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What was your favorite 2 books you read this year?

What was your favorite 2 books you read this year?

Kathy #questionnaire

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239 Answers

Laura

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

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Dani

Beartown and the woman in the window

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Misty

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Great Alone.

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Laura

The Great Alone is next! I’m slowly getting through Lilac Girls

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Misty

Lilac Girls ended up being a pretty good read too! This has been a year of (mostly) fantastic books! 🙂

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Tracey

@Misty yes very good reading year for me too

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Michelle

Educated and Where the Crawdads Sing

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KathyQuestion author

@Michelle I tried reading these back to back and really struggled. Have to try Educated again next year. I was too hungover from crawdads to read anything. Lol

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Sg

@Michelle my Xmas reading.

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Kathy

The Indifferent Stars Above and The Slynx

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KathyQuestion author

@Kathy ooooooh new ones for me

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Beqi

Elinor Oiliphant is completely fine, and The Girl Who drank the Moon.

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Thania

Ahab’s Wife, and Ice Desert

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AJ

IQ by Joe Ide and The Heart’s Invisible Furies

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Allana

The great alone and throne of glass

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Cheri

#1 the book thief. #2 would probably be Jessica, maybe The Pact. Marching Powder is up there but I’m only half way through.

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Christi

A Gentleman in Moscow and Killers of the Flower Moon

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Christine

A court of thorns and Roses
Ever after

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Emma

@Christine is Ever After the 2nd book you enjoyed? I love COTAR by Mass

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Christine

@Emma yes… it is the book version of the movie… basically the script turned into novel form.

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Emma

@Christine nice!

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Sean

Just 2? That’s tough, but The Hate U Give and You Bring The Distant Near are both high in my list.

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Heather

Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Silent Corner (Dean Koontz)

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Vickie

Educated and a tie between a few others

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Randi

Kingdom of Ash because I needed that series conclusion. And the Kiss Quotient was also fantastic!

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Sherry

The Great Alone and necessary lies

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Dede

Thr Great Alone by Kristin Hannah , I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

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Susan

I LOVED I’ll Meet You There. She told that story so well I felt like they were all my old friends and the way she described the town I could picture it so vividly. She is a wonderful author

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Dede

yeah.. it was amazing.. loved it so much.. Heather Demetrios is one of my favorite author ?

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Jeff

The Anomaly by Michael Rutgar. It was fast paced, kinda of intelligent and fun.

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Belinda

A thousand splendid suns and The Stand.

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Jean

The Library Book by Susan Orlean and Shell Game by Sara Paretsky.

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Sophii

Ready Player One and It Ends With Us

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Jessy

It’s really hard to pick two lol but I’m going to say The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Katrina

At the moment I’d say Beartown by Fredrik Backman and Normal People by Sally Rooney – but I’m in the middle of An American Marriage by Tayrai Jones and I have high hopes for some of the books still on my tbr pile for this year

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KathyQuestion author

@Katrina I have to read something by bachman

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Tobias

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne and Levels of Life by Julian Barnes

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Siddhi

The way of kings and The cruel prince

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Margit

Idaho and Reading Lolita in Tehran

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Sheryl

Lived Reading Lolita

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Bhawna

The Exact Opposite of Okay and Leah on the Offbeat

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Susan

Exit West and Sing, Unburied Sing

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Lee

Bird Box by Josh Malerman.
Need to Know by Karen Cleveland.

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Momina

Crooked Kingdom and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

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Paige

Seveneves & A Spool of Blue Thread

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Megan

Circe and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

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Riikka

The Alice Network by Kte Quinn and Love is Blind by William Boyd.

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Susan

The Seven Husband’s of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Nevernight by Jay Kristokk

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Sabrina

Eleanor oliphant is completely fine by Gail honeyman and a man called ove by Fredrick brackmann

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Sheryl

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adyemi and the Hate U Give by Angela Thomas are a tie

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Noah

1. Promulgating the Civil and Commercial Arbitration. 2. QFC legislation. ? did like it? Nooo… was it exciting and intriguing? Depends on which party was i supporting… If the question was how many books i purchased thinking to read this year? Ans would be 14. For a total cost of $276.00 ?God help me

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Ann

97 library books
Total cost $1.20 in fines

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Robert

Kingdom of Ash. Sarah J. Maas

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AJ

Cloud Atlas & The Wake

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Sg

Beartown and We were the Lucky Ones

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Brett

A Gentleman in Moscow and Dark Matter.

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Sg

@Brett both excellent.

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Katie

13 reasons why and love simon

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Tiffany

“This is how it always is” and “Educated” if I’m forced to pick only 2 out of 65!

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Terri

“These Is My Words” & “Life of Pi”

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Heather

@Terri These is My Words is sooooo great! ? I haven’t read it in a long time but you reminded me how much I loved it. Thank you!

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Nikita

Jules Verne’s – Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Marina Vladi – Interrupted Flight

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Terry

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and I am Pilgrim.

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David
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David
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Heather

The Great Alone and A Man Called Ove!

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Traci

Beartown and Grace by T. Greenwood

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Diane

Educated: A Memoir
The End of Your Life Book Club
And many, many more!

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Sharon

Beartown and Where the Crawdads Sing

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Mai

Frankenstein and A Monster Calls

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Jenny

Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith…and I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman… they impacted me the most. My read list in my comments…

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Jenny
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Jenny
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Jenny
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Jenny
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Jenny
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Katie

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Educated by Tara Westover

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Rosemarie

Gone With the Wind and A Gentleman In Moscow.

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Jane

The Salt Path and Book of the Unnamed Midwife

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Rachel

Circe
A gentleman in Moscow

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Alison

The Overstory and Good Morning, Midnight.

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Ann

Beartown, Backman
The Drop, Dennis Lehane

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Emily

Wish you had said five instead of two!! The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain and 11.22.63 by Stephen King.

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Diane

Educated; Where the Crawdads Sing.

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Souha

The Quiet American by Graham Greene and Don’t Tell Mummy by Toni Maguire

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Jenna

We Were the Lucky Ones, Georgia Hamilton; Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens.

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Susan

Before We Were Yours is probably my favorite this year but also loved Alice Network.

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Tina

There are 3. Hunger games.

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Mansoor

The monk who sold his ferrari
Wish you well

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Farrah

Beartown and The Pot Thief who Studied Edward Abbey

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Lisa

Charlotte’s web and the Wild Robot, with my daughter

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Maree

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.

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Lisa

Sapiens is also excellent

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Terri

Calypso by David Sedaris and Lost Boy by Christina Henry.

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Becca

Forever, Pete Hamill

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Debra

The bookshop on the corner, Jenny Colman and the Dry, Jane Harper

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Susan

Beartown and A Gentleman in Moscow

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Liz

The Address by Fiona Davis and The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor

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Lorrie

The Alchemist and Little Fires Everywhere

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Marjorie

Frankie Presto, The Timekeeper

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Maudia

Happiness by Aminatta Forna

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Linda

@Maudia I just got that one! Need to finish The Book of M first, but it’s slow going. Glad you liked it. I heard good things about it.

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Beth

This is how it always is and Carlos Ruiz Zafon Series.

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Katina

The Stand and Britt Marie was here

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Joy

Pachinko and A Gentleman in Moscow

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Komet

Ah, a difficult choice for me to make this year, as I’ve had several favorites. But here are my 2 fav books I’ve read in 2018 — (1) THE FUTURES by Anna Pitoniak (debut novel) and (2) ‘INVISIBLE: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster’ by Stephen L. Carter (non-fiction).

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Mark

Less and American Wolf

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Steve

The summer that Melted Everything, by Tiffany McDaniel
Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

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Will

The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

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Bev

The Great Alone. Wonder

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Erin

Before we were yours and The Nightingale

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Cindy

The Book Thief and Where the Crawdads Sing.

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Lee

A Man Called Ove
The Hate U Give

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Lacey

Born a Crime and When Breath Becomes Air

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Bonnie

That’s easy, A Gentleman in Moscow and The Heart Invisible Furies.

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Melissa

@Bonnie, The Heart’s Invisible Furies. ❤️❤️❤️ So, so good.

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Angi

The Great Alone and The Two Family House

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Alyson

1. One of us is lying.
2. Where the crawdads sing

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Martha

I have three: Wicked River, Tangerine, The Falls.

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Sarah

A Man Called Ove and A Gentleman in Moscow.

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Chad

Sula by Toni Morrison and The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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Can

Where the crawdad sings, glass castle

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Ciera

Circe by Madeline Miller and the Red Rising saga by Pierce Brown

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Miriam

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman and The other woman by Sandie Jones

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Teresa

Planning to read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine again. So good!

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Miriam

Me too! As soon as I finished I knew I would read it again, just waiting a little until is not so fresh on my mind

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Jan

Augustown by Kei Miller and History of the Rain by Niall Williams.

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Jan

Oops. I forgot about The Overstory by Richard Powers.

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Ulzacen

Zetetic astronomy and the holohoax

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Cynthia

All the Light We Cannot See and Evicted.

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Ulzacen

You write poems?

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Cynthia

@Ulzacen, I do write poetry but I’m confused as to where that question came from.

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Ulzacen

@Ulzacen I write too and I just thought we could share if you don’t mind 🙂

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Louisa

Those of us who write poetry will probably take notice of the magnificent writing in All the Light…… It is worth a second read for the language alone.

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Jessica

“A Gentleman in Moscow” and “A Man Called Ove”

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Cheryl

Song of Achilles and Record of a Spaceborn Few

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Anne

A Gentleman in Moscow and All the Light We Cannot See. Not sure the title is right, as it was early in the year and I don’t write them down. I should keep a record.

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Megan

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Ready Player One

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Sarah

I read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes this year too. It really gives you a different perspective on death. I enjoyed it too 🙂

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Amy

The outsider for sure. Number two is a toss up between pachinko and Circe.

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Barbara

The Great Alone and Crawdads

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Melany

Bird Box and The Outsider

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Cricket

My checkbook and savings pass book

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Inimeg

Liber Null & Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll, The Mystic Chapters of The Rau Nu Prt M Hru by Dr. Muata Ashby

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Pam

Ordinary Grace and My Sunshine Away.

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Fiona

Loved Ordinary Grace.

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Suzanne

The Goldfinch and Bel Canto

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Holly

Two all time favorites of mine!

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Teresa

Both are among my favorites! “When the lights went out, he kissed her.” ~ the first line from Bel Canto

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Suzanne

I know! I hated finishing them!!

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Suzanne

@Holly have you read anything else by Ann Patchett? I’m excited for my next read.

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Holly

I read Commonwealth so long ago I don’t remember it. But Bel Canto I’ll remember forever! I, too, hated finishing Bel Canto. The very end of The Goldfinch got a bit dry for me, but still, one of the best reads for me ever. I just read The President is Missing by Patterson and Bill Clinton. Another awesome read where the story ends, and then he goes on. Interesting stuff he goes on about, no doubt. But the story itself is riveting and heart-pounding.

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Suzanne

I agree about the end of The Golfinch. Thank you for the suggestion!

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Karen

@Suzanne State of Wonder and The Magicians Assistant we’re both excellent.

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Suzanne

So excited thank you @Karen!

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Jean

Beneath a Scarlet Sky. The Poldark series

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Teresa

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and The Nightingale by Kristen @Hannah

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Rock

The Warmth of Other Suns, The Accidental Time Machine

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Natalie

Radium Girls and 11/22/63

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Cindy

Becoming Mrs Lewis and Leaving Time

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Alison

so far: Love and Ruin by Paula McLain,and Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim

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Anne

The Heart’s Invisible Furies and Jane Austen at Home.

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Visvanathan

Bullshit Quotient – Ranjeev Dubey, The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

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Jennifer

Where The Crawdads Sing and Harry’s Trees

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Jacquelyn

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig and Labyrinth of the Spirts by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

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JadeElla

Manic Kingdom and Hillbilly Eulogy

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Danielle

Last days of Magic
Kitchen House

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Divya

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine & The Color Purple ? (Runner up: Nightingale – my first good audiobook)

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Glenda

The Other Einstein and Dorothy Oliphant is Completely Fine!

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Katherine

And Eleanor is too!

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Erin

Okay, this is a hard one! The best SERIES I read this year was the Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, and the best books? That’s hard too. Maybe Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis. And believe it or not, After the Game by Abbi Glines.

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Carolyn

“Something’s Not Right With Lucy” by @Dawn and “Strings Attached” by @Kari

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Stacy

Infinite Jest and The Brothers Karamazov

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Trista

The darkest part of the forest by Holly Black and All the missing girls

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Ellen

Station Eleven and This Must be the Place

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Emily

@Ellen I really enjoyed Station Eleven!

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Karen

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

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Rebeka

The Hate U Give and A Monster Calls.

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Hyon

Pachinko & A Gentleman in Moscow.

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Jacqueline

The Nightingale

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Molly

The hate you give and small great things

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Mary

The Alice Network and ????. The year’s not over.

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Jennifer

Pachinko and A Ladder to the Sky

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Julissa

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and Little Heaven by Nick Cutter.

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Beth

I can never whittle it down to just one or two books – I have enjoyed many – for different reasons. Some of them are: Leavers by Lisa Ko, Educated by Tara Wakefield, Becoming by Michelle Obama, Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, and Barbara Kingsolver’s newest, Unsheltered.

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Brenda

I’ve been underwhelmed this year.

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Terri

Praise Song for the Butterflies and Circe

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Jane

The Best We Could Do and The Great Alone

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Margaret

The Gentleman from Moscow. All the Light We Cannot See. Plus several Honorable Mentions.

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Tracey

Omg I’ve read some fantastic books this year
I am pilgrim
The hate you give
Eleanor Oliphant
Great small things
Lots of favourites

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Nancy

Educated and the great alone

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Gecko

Vicious by VE Schwab and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo so far.

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Bron

The Dog Stars by Heller, and The Painted Bird by Kosinski

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Susan

Sunburn by Laura Lippmann and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

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Chantill

Girl wash your face and the universe has your back

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Shelly

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

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Nancy

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore.

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Kelly

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance & I’ll Be Gone in the Dark

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Lisa

It’s hard to pick two! My top 6 are:
The Nightingale
The Power
Calling Major Tom
Small Great Things
Little Fires Everywhere
This was a Man

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Judy

A Gentleman in Moscow and Jurassic Park

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Cordi

Thanks to this page, I’ve read several good books based on everyone’s recommendations. It’s hard to pick just two. I’ll go with Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and a Gentleman in Moscow!

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Cordi

I’m hoping to get some more good ideas from this post, too!!

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Julie

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye (historical fiction)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Josephine Baker’s Last Dance by Sherry Jones (biographical fiction)
The Great Sugar War (The Land without Color Book 2) by Benjamin Ellefson; illustrated by Kevin Cannon (Grades 4-6)
Shooting Lincoln: Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and the Race to Photograph the Story of the Century by Nicholas J. C. Pistor (nonfiction)
I Only Have Lies for You by (Robert J. Randisi; Rat Pack mystery #11) (historical mystery)
The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis (historical fiction)
The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall (historical fiction)
The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable (historical fiction)
The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis (contemporary/historical fiction)
Ike and Kay by James MacManus (historical fiction)
The Last Carousel of Provence by Juliet Blackwell (historical/contemporary fiction)
Young Lincoln by Jan Jacobi (historical fiction; middle grades)
Love Letters Home: Love in a Time of War (1942-1945) by Chapman Deering (historical fiction/nonfiction)*
The Myth of Perpetual Summer by Susan Crandall (southern gothic/literary)
Love and Ruin by Paula McLain (historical fiction)
Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanna Bischof (historical literary)
Flickering Treasures: Rediscovering Baltimore’s Forgotten Movie Theaters by Amy Davis (nonfiction)
The Cozies: The Legend of Operation Moonlight by T. L. Fisher (Grades 4-6 fantasy)
Zoey & Sassafras: Monsters & Mold by Asia Citro (author) and Marion Lindsay (illustrator) (children 6-10 years)
Zoey & Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro (author) and Marion Lindsay (illustrator) (Kindergarten – 5 years)
It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell (memoir)
A Different Plan: A True Story of an Adrenaline Junkie Who Found God’s Plan…and Lived by johannes Adendorff (inspirational memoir)
The Mourning Parade by Dawn Rose Langely (contemporary fiction)

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Anand

1. Kane and Abel. Jeffrey Archer
2. To kill a mocking bird. Harper Lee

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Catherine
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Juliet

The Secret History by Donna Tartt and the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman

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Catherine
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Veronica

Circe and The Death of Mrs. Westaway.

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Emma

The plague and the metamorphosis

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Aaron

You only read Metamorphosis this year?!

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Emma

I had started it years ago and never finished it, then it was required reading for a class so I actually read it

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Tracy

gentleman in moscow and a litlle life

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Candice

The Kiss of Death and For the Love of Evil by Auryn Hadley!!

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Jason

Artemis by Andy Wier
IT by Stephen King

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Beverly

Educated and The Snow Child

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Melanie

Queen of the tearling and Hiddensee.

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Katerina

I read so many good books this year tho..
a Man Called Ove and Small Great Things

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Nancy

Small great things by Jodi piccoult and educated by Tara Westover

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Brooke

probably my reread of Dragon Keeper by Carol Wilson, and The War I Finally Won by R.J Anderson

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Misi

Sidroc the Dane by Octavia Randolph.

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D.M.

A Little Life and Rebecca

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Beth

@D.M. I liked a Little Life. Powerful writing. Stayed with me for awhile.

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D.M.

@Beth I found it both heartbreaking and profound, and the writing was exquisite. I don’t think this novel will ever leave me. I simply loved it.

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Grahame

Gentleman in Moscow and Eleanor Oliphant is Doing Just Fine

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Gaby

“Turtles all the way down”, and “To kill a Kingdom “

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Jamie

The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

1
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Patricia

The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass <3 now one of my fave series, just below Harry Potter

1
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Kathleen

11.22.63 and The Nightingale

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Susan

Ordinary Grace and The Tuscan Child.

1
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Muffy

Becoming. The home for Unwanted Girls

1
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Melissa

The Heart’s Invisible Furies
Before We Were Yours

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Elvis

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing and The Cabin At The End Of The World by Paul something…*forgotten* lol

2
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Bonnie

Patient Zero and Furiously Happy

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Phyllis

Where the Crawdads Sing and Gentleman in Moscow

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Ted

The stranger and The Sun Also Rises.

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Mariana

Becoming by Michelle Obama
Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo or Daytripper I can’t decide I read a lot of good books this year!

1
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Shannon

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James.

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Ulzacen

Metamorphose by Apuleius

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Altyn

The Martian by Andy Weir and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

2
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