going with Project Hail Mary next, by Martian author Andy Weir. It was recommended to me, excited. Always enjoy a good sci-fi.
 
I'm currently reading Gaiman's Norse Mythology, but again, doing a bad job of it.

Gaiman is my favorite author, and I adore his Norse Mythology. I’ve read it in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook form. Neil reading his own books is always so delightful.

Is Gaiman's Norse Mythology a novel, a collection of translations, a collection of his retelling of those stories, or a non-fiction discussion, or some combination? I'm a fan of Gaiman.

I need to start on my Legend of Zelda manga set series, but I don’t want to open the package. XD

Hm. Never considered reading the Zelda manga set. I wonder if the English translation would be appealing to non-manga people like myself.

Speaking of audiobooks, you guys can actually follow the story if you listen to them while doing other stuff? I often drift off what I'm hearing even in podcasts

It does depend on a number of factors. Keep in mind, I've been listening to podcasts since before there was a word for it. Since 2003 I think. Back around 2006 I started listening to my favourite books in audio format. So I already new the story. Was I training myself up for it? Or, does my mind just have the natural disposition and engaging intellectually with a topic while absentmindedly doing other chores?

And absentmindedly is key there. At a previous job I was called the absentminded professor. While I was really good at learning the ropes and doing the job, my mind would wonder as the machines did their work. This would lead to me occasionally missing a problem that was growing and needed a quick correction.

But on the other hand, any taks that requires reading, writing or listening to language does interfere with understanding what is going on.

Sometimes my mind wonders because the podcast or the book is going to slow. Not keeping my attention even if it's interesting. So I speed up the content. But some content is too dense and I need to slow it down to regular speed.

But I often listen to audio books at 1.5-2 speed. Unless I really want to enjoy them, then I read them at 1.2 speed. Or if they are too dense for me. Occasionally I listen to things at 2+ if I'm not really enjoying it but want to finish.

It depends, I can focus on podcasts pretty well most of the time, but Audiobooks seem harder for some reason. I've heard some great ones though as my mom used to listen to audiobooks in the car a lot. A good reader makes a huge difference.

I find that podcasts can be more natural (since they aren't reading) and that can engage your brain more easily. But it's less structured and easy to miss something that isn't made clear if you are distracted at a critical moment. But podcasts, lectures and audiobooks all have a different feel to them and may be easier or harder depending.

I finished reading The Hundread Years’ War on Palestine By Rashid Khalidi about 2 days ago. It's a fantastic book that summarizes a lot of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, while also criticizing other Arab nations for their inaction, and the failures of Palestinian leadership. I highly recommend it.

Wait wait wait... Are you claiming that this is a thoughtful book that actually looks at the failures of both sides, even if it's clearly on one side? That sounds like what I've been looking for. Given your description, I'm assuming it is not pro-Israel. I'm not either. I'm just worried stuff will be too anti-Semitic or propaganda based and I'm not sure I'd be able to spot it yet.
 
Currently, I have just started the first audiobook of the Murderbot Diaries. It's different from what I expected but interesting.

Just finishing up the non-fiction The New Jim Crow. Really makes me angry, that nonsense.

Aside: my spell checking, LanguageTool, warns me that the expression Jim Crow can be considered offensive. I'm having trouble understanding that. In what way is that expression used that is offensive and not in reference to old case law? Like, slavery offends me as a concept, but it doesn't say slavery is an offensive word. I must be missing something about older uses of Jim Crow in the American context. (I'm Canadian.)
 
Wait wait wait... Are you claiming that this is a thoughtful book that actually looks at the failures of both sides, even if it's clearly on one side? That sounds like what I've been looking for. Given your description, I'm assuming it is not pro-Israel. I'm not either. I'm just worried stuff will be too anti-Semitic or propaganda based and I'm not sure I'd be able to spot it yet.
It’s still very pro-Palestine, but the author is clearly upset at how things have unfolded for Palestine compared to other Arab countries around the same time period. He criticizes the Zionist movement, Israeli leadership like Ariel Sharon, the British, the US, Palestinian figures like Yasser Arafat, other Arab countries, etc. The book felt fair in it’s criticism to me. The author is very much attached to Palestine (he is Palestinian after all).
 
@Shawndroid

Gaiman’s Norse Mythology is a collection of Norse stories as told by Gaiman. From the creation of the world all the way to Ragnarok. If you’re a fan of Neil (and even if you aren’t) I highly recommend checking it out.
 
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In what way is that expression used that is offensive and not in reference to old case law?
I suppose it’s possible that it thought it was a proper name in a story. There could also be racist dogwhistles I’m not personally familiar with.
 
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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K. J. Parker - amazing low fantasy (fake medieval?) book about skullduggery and civil engineering. Super bleak subject matter but uniformly hilarious.

Bad Monkeys, by Matt Ruff - short little meltdown of a book, careens wildly through a few genres (science fiction, spy, crappy airport bookstore thriller, coming of age memoir) in service of what resolves into a really tight, genuinely moving story.
 
It’s still very pro-Palestine, but the author is clearly upset at how things have unfolded for Palestine compared to other Arab countries around the same time period. He criticizes the Zionist movement, Israeli leadership like Ariel Sharon, the British, the US, Palestinian figures like Yasser Arafat, other Arab countries, etc. The book felt fair in it’s criticism to me. The author is very much attached to Palestine (he is Palestinian after all).
I dig audiobooks. I went to look this up and found it was 2 credits rather than one on Downpour. It's 1 credit on Audible. No idea on eStories. So I ended up creating an account on Libro.FM to get this audiobook. It's a social purpose corporation. It costs the same as Audible in the US. Donates to keep local bookstores open. And seems to audiobooks I could only get on Audible that are not on Downpour or eStories.

So now I have a Libro account and you can get TWO audiobooks with the code CHOOSEINDIE.

For a limited time, when you sign up for a new monthly membership with code CHOOSEINDIE, we’ll give you a bonus audiobook! That means you’ll have 2 audiobook credits to redeem from the start.

Anyway, I now own that book and another one that I found last week on Downpour that was more than a single credit. So weird. Remember, code CHOOSEINDIE.
 
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Haven't been reading much since I began my foray into the soul-draining world of real estate, but now that that's over it's time to get back on board!

Going to be starting Nightbitch tonight. It's about a woman who gives up her artistic pursuits to stay at home with her newborn baby. After years at home, she discovers a patch of fur on her neck and comes to believe she is part dog. Very interested to see how this story develops.

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I know you don't READ cookbooks but I thought I'd post this anyway because I am EXCITED: Eric Wareheim (Tim and Eric, Master of None) put out a cookbook and it is fantastic! Can't wait to work my way through this one.

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