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ben

27 books.

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All the Light We Cannot See

by: Anthony Doerr
Ave. Rating: 4.32
Pages: 531
Year Published: 2014
Date Read: 09/03/2018
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Recursion

by: Blake Crouch
Ave. Rating: 4.14
Pages: 329
Year Published: 2019
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"Good grief. Just like with Dark Matter, this wrinkled my brain and warmed my heart. Also like Dark Matter, it is a perfect movie concept."
- katelynn
06/07/2020

Inkheart (Inkworld, #1)

by: Cornelia Funke
Ave. Rating: 3.89
Pages: 563
Year Published: 2005 (2003)
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Defending Jacob

by: William Landay
Ave. Rating: 3.98
Pages: 421
Year Published: 2012
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"Wow what an emotional ending - I feel like I'll be reeling for a while. What a well-written book - but definitely hard to read. It's unsettling and disturbing- especially as a parent. Not sure I'd re-read it, but it's definitely worth the first read. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time."
- katelynn
01/24/2015
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This Is How It Always Is

by: Laurie Frankel
Ave. Rating: 4.25
Pages: 338
Year Published: 2018 (2017)
Date Read: 06/25/2018
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Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail

by: Jennifer Pharr Davis
Ave. Rating: 4.05
Pages: 304
Year Published: 2010
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"Fantastic! The author was so real and relatable – although to be fair I already had a lot in common with her before starting the book. But she communicates with a rawness and humility that is so refreshing. Her experiences definitely challenged me to seek adventure, develop deeper relationships, and reflect on how the opinion of others effects my view of myself."
- katelynn
03/02/2016
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The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)

by: Katherine Arden
Ave. Rating: 4.08
Pages: 319
Year Published: 2017
Date Read: 05/05/2018
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The River

by: Peter Heller
Ave. Rating: 3.86
Pages: 253
Year Published: 2019
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"4.5

Beautiful writing, amazing setting, and page-turning plot. A literary thriller with an incredible premise. The ending was heart-breaking, but there's plenty of warning for it if you're looking.

I loved the way the sentence structure was sometimes long and lyrical but sometimes short and staccato - moving you at the pace of the story.

I will definitely read more by this author!"
- katelynn
05/26/2021
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News of the World

by: Paulette Jiles
Ave. Rating: 4.09
Pages: 209
Year Published: 2016
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"Lovely and gritty and poignant.
A bit slow, but worth the effort."
- katelynn
03/20/2021

Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1)

by: Sylvain Neuvel
Ave. Rating: 3.83
Pages: 320
Year Published: 2016
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Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

by: Stephen E. Ambrose
Ave. Rating: 4.37
Pages: 432
Year Published: 2002 (1992)
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The Invention of Wings

by: Sue Monk Kidd
Ave. Rating: 4.23
Pages: 384
Year Published: 2014
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"Wow. This book has challenged me deeply. I have so much to chew on about purpose and priority. Shoot. Both inspiring and convicting."
- katelynn
12/21/2015
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Once Upon a River

by: Diane Setterfield
Ave. Rating: 3.95
Pages: 464
Year Published: 2018
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"This book was wonderful.
Just enough gothic, just enough fairy tale, just enough adult/complex relationships and struggle - this will be a favorite. I love the language, sense of place, and story-telling themes.

Now we need a movie, please and thank you."
- katelynn
03/05/2020
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The Graveyard Book

by: Neil Gaiman
Ave. Rating: 4.13
Pages: 312
Year Published: 2008
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"Definitely my favorite Neil Gaiman book so far! It was exciting and creepy, sad and sweet. It was so incredibly imaginative! I think Gaiman weaves humor and pathos so well into interesting story lines. And the protagonist was so charming!"
- katelynn
05/21/2019
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The Wednesday Wars

by: Gary D. Schmidt
Ave. Rating: 4.1
Pages: 264
Year Published: 2007
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"Funny and heartfelt – all around a delight!"
- katelynn
09/01/2017
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Homegoing

by: Yaa Gyasi
Ave. Rating: 4.46
Pages: 305
Year Published: 2016
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"My reaction to this book is summed up in a jaw drop. That's how I felt pretty much the last third of the book, like my jaw was on the floor. This story is beautiful and sweeping and heartbreaking and so much to process! It will leave you changed. This book reminds me of The Invention of Wings - not in content, but in the way I know I will be thinking about it for years to come.

I highly recommend the audio version."
- katelynn
04/21/2020
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I Kill Giants

by: Joe Kelly
Ave. Rating: 4.14
Pages: 184
Year Published: 2009
Date Read: 08/25/2019
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The Sisters Brothers

by: Patrick deWitt
Ave. Rating: 3.83
Pages: 328
Year Published: 2011
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"This was a pleasant surprise! It was really fun to read something from such a different genre. It was a lot more serious than I was expecting- the characters have a lot of depth. Great!"
- katelynn
05/19/2016

11/22/63

by: Stephen King
Ave. Rating: 4.3
Pages: 849
Year Published: 2011
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Everyone Brave is Forgiven

by: Chris Cleave
Ave. Rating: 3.76
Pages: 418
Year Published: 2016
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"Still reeling a bit from this one. It started out so light-hearted and hilarious - the tone reminded me so much of P.G. Wodehouse, which I LOVE. There's a moment when all of that changes. The tone of the book, along with the internal journey of the characters, gets more and more serious. As I can imagine with the war, it's rather a jarring change, but it feels real and true.

The writing is so, so good. It checked my boxes of heart and humor, then checked my additional box of "teaches me history without me noticing".

I didn't love the ending, but again, it felt real. It's not neat and tidy, but it speaks to the reality of the time and the progression of the characters."
- katelynn
12/13/2019
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Us Against You (Beartown, #2)

by: Fredrik Backman
Ave. Rating: 4.34
Pages: 448
Year Published: 2018 (2017)
Date Read: 07/10/2018
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The Kite Runner

by: Khaled Hosseini
Ave. Rating: 4.31
Pages: 371
Year Published: 2004 (2003)
Date Read: 10/20/2007
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The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1)

by: N.K. Jemisin
Ave. Rating: 4.28
Pages: 468
Year Published: 2015
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"I feel like maybe I should withhold comment until I’ve read the whole series.. In isolation I liked the book but did not love it. The world is hard and ugly but there were moments of goodness and beauty to hold onto. Probably not enough of those for my taste though.

It’s incredibly creative but sometimes hard to follow."
- katelynn
07/02/2019
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Big Little Lies

by: Liane Moriarty
Ave. Rating: 4.28
Pages: 458
Year Published: 2014
Date Read: 09/19/2018
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The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business/The Manticore/World of Wonders

by: Robertson Davies
Ave. Rating: 4.32
Pages: 874
Year Published: 1983 (1975)
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The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30; Tiffany Aching, #1)

by: Terry Pratchett
Ave. Rating: 4.24
Pages: 375
Year Published: 2004 (2003)
Date Read: 07/30/2016
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