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Noll's 2016 Books and Cross-Stitch


Nollaig

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2015 Reading Log
 
***
 
Green is read
Yellow is in progress
Grey is upcoming soon
Red is abandoned
(ICC) is Irish Counties Challenge
 
***
 
Rating System
 
Goodreads rating system. Based entirely on how much I enjoy a book, not on objective quality (because who am I to judge that!) 
 
1/5 -  Didn't like it
2/5 -  It was okay
3/5 - Liked it
4/5 - Loved it
5/5 - It was amazing
 
January (11)
 
1. Follow You Home - Mark Edwards - 3/5
2. Spill Simmer Falter Wither - Sara Baume 4/5
3. The Mammy - Brendan O'Carroll 3/5
4. Someone To Save You - Paul Pilkington 3/5
5. Under The Skin - Michael Faber 2/5
6. Our Endless Numbered Days - Claire Fuller 5/5
7. Wish Me Dead - Helen Grant 2/5
8. Mrs Brown's Family Handbook - Brendan O'Carroll 3/5
9. Birdman - Mo Hayder 3/5
10. An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth - Chris Hadfield 4/5
11. I'm Travelling Alone - Samuel Bjork 3/5

 
February (10)
 
12. The Black Snow - Paul Lynch 5/5 (ICC)
13. About Sisterland - Martina Devlin 3/5 (ICC)
14. The Love That Split The World - Emily Henry 3/5
15. The Girl With No Past - Kathryn Croft (2/5)
16. Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe - Cullen Bunn 4/5
17. Breeding Ground - Sarah Pinborough 3/5
18. Beside Myself - Ann Morgan 5/5
19. The Treatment - Mo Hayder 5/5
20. Ancestor - Scott Sigler 4/5
21. DeadPool Classic #1 3/5

 
March (12)
 
22. The Death of Bunny Munro - Nick Cave 3/5
23. Viral - Helen Fitzgerald 1/5
24. Coldbrook - Tim Lebbon 4/5
25. Because You'll Never Meet Me  - Leah Thomas 5/5
26. Long Time, No See - Dermot Healy 3/5 (ICC)
27. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs 5/5
28. The Herbalist - Niamh Boyce 5/5 (ICC)
29. The Spinning Heart - Donal Ryan 4/5 (ICC)
30. Hollow City - Ransom Riggs 3/5

31. Bogmail - Patrick McGinley  3/5 (ICC)

32. A Parachute in the Lime Tree - Annemarie Neary 3/5 (ICC)

33. Radiance - Catherynne M. Valente 5/5

 
April (9)

 

34. The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah 4/5

35. Time Present and Time Past - Deirdre Madden 3/5 (ICC)

36. The Ice Twins - S.K. Tremayne 1/5

37. Behind Closed Doors - B. A. Paris 3/5

38. All The Birds in the Sky - Charlie Jane Anders 4/5

39. The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories - Angela Carter 2/5

40. The 39 Steps - John Buchan 3/5

41. Me Before You - Jojo Moyles 4/5

42. The Missing - C. L. Taylor 4/5

 

May (11)

 

43. The Thing Itself - Adam Roberts 5/5

44Push - Sapphire 4/5

45. Bete - Adam Roberts 3/5

46. The Quality of Silence - Rosamund Lupton - 3/5

47. Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel 3/5

48. Hex - Thomas Olde Heuvelt 4/5

49. The Dumb House - John Burnside 3/5

50. The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey 5/5

51. Sister - Rosamund Lupton 2/5

52. The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan - 4/5

53. Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks 4/5

 

June (13)

 

54. The Driver's Seat - Muriel Spark 4/5

55. The Demonologist - Andrew Pyper 2/5

56. The Deadly Space Between - Patricia Duncker 2/5

57. We Should Hang Out Sometime - Josh Sundquist 5/5

58. The Wrong Train - Jeremy De Quidt 4/5

59. The Butterfly Garden - Dot Hutchison 3/5

60. The Lie Tree - Frances Hardinge 3/5

61. The Man From Primrose Lane - James Renner 4/5

62. Solace - Belinda McKeon 5/5 (ICC)

63. The Third Policeman - Flann O'Brien 2/5 (ICC)

64. A Little Life - Hanya Yanigahara 5/5

65. The People in the Trees - Hanya Yanagihara 3/5

66. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K. Dick 3/5

 

July (11)

 

67. Distress Signals - Catherine Ryan Howard 4/5

68. The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware 3/5

69. Foster - Claire Keegan (ICC) 3/5

70. The Deposition of Father McGreevy - Brian O'Doherty (ICC) 2/5

71. The Damage Done - Linda Newbery 4/5

72. Calvin & Hobbes - Bill Watterson 4/5

73. The Many Selves of Katherine North - Emma Geen 4/5

74. The Kind Worth Killing - Peter Swanson 3/5

75. Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon - Linda Newbery 3/5

76. The Library at Mount Char - Scott Hawkins 3/5

77. The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry 4/5

 

August (10)

 

78. I See You - Clare Mackintosh 4/5

79. Adulthood is a Myth - Sarah Andersen 5/5

80. Disclaimer - Renee Knight 2/5

81. 14 Days To Die - A. B. Whelan 1/5

82. Disappearance at Devil's Rock - Paul Tremblay 4/5

83. Before I Go To Sleep - S. J. Watson 3/5

84. Apple Tree Yard - Louise Doughty 4/5

85. The Mist - Stephen King 3/5

86. Dark Matter - Blake Crouch 3/5

87. Lying in Wait - Liz Nugent 3/5

 

September (9)

 

The Family Man - T.J. Lebbon 1/5 DNF

88. Monsters - Emerald Fennell 4/5

89. All Fall Down - Tom Bale 2/5

90. Salem's Lot - Stephen King 4/5

91. Naomi's Room - Jonathan Aycliffe 4/5

92. After Me Comes The Flood - Sarah Perry 1/5

93. Danse Macabre - Laura M. Hughes 4/5

94. Rawblood - Catriona Ward 3/5

95.The Hatching - Ezekiel Boone 4/5

96. Black Eyed Susans - Julia Heaberlin 3/5

 

October (5)

 

97. The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena 2/5

98. A Head Full of Ghosts - Paul Tremblay 3/5

99. Never Alone - Elizabeth Haynes 2/5

100. The Travelling Bag - Susan Hill 3/5

101. We Eat Our Own - Kea Wilson 3/5

 

November (9)

 

102. Holding - Graham Norton 3/5

103. Thin Air - Michelle Paver 4/5

104. The Lottery - Shirley Jackson 2/5

105. The Wonder - Emma Donoghue 4/5

106. Murder At the Old Vicarage - Jill McGown - 3/5

107. In The Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes 4/5

108. The Smell of Other People's Houses - Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock 4/5

109. The Light of the Fireflies - Paul Pen 2/5

110. The Call of Cthulu and other Weird Tales - Lovecraft 3/5

111. One Monday Morning - Jennifer Burke 3/5

112. The Call - Peadar O'Guillín

 

December (0)
 
Total read: 112/120

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To Be Read

 

The Thing About December - Donal Ryan (ICC)
We Were Liars - E. Lockhart
The Guest Cat - Takashi Hiraide
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Long Lankin - Lindsey Barraclough - on hold
The 10PM Question - Kate De Goldi
The Bees - Laline Paull
The Unnamed - Joshua Ferris
The First 15 Lives Of Harry August - Claire North
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
The Undertaker's Daughter - Kate Mayfield
The Bullet - Mary Louise Kelly
Edge Of Dark Water - Joe R. Lansdale
Skin - Kathe Koja
Under The Poppy - Kathe Koja
Disenchanted - Robert Kroese
The Dark Water - Helen Moorhouse

The Jester - James Patterson

Twilight Robbery - Frances Hardinge

The Crimson Petal & The White - Michael Faber

A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing - Eimear McBride

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides 

Beyond Belief - Colm O'Gorman (ICC)

Campari For Breakfast - Sara Crowe

The Reckoning - Sarah Pinborough

The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

Pieces Of Sky - Trinity Doyle

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Wishlist (General)

 

Hollow World - Michael J. Sullivan
The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
Exchange - Paul Magrs
The Future Of Us - Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
The Dynamite Room by Jason Hewitt
Something by Wally Lamb maybe
The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell (maybe)
All The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
The Old Man And The Sea - Ernest Hemmingway
Quiet - Susan Cain
Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point
The Quick - Lauren Own
Love Virtually - Daniel Glattaeur
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Just a Geek - Wil Wheaton
Wool - Hugh Howey
Something by Marcus Sedgwick
Tomorrow, When The War Began - John Marsden
Cat Out Of Hell - Lynne Truss
The Memory Box - Eva Lesko Natiello
Death Of A Superhero - Anthony McCarten
The Man In The Window - Jon Cohen
How Dogs Love Us - Gregory Berns
The Glass Arrow - Kristen Simmons
The Year of the Rat - Clare Furniss
Me & Mr. J - Rachel McIntyre
Cut Both Ways - Carrie Mesrobian
Flawed - Kate Avelynn
Finding Bethany - Glen Klinkhart
To Serve Them All My Days - R. F. Delderfield
We Are All Made Of Stars - Rowan Coleman
How To Build A Girl - Caitlin Moran
- Louis Sachar
Future Perfect - Jen Larsen
Trouble - Non Pratt
The Curvy Girls Club - Michele Gorman
The One I Left Behind - Jennifer McMahon
Timebound - Rysa Walker
His First, His Second - A. D. Davies
The Fire Sermon - Francesca Haig
Summer At Shell Cottage - Lucy Diamond
The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies by Martin Millar
The Language of Flowers - by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Wall - Marlen Haushofer

Fractured series - Teri Teri

Blood and Feather - Lou Morgan

The Dead House - Dawn Kurtagich

Broken Dolls - Tyrolin Puxty (Paula)

Something by Raymond Carver (Anna)

The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford (Janet, book #2)

 

Wishlist (Irish Authors)

Under The Hawthorne Tree - Marita Conlon-McKenna

Noah Barleywater Runs Away - John Boyne

The Book of Evidence - John Banville

Foster - Claire Keegan

Star Of The Sea - Joseph O'Connor

The Accident Season - Moïra Fowley-Doyle

The Apple Tart of Hope - Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Young Skins - Colin Barrett

The Big Chapel - Thomas Kilroy

City Of Bohane - Kevin Barry

The Green Road - Anne Enright

The Story Of Lucy Gault - William Trevor

Something by Pauline McLynn

The Talk Of The Town - Ardal O'Hanlon

Bird in the Snow - Michael Harding

Seeds of Doubt - James Ryan

The Little Hammer - John Kelly

Death and Plenty - Brian Leyden

Something by John McGahern

Pretending - Caroline Williams

The House Where It Happened - Martina Devlin

Thy Tears Might Cease - Michael Farrell

After The Rising - Orna Ross

The Sea & The Silence - Peter Cunningham

The Field - John B. Keane

Mistaken - Neil Jordan

The Dancers Dancing - Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

To School Through The Fields - Alice Taylor

Borderlands - Brian McGilloway

The Butcher Boy - Patrick McCabe

Thirteen Ways of Looking - Colum McCann

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Favourite Quotes:

 

In order to keep this post short, and so I can build it up over the coming years, I'll put previous years' quotes in Spoiler tags, to be expanded and collapsed as necessary. The quotes themselves contain no spoilers!
 
2015

"The foremost heroism on display in Doctor De Soto isn't the mouse's noble determination to help despite the mortal dangers all around but the touching suggestion, briefly entertained, that the fox might have an innate capacity to change" - To Rise Again At A Decent Hour, Joshua Ferris.

"Martin fled, and the flying murder goat followed him against its will." - Off To Be The Wizard, Scott Meyer.

"Sometimes I wonder if my heart is like a black hole - it's so dense that there's no room for light, but that doesn't mean it can't still drag me in." - My Heart & Other Black Holes, Jasmine Warga

"He saw now the ways in which they tried to be careful with each other, afraid of hitting those raw places where they might hurt each other almost without trying. But sparing another person is a tricky thing. It's easy to think you're succeeding when you're failing spectacularly." - The Darkest Part Of The Forest, Holly Black.

"What once laughed and cried and dreamed becomes fodder. Fate brought him to her, but if not him, then without question the worm, a no less ravenous beast than he. There are monsters who wait for all of us upon our return to the earth, and so what can be said?" The Monstrumologist, Rick Yancey.

"Sometimes I still feel that I might be the only person with a consciousness, like a video game protagonist, and everyone else is a computer-generated extra with only a select few actions, such as 'initiate meaningless conversation' and 'hug'." Solitaire, Alice Oseman

"I don't ever remember not being serious. As far as I'm concerned, I came out of the womb spouting cynicism and wishing for rain." Solitaire, Alice Oseman

"The path was a troublesome, fretful thing. It worried that it was missing a view of the opposite hills and insisted on climbing for a better look. Then it found the breeze uncommonly chill and ducked back among the trees. It suddenly thought it had forgotten something and doubled back, then realized that it hadn't and turned about again. At last it struggled free of the pines, plumped itself down by the riverside, complained of its aching stones and refused to go any further." Fly By Night, Frances Hardinge

"There was something crooked in the make of his right wrist, as if it had been broken and never quite healed, and something crooked in the corner of his smile, as if that too had been broken and put back together slightly wrong." - Fly By Night, Frances Hardinge

 

 

2016

 

"Fields all around her house were shrouded in snow, with patches of dark earth poking through here and there as if the world were a rich fruit cake under cream." - Under the Skin, Michael Faber.

 

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Statistics (updated monthly)

 

Books and authors:

Tree books: 7

E-books: 88

Total books: 95
Total authors: 84

Previously unread authors: 75/95 (79%)

 

Irish authors: 14

Previously unread Irish authors: 14/14 (100%)

 

Categories:

Adult Fiction: 79

Non-Fiction: 1

Young Adult Fiction: 11

Translated/Foreign Novels: 1

Irish Counties Challenge: 14

Comic Collections: 4

 

Ratings:
Five stars: 14
Four stars: 30
Three stars: 36
Two stars: 10
One star: 4

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[Contemporary] Irish Counties Challenge

 

Full county/author/book listings and reviews be followed here.

 

 

#1 Cork - Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume - 3/5

               - Asking For It by Louise O'Neill - 

               - Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard 4/5

#2 Donegal The Black Snow by Paul Lynch - 5/5 

                    - Bogmail by Patrick McGinley - 3/5

#3 Tyrone - About Sisterland by Martina Devlin 3/5

                  - The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

#4 Westmeath - Long Time, No See by Dermot Healy 3/5 
#5 Kildare - The Herbalist by Niamh Boyce - 5/5 
#6 Tipperary - The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan - 4/5 

#7 Kerry - The Last Days Of Rabbit Hayes by Anna McPartlin - 5/5

#8 Wexford* - The Guns of Easter by Gerard Whelan

#9 Derry* - The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna - 4/5

#10 Down - A Parachute in the Lime Tree by Annemarie Neary - 3/5

#11 Antrim - Time Present and Time Past by Deirdre Madden - 3/5

#12 Longford - Solace by Belinda McKeon - 5/5

#13 Roscommon - The Deposition of Father McGreevy by Brian O'Doherty - 2/5

#14 Wicklow - Foster by Claire Keegan 3/5
 

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Wahey, 2016 book blog is go! :D

Yay, happy 2016 Noll!  :smile:  :smile:  :smile:

 

Looking at your TBR pile, you have a treat in store with The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, she is one of my favourite authors but I think she surpassed herself with this one! I thing Muggle loved it too. I also have the Harry August book (if I'm honest it was the cover that sucked me in), hopefully we will both get to it this year. :)

 

You have some great books on your wish list too, The Language of Flowers is high in my top 5 books EVER, if you get it and enjoy it then definitely take a look at her second book, We Never Asked for Wings, it was almost equally amazing! :wub:

Miss Peregrine, The Girl With All The Gifts and The Dynamite Room were all great books, I was disappointed not to like All The Light We Cannot See but I'm i a definite minority on that one, I just didn't like the very (very!) short chapters, I just couldn't get into it.

I also have Our Endless Numbered Days on my shelf, bought for me by my wonderful brother who knows to check out my Amazon wish list before birthdays and Christmas! :)

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Hollow World - Michael J. Sullivan - A surprise hit with me, I had the audio version. I can imagine you liking it. 

The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman - Not a bad read, some good ideas, but not quite a 'hit'.
The Future Of Us - Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler - is this the one where her Facebook page keeps changing? Again, it surprised me how much I liked it.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs - you haven't read this yet? Remember that it has more of a YA feel to it as it goes on.. I think it could have also been a lot darker.
The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell (maybe) - give it a try, I think you'll be surprised.
Quiet - Susan Cain - An interesting audio listen.
The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey - went on a bit too long for me, but was good.
Trouble - Non Pratt - I have this to read, I met her at YALC, and she's lovely!

 

Happy reading Noll - hope it's as good as 2015!

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Yay, happy 2016 Noll!  :smile:  :smile:  :smile:

 

Looking at your TBR pile, you have a treat in store with The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, she is one of my favourite authors but I think she surpassed herself with this one! I thing Muggle loved it too. I also have the Harry August book (if I'm honest it was the cover that sucked me in), hopefully we will both get to it this year. :)

 

You have some great books on your wish list too, The Language of Flowers is high in my top 5 books EVER, if you get it and enjoy it then definitely take a look at her second book, We Never Asked for Wings, it was almost equally amazing! :wub:

Miss Peregrine, The Girl With All The Gifts and The Dynamite Room were all great books, I was disappointed not to like All The Light We Cannot See but I'm i a definite minority on that one, I just didn't like the very (very!) short chapters, I just couldn't get into it.

I also have Our Endless Numbered Days on my shelf, bought for me by my wonderful brother who knows to check out my Amazon wish list before birthdays and Christmas! :)

 

I've had The Nightingale on my tablet for aaaaages and just haven't picked it up yet. Might pick it up early in the new year. The Language of Flowers I probably stole from you so, it did sound interesting, and I'm always glad to hear when authors have more than one good book. Shame you didn't like All The Light We Cannot See, I've picked it up and put it back down in shops so many times now, I'm not sure when I'll finally take the plunge! Short chapters works great for me, makes it easier to put it down and take a break!

 

Hollow World - Michael J. Sullivan - A surprise hit with me, I had the audio version. I can imagine you liking it. 

The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman - Not a bad read, some good ideas, but not quite a 'hit'.

The Future Of Us - Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler - is this the one where her Facebook page keeps changing? Again, it surprised me how much I liked it.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs - you haven't read this yet? Remember that it has more of a YA feel to it as it goes on.. I think it could have also been a lot darker.

The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell (maybe) - give it a try, I think you'll be surprised.

Quiet - Susan Cain - An interesting audio listen.

The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey - went on a bit too long for me, but was good.

Trouble - Non Pratt - I have this to read, I met her at YALC, and she's lovely!

 

Happy reading Noll - hope it's as good as 2015!

 

The Future Of Us is the one with Facebook, I have no idea what to expect from it but its intriguing! Glad you enjoyed so many of those other ones, there's a good chance I'll like them too. I've never felt particularly inclined to pick up Miss Peregrine, but I see the name pop up time and time again so I threw it on the list!

 

Happy reading in 2016, Noll :D:readingtwo:!! I see a few nice books on your list (the rest I haven't read).

 

Thanks Gaia! :D

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You have some great books on your wishlist! The Old Man and the Sea is one of my favorite stories of all time. It's quite a quick read, too. Such a powerful book.

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You have some great books on your wishlist! The Old Man and the Sea is one of my favorite stories of all time. It's quite a quick read, too. Such a powerful book.

 

Thanks! I've never read anything by Hemmingway, but I felt that's somewhat scandalous so I need to try something. Honestly it's been on there so long I'd forgotten it was there - have no idea what it's about, I must have seen someone talking about it and added it. Since you mention it's a fairly quick read, I might try get to it sooner rather than later!

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Happy reading in 2016, Noll!

 

We have a few of the same books on our wishlists.

 

The Wasp Factory by Iain Bank is pretty disturbing, and very unusual.

 

I didn't get on with Wool particularly well. I found it a bit too long, but I hope you like it more than I did.

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Happy reading in 2016, Noll!

 

We have a few of the same books on our wishlists.

 

The Wasp Factory by Iain Bank is pretty disturbing, and very unusual.

 

I didn't get on with Wool particularly well. I found it a bit too long, but I hope you like it more than I did.

 

Thanks :D Disturbing suits me fine - I dunno why I haven't gotten to that one yet, I don't think I've heard anything bad about it. I remember you saying that about Wool, I'll see how I get on anyway!

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Thanks! I've never read anything by Hemmingway, but I felt that's somewhat scandalous so I need to try something. Honestly it's been on there so long I'd forgotten it was there - have no idea what it's about, I must have seen someone talking about it and added it. Since you mention it's a fairly quick read, I might try get to it sooner rather than later!

I think if you've never read Hemmingway it's a good book to start with! I love him, but he has a very unique voice that is hard for some people to get into, so I think a short story will give you enough for you too see if you enjoy his writing stylistically without being too much.

 

I actually just checked, and my copy is a whopping 93 pages long. So yes, very quick read haha.

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I think if you've never read Hemmingway it's a good book to start with! I love him, but he has a very unique voice that is hard for some people to get into, so I think a short story will give you enough for you too see if you enjoy his writing stylistically without being too much.

 

I actually just checked, and my copy is a whopping 93 pages long. So yes, very quick read haha.

 

That sounds perfect! Exactly what I need to see if I'll like him or not. I love the titles of his books. "The Sun Also Rises" is one of my favourite sentences/titles there is, though I have no idea if I would like the book.

 

Thanks Abby!

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