Rudyjax said:

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Rudyjax said:

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Chuck Cunningham said:

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Chuck Cunningham said:

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Anything I read gets 4 stars minimum. 3 starts or below I quit reading.

January:

• The Street Lawyer: John Grisham. Somehow I missed this one. I've always enjoyed JG.

Gary Paulson Hatchet series. I love a good YA novel, don't know why. Love the survival aspect.

• The River
• Brian's Winter 5*
• Brian's Return
• Brian's Hunt
• Waxing On: Ralph Macchio. Listened to it, but it counts. Some good behind the scenes of the Karate Kid.

February:

• Sparring Partners: John Grisham. I really liked 2 of the 3 short stories.
• Never: Ken Follett: Brilliant. Loved it. These are events where WW3 starts and is global nuclear and no one wants it. 5*
• The Apollo Murders; Biggest piece of crap I've read out of a major publisher. Quit 10 chapters in. Negative infinity stars.
• Stories I only Tell My Friends: Rob Lowe. He's actually a really good writer, better than Macchio. He tells some great stories. I'd recommend if you're a fan of his or 80s movies. 5*
• Hatchet: Gary Paulsen. Book 1 wasn't available in January. 5*
• Deacon King Kong: James BcBride: I was pressed for time and returned after 2 pages. Going to try again.
• The Family Fong: Kevin Wilson Very good. Very funny. 5*s
• The Best of Adam Sharp: Graeme Simision: One of the best books I've read in a long time. Probably since his Rosie Series. 5*

March:

• Long Shadows: David Baldacci: Book 7 in the Memory Man. It was ok.
• Biloxi Boys: John Grisham. Meh?? 4*s. The whole book just tells what happens rather than describes it.

Currently reading:

• Now is Not the Time to Panic: Kevin Wilson: So far so good, will update.

Up Next: Order depends when they're available from my 4 e-libraries.

• Apollo 8: Jeffrey Kluger
• Hyperion: Dan Simmons
• All Together Now: Matthew Norman
• Domestic Violets: Matthew Norman
• Holdout: Jeffery Kluger
• The Darkest Winter: Lindsey Pogue
• True Believer: Jack Carr
• Red Shirts: John Scalzi
• One Second After: William Forstchen
• A Man Called Ove: Fredrik Backman
• Beartown: Fredrik Backman

Honestly, ordinary people in books like Matthew Norman, Kevin Wilson, Grame Simision are my favorites.

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March:

• Long Shadows: David Baldacci: Book 7 in the Memory Man. It was ok.
• Biloxi Boys: John Grisham. Meh?? 4*s. The whole book just tells what happens rather than describes it.
• Now is not the Time to Panic: Kevin Wilson: Very good and then it just fizzled out. It's not for everyone but was enjoyable.
• True Believer: Jack Carr. Book 2 of the Terminal List Story. Very fast paced. Very believable. It's more like I would've read in my younger years but I am liking this series.
• Apollo 8: Jeffery Kluger: Very good historical account of the first trip to the moon. I knew most of the stories.
• Redshirts: John Scalzi: It was...meh?? I liked it to some extend. Would make a great movie. Not sure why it hasn't been made. Things tell me I should like everything by Scalzi, but there's something missing. Not sure what it is.
• Hyperion: Dan Simmons: Made it thru the prologue and Chapter 1. Not a fan.
• Holdout: Jeffery Kluger: it's his first attempt fiction. Nothing interested me at all. Gave up 53%. Life's too short to read books that aren't doing it for you.

Currently Reading:

• A Man Called Ove: Fredrik Backman

Up Next: Order depends when they're available from my 4 e-libraries.

• Savage Son: Jack Carr
• Vanished: Joseph Finder
• All Together Now: Matthew Norman
• Domestic Violets: Matthew Norman
• Holdout: Jeffery Kluger
• The Darkest Winter: Lindsey Pogue
• True Believer: Jack Carr
• One Second After: William Forstchen
• Beartown: Fredrik Backman
• How to Mars: David Ebenbach
• This Bird Has Flown; Susanna Hoffs (yes, from the go-gos)
• A Visit form the Good Squad: Jennifer Egan
• John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany (One of my top 5 ever)
• The Time Travelers Wife: Audrey Niffenegger
• The storied Life of A. J . Firkey: Gabrielle Zevin
• The Color of Magic: Terry Pratchett
• The Switch: Joseph Finder
• The moviegoer: Walker Percy
• A Confederacy of Dunces: John Kennedy Toole
• Last Couple Standing: Matthew Norman
• Avenue of Mysteries: John Irving
• The Last Chairlift: John Irving
• Imaginary Friend: Stephen Chbosky
• Perfet LIttle World: Kevin Wilson

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April was a slow month. Tons of false starts and a few books I didn't dig and either stopped or it took a while.
April Completed:

• A Man Called Ove: Fredrik Backman - This book was great. Movie was good too.
• Savage Son: Jack Carr - This was good. His books are entertaining. He was influenced quite a bit by WEB Griffin. Lots of rich ex-military with all the toys do whatever they want.
• How to Mars: David Ebenbach. - I really wanted to like this more than I did.
• Vanished: Joseph Finder - I started and stopped this like 12 years ago and it was good. Not great.
• Project Hail Mary: I listened to the Audio book for the 4th or 5th time. I really love it. Its great to fall asleep to.

April Failures:

• The Moviegoer: Walker Percy: Nothing wrong with this really, but the format was on LIbby which I'm not a fan of.
• This Bird Has Flown: Susanna Hoffs It was about a breakup and romance...blah.
• A Visit from the Goon Squad: Jennifer Egan- It wasn't a novel, it was a collection of short stories about inter-related characters. Not may thing. The short stories were good, but I don't want to read that.

Currently reading:

• One Second After: William Forstchen - So far so good. Very predictable so far but I'm enjoying it.

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May Completed:

• One Second After: William Forstchen- Parts I loved, parts I hated, I think it had me in tears 3 or 4 times. Definitely worth the read. 4 out of 5
• Domestic Violets: Matthew Norman, Book about the son of Pulitzer winner and his realtionships. 4 out of 5.
• The Storied Life of AJ Fikry: Good quick read about a book owner and what happens to him. 4 out of 5
• One Year After: William Forstchen- Audiobook narrated by Bronson Pinchot. He's really good. Sappy sequel to One Second After. Worth the listen. 3 out of 5

May failures:

• BearTown: Frekrik Backman: This guy can spin a yarn. I only didn't finish it because I started with 5 days left on my loan and didn't dive in. I have it back on hold.

Current Reading:

• All Together Now: Matthew Norman

Current Listening:

• The Final Day: William Forstchen: Book 3. It's ok. Not nearly as good as the first.

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• Carrie Soto is Back: Taylor Jenkins Reid: This was an enjoyabe tale about the rise and comeback of a a female tennis player. The only issue i have with it is that the author beleives an elite woman tennis player can beat an elite men's player. Ignore that, and it's a good tale.
• All Together Now: Matthew Norman: Y'all know i like his work. It was good.A dying rich man brings his high school friends back together for one last weekend.
• The Final Day: William Forstchen: Book 3. It's ok. Not nearly as good as the first.
• A Confederacy of Dunces: I finally finished it. It was odd, hilarious, sad, and it took a long time.

• The Devil's Hand: Jack Carr: It took so damn long to read Dunces, I didn't have time to finish. I was about 1/2 way through when the loan expired.

• The Big Swiss: a Novel: Jen Beagin.. Not sure why I piked this. It's interesting.

• Fan Fiction: Brent Spiner: A must listen for any ST NG fan. It takes place during the run of STNG and has voices by the other actors in the series, read mostly by Spiner. It's a "Fan Fiction" of him being stalked by a fan.

Lord Goldeneyes said:

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I'm about to begin reading Sanderson's first book in the 'The Wheel of Time' series, where he takes over as the author. Sanderson is probably the only author I have faith in to carry on Robert Jordan's work.

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• The Last Resort: Adrian's March Part Two (AUD Book #10) - Kindle
• No God: Adrian's March Part Three (AUD Book #11) - Kindle
• Heir of Novron (The Riyria Revelations #5-6) - Michael J Sullivan (On Audible)
• Dead Cities: Adrian's March Part Two (AUD Book #12) - Chris Philbrook - Audible
• Ghosts: Adrian's March Part Two (AUD Book #13) - Chris Philbrook and Carl Meadows - Audible
• The Trouble with Peace (The Age of Madness #2) - Joe Abercrombie

• This podcast covers Japan's rise to power ahead of WWII. Have since started episode II and there looks to be five of these.
• I tried listening to Carlin's WWI podcast once but never got into it, so I'm considering this my first foray into Hardcore Histories. This was enjoyable from a summary overview standpoint. Carlin has more of a conversational style which makes it fairly easy to listen to and this period of history is interesting to me as well.
• I did feel like I was listening to Casey Kasem's brother at times though.

Eliminatus said:

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I really need to give Hyperion another shot. I tried a few years ago but just couldn't get into it. Maybe just wasn't the right time in my life at that time for an in depth new world like that.

Still tackling Malazan book two currently but also rediscovered I have a Switch and reliving my youth of classic JRPGs.

I also am entering my final stages of shaping up my personal library. The last move I did really highlighted how bloated it had gotten. Something a little over 1500 titles but a lot of it what I called my cheap mass market garbage sci-fi/fantasy and similar stuff. Moving it all was such a pain and have been purging and rethinking it all. Taking the much more select approach now. Down to about a third now but a lot more hardbacks and nicer editions over what few mass markets I kept. Moving much of the old fluff to digital and keeping my nicer editions for physical and the rest went away. Much happier now. Library looks better and is smaller and more wieldy of course.

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RED AG 98 said:

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I was a teenager when Lonesome Dove came out on TV. I grew up in South Texas in a small town of 2000 or so; we always lived in town but farming and ranching were 2nd probably only to oil and gas in the community. We were suckers for the epic miniseries of the 80s and 90s and this was immediately one of my favorite shows ever. It made you smile and laugh and hurt and was a just a bit edgy.

Not sure why I never read the book except that I love to read first before the adaptation, but this adaptation was near perfect in my mind. Gus and Call and Deets were all just about perfect and I can't imagine anyone other than Duvall and Tommy Lee and Glover doing them justice.

I decided I needed to change that in 2023 and bought the book a few months back. I hoped to pick it up in the winter but baseball season got in the way, or at least that was my excuse. Anyhow, after we were exited by The Cardinal I ran out of excuses and started right in.

This is far and away the easiest 5 out of 5 review I have ever given. Even with my mental buildup from having watched and loved the tv series dozens of times this is an instant top 3 book for me. If I think about it more it just might be the best book I've ever read but I need a bit more time to make that judgment. I can say without a doubt it is far and away the best character writing I have ever read. All the many character arcs, going from laughter to anger to hurting and crying. I simply cannot say even about what an amazing book this is and hate that it took few a couple decades to figure out that the source material is once again better than the movie. I still love movie and think I'll re-watch this week. Somehow the book is significantly better without diminishing that the tv adaptation was stellar in its own right.

All that to say if you've been putting it off like I have for similar reasons, do yourself a favor and check it out. It is an absolute masterpiece.

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Philo B 93 said:

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I've read several books twice, but I've read Hitchhikers Guide more times than any other book. I'd guess about 4 times now, although I haven't re-read it in over 10 years. Maybe it's time. It's one of my favorite books of all time.

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BigJim49 AustinNowDallas said:

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Philo B 93 said:

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I've read several books twice, but I've read Hitchhikers Guide more times than any other book. I'd guess about 4 times now, although I haven't re-read it in over 10 years. Maybe it's time. It's one of my favorite books of all time.

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What's it about?

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Rudyjax said:

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Rudyjax said:

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Rudyjax said:

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Chuck Cunningham said:

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Chuck Cunningham said:

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Anything I read gets 4 stars minimum. 3 starts or below I quit reading.

January:

• The Street Lawyer: John Grisham. Somehow I missed this one. I've always enjoyed JG.

Gary Paulson Hatchet series. I love a good YA novel, don't know why. Love the survival aspect.

• The River
• Brian's Winter 5*
• Brian's Return
• Brian's Hunt
• Waxing On: Ralph Macchio. Listened to it, but it counts. Some good behind the scenes of the Karate Kid.

February:

• Sparring Partners: John Grisham. I really liked 2 of the 3 short stories.
• Never: Ken Follett: Brilliant. Loved it. These are events where WW3 starts and is global nuclear and no one wants it. 5*
• The Apollo Murders; Biggest piece of crap I've read out of a major publisher. Quit 10 chapters in. Negative infinity stars.
• Stories I only Tell My Friends: Rob Lowe. He's actually a really good writer, better than Macchio. He tells some great stories. I'd recommend if you're a fan of his or 80s movies. 5*
• Hatchet: Gary Paulsen. Book 1 wasn't available in January. 5*
• Deacon King Kong: James BcBride: I was pressed for time and returned after 2 pages. Going to try again.
• The Family Fong: Kevin Wilson Very good. Very funny. 5*s
• The Best of Adam Sharp: Graeme Simision: One of the best books I've read in a long time. Probably since his Rosie Series. 5*

March:

• Long Shadows: David Baldacci: Book 7 in the Memory Man. It was ok.
• Biloxi Boys: John Grisham. Meh?? 4*s. The whole book just tells what happens rather than describes it.

Currently reading:

• Now is Not the Time to Panic: Kevin Wilson: So far so good, will update.

Up Next: Order depends when they're available from my 4 e-libraries.

• Apollo 8: Jeffrey Kluger
• Hyperion: Dan Simmons
• All Together Now: Matthew Norman
• Domestic Violets: Matthew Norman
• Holdout: Jeffery Kluger
• The Darkest Winter: Lindsey Pogue
• True Believer: Jack Carr
• Red Shirts: John Scalzi
• One Second After: William Forstchen
• A Man Called Ove: Fredrik Backman
• Beartown: Fredrik Backman

Honestly, ordinary people in books like Matthew Norman, Kevin Wilson, Grame Simision are my favorites.

---

March:

• Long Shadows: David Baldacci: Book 7 in the Memory Man. It was ok.
• Biloxi Boys: John Grisham. Meh?? 4*s. The whole book just tells what happens rather than describes it.
• Now is not the Time to Panic: Kevin Wilson: Very good and then it just fizzled out. It's not for everyone but was enjoyable.
• True Believer: Jack Carr. Book 2 of the Terminal List Story. Very fast paced. Very believable. It's more like I would've read in my younger years but I am liking this series.
• Apollo 8: Jeffery Kluger: Very good historical account of the first trip to the moon. I knew most of the stories.
• Redshirts: John Scalzi: It was...meh?? I liked it to some extend. Would make a great movie. Not sure why it hasn't been made. Things tell me I should like everything by Scalzi, but there's something missing. Not sure what it is.
• Hyperion: Dan Simmons: Made it thru the prologue and Chapter 1. Not a fan.
• Holdout: Jeffery Kluger: it's his first attempt fiction. Nothing interested me at all. Gave up 53%. Life's too short to read books that aren't doing it for you.

Currently Reading:

• A Man Called Ove: Fredrik Backman

Up Next: Order depends when they're available from my 4 e-libraries.

• Savage Son: Jack Carr
• Vanished: Joseph Finder
• All Together Now: Matthew Norman
• Domestic Violets: Matthew Norman
• Holdout: Jeffery Kluger
• The Darkest Winter: Lindsey Pogue
• True Believer: Jack Carr
• One Second After: William Forstchen
• Beartown: Fredrik Backman
• How to Mars: David Ebenbach
• This Bird Has Flown; Susanna Hoffs (yes, from the go-gos)
• A Visit form the Good Squad: Jennifer Egan
• John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany (One of my top 5 ever)
• The Time Travelers Wife: Audrey Niffenegger
• The storied Life of A. J . Firkey: Gabrielle Zevin
• The Color of Magic: Terry Pratchett
• The Switch: Joseph Finder
• The moviegoer: Walker Percy
• A Confederacy of Dunces: John Kennedy Toole
• Last Couple Standing: Matthew Norman
• Avenue of Mysteries: John Irving
• The Last Chairlift: John Irving
• Imaginary Friend: Stephen Chbosky
• Perfet LIttle World: Kevin Wilson

---

April was a slow month. Tons of false starts and a few books I didn't dig and either stopped or it took a while.
April Completed:

• A Man Called Ove: Fredrik Backman - This book was great. Movie was good too.
• Savage Son: Jack Carr - This was good. His books are entertaining. He was influenced quite a bit by WEB Griffin. Lots of rich ex-military with all the toys do whatever they want.
• How to Mars: David Ebenbach. - I really wanted to like this more than I did.
• Vanished: Joseph Finder - I started and stopped this like 12 years ago and it was good. Not great.
• Project Hail Mary: I listened to the Audio book for the 4th or 5th time. I really love it. Its great to fall asleep to.

April Failures:

• The Moviegoer: Walker Percy: Nothing wrong with this really, but the format was on LIbby which I'm not a fan of.
• This Bird Has Flown: Susanna Hoffs It was about a breakup and romance...blah.
• A Visit from the Goon Squad: Jennifer Egan- It wasn't a novel, it was a collection of short stories about inter-related characters. Not may thing. The short stories were good, but I don't want to read that.

Currently reading:

• One Second After: William Forstchen - So far so good. Very predictable so far but I'm enjoying it.

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May Completed:

• One Second After: William Forstchen- Parts I loved, parts I hated, I think it had me in tears 3 or 4 times. Definitely worth the read. 4 out of 5
• Domestic Violets: Matthew Norman, Book about the son of Pulitzer winner and his realtionships. 4 out of 5.
• The Storied Life of AJ Fikry: Good quick read about a book owner and what happens to him. 4 out of 5
• One Year After: William Forstchen- Audiobook narrated by Bronson Pinchot. He's really good. Sappy sequel to One Second After. Worth the listen. 3 out of 5

May failures:

• BearTown: Frekrik Backman: This guy can spin a yarn. I only didn't finish it because I started with 5 days left on my loan and didn't dive in. I have it back on hold.

Current Reading:

• All Together Now: Matthew Norman

Current Listening:

• The Final Day: William Forstchen: Book 3. It's ok. Not nearly as good as the first.

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June Completed

• Carrie Soto is Back: Taylor Jenkins Reid: This was an enjoyabe tale about the rise and comeback of a a female tennis player. The only issue i have with it is that the author beleives an elite woman tennis player can beat an elite men's player. Ignore that, and it's a good tale.
• All Together Now: Matthew Norman: Y'all know i like his work. It was good.A dying rich man brings his high school friends back together for one last weekend.
• The Final Day: William Forstchen: Book 3. It's ok. Not nearly as good as the first.
• A Confederacy of Dunces: I finally finished it. It was odd, hilarious, sad, and it took a long time.
• All Together Now: Matthew Norman

June Failure:

• The Devil's Hand: Jack Carr: It took so damn long to read Dunces, I didn't have time to finish. I was about 1/2 way through when the loan expired.

Currently Reading:

• The Big Swiss: a Novel: Jen Beagin.. Not sure why I piked this. It's interesting.

Currently Listening:

• Fan Fiction: Brent Spiner: A must listen for any ST NG fan. It takes place during the run of STNG and has voices by the other actors in the series, read mostly by Spiner. It's a "Fan Fiction" of him being stalked by a fan.

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• Fan Fiction: Brent Spiner: A must listen for any ST NG fan. It takes place during the run of STNG and has voices by the other actors in the series, read mostly by Spiner. It's a "Fan Fiction" of him being stalked by a fan.
• BearTown: Fredrik Backman: This guy can spin a yarn. Highly recommend it.
• The Storyteller: Dave Grohl: It was a listen read by Dave. Very good autobiography. He's a good writer or his ghost is. I didn't realize how close he was to Taylor Hawkins. That had to be devastating.
• School Days: Nathan Lowell: books 1 and 2 of his new series about The Solar Clippers in the future.
• Working Class: Nathan Lowell: Book 2 is way better.
• Sea of Tranquility: Emily St. John: Very interesting time travel book.
• The Big Swiss: a Novel: Jen Beagin.. Not sure why I picked this. It's interesting. Lesbian story, not really a romance. Gave me good advice on cunilingus.

• Perfect LIttle World: Kevin Wilson: Story of a psychological project where 10 babies are all communally raised by all the parents. So far so good.

713nervy said:

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I read The Big Swiss a few months ago and when I was done I just thought, what the hell was that? I don't regret reading it but what a weird story.

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713nervy said:

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Loved Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow!

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713nervy said:

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Loved Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow!

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BigJim49 AustinNowDallas said:

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Philo B 93 said:

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I've read several books twice, but I've read Hitchhikers Guide more times than any other book. I'd guess about 4 times now, although I haven't re-read it in over 10 years. Maybe it's time. It's one of my favorite books of all time.

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What's it about?

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Flatlander said:

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BigJim49 AustinNowDallas said:

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Philo B 93 said:

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I've read several books twice, but I've read Hitchhikers Guide more times than any other book. I'd guess about 4 times now, although I haven't re-read it in over 10 years. Maybe it's time. It's one of my favorite books of all time.

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What's it about?

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