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What's a cool book you've read in the past month?



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Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:23 pm
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Mageheart says...



I just read March: Volume 3 after my American Protest teacher recommended it to me, and words can't describe what I felt like while reading it. It's the story of congressman John Lewis. No matter what your political beliefs are, it's the type of thing I think everyone should read - it's an inside look at what it was like to be a civil rights activist during the 1960s, and specifically focuses on Selma. The artwork in the graphic novel is absolutely beautiful, and it has a few flashes to the "present" (2009) interwoven throughout, showing just how far he's come since his time as a chairman of the SNCC. Reading it made me want to go out and protest, and gave me a honest, powerful look at the great injustices of that time period.

I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who have also seen Ava DuVernay's Selma.
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Wed Sep 19, 2018 2:30 pm
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Kazumi says...



Being the short story loyalist that I am (lol), I read Haruki Murakami's short story anthology The Elephant Vanishes. I've completed nearly all the stories in there except for The Last Boat to China and Barn Burning (that may be a nod to Faulkner's story of the same title).

The works there are so lit since they're always so sharp. In there, Murakami was really good at describing the settings and how his characters truly feel. Not only that, he does it in his own unique style (which I've never seen before), resulting in a plot that feels like it goes calmly and in slow motion.

Another interesting thing is that he portrays a Japan that's so heavily influenced by the West. You can see it in majority of the media referenced in the stories, like music (many characters in there listen to jazz and Western classical music) and literature (D.H. Lawrence, Anna Karenina). Interesting thing is it's probably a result of him projecting himself and his interests into the story.

Last thing I like about the stories is their weirdness. One story tells of a mother who couldn't sleep for two weeks. Another's on a couple who get driven by hunger to hold up a McDonald's in the middle of the night. Another one shows a guy getting phone sexed by a random woman whom he's never met but claims to know him. But it all feels real and believable anyway since Murakami's so good at precisely conveying how his characters feel.
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 9:32 pm
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PrincessInk says...



Some great books I read recently:

-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society [edit: written by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows] is a collection of letters between writer Juliet Ashton, members of this titular society, and people in Juliet's personal life. I loved this! This book celebrates readers and writers.

-Warcross+Wildcard duology. Oh, so this was my first read by Marie Lu and I'm def coming back for more! This was so good, with great diversity rep (the MC is Chinese American, there's a Japanese character, there's a character in a wheelchair, and gay characters as well). Plus morally gray characters which make great talking points. And the setting was on point!

-Louisiana's Way Home. Ok, ok, I am forever and ever a Kate DiCamillo fan. Enough said.
Last edited by PrincessInk on Wed Dec 19, 2018 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 9:58 pm
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MaybeInk says...



THE LEAVING! I'm not kidding, it was by far the most jaw-dropping book I have ever read. It's about these six kindergarten kids who were kidnapped, and now only five of them came back. Let's just say that there is so much drama, and plot twist after plot twist.

Amazing, 12/10, would 100% recommend
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:07 pm
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XenaTheNerd says...



Definitely The Bitch Goddess Notebook by Martha O'Connor. It's absolutely amazing, the suspense, the mystery, the surprise. God, everything is so perfectly entwined and timed that I'm surprised it isn't well known.
  





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Sat Jan 19, 2019 4:56 pm
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jster02 says...



Showdown by Ted Dekker is probably one of my new favorites. All I can say without spoiling is that it takes place in a small town with a top secret research project going on just outside its border. It sounds a bit cliche, the way I put it, but Dekker does some really interesting things with it.
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Sat Jan 19, 2019 8:16 pm
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manilla says...



Life of Pi is an all-time classic about a religious boy stranded in a boat with a bengal tiger, an orangutan, a hyena, and a zebra. As the story unfolds, the boy, Pi's mentality is tested and he is put through trials at sea.

The ending will have you reading it again, and again, and again.
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Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:44 pm
paperforest says...



How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, by Mike Brown. I don't often read memoirs, but the title made me laugh so I flipped it open in the middle. It was so good that I kept reading from that spot, and then had to go back to the start to read how it started! It was really neat to learn about astronomy and the scientific community surrounding the time when Pluto lost its planetary status, and I didn't know until I read this book just how much there is still left to discover in our solar system! It was very easy to read, and the author has just a good sense of humour as you would expect from the title!
  





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Wed Feb 27, 2019 9:27 pm
Konkurs101 says...



Books? I've almost forgotten what these look like over the course of the last few days :mrgreen: I was working overtime to do a presentation at my job and had to read tons of articles about the property taxes in Greece, and I was too tired of reading to enjoy novels or things like that :(
I'll fix it ASAP, I promise!
Last edited by Konkurs101 on Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
  





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Wed Feb 27, 2019 9:44 pm
alliyah says...



@jster02 I read "showdown" by Ted Dekker back in High School, I even did a big English class project over it. I'm not sure I really enjoyed the book, like right from page one it was really edgy? creepy? I'm not sure the right word. I thought the storyline and characters were engaging, but at the end I wasn't sure I had enjoyed the read. Have you read other Dekker books that you've enjoyed?

I just finished reading "Annihilation" by Jeff VanderMeer - yes the one that the movie is based off of. And some of the first fiction I've been able to read in a while. I loved it! Not my normal read - it's in the science fiction, horror category, but totally engaging. I would not recommend the movie or the book to young reader/viewers as there are some disturbing and mature scenes, but if you're a bit older and are interested in science fiction definitely check this one out. The whole piece is written sort of like a journal account of the narrator's experience. It follows this explorer team that has been sent into "Area X" and are intended to research the area, but things do not go as planned, and the narrator, a biologist, ends up learning quite a bit about herself while trying to uncover (and survive) the mysteries of Area X.
If you've already watched the movie version, do not fear, the book's plot is almost entirely different - like same characters, completely different events and circumstances.
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 5:08 pm
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Amabilia says...



I mean, it's a play, not a novel, but West Side Story was really good. In case people don't know, it's pretty much a 1960's version of Romeo and Juliet.
I read it for a choice book in my English class and as one of our projects, we have to create a video for our books. My friends are coming over soon and we're acting out a few scenes and im really excited.
That's probably not the review you were looking for but it was good.
  





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Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:41 pm
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starryknightt says...



Hey! I have been doing nothing BUT reading, luckily for you.
Most recently finished favorites:
- A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Okay, I absolutely LOVED this book! If you're a fan of fractured fairytales then this one is definitely for you. It's based on my personal favorite, Beauty and the Beast. The characters are very lovable, even the morally gray ones. The main character is a teenage girl with cerebral palsy and the author did so well with that. She really emphasized how others might view her as broken, yet she's the strongest character in the entire book, especially with her iron-will. Also, I am most definitely a YA romance lover, so excuse me while I say that this book REALLY delivered. I'm a sucker for hate-turns-to-love relationships in books haha.
- Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
I'll admit, I was a little hesitant about this book before I started reading it. This is yet another Beauty and the Beast retelling (I told you, I have an obsession), and I was still reluctant to start it. It can be kind of a deterrent when you've never even heard of the book before and can find no fandom for it. HOWEVER. This book is really worth it! It's around 400 pages of an angry, determined female MC that I absolutely love. She craves revenge and the freedom of her small town. She's neglected and misunderstood by her remaining family members. She is a nearly perfect embodiment of kick-butt female heroes. Might I mention, she maintains this status while falling in love... with her enemy, no less. Check it out!
- Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
This is a contemporary YA romance about a very relatable teenage girl who moves to a new town. It's all about her trying to figure out where she belongs until a mysterious person named Somebody/Nobody starts exchanging messages with her and tips on how to survive the wretched life of a high schooler. It's realistic, cute, and funny. Plus, the romance was just right.
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Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:27 am
Anma says...



Idk I have read like 6 books in just the last week but if I would have to chose I would choose princess academy. Its amazing the book has romance action and its based on olden days with wars and princesses. I would want to check it out
  





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Sat Mar 09, 2019 5:33 pm
PrincessInk says...



@Anma: I know right, Princess Academy was SO SO GOOD
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Sat Mar 09, 2019 5:42 pm
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4revgreen says...



Red dragon, silence of the lambs, Hannibal and Hannibal rising by Thomas Harris.
All in the same series, obviously. If you didn't know, I am obsessed with Hannibal, (TV Series and films) so i thought it was only right of me to read the books they were based off.
First of all, Thomas Harris is a fantastic writer. He provides beautiful descriptions whilst not over complicating it, my favourite being in silence of the lambs when Dr Chilton describes Clarice as "A sunset of a girl"
The books are fast paced, easy to read but the story is absolutely brilliant.
I really recommend them for anyone that likes horror or has watched the show and films.
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