#backlogbooks reviews
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Poison For Breakfast by Lemony Snicket
“Although we do with them what we will, every word we utter comes originally from someone else, from an Other. In the seeming paradox of Mikhail Bakhtin:
words are not really ours; we only borrow them;
but
words are uniquely ours; they live in our peculiar heads.
The paradox resolves rather easily, of course: we are human. We borrow imperfectly. We borrow promiscuously. We borrow selfishly. We cram our borrowings up in private word hoards, where they nudge up against each other and fuse with subsequent borrowings of the "same" word. We make words ours, accidentally and deliberately. But echoes of Others nestle in each and every word we adopt,--in each and every belief we nurture, too, and (therefore) in each and every truth we hold, which come to us as configurations of words." - Randy Allen Harris, "Other-Words in Silent Spring" ————————————————————— Let's go ahead and get the "this book is not"s out of the way: this book is not (really) a mystery, it is not an adventure, it is not a thrilling page turner that will keep you up past your bedtime. It is, in the author's words, a book of philosophy. And I really, really enjoyed it. It's got almost the same meditative quality I liked in A Psalm for the Wild-Built, but with its own unique writing style (which will be familiar to people who've read A Series of Unfortunate Events), and the "focus" of the meditation was the subject of the quote up at the top of this review*. Our thoughts and our words and our beliefs all come from other people, people we've met in real life, people who wrote books we loved, people who wrote books we hated, people who wrote books we haven't read but have heard things about, people who wrote songs we love and people who wrote songs that are played in the supermarket and people who performed those songs and and and and and Snicket takes us through a winding thought journey, that is filled with references, and a lot of them (possibly the majority) come from unnamed sources, Snicket describing the song and the singer rather than simply saying their names. And, again, I really enjoyed that! And of course I always enjoy his writing style--philosophy is best when it's funny. Also, while I think not naming the sources in the text was a really good choice both stylistically and with regards to the topic of the philosophizing, I also appreciate that the sources were then named in the "Notes" section after the story was over. I recommend leaving that section to the end, rather than flipping back and forth when you finish a chapter to see what was specifically referenced in that chapter. Overall, I'm sure that this book just will not hit for some people, but I like a book that makes me thing "well, obviously I have to go find the quote about quotes and words from Randy Allen Harris's essay on Silent Spring before I can even begin to write a review of this"
* caveat: this is only my opinion, I'm sure the book can be read in a wide variety of ways, bla bla bla
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9 People I Want To Know Better
Hello friends!! I’ve sort of fallen into the world of being feral and non communicative for, well, I suppose the last couple years lol, but I’m trying to be better about that now and actually play along with posts I’m tagged in!
So thank you to @stefito0o for tagging me!!
Last song: Oh it’s something Disney. I recently got the itch to make a Youtube playlist of pretty much EVERY song from an animated Disney movie, and I’ve been going release-date chronologically. I’m pretty sure I just went through the Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack.
Last show: So I suppose NOT the one I’m currently watching, huh - I think it was Hawkeye! Tyler and I have been trying to finally get caught up on Marvel stuff.
Currently watching: Our Flag Means Death. I LOVE THIS SHOW. It is SO GAY.
Currently reading: Mockingjay, and also regular Workers World articles.
Y’all, I feel like a different person. I’ve been doing so much with my life lately, and there’s so much to share. Ask me the right questions and I’m sure to get chatting!
I’m tagging the first 10 mutuals I see popped up in my activity 🥰 : @itsmodernlitfam • @wideeyedreader • @emily-reads-books • @backlogbooks • @bookandcoffeelover • @curls-and-books • @lgbtcaffeinatedgeek • @asexualbookbird • @nat-reviews-books
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I posted 1,796 times in 2022
That's 1,041 more posts than 2021!
165 posts created (9%)
1,631 posts reblogged (91%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@ofliterarynature
@agardenandlibrary
@godzilla-reads
@ninja-muse
@backlogbooks
I tagged 1,415 of my posts in 2022
Only 21% of my posts had no tags
#0 - 57 posts
#bec talks - 103 posts
#bec posts - 77 posts
#literary pets - 74 posts
#the locked tomb - 67 posts
#replies - 64 posts
#craft tag - 55 posts
#victoria goddard - 55 posts
#murderbot - 51 posts
#art - 49 posts
Longest Tag: 140 characters
#it’s just that i’ve been reading more self-pub and this is a problem i’ve been bumping into repeatedly the last month and it’s making me sad
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
I promise this *is* still a book account too, but finishing up my last cross stitch has me really excited to mix things up with this preprinted embroidery from Hook Line & Tinker! Can you spot the purple?
[instagram]
90 notes - Posted August 28, 2022
#4
I was reading on the porch when it started raining! The sound is excellent :D
134 notes - Posted May 14, 2022
#3
At long last, it’s finished! It only took a year, and, as the rules of crafting dictate, I don’t have a hoop that fits it 😄
[instagram]
150 notes - Posted August 20, 2022
#2
These are my TBR shelves. I’ve been working on paring down my collection but there are still Too Many and I’d like to ask: which of these just aren’t worth my time? Terrible, bad, or just meh, I just need a reason to get rid of it and not think about it again.
See the full post
229 notes - Posted May 7, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Slice-of-life fantasy has to be a book genre that exists, right? Idk it just sounds nice.
279 notes - Posted February 28, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
#tumblr2022#year in review#my 2022 tumblr year in review#your tumblr year in review#2022#bec posts#what was I even doing in 2021 😂#anyways that tag was about Amazon exclusives which I understand but are still annoying
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I posted 1,290 times in 2022
36 posts created (3%)
1,254 posts reblogged (97%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@just0nemorepage
@asexualbookbird
@myvirtualbookshelf
@backlogbooks
@myownlittlebookcorner
I tagged 230 of my posts in 2022
#books - 182 posts
#read - 82 posts
#favorites - 65 posts
#unread - 59 posts
#book photography - 36 posts
#just finished - 36 posts
#booklr - 36 posts
#bookblr - 36 posts
#book blog - 36 posts
#bookblogger - 35 posts
Longest Tag: 56 characters
#aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Recently Read: Magic Steps by Tamora Pierce
Five stars! I want to live in this world.
25 notes - Posted January 24, 2022
#4
Recently Read: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
4.75 stars!
43 notes - Posted October 10, 2022
#3
Recently Read: Briar’s Book by Tamora Pierce
5 stars! I loved rereading these books
44 notes - Posted January 4, 2022
#2
Recently (Re)Read: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
5 stars!
49 notes - Posted July 28, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Recently Read: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
5 stars! I adored this book of found family and love
61 notes - Posted January 8, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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☀️ 9 people I want to know better ☀️
tagged by: @backlogbooks, @storytime-reviews and its been a while but @yourneighborhoodbibliophile and @franticvampirereads also tagged me 😅 thanks for tagging me!
Last Song: Lucid by Rina Sawayama
Last Show: Bloom Into You
Currently Watching: My Love Mix-up, His Dark Materials, Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But Kiss and The Time Traveler's Wife.
Currently Reading: Perfec on Paper, As Artes Mágicas do Ignoto.
Tagging: @sonjastudies, @adelinestudiess, @ink-stained-clouds, @cattatonically, @popcornflicks, @fin-da, @wecandoit, @shakespeareanqueer and @paperandwax 💖
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2022 My masterpost
2021 throwback: tumblr year review & booklr photos
22 in 2022 (my reading goals)
9 books in 2022 (more goals!)
1. January (mini-reviews of 5 books)
ShelfconfidenceBPC: day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4; day 5; day 6; day 8; day 10; day 13; day 14 hosted by @myownlittlebookcorner
TBRbusterchallenge2022: Cinderella Is Dead (1); Before The Coffe Gets Cold: Tales of the Cafe (2); A Throne of Swans (3), hosted by @backlogbooks
Buddy-read of Howl’s Moving Castle with @reyofseokshine
Tomes and Tea: 16th; 23rd, hosted by @bibliophilicwitch
My favourite photo
2. February (mini-reviews of 4 books)
ShelfconfidenceBPC: day 1; day 3; day 8
TBRbusterchallenge2022: A Deadly Education (4).
Romance Readathon 2022: hosted by @princessofbookaholics
Tomes and Tea: 2nd.
My favourite photo
3. March
ShelfconfidenceBPC: day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4; day 6; day 7; day 15
TBRbusterchallenge2022: Siege and Storm (5), The God of Small Things (6)
Buddy-read of Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising with @stefito0o and One Last Stop with Rey✨
Tomes and Tea: 6th; 13th.
My favourite photo
4. April (I only read 1 book 👀)
ShelfconfidenceBPC: day 1; day 2; day 3; day 7
Tomes and Tea: 10th
My favourite photo
5. May
Austenread22: reading Northanger Abbey @shelleysmary (I absolutely failed this, I had too much on my plate)
The Brooding Buddy Read: reading Mexican Gothic @mangoslixes
JOMPBPC: day 20
Tomes and Tea: 22nd
My favourite photo
6. June
JOMPBC: day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4; day 5; day 6
HBBPC: day 1; day 2
Buddy-read of Persuasion by Jane Austen @mangoslixes
Sequel Stack Challenge
Spring Scavenger Hunt
7. July
JOMPBC: day 1
Pink Stack
Yellow Stack
Mid Year Reading Update
Summer Reading Tag
My favourite photo
8. August
JOMPBC: day 1; day 2; day 7; day 19; day 21;
Black Stack
Bookclub (is back!) reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt @readerbookclub
Buddy-read of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski @adhyayana-v @mangoslixes and @endystudyblog
My favourite picture
9. September
Bookclub reading Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown @readerbookclub
JOMPBC: day 2;
10. October
Bookclub reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Platt @readerbookclub
JOMPBC: day 13
11. November
Not Your Classics Challenge: day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4; day 5; day 6;
12. December
JOMPBC: day 1;
MY YEAR IN REVIEW
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Talking Books With @backlogbooks!
[What is this and how can I participate?]
Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.
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[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: Mary Emma, she/her; country: United States; three adjectives to describe her: Lowkey-extroverted, crafty, and sneaky athletic /end]
1. What is a film adaptation you hate of a book you like?
I’m usually pretty flexible with book-to-movie adaptations because I love movies (man i miss going to the movie theater) and i know things have to be changed for the new format—buuuuut i am super bitter about the Percy Jackson movies, because they could’ve been so good! they didnt have the same vibe as the books at all 😔
[My opinions on the PJo movies can be found on my interview of the 6th of January with @auraseeingcoffeebean! But mainly, yes. The films and the books have nothing in common except the characters’ names, which is sad.]
2. Last "impulse" book you ended up liking?
The Lying Game by Ruth Ware!! It was one of those previously-read books in airport bookstores that you can get half off, and I’m apparently a sucker for two things 1. bargains 2. books with “lying” in the title (a while ago i checked out One of Us Is Lying based on title alone lmao idk why im like this).
It’s a really good thriller/suspense/mystery book—sometimes with books that center around characters’ ~mysterious past~ i feel like i get answers either way too quickly or way too slowly, but this author did it just right imo, and i was satisfied by the answers we got. It’s also a book that’s centered around female friendship, which is my jam.
3. Do you use NetGalley or similar websites for reading ARCs?
Nope—I don’t do book reviews much atm (i did more when i started a couple years ago), focusing more on like, smaller posts about specific details of books, or recommendation posts, so I leave the ARC finding-and-reading to bloggers who know how to do more official/detailed reviews. I do own two ARCs but they were both found in used bookstores well after the books had been published lol
4. Paperback, hardcover, ebook or audiobook?
Can i say all of the above 😂
Overall favorite is paperback probably, because i love the way they feel in my hands & i like the way they look when they’re worn from being read a lot (or from being read in the pool since theyre the only kind i can bring in the pool lol).
I’ve also started to love audiobooks—Terry Pratchett’s books & A Series of Unfortunate Events were both especially great as audiobooks imo. Hardbacks are good if it’s a super pretty book that i want to keep in Good Condition. Ebooks are great if i want to get a book from my library, and if i want to read a book super fast—i swear i go thru ebooks 10xs faster than any other format and i dont know why.
[I like all formats except audiobooks, which is mainly because I can’t focus on them... I can barely listen to a podcast episode, much less an audiobook!]
5. Is there anybody that is absolutely spot-on for you when they recommend books?
My mom actually! When she finishes a book she thinks I’ll like she puts it on my shelf for when I come home from college, & she hasn’t steered me wrong yet 😊
[This is so sweet!]
Free space!
And all I’d like to add is that it’s been really fun to get into the booklr community! I followed book blogs for a long time before I actually made my own, & I’m really glad I did because I love talking books with people, and it helped me get back into reading for fun during college, which has helped me not lose my mind while reading academic papers lol
You can follow her at @backlogbooks and on Goodreads.
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Thank you, Mary Emma! This was delightful.
Next interview: Saturday, 6th of February
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My Life in Books 2020
Tagged by @storytime-reviews!
This originated at AnnaBookBel.
Rules: Using only books you have read this year (2020), answer these prompts. Try not to repeat a book title.
In high school I was Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
People might be surprised by The Sublte Knife by Philip Pullman
I will never be A Countess Below the Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
My life in lockdown was like Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
My fantasy job is Lady of Skye by Patricia Cabot
At the end of a long day I need A Shade of Bloow by Bella Forrest
I hate being Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Wish I had Fangs by Sarah Anderson
My family reunions are The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
At a party you’d find me with Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks
I’ve never been to Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
A happy day includes Awaken by Meg Cabot
Motto I live by: No Judgements by Meg Cabot
On my bucket list is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
In my next life, I want to have The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
(Some of these were a stretch lol)
Tagging: @backlogbooks @ma-tsi @collegeburnoutsuperstar @bibliophilecats @myonetruebook @therefugeofbooks and anyone else who wants to join!
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!!!!! Remember when Love, Simon came out and everyone was like “we need a wlw movie like this!” Amelia Westlake Was Never Here could be that movie!
An Australian YA novel, originally titled Amelia Westlake, Erin Gough’s story tells of Will and Harriet, two queer girls who decide to take on the insidious patriarchy at their elite private school in Sydney, Australia. It’s a fun, romantic, bold little novel that was also released in the US in May 2019.
Please go check out the book from your local library or at your favourite bookstore so that maybe, just maybe, we can get an awesome, upbeat wlw movie to warm our queer little hearts 💖 🏳️🌈
(tagging a few people I know will be interested in this @flamingmirrorbookish @beautifulpaxielreads @storytime-reviews @backlogbooks )
#booklr#bookblr#pride month#lgbt books#wlw reads#amelia westlake was never here#erin gough#loveozya#trcc original#2020
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7 Covers in 7 Days, Day 4
Rules: Each day, I will post the cover of a book that I love and nominate someone new to start the challenge. No explanation, no discussion, just post the cover and by doing so spread some literary love.
I was tagged by @storytime-reviews.
Tagging (participation optional, disregard if already tagged): @backlogbooks
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my experience of this book was entirely determined by two things:
1. i chose it to be my pool day book, meaning it would be read in one day pretty much no matter what
2. after seeing that the epitaph was a quote from Ivanka Trump, i immediately googled the author’s name + trump to see what was up with that (i was pretty sure i hadnt accidentally picked up a stealth MAGA book but stranger things have happened), and found out it was (at least partially) inspired by seeing an ivanka interview and wondering what the hell was going on with her (paraphrased, obvs)
So, I went in kind of knowing more about the story than i think other reviewers did—it’s way more about the relationship between ivy and her dad than it is about ethan’s death & the mystery around that. And reading it in a day meant that the pacing (pretty slow in the beginning, imo) didnt bother me.
all that being said, i have no idea if i like this book, or what to rate it
like, it was an enjoyable read, and we had enough information to figure out the mystery without it being glaringly obvious (minus deliberate dramatic irony for certain aspects, which worked well with the main character’s development)
But also, i’m not sure how i feel about what the book itself is saying, i guess? It may solely be a problem with the epitaph on the front of the book, because i think exploring a fucked up father-daughter relationship like this led to interesting writing, but i dont like that it was framed with ivanka trump’s words, even if she was the original spark for the idea
because, in the end, ivy is a child and ivanka is a full grown adult, officially complicit in her father’s crimes. framing the book, in which the MC ivy is a sympathetic if complicated character (and, again, a child), with ivanka’s words, makes it feel sympathetic to her, which i hate
in conclusion: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#tbrbusterchallenge2022#bookbanditchallenge#all the pretty things#emily arsenault#backlogbooks reviews#i guess??#mary emma’s posts
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rules: tag 9 people you’d like to know better/catch up with.
Sure, I’ll play today! Thank you to @words-and-pages for the tag! 💖
Last song: Flaming Red Hair from the LotR soundtrack. I WILL play that at my wedding.
Last movie: The Fantasias! I was feeling nostalgic - plus I’m working my way alphabetically through my favorite Disney movies.
Currently reading: The Lines We Cross by Danda Abdel-Fattah. Or trying to - reading’s been difficult lately, and the guy’s chapters are like reading about a Trump supporter. It’s tough to choose to get that pissed off atm.
Currently watching: Honestly nothing right now, but I suppose the BF and I are working our way slowly through Black Sails. We’re on season four and LOVING IT.
Currently craving: That’s a good question. Longer weekends, the Sims money cheat code IRL maybe, springtime and warmer weather.
I can’t think of specific people to tag I don’t already talk with regularly, so let’s go with the last 9 people who reblogged something from me:
@everyday--hero @nat-reviews-books @andreasforthereading @wholeheartedlykatie @apocrisy @englishobservations @ireadtosurvive @backlogbooks @bookandcoffeelover
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My favorite bookish characters BINGO
Thank you for tagging me @lizziethereader! I was hoping I would get to do this :)
(I cheated a bit because I completely blanked on that many bookish characters, so I included some favorite TV characters 🙈)
I think a lot of you have done this already, but just in case I’ll tag: @backlogbooks @storytime-reviews @thereadingchallengechallenge @i-breathe-therefore-i-read and @grangerandthelibrary
As always the tag is completely optional :)
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A new episode of my book review/rant podcast is out now! This time I talk about the Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers.
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My Decade in Books Tag
Thank you for the tag @thereadingchallengechallenge! I legit just whined about “my decade in books” not being a thing on Goodreads. Now I’m happy 😊
The rules: respond to the prompt “my decade in books” however you want, & then tag some ppl! I chose a book or series to define each year of the decade, some w/a little description. You can do that, or make up your own response
I choose: books&series, writers, and bookish things
2010 - I didn’t read much that year. Some non-fiction about Buddhism.
2011 - was when Twilight was pushed on me. Whatever else, it got me into reading. It introduced me to YA, led me to The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments (and fanfiction) (it also made me start writing - not well at all but still)
2012 - was a terrible year for me. My physical and mental health took a huge hit. I hid in books. Which is why I read twice as many books as I do now. I got recommendations mainly from Goodreads back then. Sometimes from my sister, too. And one of the books she gave me was The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I have never thrown a book across the room and against a wall like that. It freaking broke! I cried for about 98% of it. I found nerfighters after that and was pretty active in the forums and stuff. Whatever else my year was like, at least I Didn’t Forget To Be Awesome.
2013 - brought The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
2014 - was a horrible year again. But it was also when I found booklr and started doing book photo challenges. I think they saved my life because they kept my mind occupied and off dangerous topics. Booklr introduced me to Sarah J. Maas, Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins, and Colleen Hoover that year.
2015 - brought serious health drama. Half of the year was wasted on medical stuff and the rest was spent on recovering from it. That was when I was too weak to hold books up (and started using an e-reader more because it weighs less). But I tried. This year brought The Grishaverse, a lot of CoHo - including my favorite Maybe Someday - The Raven Cycle, Tammara Webber’s Easy, and Sophie Kinsella.
2016 - Six of Crows, Shades of Magic, Radio Silence. Need I say more?
2017 - Monsters of Verity, a lot of Patrick Ness, I found Mindy McGinnis
2018 - was an interesting reading year. I can feel booklr’s influence here. The Martian by Andy Weir, I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens agenda by Becky Albertalli.
2019 - belongs to Brigid Kemmerer. Also, Karen McManus, Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick, A good girl’s guide to murder by Holly Jackson, The female of the species by Mindy McGinnis (TW: rape&animal cruelty). Francesca Zappia was a good find.
that took me only 3 hours. @backlogbooks did you pick a # I could check so I could see more of these?
I tag: @cinnasbooks @aliteraryprincess @storytime-reviews @darkestwings @booksandrandomfandoms @themelodyofspring @i-breathe-therefore-i-read Join in the fun!!!
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Micro Review Tag
Thanks to @thereadingchallengechallenge, @flamingmirrorbookish and @thelivebookproject for all tagging me :)
This round’s prompt: Currently Reading!
Rules:
Join in even if you haven’t been tagged.
Answer as elaborately as you want.
Tag friends to make their own micro reviews.
Use the #microreview hashtag (optional).
Title and author: Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh
Total pages: 392
Page you’re on: 25
Thoughts so far: I haven’t read much but it’s definitely intriguing, which is a good sign!
Try your best to guess how it will end: It seems like there are a lot of family secrets in this. I’m assuming that the main character, Mariko will learn the truth and why the Black Clan is hunting her and perhaps also maybe side with them? I’m getting the idea her and the person who wants her dead are going to end up being close and on the same side of whatever goes down?
Tell us how you really feel –with a gif!
Tagging: @beautifulpaxielreads, @literaery-me, @amberthebooklion, @cinnasbooks, @youthbookreview, @lornaslibrary, @myownlittlebookcorner, @backlogbooks, @omgreading, @gracesguidetogoodbooks and anyone else that might be interested – I’m tagging YOU!
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