Dash's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 17 May 2025 21:41:30 -0700 60 Dash's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Examiner 207294238
Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University’s new Multimedia Art course, must find six students from all walks of life across the United Kingdom for her new master’s program before the university cuts her funding. The students are nothing but trouble from day one.

There’s Jem, a talented sculptor recently graduated from her university program and eager to make her mark as an artist at any cost. Jonathan, who has little experience in art practice aside from running his family’s gallery. Patrick runs an art supply store, but can barely operate his phone, much less design software. Ludya is a single mother and graphic designer more interested in a paycheck than homework. Cameron is a marketing executive in search of a hobby or a career change. And Alyson, already a successful artist, seems to be overqualified. Finally, there is the examiner, the man hired to grade students’ final works—an art installation for a local cloud-based solutions company that may have an ulterior agenda—and who, in sifting through final essays, texts, and message boards, warns that someone is in danger…or already dead. And nothing about this course has been left up to chance.

With her trademark “unique and exhilarating” (Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot) voice, Janice Hallett weaves a fresh and mind-bending mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.]]>
466 Janice Hallett 1668023423 Dash 0 currently-reading 3.71 2024 The Examiner
author: Janice Hallett
name: Dash
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[The Butcher Game (Dr. Wren Muller, #2)]]> 209878228 352 Alaina Urquhart 1638931240 Dash 3 3.93 2024 The Butcher Game (Dr. Wren Muller, #2)
author: Alaina Urquhart
name: Dash
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/17
date added: 2025/05/17
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review:
A decent follow up to The Butcher and The Wren. My only issue was I didn’t feel any connection to the final “victim.” Still the fast pace was enough to keep me going. I look forward to book 3…but hope to have a bit more connection to characters who could possibly be meeting their ultimate fate!
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<![CDATA[Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past]]> 195790716
Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption II , set in 1911 and 1899, are the most-played American history video games since The Oregon Trail . Beloved by millions, they’ve been widely acclaimed for their realism and attention to detail. But how do they fare as recreations of history?

In this engaging book, award-winning American history professor Tore Olsson takes up that question and more. Weaving the games’ plot and characters into an exploration of American violence between 1870 and 1920, Olsson shows that it was more often disputes over capitalism and race, not just poker games and bank robberies, that fueled the bloodshed of these turbulent years. As such, this era has much to teach us today. From the West to the Deep South to Appalachia, Olsson reveals the gritty and brutal world that inspired the games, but sometimes lacks context and complexity on the digital screen. Colorful, fast-paced, and dramatic, Red Dead’s History sheds light on dark corners of the American past for gamers and history buffs alike.]]>
288 Tore C. Olsson 1250287707 Dash 1 4.29 2024 Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past
author: Tore C. Olsson
name: Dash
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2025/05/14
date added: 2025/05/14
shelves:
review:
DNF! Good gracious this was so dry in the first ten pages it made me fall asleep. Note I rarely and I mean Bigfoot rare… ever DNF a book. It really has nothing to do with RDR2 other than drop the name in every other paragraph. I enjoy the “Wild West” and thus author tries to destroy it in the first 5 minutes of reading. DNF
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Carrie 219531476 here.

Stephen King's legendary debut, the bestselling smash hit that put him on the map as one of America's favorite writersĚý
Ěý
"Gory and horrifying. . . . You can't put it down." — Chicago Tribune
Ěý
Unpopular at school and subjected to her mother's religious fanaticism at home,ĚýCarrieĚýWhite does not have it easy.ĚýBut while sheĚýmay be picked on by her classmates, she has a gift she's kept secret since she was a little she can move things with her mind. Doors lock. Candles fall. Her ability has been both a power and a problem. And when she finds herself the recipient of a sudden act of kindness,ĚýCarrieĚýfeels like she's finally been given a chance to be normal. She hopes that the nightmare of her classmates' vicious taunts is over . . . but an unexpected and cruel prank turns her gift into a weapon of horror so destructive that the town may never recover.]]>
336 Stephen King 1984898108 Dash 4 3.99 1974 Carrie
author: Stephen King
name: Dash
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1974
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/13
date added: 2025/05/13
shelves:
review:
King’s first of many…and all these years later it still is a great read. While simplistic in its story..the ending is still one that brings chills as you read it. I will always recommend this book.
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<![CDATA[The Dark Horse Comics/DC: Superman]]> 29429610 416 Chuck Dixon 1506702147 Dash 4 3.52 2016 The Dark Horse Comics/DC: Superman
author: Chuck Dixon
name: Dash
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/11
date added: 2025/05/11
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Definitely loved the Aliens and Tarzan crossovers. Great read and love to see different companies take on my favorite hero. I’m on the search for more!
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<![CDATA[The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook, Vol. 1: To 1877]]> 39971815 456 Joseph L. Locke 1503606716 Dash 3 3.68 The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook, Vol. 1: To 1877
author: Joseph L. Locke
name: Dash
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/09
date added: 2025/05/09
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<![CDATA[Cabinet of Curiosities: A Historical Tour of the Unbelievable, the Unsettling, and the Bizarre]]> 203578727 The new book based on the long-running hit podcast by Aaron Mahnke, which has translated into over 120-million downloads to date, and a monthly average of over 2 million listeners.

The podcast, Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities, has delighted millions of listeners for years with tales of the wonderful, astounding, and downright bizarre people, places, and things throughout history. Now, in Cabinet of Curiosities the book, learn the fascinating story of the invention of the croissant in a country that was not France, and relive the adventures of a dog that stowed away and went to war, only to help capture a German spy. Along the way, readers will pass through the American state of Franklin, watch Abraham Lincoln’s son be rescued by his assassin’s brother, and learn how too many crash landings inspired one pilot to leave the airline industry and trek for the stars.

For the first time ever, Aaron has gathered scores of his favorites in print, and curated them into a beautiful, topical collection for devoted followers and new fans alike.]]>
336 Aaron Mahnke 1250291208 Dash 2 3.75 2024 Cabinet of Curiosities: A Historical Tour of the Unbelievable, the Unsettling, and the Bizarre
author: Aaron Mahnke
name: Dash
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/05/03
date added: 2025/05/03
shelves:
review:
Imagine getting a majority of your information from Wikipedia and trying to turn in as your work…well this is exactly what happened here. I would like to say I’m shocked but I’m not at all..:
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<![CDATA[4th of July (Women's Murder Club, #4)]]> 2370689



In a deadly late-night showdown, San Francisco police lieutenant Lindsay Boxer fires her weapon and sets off a dramatic chain of events that leaves a police force disgraced, a family destroyed, and Lindsay herself at the mercy of twelve jurors. During a break in the trial, she retreats to a picturesque town that is reeling from a string of grisly murders-crimes that bear a link to a haunting, unsolved case from her rookie years.




Now, with her friends in the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay must battle for her life on two fronts: in a trial rushing to a climax, and against an unknown adversary willing to do anything to hide the truth about the homicides-including kill again?]]>
400 James Patterson 0446179663 Dash 4 4.05 2005 4th of July (Women's Murder Club, #4)
author: James Patterson
name: Dash
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/30
date added: 2025/04/30
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<![CDATA[Spirit Crossing (Cork O'Connor, #20)]]> 199798007 A disappearance and a dead body put Cork O’Connor’s family in the crosshairs of a killer in the twentieth book in the New York Times bestselling series from William Kent Krueger­, “a master storyteller at the top of his game” (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

The disappearance of a local politician’s teenaged daughter is major news in Minnesota. As a huge manhunt is launched to find her, Cork O’Connor’s grandson stumbles across the shallow grave of a young Ojibwe woman—but nobody seems that interested. Nobody, that is, except Cork and the newly formed Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police. As Cork and the tribal officers dig into the circumstances of this mysterious and grim discovery, they uncover a connection to the missing teenager. And soon, it’s clear that Cork’s grandson is in danger of being the killer’s next victim.]]>
318 William Kent Krueger 1982179244 Dash 4 4.02 2024 Spirit Crossing (Cork O'Connor, #20)
author: William Kent Krueger
name: Dash
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
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Wonderstruck 10128428
Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories - Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures - weave back and forth in symmetry.]]>
640 Brian Selznick 0545027896 Dash 2 4.16 2011 Wonderstruck
author: Brian Selznick
name: Dash
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/19
date added: 2025/04/27
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<![CDATA[Revan (Star Wars: The Old Republic, #1)]]> 61343538 There’s something out there:
a juggernaut of evil bearing down to crush the Republicâ,
unless one lone Jedi, shunned and reviled, can stop it.

Revan: hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior. A Jedi who left Coruscant to defeat Mandalorians and returned a disciple of the dark side, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was high. His memories have been erased. All that’s left are nightmares and deep, abiding fear.

What exactly happened beyond the Outer Rim? Revan can’t quite remember, yet can’t entirely forget. Somehow he stumbled across a terrible secret that threatens the very existence of the Republic. With no idea what it is, or how to stop it, Revan may very well fail, for he’s never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.]]>
352 Drew Karpyshyn 0593498933 Dash 4 3.99 2011 Revan (Star Wars: The Old Republic, #1)
author: Drew Karpyshyn
name: Dash
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/22
date added: 2025/04/22
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Dragonlance Chronicles 216971222 1056 Margaret Weis 0593977157 Dash 5 4.81 Dragonlance Chronicles
author: Margaret Weis
name: Dash
average rating: 4.81
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves:
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I will never tire of reading these amazing stories. I read them for the first time in the 90s…and they still capture my attention to this very day.
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<![CDATA[Billy the Kid: The War for Lincoln County]]> 213995342 Age 14: Orphaned.

Age 15: Prison inmate.

Age 16: Escaped outlaw.

Age 17: Wanted killer.

In 1870s New Mexico, the territory is at a crossroads. The indigenous population is being driven out—and driven down—by the white settlers migrating west after the Civil War. The center of power isn’t the Governor but rather the Santa Fe Ring, a group of wealthy politicians, businessman, and landowners who exercise power through organized crime, theft, graft, and murder. Their main source of income is a mercantile store in Lincoln known as The House.

After escaping jail, William Bonney—aka Billy the Kid—is a seventeen-year-old orphan who’s been on the run for the better part of two years. All he wants is to belong, to find a place he can call home, and people he can call family.

He’d have been better off alone.

Billy falls in with a gang of ruthless rustlers and murderers who work as muscle for The House. But when Billy crosses one of the members, the gang sets out to kill.

Billy narrowly escapes, finding refuge under the tutelage of John Tunstall, an English immigrant new to the territory who has his sights set on opening a business in Lincoln—and he’s intent on competing directly with The House. But when Tunstall is murdered, any positive effect the mentor had on Billy is eradicated, leaving the Kid with only one thing on his mind …

Revenge.

From orphan to outlaw to killer, this is the truth behind the legend of Billy the Kid.]]>
336 Ryan C. Coleman 1094102709 Dash 0 to-read 3.77 Billy the Kid: The War for Lincoln County
author: Ryan C. Coleman
name: Dash
average rating: 3.77
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/04
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Invincible: Compendium One 11924046
Collects #1–47, #0, Invincible story from the Image Comics Summer Special, The Pact #4]]>
1092 Robert Kirkman 1607064111 Dash 5 4.59 2011 Invincible: Compendium One
author: Robert Kirkman
name: Dash
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves:
review:
I definitely think this series just moved into my top five best comics of all time. Kirkman delivers another stellar series and while I am a die hard Walking Dead fan… Invincible is a top notch character. Excellent read!!
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<![CDATA[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection]]> 25377435 Over 1000 pages of minicomics collected for the first time featuring interviews with the original comics creators!]]> 1232 Donald F. Glut 1616558776 Dash 5 4.27 2015 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection
author: Donald F. Glut
name: Dash
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves:
review:
Another collection of stories from my childhood. They still hold up from 1982!! While I still wish I had the original mini comics from the figures…this is just as good.
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The Ogress and the Orphans 58328436 A fantasy about the power of generosity and love, and how a community suffers when they disappear.

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neighborliness. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are.

Then one day a child goes missing from the Orphan House. At the Mayor’s suggestion, all eyes turn to the Ogress. The Orphans know this can’t be: the Ogress, along with a flock of excellent crows, secretly delivers gifts to the people of Stone-in-the-Glen.

But how can the Orphans tell the story of the Ogress’s goodness to people who refuse to listen? And how can they make their deluded neighbors see the real villain in their midst?]]>
392 Kelly Barnhill 1643750747 Dash 1 4.27 2022 The Ogress and the Orphans
author: Kelly Barnhill
name: Dash
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
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<![CDATA[The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford]]> 320730 One of the great classic tales of The Great American West...

IT IS 1881. Jesse James, at the age of 34, is at the height of his fame and powers as a singularly successful outlaw. Robert Ford is the skittish younger brother of one of the James gang: he has made himself an expert on the gang, but his particular interest - his obsession - is Jesse James himself. Both drawn to him and frightened of him, the nineteen-year-old is uncertain whether he wants to serve James or destroy him or, somehow, become him.

Never have these two men been portrayed and their saga explored with such poetry, such grim precision and such raw-boned feeling as Ron Hansen has brought to this masterful retelling.

'Wonderful. This is great storytelling, not undermined by our knowin how it turns out. The reader is driven - by story and by language and by history... the best blend of fiction and history I've read in a long while!' -- John Irving, author of The World According to Garp]]>
320 Ron Hansen 0060976993 Dash 4 3.90 1983 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
author: Ron Hansen
name: Dash
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
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<![CDATA[DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION]]]> 228613601
Marvel’s Premier Collection gives iconic Marvel stories the treatment they deserve—newly designed cover upgrades and all-new exclusive material! Ideal for both old and new fans—the perfect entry point into the Marvel Universe anytime, anywhere.

This is the definitive Daredevil story, where Matt Murdock is stripped of everything—his secret identity, his friends, and his very sense of self. In this gritty and powerful tale, visionary creators Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City) and David Mazzucchelli (Batman: Year One) reforge Daredevil as a hero reborn, driven by pure faith and unshakable resolve, showing his true strength lies within.

The book that inspired Daredevil’s portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil: Born Again premieres March 2025 on Disney+.

Includes bonus material such as a foreword by author Frank Miller and an afterword by actor Charlie Cox.

From the powerhouse pairing of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli comes the definitive Daredevil tale. Karen Page, Matt Murdock’s former lover, sets into motion a Machiavellian chain of events by trading away his secret identity for a drug fix. Now, Daredevil must find all the strength he can muster as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, wastes no time taking him down as low as a human can get. As he’s nursed back to health by a nun named Sister Maggie, Matt discovers a shocking secret that will change their relationship forever — but can he piece his life back together and survive a battle against the brutal super-soldier named Nuke?]]>
280 Frank Miller 1302965980 Dash 5 4.38 1986 DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION]
author: Frank Miller
name: Dash
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/20
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<![CDATA[Holmes Is Missing (Holmes, Margaret & Poe, #2)]]> 212924104 It’s their toughest case yet. And their best detective is missing. Holmes, Margaret and Poe run the private detective agency that solves the crimes no one else can. Or they did – until Holmes said he wanted to leave the business and fell off the radar. In New York City, they are called to investigate the abduction of six newborns from a private hospital. Without Holmes, they try to investigate this terrible crime. They hear word of more missing babies in London, and Margaret follows the trail across the pond. But they need Holmes. To solve the crime of the century, first they must save their friend.]]> 352 James Patterson 0316569976 Dash 4 4.00 2025 Holmes Is Missing (Holmes, Margaret & Poe, #2)
author: James Patterson
name: Dash
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
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Old Bones (Nora Kelly, #1) 43522585 The first in the groundbreaking Nora Kelly series from #1 bestselling authors Preston & Child blends the legend of the Donner party with a riveting suspense tale, taking the dynamic duo's work to new heights.

Nora Kelly, a young but successful curator with a series of important excavations already under her belt, is approached by the handsome Historian, Clive Benton, to lead an expedition unlike any other. Clive tells his story--one involving the ill-fated Donner Party, who became permanently lodged in the American consciousness in the winter of 1847, when the first skeletonized survivors of the party stumbled out of the California mountains, replete with tales of courage, resourcefulness, bad luck, murder, barbarism--and, finally, starvation and cannibalism.

Captivated by the Donner Party, Nora agrees and they venture into the Sierra Nevada in search of the camp. Quickly, they learn that the discovery of the missing starvation camp is just the tip of the iceberg--and that the real truth behind those long-dead pioneers is not only far more complex and surprising than they could have imagined...but it is one that puts them both in mortal danger from a very real, present-day threat in which the search for the lost party, and its fabled fortune in gold, are merely means to a horrifying end.
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369 Douglas Preston 1538747227 Dash 4 3.92 2019 Old Bones (Nora Kelly, #1)
author: Douglas Preston
name: Dash
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/14
date added: 2025/03/14
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<![CDATA[The Last Murder at the End of the World]]> 136276877
Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking.

From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution.]]>
368 Stuart Turton Dash 3 3.63 2024 The Last Murder at the End of the World
author: Stuart Turton
name: Dash
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/11
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Where the Red Fern Grows 441267 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann - a boy and his two dogs.

A loving threesome, they roamed the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee county. Old Dan had the brawn, Little Ann had the brains, and Billy had the will to make them into the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and victory were coming, but sadness waited too.

Where the Red Fern Grows, is an exciting tale of love and adventure you'll never forget.
--back cover]]>
212 Wilson Rawls 0440412676 Dash 5 4.15 1961 Where the Red Fern Grows
author: Wilson Rawls
name: Dash
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1961
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/08
date added: 2025/03/08
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Holes (Holes, #1) 28490984 National Book Award Winner
Winner of the Newbery Medal

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes,

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize that Camp Green Lake isn't what it seems. Are the boys digging holes because the warden is looking for something? But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? It's up to Stanley to dig up the truth.]]>
233 Louis Sachar Dash 4 4.14 1998 Holes (Holes, #1)
author: Louis Sachar
name: Dash
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
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<![CDATA[The Call of the Wild (Reader's Library Classics)]]> 57412724
London spent a year in Yokel researching the book, making it extremely detailed, very simplistic in its descriptions and genuinely heartfelt. Essentially the book explores the concept of survival of the fittest, as we join Buck's fall from grace, when he is kidnapped for work, and the desire to rise again. Power struggles ensue when we meet Buck's rival Spritze and we see how brutal the world can be. The vivid descriptions of nature are where this book excels. London is an expert at writing about survival in a natural world. When we are forced into extreme condition, we have to rely on our instinct, what is primitive to us, themes mirrored in Buck's journey throughout the book


Complete
Original
Unabridged
Illustrated with book-end doodles about reading]]>
106 Jack London 1954839146 Dash 4 3.78 1903 The Call of the Wild (Reader's Library Classics)
author: Jack London
name: Dash
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1903
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
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Hatchet (Brian's Saga, #1) 50
Brian had been distraught over his parents' impending divorce and the secret he carries about his mother, but now he is truly desolate and alone. Exhausted, terrified, and hungry, Brian struggles to find food and make a shelter for himself. He has no special knowledge of the woods, and he must find a new kind of awareness and patience as he meets each day's challenges. Is the water safe to drink? Are the berries he finds poisonous?

Slowly, Brian learns to turn adversity to his advantage--an invading porcupine unexpectedly shows him how to make fire, a devastating tornado shows him how to retrieve supplies from the submerged airplane. Most of all, Brian leaves behind the self-pity he has felt about his predicament as he summons the courage to stay alive.

A story of survival and of transformation, this riveting book has sparked many a reader's interest in venturing into the wild.]]>
208 Gary Paulsen 0689840926 Dash 4 3.77 1987 Hatchet (Brian's Saga, #1)
author: Gary Paulsen
name: Dash
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/04
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The Phantom Tollbooth 378 Librarian's Note: For an alternate cover edition of the same ISBN, click here.

This beloved story -first published more than fifty years ago- introduces readers to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond.

For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams. . . .]]>
248 Norton Juster 0394820371 Dash 4 4.19 1961 The Phantom Tollbooth
author: Norton Juster
name: Dash
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1961
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
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<![CDATA[Hell Comes To Texas: A Colt Windsor Adventure]]> 228382017 232 Dash Hooper Dash 0 to-read 3.67 Hell Comes To Texas: A Colt Windsor Adventure
author: Dash Hooper
name: Dash
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/02
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<![CDATA[Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories (Star Wars)]]> 13584329 At last in one volume, the eight original installments of the epic Lost Tribe of the Sith eBook series . . . along with the explosive, never-before-published finale, Pandemonium—more than one hundred pages of new material!
Ěý
Five thousand years ago. After a Jedi ambush, the Sith mining ship Omen lies wrecked on a remote, unknown planet. Its commander, Yaru Korsin, battles the bloodshed of a mutinous faction led by his own brother. Marooned and facing death, the Sith crew have no choice but to venture into their desolate surroundings. They face any number of brutal challenges—vicious predators, lethal plagues, tribal people who worship vengeful gods—and like true Sith warriors, counter them with the dark side of the Force.
Ěý
The struggles are just beginning for the proud, uncompromising Sith, driven as they are to rule at all costs. They will vanquish the primitive natives, and they will find their way back to their true destiny as rulers of the galaxy. But as their legacy grows over thousands of years, the Sith ultimately find themselves tested by the most dangerous threat of all: the enemy within.]]>
410 John Jackson Miller 0345541324 Dash 4 3.85 2012 Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories (Star Wars)
author: John Jackson Miller
name: Dash
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/01
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves:
review:

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A Calamity of Souls 198494052
Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.

Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.

Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.

Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the reader through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.]]>
480 David Baldacci 1538765020 Dash 4 4.38 2024 A Calamity of Souls
author: David Baldacci
name: Dash
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves:
review:
This started off a bit slow… but it picked up quite nicely. The entire courtroom arc was tense and written so well… that was an excellent read.
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11/22/63 10644930
In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane — and insanely possible — mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.

In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald...]]>
849 Stephen King 1451627289 Dash 4 4.33 2011 11/22/63
author: Stephen King
name: Dash
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/22
date added: 2025/02/22
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<![CDATA[The G.I. Joe Roster: Characters of the Toy and Media Universe]]> 178917617 278 Theresa Bane 1476693048 Dash 4 4.00 The G.I. Joe Roster: Characters of the Toy and Media Universe
author: Theresa Bane
name: Dash
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Ghosts of Panama: A Strongman Out of Control, A Murdered Marine, and the Special Agents Caught in the Middle of an Invasion]]> 210240758 Panama, 1989. The once warm relationship between United States and Gen. Manuel Noriega has eroded dangerously. Newly elected President George Bush has declared the strongman a drug trafficker and a rigger of elections. Intimidation on the streets is a daily reality for U.S. personnel and their families. The nation is a powder keg.

Naval Investigative Service (NIS) Special Agent Rick Yell has worked the job in Panama since 1986, and lives there with his wife Annya and infant child. Like most NIS agents, he’s a civilian with no military rank with a specialty in working criminal cases. The dynamic changes suddenly when Yell inadvertently develops an intelligence source with unparalleled access to the Noriega regime. Now the agent is thrust into a world of spy-versus-spy, of secret meetings and hidden documents.

Yell’s source – known as “The Old Man” – warns when Cuban military personnel arrive and identifies anti-American officers within the Panamanian Defense Forces, provides information about an imprisoned CIA asset and helps track Noriega’s movements, agitating for the dictator’s kidnapping. The reports created by Yell and his NIS colleagues shape the decisions made in Washington D.C., CIA headquarters in Langley and the innermost sanctums of Pentagon.

The powder keg is lit on December 16, 1989, when a young U.S. Marine is gunned down at a checkpoint in Panama City. Yell and his cadre of trusted agents deploy immediately to investigate the killing, and what they determine will decide the fate of two nations. When President Bush hears the details they uncover, he orders an invasion that puts Yell’s family, informants and fellow agents directly in harm’s way.

Using a blend of research and interviews with the NIS agents who were directly involved, Ghosts of Panama reveals the untold, clandestine story of counterintelligence professionals placed in a pressure cooker assignment of historic proportions.]]>
272 Mark Harmon 1400248604 Dash 4 3.68 2024 Ghosts of Panama: A Strongman Out of Control, A Murdered Marine, and the Special Agents Caught in the Middle of an Invasion
author: Mark Harmon
name: Dash
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves:
review:
As someone who spent years stationed at Howard AFB, it was very interesting to read some of the first hand accounts of Operation Just Cause. I have visited many of these sites dozens of times but to hear their insights and experience puts it all in perspective for me. Great read!
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<![CDATA[Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Into the Void]]> 15823425
Now, from her solitary life as a Ranger keeping order across the galaxy, Lanoree has been summoned by the Je’daii Council on a matter of utmost urgency. The leader of a fanatical cult, obsessed with traveling beyond the reaches of known space, is bent on opening a cosmic gateway using dreaded dark matter as the key—risking a cataclysmic reaction that will consume the entire star system. But more shocking to Lanoree than even the prospect of total galactic annihilation, is the decision of her Je’daii Masters to task her with the mission of preventing it. Until a staggering revelation makes clear why she was chosen: The brilliant, dangerous madman she must track down and stop at any cost is the brother whose death she has long grieved—and whose life she must now fear.]]>
263 Tim Lebbon 0345541936 Dash 4 3.67 2013 Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Into the Void
author: Tim Lebbon
name: Dash
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves:
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<![CDATA[G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero! Compendium One (1)]]> 211143776 1168 Larry Hama 1534371508 Dash 5 4.44 G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero! Compendium One (1)
author: Larry Hama
name: Dash
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves:
review:
Just a compendium of the first 50 issues of Larry Hama’s first run in Marvel Comics. No matter what binding they are in the issues are still excellent.
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<![CDATA[A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)]]> 38451264
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Unparalleled in scope and execution, A Game of Thrones is one of those rare reading experiences that catch you up from the opening pages, won’t let you go until the end, and leave you yearning for more.]]>
694 George R.R. Martin 0553103547 Dash 5 4.57 1996 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Dash
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/25
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<![CDATA[The Vale Machine (The Vale Trilogy Book 1)]]> 209422895 224 Austin Brower Dash 5 4.75 The Vale Machine (The Vale Trilogy Book 1)
author: Austin Brower
name: Dash
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves:
review:
A great read for me. Endearing characters and well written storyline. Sometimes it’s ok to know everything up front…not everything has to be a mystery and that is what makes these characters special (at least for me.) There was a moment my jaw dropped as it was a moment I didn’t see coming and that is what a great twist does. For a first novel I totally enjoyed it and I’m hooked for the second installment. Kudos Austin on your journey from hating writing to turning into a passion. Keep up the impressive imagination.
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<![CDATA[12 Months to Live (Jane Smith #1)]]> 75569754
Her name is Jane Smith. To friends and foes, she's Jane Effing Smith.
Ěý
ĚýWhy? Because she's the best criminal defense attorney in the Hamptons—the elite world of New York's rich and infamous. Because she's as good an investigator as she is a lawyer. Because she's tough. She's strong. A competitive athlete who never settles for second place.
Ěý
As Jane is preparing to defend a high-profile client accused of a triple homicide, she's also hired to revive a cold case—a cluster of unsolved murders.
Ěý
Then another bombshell lands: a devastating medical diagnosis. Terminal. She’s given twelve months to live.
Ěý
But first, she has a trial to win. Unless one of her many enemies kills her first.]]>
400 James Patterson 0316405795 Dash 3 4.09 2023 12 Months to Live (Jane Smith #1)
author: James Patterson
name: Dash
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/13
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<![CDATA[The Assassin's Betrayal (Jason Drake #1)]]> 55622519
Jason Drake knew the only way to escape the pain of his past was to move forward.

He was a CIA officer. A trained killer. A spy. He'd done bad things, for bad people.

He knew what he was. He was a monster.

When he was given a target, he'd execute his orders with little prejudice.

Clinical efficiency was all that mattered.

But his current mission finds himself confronted with the past. And like a bad hangover, the painful memories of what he'd done to get to where he is have left him weak and vulnerable.

The only the way out, is to go through hell.

He has to kill the woman he loves.

If he doesn't, Washington, D.C. will go up in flames.

The Assassin's Betrayal is Auston King's shocking debut thriller. It's raw, gritty, and full of twists and turns that will shock you.]]>
370 Auston King Dash 4 4.30 The Assassin's Betrayal (Jason Drake #1)
author: Auston King
name: Dash
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves:
review:
I enjoyed it very much. Indie authors deserve to have their stories told and I’m glad I picked this one up. Cheers to Auston and looking forward to reading more of Jasón Drake.
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The Last Ranger 63249808 🎧9 hours

The best-selling author of The River returns with a lush and vivid mystery set in Yellowstone National Park where a skirmish between a local hunter and a wolf biologist turns violent, and a park ranger, facing his own personal demons, sets out to determine what really happened.


Ren is a park ranger, tasked with duties both mundane and thrilling: breaking up fights at campgrounds, saving tourists from moose attacks, and attempting to broker an uneasy peace between the wealthy vacationers who tromp around with cameras and the locals who want to carve out a meaningful living amid this western landscape.

When Ren discovers his friend Hilly, a biologist and wolf expert, nearly dead in the steel jaws of a wolf trap, he hopes it’s just an accident, but the small red ribbon tied to the stake makes him fairly certain that it wasn’t. What begins as an inquiry into a known poacher soon opens into the discovery of a local group of ranchers who have formed an alliance at odds with both the park and with Ren’s responsibility to protect it.

Rife with surprising humor, populated by a cast of extraordinary characters, each drawn to Yellowstone for their own reasons, Peter Heller once again mines the rich vein where our very human impulses play out against the stunning beauty of the natural world.]]>
287 Peter Heller 0593535111 Dash 3 3.70 2023 The Last Ranger
author: Peter Heller
name: Dash
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/07
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<![CDATA[Dungeons & Dragons Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to FaerĂ»n and Beyond]]> 206180589 An immersive exploration of fifty years of Dungeons & Dragons through the art and lore of the worlds, planes, and settings that have captivated players throughout D&D’s decades of adventures and campaign storytelling.Each chapter of this sumptuously illustrated guide focuses on an iconic world or setting in the D&D multiverse, narrated by legendary mage Mordenkainen and filled with official artwork curated from fifty years of source books and adventures.Mordenkainen muses on each location’s unique features, unmistakable characters, and magical mysteries based on his experiences traveling across the planes.ĚýWrittenĚýby Adam Lee, worldbuilding expert and former D&DĚýgame designer, this lavish tome also features original cover and chapter opener illustrations. Daily life in each world is creatively explored through exclusiveĚýstoriesĚýpenned by Jasmine Bhullar, Geoffrey Golden, Jody Houser and Eric Campbell, and Jaleigh Johnson.ĚýFrom the more familiar worlds of the Material Plane to the strange and intriguing Parallel Planes, and the truly mind-bending worlds and planes beyond, both longstanding and recent D&D fans will gain new perspectives on the most beloved and memorable places in the game.]]> 368 Adam Lee 0593835506 Dash 4 3.71 Dungeons & Dragons Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to FaerĂ»n and Beyond
author: Adam Lee
name: Dash
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/04
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves:
review:
A fun read for beginners to understand the world building involved with DnD. Loved the art from the original Monster Manual as it brought back lots of great memories. This won’t tell you how to play the game but it still delivers.
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Don't Let the Devil Ride 198531005 “An instant Southern noir classic” –S.A. Cosby

S.A. Cosby meets Don Winslow in the breakout thriller from New York Times bestselling author Ace Atkins. A Memphis woman hires a PI to find her missing husband, only to discover that he is involved in a dangerous web of international intrigue—and she and her children are now at risk.

Hell is empty…and Addison McKellar’s husband is missing.

Addison McKellar isn’t clueless—she knows she and her husband Dean don’t have the perfect marriage—but she’s still shocked when he completely vanishes from her life. At first Addison is annoyed, but as days stretch into a week and she’s repeatedly stonewalled by Dean’s friends and associates, her frustration turns into genuine alarm. When even the police seem dismissive of her concerns, Addison turns to an old friend of her father, legendary Memphis PI Porter Hayes.

Porter and Addison begin to dig deeper into Dean’s affairs and quickly discover that he was never the hardworking business owner and family man he pretended to be. As they piece together the connections between a hook-handed mercenary, one of Elvis’s former leading ladies, and a man posing as an FBI agent, it becomes clear that Dean was deeply enmeshed in a high-stakes web of international intrigue, and Porter and Addison aren’t the only ones looking for him.

Dean angered some very dangerous people before he disappeared—people who have already killed to get what they want—and they won’t hesitate to come after his family to even the score.]]>
384 Ace Atkins 0063293382 Dash 3 3.51 2024 Don't Let the Devil Ride
author: Ace Atkins
name: Dash
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/02
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves:
review:
Too many POVs and half the time I got lost in who was talking to who. I did like the theme of the story and Porter was a great character but the rest just seemed like they had no substance. Read if you want to.
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<![CDATA[The Adventures of Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones)]]> 1342251
This volume includes the following
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

With bullwhip in hand, Indiana Jones has unearthed a wealth of ancient treasures. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the fearless archeologist journeys from Nepal to Cairo to the Mediterranean, dodging poisons, traps, and snakes, battling rivals old and new–all in pursuit of an ancient artifact that holds the key to dazzling, invincible power. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom finds our intrepid hero in a remote village in India, where a mysterious old shaman tells him that his arrival has been foreseen–and that he must retrieve a stolen mystical stone. And finally, Indy must face the most challenging and personal endeavor of his rescue his estranged father, the eminent professor Dr. Henry Jones, from a Nazi’s lair, and recover the legendary Holy Grail. Yet Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade doesn’t mean the adventure is over. . . .]]>
608 Campbell Black 0345501276 Dash 4 4.11 1991 The Adventures of Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones)
author: Campbell Black
name: Dash
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves:
review:
Needed to end the year on a high note and this didn’t disappoint. Just a faithful retelling of the movies (the only 3 movies that count.)
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The Astrology House 199797698 A group of wealthy Manhattanites escapes to an astrology-themed retreat, where simmering resentments and long-held secrets lead to a shocking death.

Margot needs a minute. She’s been working eighty-hour weeks as a newly minted partner at her law firm. She’s disconnected from her brother, the only family she has left. And she’s still not pregnant after years of trying.

Stars Harbor Astrological Retreat promises rest, relaxation, and wisdom for Margot and her friends. With Instagram-worthy views and nightly astrology readings in an impeccably restored waterfront Victorian house, this getaway should be nothing but idyllic fun. For Margot’s brother, Adam, it’s the perfect opportunity to rekindle the romance that fuels his writing, but his wife, Aimee, hides the darkness of her past with a beautiful social media feed. Their friend, Farah, is a successful doctor who cannot admit she’s losing control. But no one holds a greater secret than their astrologer host, Rini. She has a plan for all her guests, and one won’t be leaving Stars Harbor alive.]]>
307 Carinn Jade 1668045966 Dash 1 3.47 2024 The Astrology House
author: Carinn Jade
name: Dash
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves:
review:
Incoherent at most times, plot points missing, characters so flat and boring that I’m surprised I even got to the end of this book. Most of the time I didn’t even know who was talking to who or who was narrating the story. Don’t waste your time on this book.
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The Kingdom of Sweets 123176586 Bestselling author of the Queen of the Tearling series, Erika Johansen, journeys to a new kingdom in this brilliant stand-alone novel—a darkly magical take on The Nutcracker where two sisters, cursed from birth, are forever changed one memorable Christmas. . . .

Light and dark—this is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favorite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister’s shadow. But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has brought the Nutcracker, an enchanted present that offers entry into a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also full of gifts . . . and dreadful bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical, and decide to which world she truly belongs.]]>
354 Erika Johansen 1524742759 Dash 2 3.21 2023 The Kingdom of Sweets
author: Erika Johansen
name: Dash
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:
I can see why the majority of ratings for this novel is 3 stars. The plot was all over the place and the characters had no well character. I won’t say I was bored but I wasn’t not bored. Sad as this was my big Christmas read this year.
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<![CDATA[The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys, #1)]]> 76981 180 Franklin W. Dixon 0448089017 Dash 4 3.71 1927 The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys, #1)
author: Franklin W. Dixon
name: Dash
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1927
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
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<![CDATA[Christmas Eve on Sesame Street]]> 1194507 60 Jon Stone 0394847334 Dash 5 4.35 1981 Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
author: Jon Stone
name: Dash
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1981
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves:
review:
Found this in a thrift store the other day and just had to get it. I loved the Television special it was based on so finally at the age of 51 I got to share it with my daughters. After all these years it still holds up and is a beautiful Christmas story. Big Bird just might find out how Santa gets down the chimney someday but until then me and my girls will wonder along with him.
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Lion & Lamb 198618289 Ěý
One spouse is murdered. The other is suspect #1.
Ěý
Even before the case hits the courtroom, it’s the hottest ticket in town.Ěý
Ěý
For the Cooper Lamb, private investigator to the stars.
Ěý
For the Veena Lion, a sleuth so bright she’s got to wear shades.
Ěý
Between them, they know every secret in Philadelphia. Together, they prove how two wrongs can make a right. They are Lion & Lamb.]]>
369 James Patterson 0316404896 Dash 3 It’s a fast read so it has that going for it. ]]> 3.92 2023 Lion & Lamb
author: James Patterson
name: Dash
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves:
review:
I was expecting a Mr and Mrs Smith type book and got Scarecrow and Mrs King instead. Loved the premise of the storyline but was sorely disappointed in the lackluster finish. Still I can’t mark it below 3 stars. Enjoyable at times. Ridiculously silly at others.
It’s a fast read so it has that going for it.
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<![CDATA[Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas]]> 382327 39 Russell Hoban 0819304042 Dash 5 4.37 1971 Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
author: Russell Hoban
name: Dash
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/12
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<![CDATA[The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)]]> 22456248 Librarian's Note: An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.

Percy Jackson’s seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get... well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy’s friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.

In this fresh, funny, and hugely anticipated follow up to The Lightning Thief, Percy and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their beloved camp. But first, Percy will discover a stunning new secret about his family—one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon’s son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.]]>
280 Rick Riordan 1423103343 Dash 4 4.18 2006 The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dash
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/12
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<![CDATA[Jedi: Battle Scars (Star Wars)]]> 61327519 Mantis crew on an adventure set between Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the highly anticipated Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Together, Cal’s crew has brought down bounty hunters, defeated Inquisitors, and even evaded Darth Vader himself. More importantly, Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1 are the closest thing Cal has had to a family since the fall of the Jedi Order. Even as the galaxy’s future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire, the Mantis crew grows more daring.

On what should be a routine mission, they meet a stormtrooper determined to chart her own course with the help of Cal and the crew. In exchange for help starting a new life, the Imperial deserter brings word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool for their fight against the Empire. And even better, she can help them get to it. The only catch — pursuing it will bring them into the path of one of the Empire’s most dangerous servants, the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother.

Can the Imperial deserter truly be trusted? And while Cal and his friends have survived run-ins with the Inquisitors before, how many times can they evade the Empire before their luck runs out?]]>
304 Sam Maggs 0593598601 Dash 1 3.06 2023 Jedi: Battle Scars (Star Wars)
author: Sam Maggs
name: Dash
average rating: 3.06
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
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<![CDATA[The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)]]> 22456224 Librarian's Note: An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.]]>
377 Rick Riordan Dash 4 4.36 2005 The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Dash
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves:
review:
Oh why oh why can’t they just make movies as good as the books. As I continue my books/movies reviews. I absolutely would have loved if the Percy Jackson movie had been as outstanding as this book.
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<![CDATA[Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 3]]> 9144761 Devastation, as well as Spotlights: Galvatron, Ramjet, Wheelie, Blaster, Arcee, Grimlock, and Mirage.]]> 348 Simon Furman 1600108563 Dash 5 4.09 2011 Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 3
author: Simon Furman
name: Dash
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves:
review:

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Leave the World Behind 127652981 A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong

Amanda and Clay head to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in a luxurious home they've rented for the week. But with a late-night knock on the door, the spell is broken. Ruth and G. H., an older couple who claim to own the home, have arrived in a panic. These strangers claim a sudden power outage has swept the city, and--with nowhere else to turn--they have come to the country in search of shelter. But with the TV and internet down, and no phone service, the facts are unknowable. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple--and vice versa? What has happened back in New York? Is the holiday home, isolated from civilisation, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?]]>
256 Rumaan Alam 0063345013 Dash 1 3.11 2020 Leave the World Behind
author: Rumaan Alam
name: Dash
average rating: 3.11
book published: 2020
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/03
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves:
review:
Just like the Netflix show this should have stayed in the idea stage and not come to fruition. The theme had great potential but the writing fell flat and execution was terrible.
]]>
<![CDATA[Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0)]]> 65213543 When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.]]>
336 Travis Baldree 1250886104 Dash 3 4.13 2023 Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Dash
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
review:
This definitely took a step backwards for me. Enjoyed the first book very much but this didn’t seem to have the same magic and impact as Legends. I appreciate Travis’ world building and character development but sometimes it just felt off. Still a recommendable book but wish it was just a bit better.
]]>
Gump & Co. 8174985
Whenever I really get stumped, I go visit Jenny's grave. She tells me she's always rooting for me. The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. has gone bust and now Forrest is flat broke, sweeping floors in a New Orleans strip joint, when a fresh opportunity to play championship football puts him back in the limelight -- and in the money. But fate turns fickle again, and he's soon out on the road selling phony encyclopedias and trying to raise his son, little Forrest, who needs his father more than ever. Forrest's remarkable, touching, and utterly comic odyssey has just in store for him is an explosive attempt at hog farming; his own dubious recipe for adding life to New Coke; an encounter with Oliver North of the Iran-Contra affair; and a chance yet again to unwittingly twist the nose of history.]]>
256 Winston Groom 1451607547 Dash 3 3.14 1995 Gump & Co.
author: Winston Groom
name: Dash
average rating: 3.14
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves:
review:
A substandard follow up to Forrest Gump. At times it felt as if he forced Forrest into situations instead of letting them happen naturally and organically like the first novel. Read it if you are a completist if not you can pass it by.
]]>
<![CDATA[Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie Bucket, #2)]]> 109073
Last seen flying through the sky in a giant elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , Charlie Bucket's back for another adventure. When the giant elevator picks up speed, Charlie, Willy Wonka, and the gang are sent hurtling through space and time. Visiting the world’' first space hotel, battling the dreaded Vermicious Knids, and saving the world are only a few stops along this remarkable, intergalactic joyride.]]>
190 Roald Dahl 0142410322 Dash 4 3.56 1972 Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie Bucket, #2)
author: Roald Dahl
name: Dash
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1972
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/28
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]> 44772448 Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!
(back cover)]]>
164 Roald Dahl 0142410314 Dash 4 4.34 1964 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
author: Roald Dahl
name: Dash
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1964
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/28
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves:
review:
Just another classic I wanted to read again. Obviously not like the movies but a favorite nonetheless.
]]>
Classic Transformers Volume 4 6491139 368 Bob Budiansky 1600104444 Dash 4 3.81 2009 Classic Transformers Volume 4
author: Bob Budiansky
name: Dash
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves:
review:
Another excellent showcase of G1 Transformers. Stories I haven’t read in a long time.
]]>
Matilda 109059 (Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition to this ISBN is provided here)

“The Trunchbull” is no match for Matilda!

Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It'll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it!
"Matilda will surely go straight to children's hearts." —The New York Times Book Review]]>
240 Roald Dahl 0142410373 Dash 4 4.36 1988 Matilda
author: Roald Dahl
name: Dash
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/25
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Danny the Champion of the World]]> 109082
Danny has a life any boy would love—his home is a gypsy caravan, he's the youngest master car mechanic around, and his best friend is his dad, who never runs out of wonderful stories to tell. But one night Danny discovers a shocking secret that his father has kept hidden for years. Soon Danny finds himself the mastermind behind the most incredible plot ever attempted against nasty Victor Hazell, a wealthy landowner with a bad attitude. Can they pull it off? If so, Danny will truly be the champion of the world.]]>
202 Roald Dahl 0142410330 Dash 4 4.08 1975 Danny the Champion of the World
author: Roald Dahl
name: Dash
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/24
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)]]> 52439531
To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch -- and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.]]>
386 Jennifer Lynn Barnes 1368052401 Dash 3 4.13 2020 The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)
author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
name: Dash
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/18
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves:
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Classic Transformers 3 4077887 This collection of 14 classic Transformers comics relives all the vintage glory of this pop culture powerhouse.]]> 312 Bob Budiansky 1600103464 Dash 5 4.11 2009 Classic Transformers 3
author: Bob Budiansky
name: Dash
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/23
date added: 2024/11/23
shelves:
review:
Just classic Transformers! Reread for me!
]]>
<![CDATA[Murder Island (Doc Savage, #2)]]> 58340950 Prof. Brandt Savage—grandson of the legendary hero Doc Savage—is back in a new action-adventure thriller!Ěý ĚýĚý

They thought they found heaven on earth. But their paradise becomes a nightmare when Professor Brandt Savage and his girlfriend Kira Sunlight stumble on a terrifying conspiracy​.

When professor turned crime-fighter Brandt "'Doc'"Savage and his girlfriend Kira Sunlight land on a desert island in the middle of the Atlantic, they think they've found a perfect utopia. An escape from their tumultuous pasts.

But they don't have long to enjoy their newfound peace before they are violently separated and dragged to opposite ends of the Earth.

Doc's search for Kira takes him from the coast of Brazil to northern Europe and the jungles of the Congo, and he discovers they are entangled in a global conspiracy that is bigger he ever could have imagined.]]>
384 James Patterson 1538721899 Dash 4 3.56 2024 Murder Island (Doc Savage, #2)
author: James Patterson
name: Dash
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/21
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves:
review:
It’s not the Doc Savage I grew up with but a nice reboot nonetheless. Fast paced action and enough intrigue to keep the book moving along. I look forward to more if they continue as any Doc is better than none.
]]>
The Hobbit 17464890 Ěý]]> 384 J.R.R. Tolkien 0544174224 Dash 5 4.61 1937 The Hobbit
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Dash
average rating: 4.61
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves:
review:
Nothing changes the sentiments of this book as it will always be a 5 star. But the added illustrations made it enjoyable to read all over again.
]]>
<![CDATA[Star Wars, Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes]]> 24718416 The greatest space adventure of all returns to Marvel!

Luke Skywalker and the ragtag rebel band opposing the Galactic Empire are fresh off their biggest victory so far--the destruction of the massive Death Star. But the Empire's not toppled yet! Join Luke, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and the rest of the Rebel Alliance as they fight for freedom against the evil of Darth Vader and his master, the Emperor! But when a Rebel assault goes very wrong, Han and Leia will have to think fast to make their escape--while Luke finds himself face-to-face with Darth Vader! In the explosive aftermath, a humbled Luke returns to Tatooine to learn more about his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi. Meanwhile, Leia and Han undertake a vital--and dangerous--secret mission. But can they succeed without Luke? Plus: the menace of Boba Fett!

COLLECTING: STAR WARS 1-6]]>
160 Jason Aaron 0785192131 Dash 4 4.10 2015 Star Wars, Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes
author: Jason Aaron
name: Dash
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/10
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves:
review:
This is what Star Wars should be today! Great storytelling and gives excellent build up to Empire.
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<![CDATA[The Murder Inn (Bill Robinson, #2)]]> 182761657
The Inn at Gloucester is the lone structure on a rocky Massachusetts shoreline. Former Boston police detective Bill Robinson runs the place as a refuge from life’s cruel disappointments. When two strangers arrive for a temporary stay among the permanent residents, they’re welcomed with no questions asked by Sheriff Clayton Spears, who lives on the second floor.Ěý
Ěý
There’s another new resident in town. A crime boss. And he doesn’t like the close watch Robinson and Spears keep over Gloucester.ĚýĚý
Ěý
Local criminals are turning up dead. The Inn is under surveillance. Teaming up with Sheriff Spears and three fearless residents—Army veteran Nick Jones; former FBI agent Susan Solie; and mysterious groundskeeper Effie Johnson—Robinson begins a risky defense of his town, his chosen family, and his home.
Ěý]]>
464 James Patterson 1538710951 Dash 3 3.53 2024 The Murder Inn (Bill Robinson, #2)
author: James Patterson
name: Dash
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/10
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves:
review:

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Nothing but the Bones 127280300 With lyrical prose and hard-hitting depictions of the hardscrabble life in the rural south, Brian Panowich, author of Bull Mountain, Like Lions, and Hard Cash Valley, delivers a gripping new chapter in his tales of McFalls County in Nothing But the Bones.

In McFalls County, local crime boss Gareth Burroughs runs everything on the mountain. And Nelson “Nails” McKenna has been his enforcer since he was a teenager, though his heart's not really in the dirty work. Then one night in a local roadhouse, Nails goes too far, defending a woman, and even Burroughs’s reach can’t get him out of this one. With a dead body and countless witnesses, Nails and the woman become fugitives on the run, and unlikely partners.

But on the road to Jacksonville, where a possible escape awaits, there’s more than one interested party on the pair’s trail, and the glimpse they had of getting away scot free suddenly seems elusive. In the end, Nails must make one final stand for his freedom—or pay with both of their lives.]]>
336 Brian Panowich 1250835240 Dash 3 4.07 2024 Nothing but the Bones
author: Brian Panowich
name: Dash
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/07
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves:
review:
All I can say is I’m disappointed in how the last 3rd of the book was rushed. Not as strong as the others in the series.
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<![CDATA[The Broken King (Bull Mountain #0.5)]]> 43565765 An eshort story introduces readers to Brian Panowich's brutal, mesmerizing North Georgia landscape, in preparation for Like Lions (4/30/19).

"No king lives forever, and Gareth was getting old."

Enter the world of Brian Panowich, where Gareth Burroughs runs McFalls county, in north Georgia, and all the criminal enterprises therein. Two of his three sons, Halford and Buckley, are aiming to follow in his footsteps. The third, Clayton, has turned his back on the family and become a lawman, a sheriff in town. In Bull Mountain, the brothers' inevitable confrontation will change life in the county forever. In Like Lions, the last man standing, Clayton, must finally reckon with his heritage, and with the expectations of everyone left in his father's and brothers' organization. But before Bull Mountain, before Like Lions, there was "The Broken King," and a final confrontation on a very cold night.]]>
73 Brian Panowich 1250240034 Dash 0 to-read 3.86 2019 The Broken King (Bull Mountain #0.5)
author: Brian Panowich
name: Dash
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (The Force Unleashed, #1)]]> 2298796 From Book 1: Revealed here are the origins of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Galen Marek- the deadly missions on which he was sent to track down and destroy Jedi, and the awesome decision he is forced to make that will, literally, change the way you look at the Star Wars saga! Scripted by the original video game's author, Haden Blackman!]]> 104 W. Haden Blackman 1593078919 Dash 4 3.73 2008 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (The Force Unleashed, #1)
author: W. Haden Blackman
name: Dash
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves:
review:

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Star Wars: Visionaries 822389
Just in time for Star Wars: Episode III, the wildly gifted mind of the Lucasfilm art department and visual effects powerhouse Industrial Light & Magic come together to tell their own Star Wars tales in this compilation of short stories. Given free reign to explore any and every aspect of the Star Wars universe, each artist offers a new twist or a deeper view into that galaxy far, far away. Nowhere else will you find a more pure or more different look at George Lucas's enduring creation than through the eyes of the Star Wars: Visionaries.]]>
131 Aaron McBride 1593073119 Dash 4 3.93 2005 Star Wars: Visionaries
author: Aaron McBride
name: Dash
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves:
review:

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Batman: Resurrection 210410462 After The Joker’s death, Batman and Gotham City face a mysterious new threat in this direct sequel to Tim Burton’s iconic Batman.

The Joker is dead, but not forgotten. Gotham City is saved, but it is still not safe. By night, its new symbol of hope, Batman, continues his fight to protect the innocent and the powerless. By day, his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, wonders whether there may someday be a future beyond skulking the city’s rooftops or the cavernous halls of his stately manor alongside the ever-dutiful Alfred Pennyworth.

But even after death, the Clown Prince of Crime’s imprint can be seen in more than just the pavement. Remnants from The Joker’s gang are leading wannabes fascinated by his bizarre mystique on a campaign of arson that threatens the city—even as it serves greedy opportunists, including millionaire Max Shreck. And survivors of exposure to The Joker’s chemical weapon Smylex continue to crowd Gotham City’s main hospital.

To quell the chaos, Batman needs more than his cape and his well-stocked Utility Belt. Bruce Wayne is forced into action, prompting a partnership with a charismatic scientist to help solve the health crisis. But as he works in both the shadows and the light, Bruce finds himself drawn deeper into Gotham City’s turmoil than ever before, fueling his obsession to save the city—an obsession that has already driven a wedge between him and Vicki Vale. The loyal Alfred, who had hoped Bruce’s efforts as Batman could help him find closure, finds the opposite happening. Nightmares begin to prompt Bruce to ask new questions about the climactic events in the cathedral, and investigations by Commissioner Gordon and reporter Alexander Knox into the arsons only amplify his concerns.

Having told the people of Gotham City that they’d earned a rest from crime, Batman finds the forces of evil growing ever more organized—and orchestrated—by a sinister hand behind the scenes. The World’s Greatest Detective must solve the greatest mystery of all: Could The Joker have somehow survived? And could he still have the last laugh against the people of Gotham City?]]>
418 John Jackson Miller 0593871901 Dash 5 4.05 2024 Batman: Resurrection
author: John Jackson Miller
name: Dash
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/01
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves:
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Horror Movie 200101541 A chilling twist on the “cursed film” genre from the bestselling author ofĚýThe Pallbearers Club andĚýThe Cabin at the End of the World.

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part?ĚýOnly three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions — demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost?Ěý

Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film” that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.]]>
277 Paul Tremblay 0063070014 Dash 3 3.30 2024 Horror Movie
author: Paul Tremblay
name: Dash
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War]]> 18679391
Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the stories of four courageous women—a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow—who were spies.

After shooting a Union soldier in her front hall with a pocket pistol, Belle Boyd became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds cut off her hair and assumed the identity of a man to enlist as a Union private, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The beautiful widow, Rose O’Neale Greenhow, engaged in affairs with powerful Northern politicians to gather intelligence for the Confederacy, and used her young daughter to send information to Southern generals. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper Southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring, right under the noses of suspicious rebel detectives.

Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies’ descendants, Abbott seamlessly weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war. With a cast of real-life characters including Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, detective Allan Pinkerton, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Emperor Napoleon III, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy draws you into the war as these daring women lived it.

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy contains 39 black & white photos and 3 maps.]]>
513 Karen Abbott 0062092898 Dash 4 3.74 2014 Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War
author: Karen Abbott
name: Dash
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Plot (The Book Series, #1)]]> 58725019 ** NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! ** The Tonight Show Summer Reads Pick **

Hailed as "breathtakingly suspenseful," Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a propulsive read about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that—a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?]]>
336 Jean Hanff Korelitz 1250790751 Dash 3 3.74 2021 The Plot (The Book Series, #1)
author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
name: Dash
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/19
date added: 2024/10/19
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<![CDATA[What If? Classic: The Complete Collection Vol. 2]]> 44674820 COLLECTING: WHAT IF? (1977) 13-15, 17-23]]> 376 Donald F. Glut 1302920596 Dash 4 3.48 2019 What If? Classic: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
author: Donald F. Glut
name: Dash
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/17
date added: 2024/10/17
shelves:
review:

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Bowdrie: Stories 1205588 208 Louis L'Amour 0553281062 Dash 5 3.96 1983 Bowdrie: Stories
author: Louis L'Amour
name: Dash
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/11
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Final Twist (Colter Shaw #3)]]> 57747167
Just hours after the harrowing events of The Goodbye Man, Colter Shaw is hot on the trail of a missing person whose disappearance he desperately hopes to explain: his own father.

Following the enigmatic clues his father left behind, Shaw explores one site after another, seeing clearly for the first time what strange business his father was up to--and what dangerous people he was working against. But when Shaw is caught by these same people, he's rescued by an intruder: his own older brother Russell, from whom he's been estranged for more than a decade. After saving Shaw, Russell stays on, and the brothers--both very different and oddly similar--join forces to identify the family.

This novel is a race against time to both find the family and to pursue leads to solve a decades-old mystery.]]>
416 Jeffery Deaver Dash 4 4.14 2021 The Final Twist (Colter Shaw #3)
author: Jeffery Deaver
name: Dash
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/09
date added: 2024/10/09
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)]]> 211721806
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

Includes part one of the exclusive bonus story “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.”
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450 Matt Dinniman 059382024X Dash 4 4.48 2020 Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Dash
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/05
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves:
review:

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Lone Women 60460704
Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory.

Crafted by a modern master of magical suspense, Lone Women blends shimmering prose, an unforgettable cast of adventurers who find horror and sisterhood in a brutal landscape, and a portrait of early-twentieth-century America like you’ve never seen. And at its heart is the gripping story of a woman desperate to bury her past—or redeem it.]]>
275 Victor LaValle 052551208X Dash 2 3.68 2023 Lone Women
author: Victor LaValle
name: Dash
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/03
date added: 2024/10/03
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Star Wars: Princess Leia 25013184
COLLECTING: PRINCESS LEIA #1-5]]>
120 Mark Waid 0785193170 Dash 4 3.65 2015 Star Wars: Princess Leia
author: Mark Waid
name: Dash
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/30
date added: 2024/09/30
shelves:
review:

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The Life Impossible 198281740
“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.]]>
324 Matt Haig 0593489276 Dash 3 3.45 2024 The Life Impossible
author: Matt Haig
name: Dash
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/30
date added: 2024/09/30
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The Book of Elsewhere 202950650
There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who’s seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had many names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as “B.”

And he wants to be able to die.

In the present day, a U.S. black-ops group has promised him they can help with that. And all he needs to do is help them in return. But when an all-too-mortal soldier comes back to life, the impossible event ultimately points toward a force even more mysterious than B himself. One at least as strong. And one with a plan all its own.

A mind-blowing epic of ancient powers, modern war, and an outcast who cannot die. Combines Miéville’s singular style and creativity with Reeves’s haunting and soul-stirring narrative, unlike anything these two genre-bending pioneers have created before, inspired by the world of the BRZRKR comic books.]]>
352 Keanu Reeves 0593446593 Dash 3 3.26 2024 The Book of Elsewhere
author: Keanu Reeves
name: Dash
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
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Ricochet (Garrett Kohl #3) 86508963 332 Taylor Moore 0063292378 Dash 4 4.14 2023 Ricochet (Garrett Kohl #3)
author: Taylor Moore
name: Dash
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/28
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Remote Control 53205922 The new book by Nebula and Hugo Award-winner, Nnedi Okorafor.

"She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own."

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa­­--a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks--alone, except for her fox companion--searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?]]>
160 Nnedi Okorafor 125077280X Dash 2 3.79 2021 Remote Control
author: Nnedi Okorafor
name: Dash
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/26
date added: 2024/09/26
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<![CDATA[The Goodbye Man (Colter Shaw, #2)]]> 52669054 A thrilling new Colter Shaw adventure by the master of suspense, Jeffery Deaver.

In pursuit of two young men accused of terrible hate crimes, Colter Shaw stumbles upon a clue to another mystery. In an effort to save the life of a young woman--and possibly others--he travels to the wilderness of Washington State to investigate a mysterious organization. Is it a community that consoles the bereaved? Or a dangerous cult under the sway of a captivating leader? As he peels back the layers of truth, Shaw finds that some people will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.

All the while, Shaw must unravel an equally deadly enigma: locating and deciphering a message hidden by his father years ago, just before his death--a message that will have life-and-death consequences.]]>
417 Jeffery Deaver 0525535977 Dash 5 3.76 2020 The Goodbye Man (Colter Shaw, #2)
author: Jeffery Deaver
name: Dash
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves:
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<![CDATA[American Front (The Great War, #1)]]> 1920118 alternate history of World War I. Now, with The Great American
Front ,
he carries this towering epic into the early twentieth century in a bold
re-imagining of the fateful war that hurtled humanity into the modern
age.ĚýĚý
Envision a divided America--one camp led by Theodore Roosevelt, the other
by Woodrow Wilson--in the most explosive conflict humankind has seen,
where
global war is waged with sophisticated weaponry on American soil for the
first time in history.



When the Great War engulfed Europe in 1914, the United States and the
Confederate States of America, bitter enemies for five decades, entered
the
fray on opposite the United States aligned with the newly strong
Germany, while the Confederacy joined forces with their allies, Britain
and
France.ĚýĚýBut it soon became clear to both sides that this fight would be
different--that war itself would never be the same again.ĚýĚýFor this was to
be a protracted, global conflict waged with new and chillingly efficient
innovations--the machine gun, the airplane, poison gas, and trench warfare.



In the Americas, the fighting spread like wildfire on multiple and
far-flung fronts.ĚýĚýThe U.S. Army invaded the South, striking in Virginia,
Kentucky, and the West and assaulted Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.ĚýĚýAs
President Theodore Roosevelt rallied the diverse ethnic groups of the
northern states--Irish and Italians, Mormons and Jews--Confederate
President Woodrow Wilson struggled to hold together a Confederacy still
beset by ignorance, prejudice, and class divisions.ĚýĚýAnd as the war raged
on, southern blacks, oppressed for generations, are fatefully drawn into a
climactic confrontation.



In The Great American Front , Harry Turtledove creates a vast,
vibrant
canvas that blends actual events and players with a history as it might
have been.ĚýĚýThis unforgettable, deeply moving, and superbly original novel
is a triumph of the creative imagination.]]>
503 Harry Turtledove 034540615X Dash 4 3.68 1998 American Front (The Great War, #1)
author: Harry Turtledove
name: Dash
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/15
date added: 2024/09/15
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)]]> 17162156 369 Ransom Riggs 1594746036 Dash 5 3.88 2011 Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)
author: Ransom Riggs
name: Dash
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves:
review:
This is more a 4.5 so I’ll round up. While I think the theme of this book is great (I love the magical/time displacement theme) there is still some tropes that bother me. The 15 year old is smarter than his parents, the line about it is mandatory to love your mom… and others that don’t sit well with me. Yet it still delivers a fantastic story and I love the inspiration Riggs used to write this story. I enjoyed reading it overall and those tropes weren’t enough to distract me from it.
]]>
<![CDATA[How Few Remain (Timeline-191, #1)]]> 842939
1881: A generation after the South won the Civil War, America writhed once more in the bloody throes of battle. Furious over the annexation of key Mexican territory, the United States declared total war against the Confederate States of America once again.

But this was a new kind of war, fought on a lawless frontier where the blue and gray battled not only each other but the Apache, the outlaw, the French, and the English. As Confederate General Stonewall Jackson again demonstrated his military expertise, the North struggled to find a leader who could prove his equal. In the Second War Between the States, the times, the stakes, and the battle lines had changed--and so would history...]]>
596 Harry Turtledove 0345406141 Dash 0 to-read 3.90 1997 How Few Remain (Timeline-191, #1)
author: Harry Turtledove
name: Dash
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Labors of Hercules (Hercule Poirot, #27)]]> 11110412
So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self-imposed “Labors.” Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction.

Nemean lion --
Lernean hydra --
Arcadian deer --
Erymanthian boar --
Augean stables --
Stymphalean birds --
Cretan bull --
Horses of Diomedes --
Girdle of Hyppolita --
Flock of Geryon --
Apples of the Hesperides --
Capture of Cerberus]]>
314 Agatha Christie 0062073982 Dash 4 3.69 1947 The Labors of Hercules (Hercule Poirot, #27)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Dash
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1947
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/10
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves:
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Run Away 44781614 You've lost your daughter.

She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.

Then, quite by chance, you see her busking in New York's Central Park.

But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is wasted, frightened and clearly in trouble.

You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home.

She runs.

And you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Where criminal gangs rule, where drugs are the main currency, and murder is commonplace.

Now it's your life on the line. And nowhere and no one is safe.]]>
384 Harlan Coben 1780894260 Dash 4 4.01 2019 Run Away
author: Harlan Coben
name: Dash
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/07
date added: 2024/09/07
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Hanna-Barbera: A History 58538831 307 Jared Bahir Browsh 1476675791 Dash 1 This is not a history of the successful Hanna Barbera cartoons but a book to complain about how his feelings are hurt in 2021.
Don’t waste your time on this book. ]]>
1.00 2022 Hanna-Barbera: A History
author: Jared Bahir Browsh
name: Dash
average rating: 1.00
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2024/09/03
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves:
review:
DNF and this should really receive negative stars. This is some professor from Colorado University who writes a hit piece about Hanna Barbera and is sad that their vision doesn’t validate his 2020s feelings. His lack of research alone in the “Introduction” is plain intolerable and I expected more from an “Educator.”
This is not a history of the successful Hanna Barbera cartoons but a book to complain about how his feelings are hurt in 2021.
Don’t waste your time on this book.
]]>
Star Wars: The Living Force 195267496 In the year before The Phantom Menace, Yoda, Mace Windu, and the entire Jedi Council confront a galaxy on the brink of change.

The Jedi have always traveled the stars, defending peace and justice across the galaxy. But, the galaxy is changing, and along with it, the Jedi Order. More and more, the Order finds itself focused on the future of the Republic, secluded on Coruscant, where the twelve members of the Jedi Council weigh crises on a galactic scale.

As yet another Jedi Outpost leftover from the Republic’s golden age is set to be decommissioned on the planet Kwenn, Qui-Gon Jinn challenges the Council about the increasing isolation of the Order. Mace Windu suggests a bold response: all twelve Jedi Masters will embark on a goodwill mission to help the planet, and remind the people of the galaxy that the Jedi remain as stalwart and present as they have been across the ages.

But the arrival of the Jedi leadership is not seen by all as a cause for celebration. Warring pirate factions have infested the sector in the increasing absence of the Jedi. To maintain their dominance, the pirates unite, intent on assassinating the Council. And they are willing to destroy countless innocent lives to secure their power.

Cut off from Coruscant, the Jedi Masters must reckon with an unwelcome truth: that while no one thinks more about the future than the Jedi Council, nobody needs their help more than those living in the present.]]>
432 John Jackson Miller 0593597958 Dash 4 3.74 2024 Star Wars:  The Living Force
author: John Jackson Miller
name: Dash
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/02
date added: 2024/09/02
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Star Wars Myths & Fables 55437448 227 George Mann 1368065597 Dash 3 3.64 2019 Star Wars Myths & Fables
author: George Mann
name: Dash
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/29
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Spider-Man: The Octopus Agenda]]> 829397 The mysterious CCRC corporation is involved in this plan - and it has caused trouble in the past for Spider-Man and for the alien symbiote Venom, who has sworn to kill Spidey. Both hero and villain soon learn that the mastermind behind that old trouble and the new danger is none other than Spider-Man's most tenacious, most deadly Doctor Octopus.
Now Spider-Man and Venom must put aside their differences and join forces to stop the greater menace of Doctor Octopus, before the villain devastates the planet!]]>
277 Diane Duane 0399142118 Dash 4 3.57 1996 Spider-Man: The Octopus Agenda
author: Diane Duane
name: Dash
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
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Behind a Closed Door 200361438 Would you kill a total stranger to save someone you love?

Sugar & Spice is the latest app craze taking the world by storm, but for Abby and Brendan Hollander, downloading it leads to a dangerous game of life and death. When the app assigns them a series of increasingly taboo tasks, they soon find themselves caught up in a twisted web of seduction and violence in this sexually charged dark thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Fourth Monkey—master of suspense, J.D. Barker.


Praise -
"J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that's a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sandford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don't miss anything J.D. writes."
—James Patterson, #1 International Bestselling Author

"A talented writer with a delightfully devious mind!"
—Jeffery Deaver, NY Times Bestselling Author

"I don't say this lightly: J.D. Barker is a force to be reckoned with."
—Tosca Lee, NY Times Bestselling Author

"Every one of his books is a must-read thriller."
—Eric Rickstad, NY Times Bestselling Author

"J. D. Barker is quickly becoming one of the best thriller writers working today."
—Book Reporter

"Devilishly dark."
— Library Journal

"Barker is a master wordsmith."
— AudioBookReviewer

"Masterful storytelling."
— Bookish

"J.D. Barker knows how to set a scene."
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"...on par with Stephen King, Joe Hill and especially, Dan Simmons. Riveting and relentless."
— BookTrib

"J.D. Barker was born to write suspense thrillers."
—The Real Book Spy

"Barker's slight of literary hand is absolute genius. He builds tension and then rips the rug right out from under you, just to do it all over again."
â€ĹˇłÜľ±łŮłŮ±đ°ů˛őłŮ°ůľ±±č

"Mr. Barker may have begun by following in the footsteps of such literary royalty as Stephen King, Thomas Harris, and Dean Koontz, but he has blazed a unique path all his own."
— Fresh Fiction

"J.D. Barker is quite frankly one of the best crime thriller writers out there who should be on everyone's radar!"
— Novel Delights


"Barker's mastery of character and dialogue is noteworthy."
— Booklist

"Barker is the Mozart of thrillers!"
— GoodReads

"Barker is such a skilled and exciting writer, delivering a chilling, slow-build thriller, a final, jaw-dropping twist, and a cliffhanger ending that leaves readers dangling precariously by their fingertips."
— Lancashire Evening Post

"Mr. Barker doesn't just tell a story, he paints pictures with his words."
— BookBub

"If you haven't read any J.D. Barker, I strongly suggest you start now."
— ŔĎ»˘»úÎČÓ®·˝·¨]]>
495 J.D. Barker 1734210478 Dash 4 4.08 2024 Behind a Closed Door
author: J.D. Barker
name: Dash
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/26
date added: 2024/08/26
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<![CDATA[Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern, #1)]]> 61975
To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise-and take back her stolen birthright.

But everything changes when she meets a Queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa's world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their Riders once protected the planet from Thread and the blood-red star, but there are very few of them left these days. Only the gigantic, golden Queen can breed new dragons. And the Queen is fading... dying...

Now brave Lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world...]]>
299 Anne McCaffrey 0345484266 Dash 4 4.09 1968 Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern, #1)
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Dash
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1968
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/22
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves:
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<![CDATA[Transformers vs. The Terminator]]> 51129560
1984: When a deadly race of machines emerge from another time, will a robotic guardian be able to protect the Earth from a dire future... or will the T-800 fail in his mission to prevent the world from becoming a plaything to the Decepticons?

The T-800, last hope of its kind, has travelled back to 1984 to destroy the Cybertronians before they can awaken and subjugate his future. But when the Ark systems start to bring the Autobots and Decepticons back online, what will he do against two armies? It's up to one Terminator to save the future and nothing's gonna stand in his way!]]>
104 David Mariotte 1684057256 Dash 4 3.34 Transformers vs. The Terminator
author: David Mariotte
name: Dash
average rating: 3.34
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/20
date added: 2024/08/20
shelves:
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Nice little retelling of Terminator and Transformers origins. Would have loved for it to have been more in depth but I still enjoyed it.
]]>
The Fraud 66086834 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780525558965.

From acclaimed and bestselling novelist Zadie Smith, a kaleidoscopic work of historical fiction set against the legal trial that divided Victorian England, about who gets to tell their story—and who gets to be believed.

It is 1873. Mrs. Eliza Touchet is the Scottish housekeeper—and cousin by marriage—of a once-famous novelist, now in decline, William Ainsworth, with whom she has lived for thirty years.

Mrs. Touchet is a woman of many interests: literature, justice, abolitionism, class, her cousin, his wives, this life and the next. But she is also sceptical. She suspects her cousin of having no talent; his successful friend, Mr. Charles Dickens, of being a bully and a moralist; and England of being a land of facades, in which nothing is quite what it seems.

Andrew Bogle, meanwhile, grew up enslaved on the Hope Plantation, Jamaica. He knows every lump of sugar comes at a human cost. That the rich deceive the poor. And that people are more easily manipulated than they realize. When Bogle finds himself in London, star witness in a celebrated case of imposture, he knows his future depends on telling the right story.

The “Tichborne Trial”—wherein a lower-class butcher from Australia claimed he was in fact the rightful heir of a sizable estate and title—captivates Mrs. Touchet and all of England. Is Sir Roger Tichborne really who he says he is? Or is he a fraud? Mrs. Touchet is a woman of the world. Mr. Bogle is no fool. But in a world of hypocrisy and self-deception, deciding what is real proves a complicated task. . . .

Based on real historical events, The Fraud is a dazzling novel about truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain, fraudulence and authenticity and the mystery of “other people.”]]>
464 Zadie Smith Dash 2 3.25 2023 The Fraud
author: Zadie Smith
name: Dash
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/08/20
date added: 2024/08/20
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<![CDATA[Best of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collection, Vol. 2]]> 60612282
Gathering stories from their almost 40-year history, see the characters develop from their early roots in the original comics to their most recent incarnations. Delve into issues from the original Mirage series, TMNT Adventures , and Tales of TMNT to IDW’s current ongoing universe. With long-standing characters like Splinter, the Turtles' mentor and father; Casey Jones and April O’Neil, their closest allies; and the newest member of the team introduced in the IDW timeline, Jennika, dive into the wider world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Includes issues by co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, along with contributions from a host of talent, including Stephen Murphy, Ken Mitchroney, John Beatty, Jim Lawson, Eric Talbot, Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan, Mateus Santolouco, Erik Burnham, Charles Paul Wilson III, Mike Costa, Ben Epstein, Mike Henderson, Barbara Randall Kesel, Marley Zarcone, Sophie Campbell, Nelson Dániel, Brahm Revel, and Ronda Pattison.]]>
392 Kevin Eastman 1684059356 Dash 4 4.00 Best of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collection, Vol. 2
author: Kevin Eastman
name: Dash
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/17
date added: 2024/08/17
shelves:
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You Like It Darker 201242757 From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,” and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

“Two Talented Bastids” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King’s ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.]]>
502 Stephen King 1668037718 Dash 3 4.16 2024 You Like It Darker
author: Stephen King
name: Dash
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/08/15
shelves:
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