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Paula's avatar

I can strongly recommend using Storygraph instead of Goodreads! It's a Black woman-owned business, while Goodreads is owned by Amazon. Also, imo the recommendations on Storygraph are better!

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Emily Male's avatar

Oh wow, thank you Paula ... That sounds really good ... I'll be sure to look it up. 🙏

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Carol's avatar

That’s two more for my list! Big Magic and Enough..

I don’t think I will ever catch up with myself…. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Hamnet- I loved it and so wanted to be Agnes.

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Emily Male's avatar

Our ever growing lists! it is wonderful isn't it? I am 60 pages in to Hamnet ! And will report back in the next Book Lovers Chat! So far - I love it too!

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Debbie Meredith's avatar

Enjoyed reading this Emily. I've just added Big Magic to my must read list. It sounds really interesting. I read "Enough" last year. I loved learning about her relationship with decluttering.

So far this year I've read The Lighthouse Library by Rachael Lucas, The Little Cafe in Copenhagen by Julie Caplin. Both charming small town stories, nice easy reads. I've just started Kokoro by Beth Kempton and re-reading Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker. I'm also dipping into Your Spiritual Almanac - a year of living mindfully.

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Emily Male's avatar

I just panicked I hadn't replied to you , but then I realised I had on the restacked post! My memory!

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Debbie Meredith's avatar

Oh tell me about it, I've got the memory of a sieve sometimes 😂. Nice to know I'm not alone lol.

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Julia Skinner's avatar

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this post Emily. I want to read all those books! My problem is I don't have time (or should that be I don't MAKE time) to read beyond the time in my bath! I need to try to commit to reading for the sake of the words.

Can you tell me more about the 12 months book hamper?

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Emily Male's avatar

Hello Julia! I think finding little moments where you are read a little takes a little practice, but once you start finding these little pockets, it is amazing how much more time you find to read! I used to wait til I had a ‘good amount’ of time to read (20 mins to an hour), and then I rarely felt like I had enough time. Just shortening this, and thinking about a page or 2 or a chapter has helped so much.

Oh yes, the book hamper was my Christmas gift to me, from me! I loved the idea of each book being a surprise each month (they are all wrapped), and I wanted to read some books I wouldn’t normally choose myself. I set myself the challenge of completing the 12 months!

I really recommend it! Only two months in but both books have been brilliant (I’ve nearly finished the feb pick - How To Lose The Time War Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone)

https://www.thebeautifulbookcompany.com/product-page/12-months-of-reading-hamper?srsltid=AfmBOooNMifNz4X3iU6Ur0flBAXOPCwdM1SN0vN5EIa8W7ns6XOinP5u

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Julia Skinner's avatar

I love that just read for a couple of minutes! Just become a paid subscriber! So excited!

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Emily Male's avatar

Oh Julia! Thank you so much. Welcome, so happy to have you!

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CJ | A Well-Read Tart's avatar

I loved Winter Solstice!!! Such a perfect read for this time of year. It's so cozy!

Olive sounds really good. The name Emma Gannon has been appearing in front of me a lot lately, and I'm wondering why. This is just another example of it. Perhaps I should dive into her books with this one!

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Emily Male's avatar

Oh I really recommend Emma Gannon - anything and everything she does is kind of amazing to me! I am a big fan, and only recently discovered her, here on Substack!

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Kimberly Kuniko (she/her)'s avatar

I just finished Ocean Vuong’s striking novel, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” (highly recommend!), and am a few chapters in to “We Hunt the Flame” by Hafsah Faizal- a fantasy!

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Emily Male's avatar

Oh thank you so much for the recommendation! I've just had a look and it really does look good! Thank you! 🙏

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Kimberly Kuniko (she/her)'s avatar

Of course! I love exchanging currently-reading recommendations! ^ . ^

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Victoria Savage's avatar

I’m currently reading ‘In Her Nature’ by Rachel Hewitt. It’s not a book I would have normally bought as I am not super sporty but it is so much more than that, I am excited to read it each night and would highly recommend it so far.

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Emily Male's avatar

Thank you Victoria ☺️ I love it when books surprise you that way ... I'll definitely add that one to my list! Thanks for suggesting it 📚

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David Barton's avatar

Will be interested to hear what you think of Enough! I loved Big Magic, although strangely, I didn’t find it as inspiring on second reading 🌿 I’m currently reading-reading Tiffany Francis-Baker’s Dark Skies ✨

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Emily Male's avatar

Oh I don't know that one ! I'll look it up! I went to the library, and ended up walking out with Stephen King's Billy Summers so I'm working my way through that before starting Hamnet!!!

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David Barton's avatar

An eclectic mix! 📚

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Emily Male's avatar

Oh I know ! I'm a bit random that way 🙈 ... And I'm still trying to find my favourite genre! 📚

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David Barton's avatar

Random is good 😂

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